Long ago and far away, a pope resisted the first attempts to impose infallibility on his office. The reason was - crafty clergy wanted to bind him to the previous decision of another pope. He refused infallibility.
Later, the misnamed Pope Pius IX took on the mantle of infallibility and even tried to cure people miraculously.
WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie are in a bind they created for themselves. They have adopted an attitude of infallibility.
Furthermore, they have sided with the Enthusiasts in several major areas of thought.
One is Universal Objective Justification, which came from Halle Pietist George C. Knapp.
The other is another natural consequence of Enthusiasm - the Church Growth Movement.
Mequonites, Betha-knees, and Missiourians think they can tame the Calvinism of CGM, but they cannot even grasp what Calvinism is. They prove that every time they open their yaps.
They confuse inside-the-sem talking points with actual doctrinal studies. Their talking points always conclude, "And that is why we are the greatest, the best, and the purest. And we always have been, too."
They prove their belief in their own infallibility because, like Rome, they point to their man-made church body as the assurance of salvation. They do not trust the Gospel in the Means of Grace for a nano-second. When two different denominations have to use Satanic billboards and Satanic sex education to get people's attention, they have already surrendered to the basest form of marketing. What's next - a picture with an arm around Katy Perry or a Playmate?
Calvinism is Enthusiasm, and Pietism is re-warmed Calvinism.
The Church of Rome also teaches it is immaculate and indefectible. You will catch the irony if you read the first few paragraphs.
The Church of Rome never errs, thanks to the Holy Spirit, but the Scriptures are rather vague and difficult to follow.
Does that sound familiar? It is WELS doctrine. The Wisconsin Sect cannot err, but there are many g-r-e-y areas of Scripture (stretch out grey for the genu-wine WELS affect). Because the Scriptures are so grey, WELS pastors need to interpret them for the lowly laity. And, because the Scriptures are so grey, WELS can change doctrine as often as the Florida coast changes oil.
Not one WELS leader has admitted the doctrinal errors taught the last decades (not to mention UOJ). Ditto Missouri and the ELS.
Every so often, some Shrinker wakes up from the Night Before and posts a comment, asking, "And do you think you are perfect? Have you ever made a mistake?"
All I contribute is an effort to point people to the efficacious Word, the best theologians, and the Confessions.
The satire and polemics are extras I throw in for entertainment. Chemnitz has hilarious asides in Examination, but the Shrinkers would never know that.
I do not have to insist I am perfect, because I prefer the perfect, clear, effective Word to the bedlam of Enthusiastic rah-rah.
The laity express Christian doctrine far better than the MDivs and DMins, because the members do not have to remember contradictory talking points from seminary. When the laity have questions, their abusive clergy yell, "I am the expert. Do not question me!"
I do not know why Lutheran pastors are joining Rome. Lutherans are already more popish than the pope. Lutheran cover-ups of scandals have been far more effective than Rome's too. Why leave a winning team?
