can be found here.
ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Gerhardt's Hymns - Yale Publication, 1918
can be found here.
Happy Thanksgiving
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Pietism Narrative - The Basics -
Save This Link
Philipp Jakob Spener started Pietism with his Pia Desideria (Pious Wishes) in 1675. He wrote a long essay as an introduction to a popular orthodox book of sermons by Johann Arndt, so Arndt's book served inadvertently as a launching pad for Pietism. Spener had already started conventicles or cell groups in 1669. (Pia Desideria, ed. Tappert, p. 13)
Some hallmarks of Pietism are:
- A heart religion instead of a head religion. Pietists often mention that false distinction.
- Lay-led conventicles or cell groups, to develop piety through prayer and Bible study.
- Unionism - cooperation between Lutherans and the Reformed. Spener was the first union theologian (Heick, II, p. 23).
- An emphasis on good works and foreign missions. "Deeds, not creeds" is a popular motto.
- Denial of the Real Presence and baptismal regeneration, consequences of working with the Reformed. (Heick, II, p. 24)
- A better, higher, or deeper form of Christianity rather than the Sunday worshiping church. This often made the cell group the real church, the gathered church.
Spener influenced the ruler to found Halle University in 1694, to teach actual Biblical studies, which had been neglected in favor of ferocious dogmatic struggles between the Lutherans and Calvinists.
Francke met with Spener, adopted his program, and got into a world of trouble over Pietism. Spener had Francke appointed to the newly established Halle University. Francke remained there as a professor and pastor of a congregation for the next 36 years. His energy spread the influence of Pietism, both in his charity work (Halle Orphanage) and his Biblical teaching.
Count Zinzendorf (1700-1760) had a profound effect on the spread of Pietism, not only through his contact and friendship with Wesley, but also by being the father of world missions. Methodism is another form of Pietism. The English Methodist George Scott influenced Carl Olaf Rosenius, who founded Swedish Pietism together.
Zinzendorf is also known for his "Come Lord Jesus" prayer and his hymns. Pietistic hymns emphasize the blood of Jesus because of the influence of Johann Albrecht Bengel. (Heick, II, p. 25) Bengel's son-in-law, Burk, may be the inventor of Objective Justification.
The English Methodist George Scott (1804-1874) came to Sweden and worked with Carl Olaf Rosenius (1816-1868), who founded the newspaper Pietisten. The Swedish-American Augustana Synod looked to Rosenius as their patriarch. Augustana taught justification by faith, arguing against the Norwegian Pietists who promoted justification without faith. Two offshoots of Swedish Pietism in America are the Evangelical Covenant and Evangelical Free denominations, both deeply involved in the Church Growth Movement.
Boehme (1575-1624) illustrates what can happen when someone just starts making up all kinds of things. Today he is called creative. Another radical Pietist was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).
Bengel introduced weird ideas about the blood of Christ stored in heaven for justification. His work greatly influenced the Pietistic hymns (Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness) and the theology of Zinzendorf.
Bengel is also famous for his Gnomon, used by John Wesley for his Expository Notes. Does this explain Methodist George Scott-->Rosenius-->Objective Justification? Note Burk below.
Bengel's son-in-law published an expanded edition of one of his works in 1763 - Philip David Burk (1714-1770).
Hoenecke (Dogmatik, III, p. 354-5) wrote this: And Ph. D. Burk (Rechtfertigung und Versicherung, p. 41) rightly said:
The difference between general justification and the more common usage of the term justification can be expressed as follows. The latter takes place precisely upon the appropriation of the former.
Hoenecke added a sentence used as a bromide by all UOJ fanatics: "An emphasis upon general justification is necessary in order to safeguard the material content of the Gospel."
In German, general justification means - each and every one is justified. General seems vague in English, so that is probably why moderns have used Objective Justification and Universal Justification and Universal Objective Justification. All three terms mean what the Brief Statement of 1932 imagines - God declared the whole world free of sin, without faith, without the Word, without the Means of Grace.
(1932 B.S. - Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 4:25; that therefore not for the sake of their good works, but without the works of the Law, by grace, for Christ's sake, He justifies, that is, accounts as righteous, all those who believe, accept, and rely on, the fact that for Christ's sake their sins are forgiven.)
Halle moved quickly from Pietism to Radical Pietism to Rationalism. Wolff, professor at Halle, exemplified the rationalism which spread to all other German universities from Halle. Frederick William I fired Wolff from Halle, so Marburg University immediately hired him. Wolff eventually returned to Halle, lionized by academics and a favorite of Frederick the Great.
George Christian Knapp (1753-1825) was a Pietist but very rationalistic. He taught two justifications, objective and subjective, in his Lectures on Theology, published in German in 1789. The Lectures were translated into English in 1831 by Leonard Wood, who was very influential at the time, published and used in many editions in America. The Lectures were still being used at Andover at the end of the 19th century, mirroring the enormous span of years Knapp spent teaching.
Knapp taught Objective and Subjective Justification, in form familiar to Missouri, WELS, and the Little Sect on the Prairie:
Here are some statements from the English edition, 8th, 1859, p. 397ff:
The Scripture doctrine of pardon or justification through Christ, as an universal and unmerited favour of God.
1. The Universality of this Benefit
It is universal as the atonement itself...If the atonement extends to the whole human race, justification must also be universal--i.e., all must be able to obtain the actual forgiveness of their sins and blessedness on account of the atonement of Christ. But in order to obviate mistakes, some points may require explanation.
*[Translator note - This is very conveniently expressed by the terms objective and subjective justification. Objective justification is the act of God, by which he profers pardon to all through Christ; subjective is the act of man, by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the gospel. The former is universal, the latter not.]
The Register, quoted below:
"Dr. Knapp, late Professor at the University of Halle, was born at Glancha,in Halle, on the 17th of September, 1753, and received his early education in the Royal Paedagogium, one of the institutions of the pious Francke. At the age of 17, he entered the university at Halle, and attended the lectures of Semler, Noesselt and Gruner, with more than common success. The Bible was his great object of study, while the Latin and Greek classics still received a degree of attention which enabled him ever afterwards to adorn, enrich and illustrate from classical literature whatever he said or wrote in the department of Theological science. In 1774 he completed his course of study, and in 1775, after a short absence, he began to lecture, at Halle, with much success upon Cicero, the New Testament, and the more difficult portions of the Old Testament. He was appointed Prof. Extraordinary in 1777, and Prof. Ordinary in 1782. He then lectured in Exegesis, Church History, and in Jewish and Christian Antiquities.
On the death of Freylinghausen (1785), he and Niemeyer were appointed Directors of Francke's Institutes; and continued jointly to superintend these establishments for more than 40 years. In the division of duties, the Bible and Missionary establishment fell to Dr. Knapp, which brought him into near connection with the Moravians. The lectures, of which this volume forms a part, he commenced during the summer of the same year."
Tholuck mentored Hoenecke
From Henry Eyster Jacobs:
Only in George Christian Knapp a branch of the old Halle school remained, but reserved and timid, and without any extensive influence. At my [Tholuck's] entrance in Halle in 1826 I found still two citizens who traced their faith to this one deceased advocate of the old school among the clergy." This deterioration, however, was gradual.
Nevertheless, Knapp supported Unitarian-Universalist arguments.
Friedrich August Tholuck (1799‒1877) also taught two justifications, following the teaching of his own mentor George Christian Knapp.
From the Bethany Lectures:
Tholuck took a personal interest in Hoenecke, as he did with all of his students. He liked to take walks with his students, using the occasion as a time for peripatetic Seelsorge. Tholuck also gave Hoenecke quite a few free meals, which he had sorely needed.
Hoenecke traveled to America through the offices of a Pietistic missionary society. In Switzerland, his studies of the Confessions and later Lutheran orthodox fathers were doubtless pivotal in making him stronger in Lutheran doctrine.
J-564
"For God has already forgiven you your sins 1800 years ago when He in Christ absolved all men by raising Him after He first had gone into bitter death for them. Only one thing remains on your part so that you also possess the gift. This one thing is—faith. And this brings me to the second part of today's Easter message, in which I now would show you that every man who wants to be saved must accept by faith the general absolution, pronounced 1800 years ago, as an absolution spoken individually to him."
C. F. W. Walther, The Word of His Grace, Sermon Selections, "Christ's Resurrection—The World's Absolution" Lake Mills: Graphic Publishing Company, 1978, p. 233. Mark 16:1-8.
Hoenecke and Tholuck
Read the section on Hoenecke and Tholuck.
Pietism
The state church situation in Germany tended to foster a nominal Christianity. The incredible suffering of the Thirty Year’s War (1618-1648), and Orthodoxism’s18 lack of response to the needs caused by the Thirty Years War, produced the soil from which Pietism grew. Spener (d. 1705), Franke (d. 1727), and Zinzendorf (d. 1760) guided its development. However well-intentioned it was, Pietism was poison for the church. Its many doctrinal aberrations obscured the Gospel and robbed sinners of its comforts.19 With its subjectivism, Pietism proved totally unable to resist the inroads of Rationalism into the church. Pietism was carried by Lutherans and by the Methodists to America.20 ...
The Training at Halle
Hoenecke enrolled at the University of Halle. He had not previously contemplated studying for the ministry, so he had not learned Hebrew, a prerequisite for enrolling as a student of theology. Hoenecke enrolled as a student of philosophy until he could meet the Hebrew requirement. He devoted himself to the study of Hebrew. After six weeks, he attempted to pass his examination; but he failed. Six weeks later he passed the exam, meeting the Hebrew requirement needed for a student of theology. It was as such that he then enrolled at Halle. The spirit of Johann Semler, the father of German Rationalism, haunted Halle. However, Pietists and some staunch Lutherans also taught there. H. E. F. Guericke was a staunch Confessional Lutheran who taught at Halle. However, he had little effect on Hoenecke. Guericke’s long-winded lectures and his lack of personal interest in his students did not win him any fans. Hoenecke learned Hebrew from Hermann Hupfield, an Old Testament critic who was the successor to H. F. W. Gesenius 37(d. 1842). Hoenecke regarded Hupfield’s lecture style as boring. Hoenecke also had Julius Mueller as a teacher. Mueller tried to harmonize science and the Bible (Vermittlungstheologie). Hoenecke regarded him as a melancholy pessimist. The teacher who had the most profound influence on Hoenecke was August Tholuck, the Dean of Students. Some have described Tholuck as a pietist and a unionist. August Pieper, however, indicated that we must be careful about judging Tholuck. In those days, Rationalists called anyone who held to the inspiration of Scripture a “Pietist.” Further, Tholuck did not actively promote the Union. He was averse to controversy. For that reason, he could not bring himself to support a fight for separation from the Union.
August Pieper described Tholuck as follows:
Tholuck was one of the most gifted, brilliant, and learned theologians of his time. He reportedly knew nineteen ancient and modern languages. He was at home in all areas of theology. Moreover, in contrast to the university theologians of his time, he did not teach in the spirit and tone of an objective scientific method. No, with his childlike faith in the word of Scripture as the Word of God, all his teaching was at once an exercise of pastoral care for the souls of his students, a testimony concerning sin, grace and sanctification.38
Tholuck took a personal interest in Hoenecke, as he did with all of his students. He liked to take walks with his students, using the occasion as a time for peripatetic Seelsorge. Tholuck also gave Hoenecke quite a few free meals, which he had sorely needed.
Hoenecke received no support from home for his schooling. The poverty he endured as a student had a profound effect on him. It influenced him eventually to go to America against Tholuck’s advice. Yet, we can thank God that he made the nest in Hoenecke’s homeland uncomfortable enough that he was ready to travel to America rather than endure further poverty.
From Hoenecke’s Graduation to the Opportunity to Go to America
Hoenecke took his examinations in 1859, at the age of 24. Tholuck had encouraged Hoenecke to continue his studies in the field of Lutheran dogmatics, focusing on the writings of Calov (d. 1686)39 and Quenstedt (d. 1688). 40 However, Hoenecke did not have the money for further study. Tholuck arranged for Hoenecke to serve as a tutor in Switzerland. On January 11, 1860, Hoenecke began his work. He served as a tutor for two years. The favorable climate and less-demanding schedule allowed Hoenecke to strengthen his health. It also gave him time to deepen his knowledge of Lutheran theology by studying Calov, Quenstedt and the Lutheran Confessions. It was also at that time that Hoenecke met the woman he would eventually marry. She was Rosa Mathilde Hess, the daughter of Rudolph Hess, a Reformed pastor in Bern, Switzerland. She became the mother of their nine children.
The Decision To Go To America
The Berlin Mission Society was faced with the problem of a surplus of trained candidates for the ministry. The Mission Society requested permission from the High Consistory to call candidates to do work among their fellow Germans who had emigrated to America. The Prussian Church officials readily approved this request. They called on the Prussian universities to bring the request of the Mission Society to the attention of the graduating candidates. Hoenecke was ready to go to America. Hoenecke’s decision to go to America brought him into conflict with his mentor. Tholuck had wanted Hoenecke to further his education so he could secure a position at a prestigious university. However, this would have cost a great amount of money, money which Hoenecke did not have. Tholuck also had advised Hoenecke to wait for a call to a congregation in Prussia. However, that could take three to seven years. Besides, Hoenecke did not want to keep his fiancée on hold for years while she waited for him to be able to support her. The mission societies encouraged men to go to America as pastors by telling them that after a few years they could return to the fatherland. The time they spent in America would count toward their seniority. Upon return, they could get a call into a congregation in their homeland. Uncharitably, Tholuck suggested that Hoenecke was going to America to seek material gain. He told Hoenecke so in a letter. Hoenecke never responded to that letter. The tie between teacher and pupil was broken–perhaps providentially–to the benefit of the Wisconsin Synod.
Carl Olaf Rosenius - Swedish Pietist - Objective Justification
a hero to the Augustana Synod.
At Augustana College, where I met Mrs. Ichabod, I used to put away copies of Pietisten, the journal founded by Rosenius to promote Pietism in Sweden.
According to Lutherans in North America By E. Clifford Nelson, Rosenius taught objective justification.
Here is the new version of Pietisten.
Some of the Swedish Pietists became Evangelical Covenant and others became Evangelical Free. Both groups are heavy-duty supporters of Church Growth. CrossRoads, the WELS stealth mission in South Lyon turned into the Evangelical Covenant congregation it was from the beginning (ashamed of the Confessions).
WELS Pastor Jeff Gunn loves what that congregation teaches so much that he copies it. Or maybe they copy him.
Evangelical Covenant Church:
Free Church Planting Resources Now Available
CHICAGO, IL (November 25, 2008) – Free resources are available for church planters through a new website sponsored by the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism of the Evangelical Covenant...
Meanwhile, the E-Frees, as they like to call themselves, have a huge divinity school in Deerfield, Illinois:
History of Trinity International University
Trinity International University (TIU) is composed of a liberal arts college, a divinity school, a graduate school, and a law school in California. Trinity is the educational ministry of the Evangelical Free Church of America; its main campus is located in Deerfield, Illinois, with regional centers in Chicago, Illinois, in Davie, Florida, and in Santa Ana, California.
Mrs. Ichabod just asked, "Isn't that where Larry Olson studied? He said that in Christian News, didn't he."
"Yes," I said.
"And isn't Trinity where WELS is listed twice as part of their programs, including the Parish Assistants program?"
"Yes," I said.
"Is WELS in fellowship with the E-Frees?" she asked.
I had to admit, "They must be."
Knapp and the Lutheran Confessions
The Confessional History of the Lutheran Church, 1909,
By James William Richard
But that the Symbolical Books did not exert much influence on Bretschneider, either as a theologian or as an ecclesiastical official, is evident from his Handbuch; and that they had in general lost very much of their influence under the rationalistic thought of the age is shown by the fact that they scarcely ever emerge high enough to be seen either in the best representative of the Halle Biblical School (George Christian Knapp, 1753-1825), or in the best representatives of the supranaturalistic school of Tubingen, Storr and Flatt, who in their Handbook of Dogmatic seem to have been more influenced by Immanuel Kant than by the Symbolical Books. Though there were those who still defended the Symbolical Books, and who did not bow the knee to the Moloch of Rationalism.
***
Knapp denied the Real Presence and baptismal regeneration in his Lectures. He was exactly like the Church and Change, Church Growth leaders of today - denying essential doctrines of the Word while promoting emotionalism and rationalism.
Spener also denied the Real Presence and baptismal regeneration (Heick, History of Christian Doctrine, my professor and a bit of a Pietist himself.)
Two Justifications from Pietism
Some of us are just starting to pursue some leads about the origin of two justifications. I first mentioned the Pietistic seedbed of UOJ in Thy Strong Word, citing Hoenecke (who studied at Halle under Tholuck).
I suggest Googling terms and names but also going to Google Documents for the same kind of search. GD will find the names in obscure books and highlight them. For example, I found a reference to George Christian Knapp (Mr. Two Justifications) in The Education of Philips Brooks, about a well known New England divine.
Here is the citation.
The point made is that Knapp (Halle University) was a Pietist and a very dull writer. Amen to both! He was not in harmony with Luther. Yes, I hear you brother.
And Knapp was used at Andover Seminary until 1898. That means the two justification book was being used as a text while the Synodical Conference was building a fence around their precious UOJ.
Dates to consider:
Woods (very prominent Protestant leader) translated Knapp into English, 1833.
C. F. W. Walther took credit for founding the LCMS 1847.
Knapp was still being used at Andover Seminary, 1898.
UOJ made canonical in the Brief Statement of the LCMS, 1930.
Here is material on Tholuck the Universalist.
This paragraph establishes how influential Knapp was in America, at least in the view of one author:
"Now, to the bold assertion of Mr. Lecky, we shall oppose the assertion of Dr. George Christian Knapp; whose great, calm, judicial mind, as well as great learning and piety, has gained for him an enviable reputation in both the Old and the New Worlds, and from all sections of the Christian Church. Indeed, although a decided Arminian himself, his Theological Lectures have, for the benefit of theological students, been translated from the German by an eminent and learned Calvanistic divine ; an act which reflects equal honor on both the translator and the original author."
Here is an 1832 notice of the Knapp book being made available in English. Figures and institutions of Pietism are reverently highlighted in red - by me. Knapp was thoroughly trained in Pietism:
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
"Lectures on Christian Theology, by
GEORGE CHRISTIAN KNAPP. Translated by
LEONARD WOODS, Jan., Abbot Resid. at the
Theol. Seminary in Andover, Mast., in two vol-
umei, vol. I. New York : published by G. & C.
& H. Carvill, 108, Broadway. Andover: printed
at the Codman Fress, by Flagg & Gould, 1831.
pp. 539.
Dr. Knapp, late Professor at the University of Halle, was born at Glancha,in Halle, on the 17th of September, 1753, and received his early education in the Royal Paedagogium, one of the institutions of the pious Francke. At the age of 17, he entered the university at Halle, and attended the lectures of Semler, Noesselt and Gruner, with more than common success. The Bible was his great object of study, while the Latin and Greek classics still received a degree of attention which enabled him ever afterwards to adorn, enrich and illustrate from classical literature whatever he said or wrote in the department of Theological science. In 1774 he completed his course of study, and in 1775, after a short absence, he began to lecture, at Halle, with much success upon Cicero, the New Testament, and the more difficult portions of the Old Testament. He was appointed Prof. Extraordinary in 1777, and Prof. Ordinary in 1782. He then lectured in Exegesis, Church History, and in Jewish and Christian Antiquities.
On the death of Freylinghausen (1785), he and Niemeyer were appointed Directors of Francke's Institutes ; and continued jointly to superintend these establishments for more than 40 years. In the division of duties, the Bible and Missionary establishment fell to Dr. Knapp, which brought him into near connection with the Moravians. The lectures, of which this volume forms a part, he commenced during the summer of the same year. In consequence of illness, and the variety and extent of his other duties, he did not complete them, however, until 1789, when they were first read before a class of 186 students. He continued to lecture on Theology, until his death, to auditories no less numerous. Such was his popularity (notwithstanding his orthodox sentiments !) that when in 1825 he closed the 50th year of his connection with the theological faculty of the university, and the accustomed jubilee was held in his honor, the most flattering marks of affection and respect were poured upon him from every side. He died the 14th day of October, 1825, in the 73d year of his laborious life. At his request he was interred privately in his family tomb ; and in the public notices of his decease, nothing was to be said in his honor, except that he lived in the faith of these words, I know that my Redeemer liveth. The volume before us is an important addition to our helps in the department of Theology."
The Author of these Lectures appeared on the stage at the time when the theologians of Halle began to be " divided into different schools, according as they adhered more closely to the principles of Spener and Franke" (the founders of the University) " or fell in, either with the more ascetic, or the more free and liberal principles then prevailing."
In a history book by the great Henry Eyster Jacobs:
But as historical truth demands it, we let the story be told by a later Halle professor, the eminent Professor Tholuck, whom no one can charge with prejudice against the school of Spener and Francke. "Pietism in Halle," says Professor Tholuck, " reached the summit of its power under Frederick William I. [1 713-40], the soldier king with the Christian soldier's heart, the particular patron of the Halle theological faculty. Under him was issued in 1729 the edict which was promulgated anew in 1736, according to which no Lutheran theologian should hold a position in the Prussian state who had not studied at least two years in Halle, and received a testimonial from the Halle faculty of being in a state of grace.
Gradually the nursery of piety was transformed into a nursery of rationalism. ' God's gifts descend not by inheritance;' this is proved also in the history of the Halle institutions. Every director had the right to chose his own successor; and yet with Ludwig Schultze and Niemeyer the direction passed gradually into the hands of rationalism. Under Baumgarten the interests of piety yielded to those of learning ; and through Semler, Gruner, Nosselt, and Niemeyer, rationalism became the prevalent theology. Only in George Christian Knapp a branch of the old Halle school remained, but reserved and timid, and without any extensive influence. At my [Tholuck's] entrance in Halle in 1826 I found still two citizens who traced their faith to this one deceased advocate of the old school among the clergy." This deterioration, however, was gradual.
Once again, the Unitarian-Universalists have donated a book to Harvard about Knapp, who agreed with them! Your precious advocate of Objective and Subjective Justification provided a historical argument for Unitarianism.
To this effect I will quote the authority of George Christian Knapp an eminent Trinitarian writer, whose " Lectures on Christian Theology," as translated by Leonard Woods, Jr., are a standard work with Trinitarian believers. After a full and learned discussion of the whole subject, he distinctly admits that it is " impossible to prove the agreement of the earliest Christian writers with the common Orthodox doctrine as established in the fourth century." Vol. I. pp. 294, 299, &c.
---
Tholuck was A. Hoenecke's mentor at Halle University, a school founded for Pietism by the leader of Pietism. That does not make Hoenecke a Universalist, but it helps illustrate why UOJ is just one step away from Universalism. Note what Jacobs said above about Pietism degenerating into rationalism.
Tholuck, though only in his twenty- first year, was commanded to fill the chasm, by delivering Lectures in the Exegesis of the Old Testament. In 1823, he was appointed to succeed the venerable George Christian Knapp, in the University of Halle, where " he maintains his standing with growing honour and usefulness."
One WELS DP claims that the UOJ leaders are not Universalists, but WELS ran a so-called evangelism campaign with this slogan: "I am saved, just like you." Grace without the Means of Grace = Enthusiasm, which leads to Universalism. That is a Universalist slogan, but WELS swallowed that lump of toxic leaven, too.
I have a church for the UOJ Universalists - right near my house.
Here it is.
"Love is the doctrine of our church;
The quest for truth is our holy rite;
And service is our prayer.
To dwell together in peace;
To seek knowledge in freedom;
To serve humankind in friendship;
Thus do we covenant."
Thanksgiving Tribute to Our Soldiers
---
Though written for the soldiers in the American Civil War, I want to dedicate this song to every soldier who camped in the snow at Valley Forge to every soldier who is camping in the heat of Bagdad. Written by Walter Kittredge during the Civil War, it became a favorite among soldiers in both North and South. Kittredge wrote this song shortly after receiving his draft notice from the Union army. As it turned out, he never had to serve due to having rheumatic fever as a child. In this arrangement, I'm playing all instruments and singing all vocals.
Click here for the artist's page.
---
We're tenting tonight on the old camp-ground
Give us a song to cheer
Our weary hearts, a song of home
And friends we love so dear.
Chorus
Many are the hearts that are weary tonight
Wishing for the war to cease,
Many are the hearts looking for the right
To see the dawn of peace.
Tenting tonight, tenting tonight
Tenting on the old camp-ground.
We've been tenting tonight on the old camp-ground,
Thinking of days gone by
Of the loved ones at home that gave us the hand,
And the tear that said, "Good-by !"
Chorus
We are tired of war on the old camp-ground;
Many are the dead and gone
Of the brave and true who've left their homes;
Others been wounded long.
Chorus
We've been fighting today on the old camp-ground,
Many are lying near;
Some are dead, and some are dying,
Many are in tears.
Last Chorus
Many are the hearts that are weary tonight,
Wishing for the war to cease;
Many are the hearts looking for the light,
To see the dawn of peace.
Dying tonight, dying tonight,
Dying on the old camp-ground.
Weissel: Lift Up Your Heads
---
"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"
by Georg Weissel, 1590-1635
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878
1. Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates!
Behold, the King of Glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near,
The Savior of the world is here.
Life and salvation He doth bring,
Wherefore rejoice and gladly sing:
We praise Thee, Father, now,
Creator, wise art Thou!
2. A Helper just He comes to thee,
His chariot is humility,
His kingly crown is holiness,
His scepter, pity in distress,
The end of all our woe He brings;
Wherefore the earth is glad and sings:
We praise Thee, Savior, now,
Mighty in deed art Thou!
3. O blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the Ruler is confessed!
O happy hearts and happy homes
To whom this King in triumph comes!
The cloudless Sun of joy He is,
Who bringeth pure delight and bliss.
We praise Thee, Spirit, now,
Our Comforter art Thou!
4. Fling wide the portals of your heart;
Make it a temple set apart
From earthly use for Heaven's employ,
Adorned with prayer and love and joy.
So shall your Sovereign enter in
And new and nobler life begin.
To Thee, O God, be praise
For word and deed and grace!
5. Redeemer, come! I open wide
My heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide!
Let me Thy inner presence feel,
Thy grace and love in me reveal;
Thy Holy Spirit guide us on
Until our glorious goal is won.
Eternal praise and fame
We offer to Thy name.
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #73
Text: Ps. 24
Author: Georg Weissel, 1642
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1855, alt.
Titled: "Macht hoch die Tuer"
Second Tune: Johann A. Freylinghausen, 1704
Third Tune: August Lemke, 1849
Tune: "Macht hoch die Tuer"
First Tune Published in: _Praxis Pietatis Melica_
Luther: If God Were Not Beside Us
From Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth page 17-18:
"Luther's friend Justus Jonas in 1524 wrote an eight-stanza paraphrase of Psalm 124. In contrast to the smooth-flowing style of Jonas, Luther also undertook the paraphrasing of the same psalm, his being shorter, more rugged, and closer to the text of the psalm. After Luther's version was published in Walter's Wittenberg hymnal of 1524, both his and Jonas' paraphrases were included in early Lutheran hymnals. Walter's tune is the one most associated with this text.
Tr. F. Samuel Janzow, 1913-2001
Setting by Richard Hillert
Publisher: Concordia Publishing House (1979)"
---
"If God Had Not Been on Our Side"
by Martin Luther, 1483-1546
1. If God had not been on our side
And had not come to aid us,
The foes with all their power and pride
Would surely have dismayed us;
For we, His flock, would have to fear
The threat of men both far and near
Who rise in might against us.
2. Their furious wrath, did God permit,
Would surely have consumed us
And as a deep and yawning pit
With life and limb entombed us.
Like men o'er whom dark waters roll
Their wrath would have engulfed our soul
And, like a flood, o'erwhelmed us.
3. Blest be the Lord, who foiled their threat
That they could not devour us;
Our souls, like birds, escaped their net,
They could not overpower us.
The snare is boken-we are free!
Our help is ever, Lord, in Thee,
Who madest earth and heaven.
Hymn 267
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ps. 124
Author: Martin Luther, 1524
Translated by: composite
Titled: "War' Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit"
Tune: "War' Gott nicht mit uns"
1st Published in: Gesangbuch
Town: Wittenberg, 1537
Monday, November 24, 2008
Catching Up with Lutheran Notes
Lutheran Notes has added some cartoons and other material.
I copied the photo from the blog. Mr. Notes has promised not to sue me or threaten me or send me a free ticket to the WELS Ed Stetzer show in 2009. Every time I publish the truth about WELS, someone from Church and Change calls me a liar. However, they have not told the truth about Stetzer yet.
Back to The Surrendered Fort
Their Roman Catholic/ELCA gab-fest is coming up. David Scaer, in the photo, organizes these things. One LCMS pastor attended the Father Neuhaus lecture at Ft. Wayne and became a Roman Catholic. His blog is Beatus Vir (Blessed is the man who...popes?)
I give David Scaer credit for Romanizing and Orthodoxing (Eastern, that is) the seminarians. Weinrich shares the honors.
David has his son teaching there. Meier, father and son, are also teaching at The Surrendered Fort. WAM the Elder was married in 1951, about when the Grand Canyon was being completed. Just joking - he is a nice guy.
The LutherQuest (sic) boys were raving once about how I went to Notre Dame. Most of the faculty at The Surrendered Fort seem to have PhDs from Notre Dame, starting with their president. When I pointed that out, LQ switched to a new lupine chorus.
The two LCMS seminaries are turning out priests--Scaer's favorite term. The Sausage Factory and The Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie are producing Babtists, charismatics, and Freedom From Religion leaders.
Here is another way to save money - shut down the seminaries. They are no longer greenhouses for Lutheran doctrine. They are launching pads for extremist, anti-Lutheran sects.
There is no shortage of pastors because the Baby Boomer pastors have wrecked their synods. Congregations and schools are closing or merging (the second term being a polite word for closing). If the synods reverted to the old School of the Prophets, where boys were trained in a parsonage, they would have better results.
Or maybe the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox could produce some Lutheran pastors at their schools since we are doing so much for them.
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Mark and Avoid!
"MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Conference 09
Nov 5th - 7th
Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel and Convention Center
C&C events are a great place to network with people who have similar ministries, situations and problems. Come, learn and benefit from everyone's experience!
More information is coming soon!"
***
GJ - More information is coming from...the man who kept the Paul Copycat Kelm call a secret from the Synod President?
More information from...the people who did not answer Joe Krohn's simple question on their list-serve, "Is Church and Change inviting Stetzer?"
More information from...the pastors who are ashamed to admit they belong to a Lutheran group?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
How Broke Is St. Mark, Depere?
St. Mark had a building drive, so they could move the Green Bay and Depere campi together. They failed to get enough money, so that will not happen for now. Apparently the drive took place before the global meltdown.
The building fund did not look too healthy, based on their figures, but that is hard to judge from a distance.
They were willing to let Paul Kelm go back to The Love Shack, which is a big savings in the regular budget.
Here are some general thoughts.
The bigger the congregation, the bigger the budget gap is going to be. St. Mark has a school, so the teacher benefits are going to blossom in the new workers' paradise Obama is planning. No one thinks of lowering taxes and increasing competition, and the current leaders will never bring it up.
Large congregations tend to let staff members go during a recession. That will happen nation-wide. I recall the minister of a huge UCC church telling me what he was going through in 1992. That was nothing compared to the current crisis.
Mega-churches can start losing money fast for many different reasons.
Pastor Rick had terrible offering numbers some time ago. He had them posted. He was behind every single month. He hid the numbers overnight.
Bruce Becker, Heretic
This is a Freddy Finkelstein commenting on the latest WELS Church Growth conference. Pastor Rick, a devotee of Leonard Sweet and other Church and Change icons, bragged about going to the conference. This comment was on Bailing Water. I do not know who the author is.
"Of particularly grievous offense to me, and others, are unfortunate statements, like a recent statement from Bruce Becker (a known CG advocate and leader of the Board for Parish Services) regarding this weekend's “Leadership Conference,” as follows: “We asked them, 'What factors, beyond the power of the gospel, do you believe are contributing to God's blessing of numerical growth in your congregation?'” (emphasis mine, Read Quoted Article Here*). Here our Synod leadership is evidently interested in learning more about which means outside those appointed by Scripture are being used to affect numerical growth. Yes, I know this is only one quote, but over the years I have watched and listened as Mr. Becker has received, and defended himself against, considerable criticism for making evangelism a statistics game. I am comfortable asserting that this quote is a suitable representation of his public statements. But why is such a statement offensive? (1) In conspicuously locating the center of concern with numerical growth, such statements make the Holy Spirit's work of creating faith by means of the Gospel a secondary or background issue, rather than the primary issue. (2) In centering concern on numerical growth, such statements replace Providence with man's organizational priorities. (3) In not only emphasizing, but specifically singling out means other than the Biblical Means of Grace, such statements fail to faithfully represent Scripture teaching, that it is the Holy Spirit, working through the Means alone, that creates faith and builds the Church, and instead expresses dissatisfaction with God's means, methods, and timing, and casts doubt on the efficacy of the Means of Grace. (4) Finally, in assigning numerical growth attributable to the use of means other than the Biblical Means of Grace and assigning the results to God (whose means are not employed), rather than to man (whose means are employed), such statements and intentions in effect assign credit for man's work to God, and border on Blasphemy."
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*WELS article:
Forum to share ministry blessings
Filed Under: BPS, forum, leadership, Parish Services
To help WELS congregations reach more people with the gospel, the Board for Parish Services is hosting a national leadership forum. Leaders from 30 congregations across the country that have been blessed with significant growth in worship attendance over the past ten years are meeting in Milwaukee, Wis., Nov. 16-18 to discuss ministry trends, identify opportunities and challenges, and share ideas.
"This leadership forum is being held in response to the fact that worship attendance across the synod has been declining for the last 17 years," says Rev. Bruce Becker, administrator of Parish Services. "Our ultimate goal is to learn from these congregations: what they are doing and how God is blessing those efforts. And we want to share those ideas with other WELS congregations in similar ministry settings."
To prepare for this forum, Becker says each participating congregation was asked to gather feedback from its members. "We asked them, 'What factors, beyond the power of the gospel, do you believe are contributing to God's blessing of numerical growth in your congregation?' " says Becker. "We received 100 pages of responses that are encouraging and positive."
Becker says information and ideas coming out of this forum, which was funded by special gifts and a grant from Thrivent, will be reviewed for common themes and shared with synod leaders. "Although the forum is designed to be a blessing to all of our WELS congregations, I'm convinced the congregations involved will also benefit as they learn from one another about God's amazing blessings," says Becker.
***
GJ - Becker is on the Church and Change Board. When is he going to answer the question - Is Babtist Ed Stetzer the November, 2009 speaker for Church and Change?
Joe Krohn asked that question on the Church and Change list-serve.
Their answer was - Greg Jackson is a bad person.
Parlow answered by changing the subject.
A Service of Thanksgivinig
A Service of Thanksgiving
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time
The Hymn # 572 Dix
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 1 Timothy 2:1-8
The Gospel Luke 17:11-19
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #568 Kremser
Now Thank We All Our God
The Hymn #305 by Franck Schmuecke dich
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #36 by Rinckart Nun danke alle
KJV 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
KJV Luke 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly love hast given us Thy Son, that through faith in Him we may be saved: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that we may continue steadfast in such faith unto the end, and thus obtain everlasting salvation, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Now Thank We All Our God
Each miracle has a different emphasis. The healing of the 10 lepers reminds us about thankfulness.
They lived a terrible life, of disease and loneliness, shunned for having a disorder and forced to live apart from healthy people. When Jesus passed through a village, 10 lepers gathered to ask for mercy. They may have done this to attract His notice by making more noise. There was also a tradition in the Roman Empire of asking a great ruler for benefits by saying, “Lord, have mercy.” Jesus responded by having them show themselves to the priests. As they headed for the priests they were healed. This had the effect of demonstrating the healing to a larger number of people, especially those within the ranks of official Judaism. In their ritual cleansing they would witness to the healing from Jesus. This took the Gospel to others but also increased the animosity of religious leaders toward Jesus.
One of the lepers came back to Jesus, glorifying God. He fell down on his face at the feet of Jesus and gave Him thanks. Jesus asked how it was that 10 were healed, but only one gave thanks.
The ironic conclusion points out – The thankful one was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
I am a little troubled that Jesus said “Thy faith hath made thee well,” because Lutheran pastors are always warning people against faith today.
If I didn’t read the Scriptures, Luther, and the Confessions, I would conclude from these dolts that faith is bad, that faith is man-made, that faith should never be mentioned in connection with the blessings of Christianity. These UOJ fanatics, who are really 19th century Pietists, think forgiveness comes to people without faith, without the Word, without the Means of Grace. Their opinion, which is not Christian doctrine, comes from the writings of George Christian Knapp and Friedrich Tholuck, both of Halle University, home turf of Pietism and rationalism.
Pietism was a reaction against the dogmatism of Lutherans and Calvinists in the era after the confessional highpoint of Lutheranism. The Lutherans and Calvinists became increasingly philosophical (rather than Biblical) about differences in doctrine. They had an unlimited number of Latin and Greek terms they used against each other. Luther was very wary of philosophy because of these dangers. It made Aristotle’s terms an addition to the revealed Word of God.
Rationalism also developed from these philosophical debates. So it is not surprising that both theologians took the first step toward Universalism by claiming that the whole world was justified (declared righteous).
So, in order to parrot this nonsense, modern Lutherans have to demean faith, which is removed from justification.
In contrast, what does the Bible teach?
God reveals His gracious will and man’s trusts in this Word. The work belongs to God because He alone creates faith in our hearts. He does this first in infant baptism and He continues through the teaching of the Word.
John’s Gospel has a Q and A on this topic:
Q - KJV John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
A - 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
John’s Gospel constantly emphasizes faith in Jesus and how unbelief condemns.
KJV John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Faith comes to people through the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word. The lepers called out to Jesus because they believed in Him. They said, “Lord, have mercy.” The reputation of Jesus as a healer and miracle-worker spread everywhere, so people flocked to Him. Many did not find Him exactly as they wished, so they fell away. They did not trust the Word He spoke to them.
KJV John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Supposedly, making disciples is the cure for all ills, but these people were disciples and walked away. Many are ministers and walk away. It is not uncommon to have one man be a Lutheran pastor one year and a non-Christian years later. I have know three of them. Falling away (apostasy) is entirely man’s doing and not God’s fault.
The miracle is not intended to give us an exact percentage but it does illustrate how few there are who trust in God and give thanks to Him.
Faith and thankfulness to God are closely related. If we are not thankful, we have to ask ourselves if we really trust God’s Word. Human reason, our emotions, and our experience will corrode that trust, so the Promises of God are needed to build up that trust again.
Luther said that the only person who could comfort him was one who had gone through spiritual onslaughts (Anfechtungen) like his.
I had an interesting experience. As people know, when I use old Lutheran quotations, the Church Growth fanatics start complaining…loudly. Recently I posted this hymn in four classrooms (online). Two are Old Testament classes. Two are for introduction to college.
The Lutheran Hymnal #518
Lyrics (Original translation):
If thou but suffer God to guide thee
And hope in Him through all thy ways,
He'll give thee strength, whate'er betide thee,
And bear thee through the evil days.
Who trust in God's unchanging love
Builds on the rock that naught can move.
What can these anxious cares avail thee
These never ceasing moans and sighs?
What can it help if thou bewail thee
O'er each dark moment as it flies?
Our cross and trials do but press
The heavier for our bitterness.
Be patient and await His leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whatever thy Father's pleasure
And His discerning love hath sent,
Nor doubt our inmost want are known
To Him who chose us for His own.
God knows full well when time of gladness
Shall be the needful thing for thee.
When He has tried thy soul with sadness
And from all guile has found thee free,
He comes to thee all unaware
And makes thee own His loving care.
Nor think amid the fiery trial
That God hath cast thee off unheard,
That he whose hopes meet no denial
Must surely be of God preferred.
Time passes and much change doth bring
And set a bound to everything.
All are alike before the Highest:
'Tis easy for our God, We know,
To raise thee up, though low thou liest,
To make the rich man poor and low.
True wonders still by Him are wrought
Who setteth up and brings to naught.
Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
Perform thy duties faithfully,
And trust His Word: though undeserving,
Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.
The response from these classes was overwhelmingly positive. One after another said, “Thank you for such an inspiring hymn. I needed it this week.”
Unbelievers (whether they belong to a church or not) respond to the Gospel with faith or with derision. Believers (whether they belong to a church or not) respond to Gospel Promises with praise, thanksgiving, and more faith.
Remaining in faith can only happen through abiding in the Word, as Jesus taught.
KJV John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
One leper, the outsider, realized that only God could cure him of the dread disease. The man did nothing, so he returned to praise God and to give his thanks to Jesus.
Because thanksgiving is related to faith, thankfulness detoxifies the ill effects of our Old Adam – anger, impatience, and bitterness. These toxic influences destroy faith unless thankfulness from faith in the Gospel counters them. Proof is the astounding attitudes of those with the greatest blessings of health and money. One time a man came in to the local tax collector’s office to pay his real estate tax. In the People’s Republic of Minnesota, that is a special burden because of all the government programs. The brought in his check and said with great energy, “I just want to say thanks for the opportunity to pay taxes in America. It is a privilege to pay taxes here.”
That man was my neighbor in New Ulm. He still spoke with an accent, because he was from Poland.
Many Lutherans are not thankful for their doctrinal heritage. They do not study Luther. They do not study the Confessions. They will not fight for the truth because the truth causes them a little bit of hardship – not much, but a enough to pinch. A lack of gratitude leads to a lack of faith. When people no longer abide in Christ through His Means of Grace, the Gospel rain moves on and waters another land.
So we must be thankful for the cross, which accompanies the Word. The cross reminds us we are still human and still forget the last Beatitude. The cross reveals the Old Adam with all his warts. The cross purifies our faith and deepens our trust in the Gospel.
I noticed this in a recent write-up of a conference – so many churches and pastors were mentioned. All the descriptions glorified man. Not one said what Paul boasted about – faithfulness to God’s Word. Galatians 1:8, not Marketing 101.
Quotations
"The whole Gospel is nothing but a proclamation of the forgiveness of sins, or a publication of the same Word to all men on earth, which God Himself confirms in heaven."
G. H. Gerberding, The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church, Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1887, p. 127.
"Only note and hold fast what He has preached; and if someone were to say anything that does not agree with the voice of Christ, and I find the opposite to be true, then I should say: Shame on you, you panderer, do you want to turn me into a harlot? Come now, he may say, is that I say not sacred? Reason itself considers it to be good. But you should say: I have the voice of the Bridegroom."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 268. John 3:29.
"Therefore the Christians, who are the right and dear guests at this wedding, at all times have this comfort that the others who do not belong thereto, that is both persecutors and false brethren, shall not enjoy the same."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 250. Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 22:1-14
"Today's Gospel also teaches by this parable that our free will amounts to nothing, since the good seed is sowed only by Christ, and Satan sows nothing but evil seed; as we also see that the field of itself yields nothing but tares, which the cattle eat, although the field receives them and they make the field green as if they were wheat. In the same way the false Christians among the true Christians are of no use but to feed the world and be food for Satan, and they are so beautifully green and hypocritical, as if they alone were the saints, and hold the place in Christendom as if they were lords there, and the government and highest places belonged to them; and for no other reason than that they glory that they are Christians and are among Christians in the church of Christ, although they see and confess that they live unchristian lives."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John N. Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983 II, p. 103. Matthew 13:24-30;
"A church body in which human judgments are accorded an equal status with the governing principle of the Word is essentially unionistic and an unfaithful bride of the Lord." [August Pieper]
Francis Pieper, The Difference between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 58.
"It is God alone who may speak the word of pardon, who can produce faith, but it is God who is speaking in the Gospel and the Sacraments (Luke 24:47: 'in His name') and creating faith through them (Acts 16:14--Lydia; James 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). The word of the Gospel is therefore not a dead letter, nor are the Sacraments empty symbols, but they are the power of God. The power of God is inseparably connected with, is inherent in, the means of grace." Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace,"
The Abiding Word, ed., Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 335. Luke 24:47; Acts 16:14; James 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:13.
"'The hearers of the Word of God who understand the doctrine of the means of grace will be diligent hearers of it. While God has commanded the pastor to preach the Gospel, He has commanded the congregation to hear it. The Gospel is the means not only of converting the sinner, but also of strengthening the faith of those who already are converted. Christians having this knowledge will be faithful and diligent in the use of the means of grace.'"
Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, ed., Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 346.
"A Confession is not the private expression of a religious nature. Nor does it establish some favorite Bible passage. Nor is it the stressing of Bible passages which are significant only for a specific concrete situation. A Confession is not the religious or guidance of an individual. The truth of a Confession is based expressly on the great number of Bible passages which proclaim this truth; a Confession is the comprehensive exposition of the total Scripture. For a Confession teaches "what a Christian must know for his salvation"; it teaches the Gospel. In this way a Confession as doctrine of Scripture steps out of Scripture and now becomes an approach to Scripture in that the Confession serves as a guide to the discovery of Scripture's content and as an aid in its correct interpretation."
Edmund Schlink, Theology of the Lutheran Confessions, trans. Paul F. Koehneke and Herbert J. A. Bouman, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1961, p. 15.
"For few receive the Word and follow it; the greatest number despise the Word, and will not come to the wedding, Matthew 22:3ff. The cause for this contempt for the Word is not God's foreknowledge [or predestination], but the perverse will of man, which rejects or perverts the means and instrument of the Holy Ghost, which God offers him through the call, and resists the Holy Ghost, who wishes to be efficacious, and works through the Word, as Christ says, 'How often would I have gathered you together, and ye would not!' Matthew 23:37."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #41. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1077. Tappert, p. 623. Heiser, p. 290. Matthew 22:3ff.; 23:37.
"Therefore not only those sin against this commandment who grossly misuse and desecrate the holy day, as those who on account of their greed or frivolity neglect to hear God's Word or lie in taverns and are dead drunk like swine; but also that other crowd, who listen to God's Word as to any other trifle, and only from custom come to preaching, and go away again, and at the end of the year know as little of it as at the beginning. For hitherto the opinion prevailed that you had properly hallowed Sunday when you had heard a mass or the Gospel read; but no one cared for God's Word, as also no one taught it. Now, while we have God's Word, we nevertheless do not correct the abuse; we suffer ourselves to be preached to and admonished, but we listen without seriousness and care."
The Large Catechism, The Third Commandment, #96-97. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 609. Tappert, p. 378. Heiser, p. 175. Exodus 20:8-11.
"Now, although both, the planting and watering of the preacher, and the running and willing of the hearer, would be in vain, and no conversion would follow it if the power and efficacy of the Holy Ghost were not added thereto, who enlightens and converts the hearts through the Word preached and heard, so that men believe this Word and assent thereto, still, neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, but should be certain that when the Word of God is preached purely and truly, according to the command and will of God, and men listen attentively and earnestly and meditate upon it, God is certainly present with His grace, and grants, as has been said, what otherwise man can neither accept nor give from his own powers."
Formula of Concord SD II. #55-56. Free Will. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 903. Tappert, p. 531f. Heiser, p. 246.
"This power {the Keys} is exercised only by teaching or preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, according to their calling, either to many or to individuals. For thereby are granted, not bodily, but eternal things, as eternal righteousness, the Holy Ghost, eternal life. These things cannot come but by the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments, as Paul says, Romans 1:16: The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Therefore, since the power of the Church grants eternal things, and is exercised only by the ministry of the Word, it does not interfere with civil government; no more than the art of singing interferes with civil government."
Augsburg Confession, XXVIII. #8. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 85. Tappert, p. 82. Heiser, p. 23. Romans 1:16
"We further believe that in this Christian Church we have forgiveness of sin, which is wrought through the holy Sacraments and Absolution, moreover, through all manner of consolatory promises of the entire Gospel. Therefore, whatever is to be preached, concerning the Sacraments belongs here, and in short, the whole Gospel and all the offices of Christianity, which also must be preached and taught without ceasing. For although the grace of God is secured through Christ, and sanctification is wrought by the Holy Ghost through the Word of God in the unity of the Christian Church, yet on account of our flesh which we bear about with us we are never without sin."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III. #54. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 693. Tappert, p. 417. Heiser, p. 195.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
They Swallowed the Holy Ghost, Feathers and All, And Then THIS Happens!
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg is still in.
Because the Lutheran Church Growthers want it that way.
Preparing for a Charismatic Meltdown
"Three prominent charismatic ministries have suffered huge setbacks this month. What does this mean for our movement?
Foreclosure. Eviction. Bailouts. We’re hearing those terms a lot these days, and not just in the newspaper’s business section. In the last two weeks three charismatic churches that once enjoyed huge popularity have fallen on hard times.
In Tampa, Florida, Without Walls International Church is facing foreclosure. The megachurch, which once attracted 23,000 worshipers and was heralded as one of the nation’s fastest-growing congregations, shrunk drastically after co-pastors Randy and Paula White announced in 2007 that they were divorcing. On Nov. 4 their bank filed foreclosure proceedings and demanded immediate repayment of a $12 million loan on the property.
In Duluth, Georgia—northeast of Atlanta—sheriff’s deputies arrived at Global Destiny Ministries and ordered Bishop Thomas Weeks II to leave the property. According to documents filed in state court, Weeks—who divorced popular preacher Juanita Bynum in June—owed more than $511,000 in back rent to the building’s owners. He was escorted out of the building on Nov. 14 while a church service was in progress.
"The wrecking ball of heaven is swinging. It has come to demolish any work that has not been built on the integrity of His Word."
In another part of the Atlanta area, leaders of the Cathedral at Chapel Hill announced that their church is officially for sale. The massive Gothic building—which at one time housed one of the nation’s most celebrated charismatic churches, with a membership of 10,000—has slipped into disrepair after lurid sex scandals triggered a mass exodus. The church’s founder, Bishop Earl Paulk, has turned the 6,000-seat church (valued at $24.5 million) over to his son, Donnie Earl, who in recent years has abandoned orthodox Christian doctrines and embraced universalism.
In addition, the bank that called the loan on Without Walls also began foreclosure proceedings on its satellite campus in Lakeland, Florida. That massive campus with its 10,000-seat sanctuary was once known as Carpenter’s Home Church. Under the leadership of Assemblies of God pastor Karl Strader it enjoyed huge success, but its membership dwindled in the 1990s, and it was sold to the Whites in 2005.
A crisis hit Without Walls two years later when the Whites announced from their pulpit that they were divorcing. They did not give specific reasons, but Randy said he took “100 percent responsibility” for the breakup. He later told Charisma: “This was a decision of last resort after years of prayer and counseling.”
In the case of the Cathedral at Chapel Hill, many parishioners walked out 16 years ago when it became known that Earl Paulk and other staff members were involved in wife-swapping. Paulk created a bizarre culture of secrecy to cover the immorality, which included his affair with a sister-in-law—and resulted in the birth of Donnie Earl (who thought he was Earl Paulk’s nephew until last year). The church has only had a few hundred members in recent years.
Today, Donnie Earl has embraced the inclusionist doctrines of Oklahoma pastor Carlton Pearson, who left the faith in 2003 and was labeled a heretic by a group of African-American bishops the following year. The younger Paulk now preaches that all people, not just Christians, are saved. He told Charisma last week that the Cathedral “has expanded to include all of God’s creation—Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, gay, straight, etc.” And this distorted message is broadcast from a pulpit that hosted the premier leaders of the charismatic movement during the 1970s and 1980s.
Even before Weeks was charged with assaulting Bynum in a hotel parking lot in August 2007, the pastor of Global Destiny Ministries defiled his pulpit during a “Teach Me to Love You” marriage conference. He told married men they should use profanity during sex to heighten their experience, and he brought couples on stage to play a game in which men were asked to name their favorite female body parts.
Lord, help us.
Was it supposed to end like this? How did a movement that was at one time focused on winning people to Christ and introducing them to the power of the Holy Spirit end in such disgrace?
I hear the sound of bricks and steel beams crashing to the ground. The wrecking ball of heaven is swinging. It has come to demolish any work that has not been built on the integrity of God’s Word.
All of us should be trembling. God requires holiness in His house and truth in the mouths of His servants. He is loving and patient with our mistakes and weaknesses, but eventually, if there is no repentance after continual correction, His discipline is severe. He will not be mocked.
Romans 11:22 says: “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off” (NASB).
God is not married to our buildings. If He allowed foreign armies to burn Jerusalem and its glorious temple, He will also write “Ichabod” on the doors of churches where there is no repentance for compromise.
I pray the fear of God will grip our hearts until we cleanse our defiled pulpits. Let’s examine our hearts and our ministries. Let’s throw out the wood, hay and stubble and build on a sure and tested foundation. It is the only way to survive the meltdown."
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.