Bailing Water on Janke Exit

From Bailing Water

Sunday, March 2, 2008
Progress

I have just learned that Paul Janke, DP of the AZ/CA district, is stepping down. This is a huge step forward for the confessionals in the WELS. Janke spent most of his time using his position to oust men that didn't fit his WELS model. He would either get them to resign (change the reason to cause - so they can't get back in) or suspend them.

Hopefully, the Lord will raise up a person who can gain control of Apostle's and Crosswalk and the district.

***

GJ - I have learned via carrier pigeon that Bailing Water has been busy, not silenced or neutered.

Apostle's - Is that the congregation where Valleskey was the Church Growth pastor, where he bragged about attending Fuller in the bulletin?

Why Did Janke Resign?

Someone asked, "Why did Janke resign as District Pope, WELS?" Unfortunately, I am not on his email list. I can only guess.

He was famous for overlooking a clergy affair in a large congregation while forcing men out of the ministry without cause.

A pastor can be removed for failing to perform his duties, for doctrinal error, or for a scandalous life.

WELS DPs protect adulterous clergy (if they are buddies) and false teachers who agree with WELS false doctrine (generally the tacky, low-life side of Reformed doctrine, not classical Reformed doctrine, which is too deep for WELS). Performance of duties? All the District Popes should be removed for that since their primary role should be leadership in sound doctrine, not in promoting error.

WELS tries to use marketing figures for performance of duties. They confuse Coca-Cola sales with the true Church.

In all three categories (performance, doctrine, life) the pastor should be given due process. However, Janke, like his slavering co-workers, would do this: "You can volunteer to leave and we will give you three months salary. Or you can refuse and I will fire you on the spot with no salary or benefits." They call that leadership in WELS.

And when a reporter finds out a large WELS congregation has a pastor enjoying an affair with a staff member (female, to relieve your worries), the only WELS question is, "Who leaked?" In fact, I was asked that question! Sorry, WELSian pastors, I had nothing to do with the Milwaukee reporter pouncing on Gurgel.

In every WELS scandal there is a universal pounce. The pounce moves from person to person, parson to parson, until the leaker is found. Blessed is the man who turns in his friend, for he shall be rewarded when the final pounce lands on the evil one who told the truth about WELS. I got the pounce when it was revealed that I gave the Forbes article on Schwan to Christian News. I said, "It was public news." The answer was, "Not everyone reads Forbes."

I drew no conclusions about Marvin. I just mailed the article to CN. The ELS leaders were full of wrath.

Does that strike anyone as strange? I was bad for sending an article, read around the world, about the WELS guy bragging he got rid of his wife for a million bucks and a Caddy. His second wife had to divorce her husband to marry Marvin. She was Roman Catholic, but that is not considered unionism - if the gifts to WELS/ELS are big enough. She converted to WELS as long as Marvin lived. When he reached room temperature, she became Catholic again.

So people may guess that the final pounce landed on Janke. Or perhaps the pastors finally got sick enough of his Napoleon complex to place him on a quicksand foundation. I have learned from reading history that the most bloodthirsty leaders, with absolute authority, had to watch their public relations. When people got tired of them, when loathing grew greater than fear, the tyrants went from the penthouse to the outhouse in seconds.

Laymen Support Justification by Faith; Reject Justification without Faith

I wanted to post these statements from the confessions for those interested contending against the very critical false doctrine of Universal Objective Justification. This is only a small fraction of those statements dealing directly with Scriptural Justification by faith alone.

Apology of the AC, That faith in Christ Justifies, “But when it is said that faith justifies, some perhaps understand it of the beginning, namely, that faith is the beginning of justification or preparation for justification, so that not faith itself is that through which we are accepted by God, but the works which follow;…… but we maintain this, that properly and truly, by faith itself, we are for Christ's sake accounted righteous, or are acceptable to God.”

Apology of the AC, That we obtain the remission of sins by faith alone in Christ, “That is, sin terrifies consciences, this occurs through the Law, which shows the wrath of God against sin; but we gain the victory through Christ. How? By faith, when we comfort ourselves by confidence in the mercy promised for Christ's sake. Thus, therefore we prove the minor proposition. The wrath of God cannot be appeased if we set against it our own works, because Christ has been set forth as a Propitiator, so that, for His sake, the Father may become reconciled to us. But Christ is not apprehended as a Mediator except by faith. Therefore, by faith alone we obtain remission of sins when we comfort our hearts with confidence in the mercy promised for Christ's sake……Secondly. It is certain that sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ, as Propitiator, Rom. 3, 25: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation. Moreover, Paul adds: through faith. Therefore this Propitiator thus benefits us, when by faith we apprehend the mercy promised in Him, and set it against the wrath and judgment of God. And to the same effect it is written, Heb. 4, 14. 16: Seeing, then, that we have a great High Priest, etc., let us therefore come with confidence. For the Apostle bids us come to God, not with confidence in our own merits, but with confidence in Christ as a High Priest; therefore he requires faith…… But since we receive remission of sins and the Holy Ghost by faith alone, faith alone justifies, because those reconciled are accounted righteous and children of God, not on account of their own purity, but through mercy for Christ's sake, provided only they by faith apprehend this mercy. Accordingly, Scripture testifies that by faith we are accounted righteous, Rom. 3, 26. We, therefore, will add testimonies which clearly declare that faith is that very righteousness by which we are accounted righteous before God, namely, not because it is a work that is in itself worthy, but because it receives the promise by which God has promised that for Christ's sake He wishes to be propitious to those believing in Him, or because He knows that Christ of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, 1 Cor. 1, 30.

Smalcald Articles, 2nd Part, “4] Now, since it is necessary to believe this, and it cannot be otherwise acquired or apprehended by any work, law, or merit, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us as St. Paul says, Rom. 3, 28: For we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the Law. Likewise 3, 26: That He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Christ……,3rd Part, Of Repentance, “4] But to this office the New Testament immediately adds the consolatory promise of grace through the Gospel, which must be believed, as Christ declares, Mark 1, 15: Repent and believe the Gospel, i.e., become different and do otherwise, and believe My promise…………,3rd Part, How One is Justified before God, and of Good Works. , 1] What I have hitherto and constantly taught concerning this I know not how to change in the least, namely, that by faith, as St. Peter says, we acquire a new and clean heart, and God will and does account us entirely righteous and holy for the sake of Christ, our Mediator. And although sin in the flesh has not yet been altogether removed or become dead, yet He will not punish or remember it.

From the Epitome of the Formula of Concord, The Righteousness of Faith before God, “1] Since it is unanimously confessed in our churches, in accordance with God's Word and the sense of the Augsburg Confession, that we poor sinners are justified before God and saved alone by faith in Christ, and thus Christ alone is our Righteousness, 4] 2. Accordingly, we believe, teach, and confess that our righteousness before God is (this very thing], that God forgives us our sins out of pure grace, without any work, merit, or worthiness of ours preceding, present, or following, that He presents and imputes to us the righteousness of Christ's obedience, on account of which righteousness we are received into grace by God, and regarded as righteous. 5] 3. We believe, teach, and confess that faith alone is the means and instrument whereby we lay hold of Christ, and thus in Christ of that righteousness which avails before God, for whose sake this faith is imputed to us for righteousness, Rom. 4, 5. 7] 5. We believe, teach, and confess that according to the usage of Holy Scripture the word justify means in this article, to absolve, that is, to declare free from sins. Prov. 17, 15: He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous, even they both are abomination to the Lord. Also Rom. 8, 33: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

Web link to The Book Of Concord: http://www.bookofconcord.org/

By the grace of God, forever in Christ,
Brett Meyer

Laetare - Fourth Sunday in Lent

Glorious Poppy, by Norma Boeckler
Laetare – The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lord God, heavenly Father, who by Thy Son didst feed five thousand men in the desert with five loaves and two fishes: We beseech Thee to abide graciously also with us in the fullness of Thy blessing. Preserve us from avarice and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things perceive Thy fatherly goodness, through Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God world without end. Amen.

KJV Galatians 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

KJV John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

The Lutheran Hymnal:
331 – Yea, As I live, Jehovah saith (tune: Old Hundreth)
312 – Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Living Bread
314 – Lord Jesus Christ we humbly pray
288 – Lord help us ever to retain


MIRACLES OF ABUNDANCE

This is a miracle of Jesus that transcends any possible explanation, and the abundance shown in the miracle of feeding indicates how God gives us far more than we could ever think or imagine.

First of all, when we consider this passage, it is good to realize that we have so many witnesses to it. Liberals always pretend to be shocked when a clearly taught doctrine can only be found in two Gospels. They point to the supposed silence of John and Paul about the Virgin Birth and even say, in their arrogant way, “I believe what John and Paul believe about the Virgin Birth. And they do not say a thing!” John’s Gospel begins with Jesus as the Word of God in the flesh, creating all things. Paul is silent? I know of many liberals who complain that the apostle took an ordinary teacher and turned Him into God. Paul does not have a birth narrative, but he was not addressing those issues. Notice how Romans begins.

KJV Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

That sounds like the Two Natures of Christ to me: the seed of David according to the flesh, declared the Son of God according to the spirit of holiness. The Virgin Birth is another way of expressing the truth of the Two Natures, a true man, born of woman, yet True God, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

I am mentioning the Virgin Birth because scoffers claim only two witnesses. But the miracle of feeding has four witnesses: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But this does not satisfy skeptics, either. This is worth mentioning, because younger people need to be inoculated against the rationalistic assumptions they will hear when they grow up. They take the abundance of the Gospel for granted when they have an orthodox congregation at home and then later attend the university chapel or campus ministry program at a state school. All of the sudden they hear a nice friendly minister, a cool guy, say all kinds of things that are brand new.

The context of this story is the need to take care of a vast multitude of people. To set up the disciples, Jesus asked them about buying food. There is some humor in this. It would be like a presidential candidate addressing a stadium full of people and then saying, “How are we going to buy them lunch?” Philip answered that a large amount of bread would not be enough to feed everyone. But Jesus already knew what He was going to do.

First we have to ask ourselves: Did the crowd ask to be fed? No, they did not. They could not even imagine being fed by that one Man teaching them. Did they plan or pray or set goals? Not at all. They loved to hear Jesus so much that they stranded themselves, such a large horde that no one could begin to take care of the mass of hungry people.

Therefore, we can see that this miracle shows us how God has already decided to take care of us before we even know what our needs will be. When we get anxious about our needs, we should remember this. The Holy Scriptures contain this passage so we remember the abundance provided by God and planned before we can ask for it.

In the explanation of the Lord’s Prayer, Luther emphasizes this in many different ways. Our prayer does not gain or earn us daily bread, but we pray for those needs so that God will help us be thankful for them: food, clothing, good government, good neighbors, a pious spouse, and so forth. Take away one of those and we are in a crisis. God provides everything each day and we seldom stop to think about it or express our thanks to Him.

In this particular miracle, people first hungered for the Word of God. Then they were starting to realize their need for food. But they only had a little. Andrew said, “There is a boy here with a little food.” Then Andrew spoke for all the pessimists who inhabit the visible church, who judge everything according to their senses and human reason. Andrew should have said, “You are the Incarnate Word, Who created the universe, you can do anything with these fragments of food.” Instead, Andrew said, “What are they for so many people?”

The spirit of Andrew is alive and well among many Lutherans today. They say - What do we amount to among so many? How can we do anything with so little money? Even if we had a lot, it would not be enough. God can do anything, and He chooses to do the most with a little, with the weakest, to reveal His overwhelming power and the abundance of His grace, love, comfort, and forgiveness.

KJV 2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The first area of abundance we should consider is the miracle of God’s forgiveness through the cross. One ancient government (Greek or Roman) had a mountain with so much silver in it that they called it the Silver Fountain. That one mountain supported their economy for many years. The more they dug, the more silver they took from that one place. The cross of Christ is like that mountain, but far greater. Where do we go for forgiveness? We go to the cross, knowing that Jesus has already paid for our sins.

I was reading some of Luther’s comments on justification. In one comment he said that Jesus was perfect and without sin, yet He obeyed the Law perfectly. That is why we speak about the righteousness of Christ as an alien righteousness. It is outside of us. Jesus was perfect and actively obeyed the Law, fulfilling the Law even though He was beyond the Law. So we receive this righteousness, this unending treasure, through faith in Christ.

This unending supply of forgiveness is taken for granted in many different ways. Most people ignore it and make fun it, including the vast majority of leaders in the mainline denominations. All those who love the Church Growth Movement also deny the cross by being silent and ignoring the issues of sin and forgiveness.

"The building is modern, but features no crucifix or other religious symbols that might alienate newcomers." WELS Evangelism Workshop IV, LOCATING THE LOST, Tom Valeo, "Market Wise Pastor Strikes Deep Chords with Soft-Sell Pitch," Crain's Chicago Business, January 16, 1989 p. C-2. WELS and LCMS leaders pay their pastors to study at Willow Creek.

"'I hate God,' the woman screamed, 'Who have I been praying to?' Or the sketches can be comical...Only after 30 minutes of such entertainment does Mr. Hybels appear, prepared to deliver an upbeat sermon that, he says, has 'high user value.'" WELS Evangelism Workshop, p. C-3.

We can also take the atoning death of Christ for granted because of the abundance of forgiveness. Yes, we know about the abundance, but then we have so many ways of hearing about the Gospel that our thankfulness diminishes. We care about food when we are hungry. We are thankful for food when we are starving and there is no food in sight. Once we were driving late at night between Saginaw and Columbus. We knew that we would be lucky to eat at our favorite restaurant or anywhere. We got to the Chinese restaurant just before it closed. We were happy to take anything in a cardboard tub. We could not eat inside. We had to eat in the cold car. We opened the tub of steaming hot food and shared a tiny plastic fork. It was the best Chinese meal we ever ate. And we were so happy to get it. I can still see the steam rising from the rice in that freezing Aerostar van.

We love the Gospel when we experience our sinfulness and our lack of faith. That is one of the striking aspects of Luther’s sermons. He does not rail about carnal sins but describes our lack of faith in God’s Word. He also shows how lack of faith in the Word leads to the sins against the Second Table (the last 7 commandments). Luther’s Law passages are so vivid that the Gospel is even more comforting than anyone could imagine. That is why we read Luther’s sermons 470 years later and his alone. Those he influenced are also good to read. Today people still read Gerhard, Reu, Walther, and Lenski.

Jesus took care of the spiritual needs of the multitude and then He fed them with an abundance of food. In the same way God provides for our forgiveness through the Means of Grace and also takes care of us. We are heading into the greatest era of prosperity the world has known. In my opinion, it will continue for some time because all the rules are changing. The danger is that the overflowing of God’s blessings will make people less grateful rather than more thankful. We can have different reactions to the same miracle of abundance, as the people did in the time of Jesus. Some asked for another miracle. Some walked away when Jesus explained how He was the bread of life.

When God blesses us with an abundance of forgiveness and material blessings, we have plenty for ourselves and to share as well. The more we experience forgiveness, the more we will be forgiving toward others. The more we are thankful for God’s blessings, the more we will enjoy sharing them. When Jesus was done feeding the multitude, they had more left over than when they started. That is how God works through the Gospel.

Arizona California DP Descends from Throne

I have decided not to stand for re-election at this summer's Arizona-California District convention. It has been a privilege to serve as district president and to work with you in this role. After months of thought, prayer, and consulting with others, I am convinced that after ten years as district president, I need to turn my full attention to the place where my heart is: parish ministry. I told Pres. Schroeder of my decision at the Synodical Council meeting today and have also informed my brothers on the COP. I ask you to share this information with the men in your circuits. May God be with you as you care for the people of your congregations and your circuits!

In Christ,

Paul

Pastor Paul Janke
St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church
3461 Merle Avenue
Modesto, CA 95355
(209) 551-0563

Lazareth Dead

William Lazareth died. He came from the ULCA side of the LCA. I remember him being the court theologian of the LCA. He taught at the Philadelphia seminary. Philadelphia also hosted the Queen Lane buildings for publishing, so any LCA pastor within that area had a fair chance of being prominent. Lutherans were so dense in Pennsylvania that congregations of 500 were considered smallish.

Lazareth and his associates were among the last in the LCA who could be considered pro-life.

He is now being hailed as making great contributions to theology. He was probably eclipsed completely in the new ELCA 20 years ago.

The most likely ELCA response is, "I didn't know he was still alive."

God punishes old liberals by making them see how their radical spawn reject them, repeating in a downward spiral the same conditions mourned by previous generations. I hope Lazareth had plenty of time in semi-retirement to weep and say, "Those radicals are ruining the church."

The only one who might have missed you in ELCA, Bill, now holds you firmly in his cloven hoofs.

WELS Layman Spots UOJ/CGM by Koelpin

Dog Notes

The words "the world" is high lighted. CGM

The important item is missed "that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Justification by Faith


------------------------------------------------

Rev. Dan Koelpin, Administrator

WELS Board for World Missions

2929 N Mayfair Road

Milwaukee, WI 53222

Phone: (414) 256-3233

E-mail: Dan.Koelpin@sab.wels.net



"God so loved the world that he gave his gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

***

GJ - The Wisconsin sect never tires of contradicting itself. The emphasis implied in bolding "the world" is difficult to parse. The Little Gospel is hardly a UOJ passage. But of course, there are no UOJ passages in the Bible or the Book of Concord, only here and there after the 19th century and in the yellowed dog notes of J. P. Meyer, Decision Theologian of the Sausage Factory.

Pietism 101

Spener, Thou Hast Conquered

A reader asked, "What is Pietism?"

Officially, Pietism began with Jacob Spener (1635-1705) when he published "Pious Wishes" as an introduction to an orthodox Lutheran book. Pious Wishes became a separate book and a movement, centered in Halle (where Muhlenberg came from). Muhlenberg began the General Synod, Pietistic and Unionistic from the beginning.

Several key components of Pietism are:

1. Accommodation with the Reformed, including compromise about the efficacy of the Word, baptismal regeneration, and the Real Presence in Holy Communion.
   
2. An emphasis on lay-led cell groups or conventicles - the real church. The Sunday worshiping and sacramental church is a corrupt shell for the pure, the noble, the far superior cell groups. New terms are prayer, share, care, koine, home Bible study, and affinity groups. WELS Prayer Institute, etc.
   
3. Cooperative (unionistic) missionary activity, often through separate para-church groups.
   
4. Opposition to Lutheran orthodoxy by teaching love as superior to pure doctrine, works as superior to justification by faith.
   
5. Eleemosynary activity in the form of hospitals, orphanages, old age homes, soldier and sailor missions.

Prayer as the means of grace.

A code of conduct, such as not drinking alcohol (even communion wine), not smoking, not watching any form of theatre, not playing cards. The German Pietists never gave up alcoholic beverages. The Swedes were very eager to promote the Temperance Movement.

The Reformed, unionistic tendency of Lutheran Pietism always wins out. The next stage after Pietism is Universalism - a doctrine dear to the hearts of UOJ fanatics. In the Wisconsin sect and the Little Sect on the Prairie, everyone is saved, everyone is forgiven.

WELS, Missouri, the ELS, and ELCA all had Pietistic roots. That is why all four groups have found the Church Growth Movement so harmonious. No one has been scandalized by CGM in Holy Mother Synod. Everyone who openly embraced CGM is promoted and extolled as wise man or woman, no matter how many scandals, arrests, and lawsuits follow.

We could argue that the liberal tendency in each synod is really a Pietistic urge, a deeply felt desire to return home to unionism, salvation by works, and rejection of the Means of Grace.

Readers, the Pietists have won.

Use a Name with Your Comments

Cat, Looking for Mouse

Bailing Water seems to have sunk with the notion of registering. If I were WELS, I would say, "No I am not turning my ID over to the WELS KGB." In fact, I believe that was the plan, to end any discussions even hinting that WELS is less than perfect, heaven on earth, a synod so glorious that eternal bliss will seem to be a bit disappointing in comparison.

I did like one idea from BW. That is - adopt a name for your anonymous posts and stick with that name. I can tell a friendly Anonymous from the ever-wrathful and petty Rev. Mouse, but a host of readers may become confused. What happened to Anonymouse? Why is he so intelligent and friendly today? Did the prunes start working? Did they switch therapies? Did he reconcile with his Life Partner?

I am not going to register people.

Participants are welcome to use their real names, but are not compelled.

All comments come to me first as email. I have had background information sent to me but not posted. Some send email that I do not post, quote, or discuss. As I have told many, "I don't burn sources. That is why I have so many."

I have to save some for later commentary. Some days are too busy for writing.

Stanley Hauerwas, Yale Alumnus

Yale Divinity School and Stan Hauerwas

Dateline: Rock Island, Illinois. Augustana College, 1967.

I obtained a coveted job at the Denckman Memorial Library. The Denckman family was related to the Weyerhause clan, who began in the Quad-Cities, and built a fortune in lumber. Later a Weyerhaus funded the apostate trend at Fuller Seminary.

I was moving books from the old stacks to the newly expanded section. Standing nearby was a skinny new graduate of Yale's doctoral program and my future editor for my dissertation/book, published by the Augustana Historical Society. I used to move those books in and out of the storeroom. One Augustana College president (Andreen) had been a famous professor at Yale, but he left that sinecure to run a nearly bankrupt school no one knew existed.

Stan Hauerwas was the new hire from Yale. He lasted one year. He was not an Augustana graduate and suffered from being different from the rest. Non-Augie almost guaranteed not fitting in. That is why a parochial school system yields parochial graduates with a long list of unwritten rules for conformity. Nobody knows who wrote the rules, but every insider knows the rules.

Stan took a job at Notre Dame at a considerable decrease in income. My sister-in-law babysat his son while she was earning a master's at Notre Dame, so the Hauerwas name was often mentioned. I met with him when I considered attending Notre Dame since he was the only person I knew by name.

Notre Dame accepted me and I enjoyed taking an ethics course from Hauerwas. He was famous for his Texan descriptions of life in general, so colorful that I cannot print them. He repeatedly said in class, looking at me, "Lutherans are not good at sanctification." I waited for him to repeat his witticism and added, "Or sanctimony."

Hauerwas became famous for the extent and volume of his publications. They began as essays and ended as collections of essays. Notre Dame loved professors who published, but he was the star of them all. I followed his example and Bainton's in publishing. Trying to write about a subject means learning far more about it than will ever reach print. I found that a tiny publication had a huge audience compared to a congregation. I made money from writing while studying at Notre Dame, serving also as an agent for my program supervisor.

Notre Dame was ordered to get rid of the non-Catholics in the theology department, so Hauerwas left, even though he had tenure. Robert Wilken and the Schussler-Fiorenza couple left too. (All were pushed out.) Wilken went to Duke and became Roman Catholic. Hauerwas went to Duke and became world famous. The Schussler-Fiorenza theology team both obtained endowed professorships at Harvard Divinity. They were Roman Catholic, but Frank was a liberation theologian, a category hated by Pope John Paul II, loved by Harvard Lefties.

Hauerwas is one of the most famous theologians in the world. I imagine most academic bookstores would have his latest books on display. He has been mentioned in Time.

Hauerwas was raised United Methodist but now attends the Episcopal Church. He was a pacifist long before that was popular. He once mentioned abortion to me. I did not want to find out he was pro-abortion. In fact, he was pro-life when no one else seemed to be.

William F. Buckley Died Today

William F. Buckley, Jr. below,
The Harkness Bell Tower above

William F. Buckley, Jr. died today at the age of 82. Born in 1925, he invented the conservative movement in America.

After he graduated with honors from Yale University, Buckley made himself famous with God and Man at Yale. Yale was born conservative, as Roland Bainton, wrote, but the Left worked its way into the faculty and board. George H. W. Bush was on the Yale Board. Both men were members of Skull and Bones, the secret society and birthplace for many a CIA agent.

The faculty did not like Buckley's book, so they challenged him to debates. He won the debates and the invitations stopped.

I was disappointed that his magazine, National Review, caved on important issues. Buckley was yet another celebrity who promoted marijuana. Nevertheless, Buckley's circle became the center for conservative thought in America and did much to help Reagan become president.

Buckley was the commencement speaker when I finished the MA at Notre Dame, 30 years ago. I skipped three graduations in a row, including that one. PM Trudeau spoke at the doctoral commencement. He spoke past us to the world at large, but no one was listening to him.

Lutherans Should Follow Suit

Pope John the Malefactor (l.), Ukrainian Bishop, SP Schroeder (r.)

Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison Faces 155 Charges in Civil Court Action

News Analysis

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
2/26/2008

PHILADELPHIA - When the inhibited Bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison, goes to court in May in Philadelphia, he will face 155 charges which were brought against him by Fr. David L. Moyer. Bennison, and those who assisted him, will be confronted by hard questions that he can no longer hide from or spin. A jury of his peers will then determine his guilt or innocence.

The vacuous smile that plays so easily on Charles Bennison's face will vanish in the harsh light of a courtroom drama that will play out his ecclesiastical life. The outcome could see the revisionist bishop forced to pay millions of dollars for behavior so egregious, that only his present inhibition by the church's Presiding Bishop for failing to stop his brother (a former priest), from engaging in sex with a minor, can top it.

The days of playing blind, deaf and dumb for Charles Bennison are over. In addition, Bennison faces a second charge, brought by the Diocesan Standing Committee, for his financial oversight of the diocese that saw millions of dollars squandered on property for youth in the State of Maryland. As a bishop, his days are seemingly numbered.

If he is found guilty, the fantasy that has been Bennison's life as a bishop of America's premier Protestant denomination will come to a grinding halt, his status reduced in church and society. His life will be subject to public scorn and ridicule as a sociopath incapable of feeling either guilt or shame for the sins he has committed.

Among the charges he faces are fraud, collusion, concealment, bad faith, denial of a church trial for Fr. Moyer despite protests by the Anglo-Catholic priest, his congregation, numerous bishops throughout the U.S., Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Archbishops from the Anglican Communion, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Anglican Communion. Bennison was personally rebuffed by four overseas Archbishops when they visited Philadelphia. Bennison's detractors read like a Who's
Who of global Anglicanism.

Even as Bennison sought to deprive Moyer of his chosen profession, he joked about it and had his picture taken while signing the "Sentence of Deposition" against the priest. In addition, others who assisted Bennison also told jokes about Fr. Moyer as the persecution of the orthodox priest continued.

When all attempts to get the bishop to back down and rescind the inhibition were exhausted, Moyer fired back with a lawsuit in April 2002, charging the bishop with "wrongful acts", fraud and bad faith.

Undaunted, Bennison "deposed" Moyer from the ministry in Sept. 2002, and told the priest he was terminated as rector of Church of the Good Shepherd on Philadelphia's historic main line.

Then Moyer turned the tables on Bennison suing him for extreme physical and emotional distress.

Bennison's outrageous behavior knew no boundaries. He reneged on promises he made during his campaign, when he ran for Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, that he would allow other bishops to preside at services at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

The promises made to the "seven sisters", a group of orthodox Anglo-Catholic parishes, that they could have a flying bishop in place of the more liberal diocesan bishop was abruptly terminated by Bennison.

(The irony here should not be missed. Bishop Allen Bartlett, who gave the priests the right to have a flying bishop, has now returned as the bishop pro tempore in place of the inhibited Bennison).

There was also a spiteful edge to Bennison. He pushed himself on Moyer's parish, demanding he be allowed to preside at services while at the same time admitting he could not affirm some of the most basic doctrines of
the Christian Faith.

Bennison was apparently motivated by personal animus towards Moyer. He began a fraudulent and collusive scheme to remove Moyer by deposing him from the priesthood. When challenged, Bennison said "this is between David and me."

Bennison's refusal to give Moyer a public trial for his "crimes" arose from the fact that he could not control the outcome and also because he would have to testify. Moreover, he believed the outcome would be unfavorable to him.

It was the essence of Bennison's plan that he "convict" and

"sentence" Moyer without a church or civil trial. As detailed in the document filed by Father Moyer's attorneys, Bennison was assisted in his scheme by others. That assistance, according to the document, included providing
false testimony and affidavits, concealing information from Fr. Moyer, and destroying important evidence.

Bennison began to look elsewhere for an alternative route to get rid of Moyer. He used Canon IV.10 ("Canon 10") "Abandonment of the Communion of the Church by a Priest" - a canon used only for priests who have left The Episcopal Church for another denomination - to try and rid himself of

Moyer's presence in the diocese. That, too, failed to oust Moyer from his parish, even though six months later Moyer was automatically "deposed". Bennison admitted that the use of Canon 10 was "novel."

To cover his tracks, Bennison set about using others, a website, and a public and media relations campaign to besmirch Moyer using diocesan funds and staff resources to focus on Moyer even as the diocese got more heavily into debt.

By using Canon 10 and quietly deposing Moyer, Bennison had hoped to divert attention away from his fund–raising efforts to keep the diocese afloat and to pay for programs that had little chance of succeeding. That, too, failed. Bennison failed to raise the necessary millions he
needed to run the diocese.

Ironically, some of Bennison's biggest supporters on the Standing Committee began to turn on him, with three of them saying they had been manipulated by Bennison and that the Standing Committee should seek independent legal counsel.

Now Bennison faces his day in the court of public opinion. He will no longer be able to hide behind the robes of his office or his own self-righteousness. He has been inhibited by his own church leaders for his brother's sexual abuse of a minor - his days as a bishop seemingly over.

It will be an ignominious end for an unbelieving, pathological bishop whose beliefs and actions stand to bring him down. He deserves it.

For the full statement of the evidence against Bennison and those who assisted him as filed in the court records click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/content/second_amended_pretrial_statement_.pdf

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GJ - A note for the language-impaired: the headline is a play on words. I want to save several people from posting outraged, misspelled comments.

Someone did not read my note and posted another misfired. We all know him as Rev. Mouse, always anonymous, always nasty.

The point of my headline is - "Lutherans should follow this lawsuit, because it is an important break in Episcopal tradition."

Church officials are above the law in most jurisdictions. They destroy church finances and ruin lives without fear. The system gives them the benefit of the doubt. When a Catholic bishop in Phoenix ran down an Indian carpenter, killing the bloke, he skipped and pretended he did not know about the accident. He got off with community service. Two radio hosts gushed, "Why his whole life has been one of service." The same bishop transferred gay predator priersts into Mexican parishes and...lied about it.

Civil suits are a good remedy when the criminal justice system fails. It worked for OJ and may work for Natalie Holloway. The low state of the Episcopal denomination is proven by the need for a civil suit.

Conservative Lutherans still want to know: Where did all the Schwan loot go?

Snakes Making Hiss-story: Church and Change

KJV Acts 28:1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. 5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. 6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

I decided to revert to the normal way of spelling Church and Change, see below.

I forgot the favorite WELS defense of false teachers: "He is not a false teacher. He is a nice guy." The most dangerous vipers are not the menacing ones but the ones with the winsome personalities, like Saruman, soft and soothing. Of course, they strike when one's back is turned, but very few realize that.

One pastor asked questions in the typical, inoffensive WELS way. Actual confrontation is not allowed since it suggests fallibility. The result of asking a few questions was the threat that he would be forced out of his call. Soon he was a nervous wreck because he could not land another job.

The genius of Church and Change is this: WELS offering money funded a group so blatant that they had to cancel a conference. WELS has telescopic orthodoxy, spotting error thousands of miles away but never in its own midst. The cancellation proved how horrid Church and Change is. Church and Change was not even next door - the last conference was booked off the WELS.net website.

All that happened after connected people assured me that C and C was deader than Hillary's best friends and her worst enemies.

How does C and C work? They have their UPS drivers and coveted list of WELS jugglers (Gurgel?), but the real work is guiding people back to WELS Pentecostal Services (aka WELS Parish Services).

If someone objects to C and C, he is told, "They are separate." But lo, C and C is the conjoined twin of Pentecostal Services, implying a royal blessing from the next SP, Wayne Mueller. Questioning C and C is tantamount to dissing Wayne, who always has the last word. Always. He is the only church officer known to be voted out of office and return, Lazarus-like, to reign again.

A cursory glance at the Church and Change website shows that they are apostates who loathe Lutheran doctrine.

The next time someone mentions pure doctrine or orthodoxy in the Wisconsin sect, try to suppress a wry smile.

Is Mueller's Influence on the Wane? Chruch and change "Not Vipers"

You must remember this,
A kiss is just a kiss,
A hiss is just a hiss,
The fundamental things apply,
As time goes by.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Typical WELS/ELS Reaction":

Gergory (sic) Jackson,

Wayne Mueller has remained in his current postion (sic). There is however a new WELS church president.

I know the men and women who lead Chruch (sic) and change (sic), and am confiedent (sic) that they are not "vipers".

I pray for you and your family.

***

GJ - I love how patronizing WELS people are. If only they could spell...and learn when to capitalize.

More about vipers later.

***

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Is Mueller's Influence on the Wane? Chruch and ch...":

So it is business as usual for Wayne Mueller. He can still operate in the stealth mode and pull puppet strings. It's a small world after all, in the WELS. It is not what you know, but who you know. "I drank beer with him", "He is married to my wife's third cousin" or "I knew him when he was just a principal, now he is a synod Tetzel". The Chruch and change folks are not vipers, they are a brood of vipers.

Lutheran Notes NIV Embrace of UOJ

This Reformer was once influential
in the Lutheran Church.

Lutheran Notes:

NIV easier to misconstrue as teaching UOJ than KJV in Romans 5

If one reads Roman 5:18 in the NIV, it could be easily misconstrued to support UOJ (Universal Objective Justification). However, the KJV is not so easily misconstrued as teaching UOJ:

KJV Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

NIV Romans 5:18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.

In a previous post I commented on how common German translations of 2 Co 5:18-21 could easily be misconstrued as teaching UOJ. This might explain why UOJ took hold, and has staying power, in certain German American synods (LCMS, WELS, ELS, CLC*), but not anywhere else that I know of. Specifically, German speaking immigrants saw UOJ in German translations of 2Co 5:18-21. Later, by the time UOJ came under serious question in the 1970s and thereafter, the NIV New Testament, which first came out in 1973, had a translation of Rom 5:18 that could be easily misconstrued as teaching UOJ.

*Concordia Lutheran Conference, not to be confused with the Church of the Lutheran Confessions.

***
GJ - The Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) is ambiguous about UOJ, but the Concordia papists are demented about it. Does anyone know where Concordia's portable seminary is now?

The Feminist Living NIV is a joke of a translation.

Generations of in-bred Lutherans have not improved on the KJV or The Lutheran Hymnal.

J. P. Meyer Still Admired on the Holy Hill

From Thy Strong Word, the J numbers help people find the quotations in the chapter.
J-586

I. "Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner's attitude toward Christ's sacrifice, purely on the basis of God's verdict, every sinner, whether he knows about it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of a saint. What will be his reaction when he is informed about this turn of events? Will he accept, or will he decline?"
J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 103f. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

II. "Before Christ's intervention took place God regarded him as a guilt-laden, condemned culprit. After Christ's intervention and through Christ's intervention He regards him as a guilt-free saint."
J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 107. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

III. "This applies to the whole world, to every individual sinner, whether he was living in the days of Christ, or had died centuries before His coming, or had not yet been born, perhaps has not been born to this day. It applies to the world as such, regardless of whether a particular sinner ever comes to faith or not."
J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 109. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

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Brian P Westgate has left a new comment on your post "Universal Objective Justification Primer":

Believe it or not, I never read "Ministers of Christ."
Could you perhaps put up a section some time where he mixes in decision theology? Dr. Meyer is still revered on the "holy hill".

***

GJ - I put his Baptist statement in bold print above. No Baptist would accept this wacky parody of justification, but the old Synodical Conference gradually made it their Rosetta Stone.

Three of the four Kokomo Statements are directly from Meyer. The fourth is from the Norwegian/Augustana conflict in the 19th century.

UOJ is a clear case of false doctrine growing. The hyperbole of Walther's Easter Absolution sermon has morphed into the Little Sect on the Prairie agreeing with Wisconsin - everyone is saved. That is the ELS position and the foundation for the last failed Wisconsin evangelism program.

Sig Becker is now considered the Fifth Evangelist at the Sausage Factory in Mequon. His lectures are podcast to the innocent. Those who despise Becker's opinion on Receptionism (he loved it) should consider his position on UOJ (huge fan, huge). Both errors require a denial of the efficacy of the Word.

Lutherans Confess This

284 All this has been said regarding secret sins. But where the sin is quite public so that the judge and everybody know it, you can without any sin avoid him and let him go, because he has brought himself into disgrace, and you may also publicly testify concerning him. For when a matter is public in the light of day, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying; as, when we now reprove the Pope with his doctrine, which is publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. For where the sin is public, the reproof also must be public, that every one may learn to guard against it.
The Book of Concord, The Large Catechism, The Eighth Commandment

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GJ - This must be the least known section of the least used book in the Lutheran Church, for everyone acts as if Luther never wrote it, the Concordists never approved it, and Lutherans never subscribed to it.

This Luther paragraph covers two areas.

First, where a judge has ruled, it is not slander to say (for instance) that Al Just murdered his wife (WELS, Arizona) or Scott Zerbe (WELS, Michigan) had an affair with a minor girl in the congregation where he vicared, or DP Ed Werner (Dakota Montana, WELS) molested a host of girls in his own congregation. All three men went to state prison for their crimes. WELS never admitted to the crimes.

Second, when false doctrine is public, it is not slander to say someone is a false teacher. False doctrine is almost always public because servants of their Father Below cannot keep quiet. They solemnly intone about a wide range of topics, always in the wrong, always eager to silence anyone who contradicts their prattle.

The Eighth Commandment is falsely applied by false teachers in two ways. The most dangerous way is their constant excusing of toxic doctrine:

1. This is a g-r-e-y area of Scripture.
   
2. It c-a-n be understood correctly.
   
3. He was in my class. I drank a lot of beer with him. (This is the strongest defense in WELS.)

A murderer destroys himself and ends one person's life. A false teacher murders the souls of many. The corruption of WELS in the carnal sin department is simply testimony to their foundation of false doctrine, which is far more serious and almost beyond remedy.

Synodical Minders have no problem with gossiping about people they consider their enemies. They do not even stop with the main target, but move on to menace and abuse the family members as well. Friends are afraid to be seen with the official pariah because they know they will be tainted as well. Since every synod considers itself the One True Church, no one wants to be on the outside looking in, frozen out by former friends and current relatives. When Joel Gerlach left the WELS temporarily (as recorded in official minutes) his father-in-law threatened to disown him. He came back to the fold - the wolf-pack of Fullerites.

A favorite ELS taunt is "Teigenite," which is used to threaten someone. "Are you a Teigenite?" Being a Teigenite means losing out on synodical perks and trips, perhaps feeling the Left Foot of Fellowship administered with papal firmness.

All the synods would benefit from wide open discussion of doctrine. That would clarify a host of problems steadily getting worse. Instead, there is a universal fear of dealing with anything beyond governance.

Are voters the answer (Cascione) or do we need a bevy of bishops to bless our benedictions (ELDONA)? Yes, hordes of Lutherans traveled to Minnesota in the winter to solve that dilemma. OK, a few trekked there.

The Word of God must be applied to all examples of false doctrine. The response may be Satanic rage and threats or seductive flattery. If we believe the Word is effective, we will use the double-bladed sword of Hebrews 4. The other matters will take care of themselves.