"The modern radical spirit which would sweep away the Formula of Concord as a Confession of the Church, will not, in the end, be curbed, until it has swept away the Augsburg Confession, and the ancient Confessions of the Church--yea, not until it has crossed the borders of Scripture itself, and swept out of the Word whatsoever is not in accord with its own critical mode of thinking. The far-sighted rationalist theologian and Dresden court preacher, Ammon, grasped the logic of a mere spirit of progress, when he said: 'Experience teaches us that those who reject a Creed, will speedily reject the Scriptures themselves.'"
Theodore E. Schmauk and C. Theodore Benze, The Confessional Principle and the Confessions, as Embodying the Evangelical Confession of the Christian Church, Philadelphia: General Council Publication Board, 1911, p. 685.
WELS pastors have little regard for the Book of Concord. Their knowledge of the Confessions is abysmal. Missouri pastors have not transcended "The Glories of Our Synod" approach. They are sarcastic or faux-deaf when I suggest they read Luther instead of Stoeckhardt, Pieper, and other Walther-clones.
I remember Augustana Seminary graduates writing back to me, "I worship Jesus, not Luther," when asked politely about their doctrine. Look at where that got them, as they merged into the LCA and later ELCA. The old Syn Conference is on the same path, with SP Harrison quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer on his posts.
Given the poor preparation of MDiv graduates and their lack of study as pastors, concentrating on Luther and the Book of Concord would be the best remedy for all the woes of Lutherdom. But only if one believes in the efficacy of the Word.
Schmauk has the best diagnosis of the problem--above--which he saw firsthand, when Biblical inerrancy was still taken for granted in mainline Protestantism. An anti-Creed attitude is easily masked by Pietistic sanctimony, but the sarcasm about the Confessions and Luther are only a prelude to rejecting the Scriptures.
The Confessions were extremely important to the General Council, the group that broke with the unionistic, revivalistic General Synod after the Civil War. That interest, and the influence of the Henkels (Book of Concord pioneers in America) allowed the parts of the Muhlenberg tradition to come together again in 1918, forming the ULCA.
Several readers have noted that pastors in the ULCA were far more orthodox than the current pastors of Missouri, WELS, and the Little Sect. Tappert's work on the Book of Concord and Sasse revealed his commitment to sound theology, at a time when Missouri was hastening to abandon Luther altogether.
Inerrancy cannot be the key issue, as important as it is. A group of rock-ribbed Calvinists will be inerrancy Stormtroopers one generation and anti-inerrancy the next.
The Book of Concord provides, with Luther, an inoculation against the errors of the past, teaching a Biblical theology that cannot be refuted, based on the Holy Spirit working through the Word alone, rejecting all false doctrine in the clearest possible language.
Walther was not superman, in spite of the press he still enjoys from the idolators. He was a poor Biblical exegete, except when quoting Luther. He wanted to clone himself, so F. Pieper and George Stoeckhardt followed him. Note, readers, that UOJ did not dominate the LCMS for a long time. The second generation institutionalized false doctrine. Subsequent followers raised it to the level of the Assumption of Mary, so ancient and accepted that questioning Knapp's doctrine was akin to atheism.
Arguing against UOJ from the Confessions is a waste of time when dealing with the Syn Conference MDivs. They cannot debate what they have never grasped. Ask them to compare synods and they will write a detailed book full of trivial details.
I have featured 60 years of UOJ argumentation from WELS, so it did not start with Kokomo. Pastors sat through those presentations without laughing out loud? or crying? Not only are they badly argued from any perspective, they are hopelessly anti-Biblical and anti-Confessional.
To its credit, Missouri is fractured enough to avoid the robotic Amen Chorus of Enthusiasm. Robert Preus repudiated his own UOJ stance in his final book. WELS and the Little Sect are devoted to Enthusiasm. They imagine that mild objections to The BORE and Jeske suffice.
WELS SP Schroeder is not going to change anything, because he is devoted to UOJ as well. His Melanchthon, DP Buchholz, is a wizard in Kokomo justification, using misdirection of the eye adroitly in the service of false doctrine. How can DP Buchholz object to Jeff Gunn's plagiarized Enthusiasm when his solution is kelmed Enthusiasm with a twist of lemon?
The so-called Intrepid Lutherans could not defend their position for more than 24 hours. Someone said, "It's not the courage of your convictions that matters, but defending an attack on your convictions that matters." They crumpled and fell from one stern word. I know from an email that they were attacked for several days. Organized? Orchestrated? You betcha. For the Intrepds (sic), a mild skirmish was Hell on wheels, so they backed away and flipped.
Some people are starting to read the Confessions again. We only value what is being taken away. As long as we feel secure, we glide into thanklessness and carelessness. We should be grateful that the assault has finally awakened some people.
Various unnamed people ask for help on doctrinal issues. Sometimes I regret that the biggest doctrinal frauds are out there, spreading more poison to feather their nests. But pan-Lutheran shunning has given me the freedom and the time to write about Biblical doctrine.
I have another quiet time coming up. Teaching slows down for January, and Obama's troops may kill it altogether. The elitists hate career universities. I will work on three books:
1. Jesus Lord of Creation - in color on Lulu.com.
2. An organized version of Luther versus the UOJ Pietists: Justification by Faith.
3. Improvements on Thy Strong Word.
"Since now, in the sight of God and of all Christendom [the entire Church of Christ], we wish to testify to those now living and those who shall come after us that this declaration herewith presented concerning all the controverted articles aforementioned and explained, and no other, is our faith, doctrine, and confession, in which we are also willing, by God's grace, to appear with intrepid hearts before the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, and give an account of it; and that we will neither privately nor publicly speak or write anything contrary to it, but, by the help of God's grace, intend to abide thereby: therefore, after mature deliberation, we have, in God's fear and with the invocation of His name, attached our signatures with our own hands."
Thorough Declaration, Of Other Factions and Sects, Formula of Concord, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1103.
"Moreover [On the other side], both the ancient and modern enthusiasts have taught that God converts men, and leads them to the saving knowledge of Christ through His Spirit, without any created means and instrument, that is, without the external preaching and hearing of God's Word."
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II. 4. Free Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 881.
