Book of Concord, Smalcald Articles. VIII. Of Confession
3] And in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with the preceding outward Word, in order that we may [thus] be protected against the enthusiasts, i.e., spirits who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word, and accordingly judge Scripture or the spoken Word, and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as Muenzer did, and many still do at the present day, who wish to be acute judges between the Spirit and the letter, and yet know not what they say or declare. 4] For [indeed] the Papacy also is nothing but sheer enthusiasm, by which the Pope boasts that all rights exist in the shrine of his heart, and whatever he decides and commands with [in] his church is spirit and right, even though it is above and contrary to Scripture and the spoken Word.
5] All this is the old devil and old serpent, who also converted Adam and Eve into enthusiasts, and led them from the outward Word of God to spiritualizing and self-conceit, and nevertheless he accomplished this through other outward words. 6] Just as also our enthusiasts [at the present day] condemn the outward Word, and nevertheless they themselves are not silent, but they fill the world with their pratings and writings, as though, indeed, the Spirit could not come through the writings and spoken word of the apostles, but [first] through their writings and words he must come. Why [then] do not they also omit their own sermons and writings, until the Spirit Himself come to men, without their writings and before them, as they boast that He has come into them without the preaching of the Scriptures? But of these matters there is not time now to dispute at greater length; we have elsewhere sufficiently urged this subject.
9] In a word, enthusiasm inheres in Adam and his children from the beginning [from the first fall] to the end of the world, [its poison] having been implanted and infused into them by the old dragon, and is the origin, power [life], and strength of all heresy, especially of that of the Papacy and Mahomet. 10] Therefore we ought and must constantly maintain this point, that God does not wish to deal with us otherwise than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. 11] It is the devil himself whatsoever is extolled as Spirit without the Word and Sacraments. For God wished to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken Word; and no prophet neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments [or spoken Word]. 12] Neither was John the Baptist conceived without the preceding word of Gabriel, nor did he leap in his mother's womb without the voice of Mary. 13] And Peter says, 2 Pet. 1, 21: The prophecy came not by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Without the outward Word, however, they were not holy, much less would the Holy Ghost have moved them to speak when they still were unholy [or profane]; for they were holy, says he, since the Holy Ghost spake through them.
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GJ - Several people have mentioned the close connection between the Crypto-Calvinists described in Bente (Concordia Triglotta, Historical Introductions) and the Church Growthers. I noticed Paul McCain, MDiv, trying to sell his CPH Concordia cheap. I did not see any reference to Bente's Introductions. James Heiser, MDiv, another graduate of The Surrendered Fort, expressed a loathing for Bente. Now Missouri has safely buried the work. To get one, someone needs to hover around used book sales or find a Triglotta.
I am glad these two Lutherans mentioned the Crypto-Calvinists and Church Growth, because I made the same point some time ago. I am pleased at how obvious this is to anyone who reads the history of the post-Luther era, a time few people study or know.
The post-Luther era gave us the Book of Concord, thanks to the unraveling of the Lutherans into many different factions. The Book of Concord united the factions by condemning false doctrine and teaching sound doctrine from the Scriptures. Both are necessary.
After Luther died, the Crypto-Calvinists took over completely and pretended they were the real Lutherans. They got the Elector to persecute the genuine Lutherans while advancing their pals who hated Luther's doctrine. The Cryptos were liars and sneaks. They plotted their moves. One of their letters got into the hands of the Elector by mistake. He had the power to search the dwellings of the Cryptos. Plenty of evidence showed up. The tables were turned.
The same movement has taken place in all the Lutheran synods, big and small, from the lavender ELCA to the incestuous CLC (sic). In every case, the Crypto-Calvinist Church Growthers have claimed to be Lutheran, protested their methods were neutral, and actively persecuted the genuine Lutherans.
They quietly placed their buddies in positions of power. The turtles are not decorating the fenceposts by accident. Some details:
- All the world mission leaders became CG.
- All the American mission leaders became CG.
- Evangelism was defined purely from CG books, especially the Crypto-Calvinist Hunter, Werning, and Valleskey books.
- Significant bureaucratic positions were handed to Cryptos.
- The seminaries--all of them--taught CG. Kincaid Smith got his DMin in Church Growth while Robert Preus was president of The Surrendered Fort.
- The district popes were patiently taught that CG was good, Lutheran, and necessary because "We are wetting our pants in terror over our future loss of membership and money! Don't let critics get in the way! Mow them down!"
- The periodicals and conferences were given over to promoting CG.
- People like Valleskey became seminary president by promoting CG while denying it. No one got anywhere criticizing CG.
- The CG people all promoted each other's writing, defended each other's honor, and rose in a chorus of Anathema Sit anyone who dissented from their Gospel-drenched and Spirit-anointed mission.
The get-along go-along Boomers are the worst advocates of this slimy campaign. The Love Shack in WELS is full of Church Growthers. Ditto the Purple Palace, because Al Barry and Paul McCain did nothing against Crypto-Calvinism. The Little Shack on the Prairie (ELS) has also sheltered and promoted CG. I found out (no suprise) that Norm Berg, the Fuller-trained WELS guy, knew Mac Minnick the Fuller-trained ELCA missions leader. How did they know each other so well? How could they spout the same inanities so fluently? They studied at the same school in Pasadena, the Great Sewer of Protestantism today.
Here is one little anecdote from WELS days, so illustrative of they way these things work. I was invited to give a paper to another conference, in Michigan proper. I was in Ohio at the time. I think it was the Northern Conference. Frosty Bivens was still in Saginaw. John Seifert was still a lowly parish pastor. Slick Brenner was retired but still active in all discussions. District Pope Mueller, guardian of the Cryptos, was present.
I mentioned in the paper that Paul Kelm endorsed a pan-Lutheran program being led by Kent Hunter (DMin, Fuller). Kelm was at the Love Shack at the time.
The first question was, "Do you have proof?" I quoted Kelm and cited the pamphlet sent to me. Doubtless everyone had the same pamphlet. I was prepared, carrying the the thing in my briefcase.
I passed the ipsissima verba of Kelm around.
Next question, "How do you know Kelm really said this, that he meant to endorse this? It could have been an accident?"
Bivens, who lated confessed and denied that he studied at Fuller, rose to speak: "I want to defend the good name of Paul Kelm." In other words, he was accusing me of slandering Kelm.
A hub-bub followed, more about me daring to quote Kelm verbatim than what Kelm actually wrote. Slick Brenner loudly mentioned that every time Kelm got into a mess like this, "It was an accident." Church Growthers really hated Brenner, who said what he meant instead of trying to be a chameleon.
Later, I spoke with Kent Hunter on the phone. He said he requested the endorsement from Kelm and got it. Even later, James Huebner (now a mucky-muck, another turtle on the fencepost) admitted that he, Kelm, and Olson (DMin, Fuller) were all trained at Fuller to be WELS Church Consultants.
Kelm earned his DMin at Concordia, St. Louis - in Church Growth.
Fellow Boomers - you let the Cryptos take over your synod. You stood around and dithered, cracked a few jokes during the coffee break, and ran for cover whenever a serious topic came up. Let's face it. Your methods worked well for you. You got to pose as Confessional Lutherans while suffering no harm and moving up the ladder.
You Boomers must accept a lot of the blame for the laity and clergy seeking shelter in the Church of Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy. They find no arguments against women usurping authority and teaching men in their own synods. They hear no statements against the absurd worship practices and false doctrine of the Cryptos. They are tired of the verbal abuse and shunning that comes from bringing up serious topics.
The answer is Lutheran doctrine. If someone heads for Chicago from Columbus and takes I-75 South, somewhere he is going to have to say:
1. I am headed the wrong way.
2. I need to read a map and find the right directions.
The Word of God is the map. The Book of Concord is the finest commentary, the best and clearest exposition of the Scriptures. The Book of Concord is even better than Your Church Can Grow! yy C. Peter Wagner, one of many books of false doctrine endorsed by Sausage Factory president Valleskey, who did/did not study at Fuller.
