Left-click to enlarge Orion.
When I had a telescope with a 10-inch reflector, I read the astronomy magazines, went to the local astronomy club, and discussed celestial events with friends. The telescope, nicknamed the Water Heater, attracted people who begged to look through eyepiece.
The prominent stars, all the planets, and the constellations have names. I learned the Messier objects, how to find them with star charts, which are just like road maps. The Messier objects have names and numbers, like the star cluster in Hercules, M-13. I still remember the name and number. People used to gasp when they first saw the hundreds of thousands of stars in that compact cluster. "How do you know all these names?" they asked. It helped that one of my members was a retired, published scientist.
I kidded people about learning what was going on around them, every night. Knowing the names and events gave me a greater appreciation of God's Creation. That also began my efforts with gardening based on Creation rather than man-made chemicals. I sold the telescopes and bought earthworms, organic gardening books, and seed. Recently I learned that the pioneer of organic gardening in America, J. I. Rodale, departed from life during a TV interview with Dick Cavett. Rodale had just told a journalist he was going to live to be 100.
Curiosity
Curiosity leads people into asking why things are so, but many do not seem to want that knowledge.
Curiosity led me into research about the conservative Lutherans. The conflict between what they claimed and what they practiced was simply too bizarre. They also made it clear that such topics were too sacred to touch, like the emblem on the floor of a school.
A number of Lutheran writers were like Erasmus before the Reformation, willing to identify some problems but afraid to go any farther. Some leaders have retired (or should retire) from their Fuller-educated, Church Growth saturated careers. Others are retiring in another way, secret critics of CG, timid dissenters who have urged others to do what they would not, for fear of the Enthusiasts. They have lived well by doing and saying almost nothing, trembling at man's word instead of God's Word.
The results are in from this clever plan.
- The Lutheran schools teach Zwingli's doctrine or lead future pastors into Romanism. Millions of dollars have been wasted to undo the Reformation.
- The Lutheran insurance company--promoted in the conservative and apostate congregations--donates millions to secular causes and champions the radical Left. I asked one famous editor about this, but he just received a big grant from Thrivent. His congregation was a Gold Star member. I asked another editor years before, who wanted an article. He got his grant and lost interest.
- In spite of all this brilliance, the conservative Lutheran schools are all in trouble, in spite of serving their Father Below for decades. How could that cloven-footed rascal let them down? The Father of Lies has a reputation for promising everything and giving nothing. A little research might have shown that.
- As if they have to prove how foolish Lutherans have been, ELCA is busy driving out their biggest congregations while re-instating the very pastors who never should have been ordained, due to their desire to be the husband of one husband or the wife of one wife. While all that was brewing, the conservatives were secret or open bedfellows with ELCA.
Confirmation
Every day I get confirmation that the information on this blog is useful. If I get a signed email from someone new, expressing appreciation, I also get anonymous accusations that only support what I have been publishing. Both are encouraging in their own way. Otten's former co-worker - Paul McCain, MDiv, has made his hissy-fits public.
One pastor said, "Your posts really get me upset. Then I read the comments and realize you are correct." I joked with one minister that WELS could have silenced everyone by publishing one issue of The Northwestern Lutheran where the Book of Concord was discussed and recommended to readers. He laughed and agreed it was true. Instead, the wizards at the Love Shack renamed their magazine FIC and gloried in their shame.
That is improving in WELS. I even hear that... I will keep that one to myself for now. Reading the Feedjit map is fun. Whenever I post, Appleton and Texas light up, along with Mankato and Milwaukee.
The apostate leaders thought, "We have Marv Schwan's money, Thrivent grants, and our own Tetzel program for draining estates of cash. We have it made." Spending went up while Schwan money decreased. People realized Thrivent was not their best bet. Selling indulgences got to be very competitive, too. An inundation of money through various headquarters proved that cash was not a Means of Grace after all. Who will speak for these sleek bureaucratic cats when they face the Day of Judgment - the widows they robbed, the congregations they destroyed, the children they betrayed?
Lutherans to Fuller: "You lied and programs died." And apostates cried.
To mock the apostate Lutherans who coveted and emulated them, the citadels of Schuller and Kennedy are selling assets to stay afloat.
Hope and Change
I see a few glimmerings of hope and change. The financial crisis has doomed spendthrift Reformed evangelism as synods begin to go Galt, living for less. Quiche-nik is being threatened by the next election in Missouri. Pope John the Malefactor, Dark Lord of the Little Sect on the Prairie, may not stay in office as long as George the Everlasting. People and congregations are escaping ELCA at last, relearning what they should have known about the Christian faith.
In small but significant steps, WELS is experimenting with Lutheran doctrine. I suggest trying it for a few years. If that does not work, they can always go back to puppets, popcorn, rock music, and soul cafes. The WELS schools may have to collapse to reshape them as Lutheran entities. The next few years are going to be very difficult, even if some common sense returns to the political realm.
Institutions are temporary. Jesus did not say, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but your synod will not pass away." He said, "My Word will not pass away." The Gospel rain moves on, especially when people do not thank God for the Scriptures and the Confessions.
M-13, the star cluster in Hercules.
