False teachers like to change the subject and use the straw man logical fallacy. Some examples:
- I worship Jesus, not Martin Luther. Straw man.
- The Bible did not fall out of the sky from heaven. Straw man.
- The only true Word of God is the Bible. Changing the subject (ignoratio elenchi.)
They will explain that the word Trinity is not in the Bible, ignoring the revelation of the Trinity hundreds of times, including the Old Testament.
False teachers will also confess that the word Sacrament is not found as such in the Bible, in spite of Chemnitz teaching how newer words (like Trinity) are used as shorthand to discuss a Biblical truth.
The official statement about the two norms are: The Canonical Scriptures are the ruling norm (norma normans) and the Book of Concord is the ruled norm (norma normata).
So, the right way to talk about the Book of Concord is thus - "I believe the Book of Concord is a correct exposition of the Scriptures." (quia subscription)
A qualified subscription is called a quatenus subscription and is often used to argue against the Confessions - "I believe the Book of Concord is correct insofar (quatenus) it agrees with the Word of God."
The old Synod Conference parts (LCMS, WELS, the Little Sect on the Prairie) and their offscourings (LCR, CLC, CLC, etc) are officially hotter than a Phoenix sidewalk for the quia subscription.
Unofficially, they treat their Midwestern Pietistic forefathers as the Twelve Apostles. All argumentation starts with the quest for the historical Walther and other sentimental rubbish.
The Chicaneries, for instance, try to wrap themselves in Biblical piety. After all, only the Scriptures count. Forget not the wonders of Wauwatosa.
In their ignorance they overlook the distinction between the revelation of God and the confession of man. The Book of Concord does not compete with the Scriptures. The Confessions do not supplant the Word of God. Our Book of Concord is our confession of faith, just as the Ecumenical Creeds are. In fact, the Book of Concord starts with the three Creeds of Christendom.
The faked Biblical piety is a mask for the Calvinism of their agenda, which they no longer hide. As the preface to the History of Pietism says, crypto-Calvinism is no longer crypto with Valleskey's "spoiling the Egyptians," endorsed by the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly and the District Pussycats.
What is the use feigning a quia subscription while providing massive amounts of money to Schwaermer schools and conferences?
In the last 25 years, the path to promotion in all the synods has been time spent at Fuller, Willow Creek, or Trinity Deerfield. Ask Larry Olson, Our Staph Infection. Or Jim Huebner, First-VP-in Waiting.
The button to push for immediate defenestration is criticism of the Church Growth Movement. The Left Foot of Fellowship has been extended many times.
Tell me, you who hold the Church Growth Movement so dear - does Fuller Seminary spend as much time defending Lutheran as you spend defending theirs? Do they suggest Luther's books to their confused and confusing students?
