Fake-O-Bod Dodges the Islamic Question at Martin Luther College

Do the various synod leaders wonder why people are fleeing the abuse?
Do WELS or ELS pastors ever admit doctrinal error?
They can go "as far as their conscience allows," as Rev. Frey advises,
which is no problem for DP Seifert.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

Former Fired MLS Pres. Aaron Frey Writes on Facebook about Greg Jackson

Aaron Fry wrote the following on Facebook Sept. 21, 2010. It is obvious he is writing about Dr. Gregory Jackson and his Ichabod, the Glory Has Departed blog--
Like a fool still holding out hope for a man I used to respect long ago, I did check a very inflammatory anti-WELS blog just before sharing this. I know the issue of which he speaks, we've already addressed it in class and leaving for that ...reason would not be for the good of MLS. It would be lying. I only comment on it for the sake of the students who might be hurt by his unhelpful and injurious blogging habits. If he was (sic) correct, I would have had to resign for cause of heresy. It's hard to believe even now that he is so quick to believe a rumor just so that he can have a more sensational accusation, but now that he has attacked me directly without any knowledge and without a word to me, I don't know how else to take it.

***

GJ - Aaron Frey and Tim Glende - you attack me all the time without a word.

I am reporting news and offering my seasoned opinion. I feel sorry for the school and for Aaron's family, but I know the Good Ol' Boys network will take care of Aaron.

I asked six people about what happened at MLS. The story did not match the facts associated with the story. I could name the pastors who did not answer me at all. One was active on Facebook at the time. I sent him an IM. No response. Others were in a position to know. No response. Two responded with the facts.

Aaron knows Tim Glende from MLS. Frey is hardly alone in knowing who writes the fake blog.

Here is one flimsy excuse on Frey's blog. He has the qualities of a future DP. The words quoted above on Fake-O-Bod are not on Facebook. Perhaps Aaron listened to sage advice from the synod's lawyer and erased them. Glende erases his blog posts every so often and runs away, only to appear again.

I will post Aaron's slippery comments, which will impress no one and clarify nothing. Apparently they decided to jettison the burnout excuse, which is not a good start for a new job search.

The latest excuses are:

Marge, I made the decision to resign from MLS for the good of the ministry. I didn't do anything to disqualify myself (you know, no tragic, public sin or heresy and such--that would be "for cause") and it wasn't for personal reasons (health, couldn't handle it, wife or family couldn't handle it). The circumstances were unique and unforeseeable, and letting the Lord find someone else to continue in my office clearly became the most beneficial thing for the ministry at MLS and for the largest number of people. I was happy to serve the Lord and MLS by taking the office and, although it was much harder than taking the office in the first place, I was happy to serve the Lord and MLS by resigning, too. The joy of the once-in-a-lifetime chance of serving in the office will, nonetheless, be a loss that I will mourn greatly, and for this we request your prayers. (Facebook)


From his blog:

Reasons I Didn’t Resign

21092010

Brothers and sisters in Christ, especially my family at Michigan Lutheran Seminary-

I can’t say it’s been a surprise, but it’s certainly been an experience listening to friends and families share their conjectures with me. Sometimes it’s what they’ve heard from others and sometimes what they’ve personally thought. I wanted to put up this post to try to ease some tensions and to try not to lose the value of my resigning for the good of the ministry.

We have a few terms in our circles for describing different kinds of resignations. A resignation for cause is the one that I think people fear the most. Resignation for cause means that a called worker has done something sinful that disqualifies them from serving. A clear-cut example would be teaching heresy. Other more complicated issues would be getting caught in some big, public sin like adultery or embezzlement. The distinguishing mark of resignation for cause is the repentance that everyone will be hoping for. The forgiveness the resigned called worker receives is the same forgiveness we all receive—complete and unconditionally paid for by the blood of Christ. However, the called worker still must leave their post because leaders in the church are held to a higher standard than those who serve as members. “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap” (1 Timothy 3:2-4,7). There is the possibility that the called worker might return under some circumstances, but the reputation requirements do make it difficult.

A called worker may also resign for personal reasons. Due to circumstances in his life, he cannot do the work. Perhaps his health is failing. Perhaps his family can’t handle the pressures of the ministry at this point in their lives. Perhaps it is an issue in which his wife needs extra attention so that he does not feel he is able to offer due attention to his work. These things could certainly be addressed in a way that allowed a return to the ministry if the the worker desired it.

There are some circumstances that are much more difficult to parse. There is no great, public sin. Inability to serve is not the issue. As a leader the called worker has a decision to make in a difficult situation and reaches the conclusion that the best thing for the ministry of the gospel in general and the ministry of the calling body in particular is that he simply step away, confident that the Lord of the church will provide another worker to take his place.

That’s where I am. I came here to offer myself in whatever service the school needed most. I can’t say that I thought this was the service my alma mater would need most from me, but I’m confident that is the very best service I could offer under these very unexpected circumstances.

What were the circumstances? That’s the thing, my friends. I can only serve the school by this resignation if I am able to take the reasons with me. I can only tell you why I didn’t resign. Did my marriage need intensive counseling? I’m happy to take the free counseling that the synod offers to help us deal with the upcoming transition, but I could have gotten that without resigning through the Member Assistance Program that operates right out of the school, too. Plus, that would be a resignation for personal reasons. Does it have to do with my hospitalization last spring? That’s an interesting coincidence, but that issue has been corrected (and, again, that would be personal reasons). Did I do something wrong? I do plenty, but nothing to disqualify me from serving in the ministry. Last but not least, is there something going on in the synod that a poor, naive parish pastor couldn’t handle looking at and so he had to walk away? Brothers and sisters, walking away from that wouldn’t be for the good of the ministry, would it? Of course not. There’s plenty I’d still like to work on in the ministerial education system and in the synod, too, and, quite frankly, I wanted to keep working on those issues as the president of MLS and as a delegate to the 2011 convention (I was up next for the first time in my ministry). Those things were hard to give up.

It was very hard to decide that it was better for the ministry to leave than to stay. I would not have imagined a situation happening where my service was better in resigning rather than in staying and working on the issues I had been most concerned about. Nonetheless, the situation occurred. If you can come up with it by guessing at what happened, then you’re smarter than I am—a possibility I certainly concede. However, this post is as much as I can ever say in terms of confirming or denying whether or not you actually came up with the right situation. Otherwise my service in resignation becomes useless and the school is not served by it. Seeing as I’ve already seen the positive effects of my resignation in action, I’m definitely not going to say more than I have. It’s the hardest service I’ve ever performed, but it’s still a service to the Lord, and I can still honestly say that there is joy in it.

So thank you for your concerns and prayers. I still have my CRM status, which means that I am still eligible to preach and receive a call. But I will be looking for a job while my family heals from this. We will be mourning the joy of serving at MLS. Will I go back to the ministry? I’d like to, but I want to be sure of my family’s feelings first. Resignations like this are rare but still possible, no matter where you serve. I can tell them how unlikely a similar situation would be, but first I want to make sure that it won’t sound to them something like talking about the rarity of a plane crash to someone who has just survived one.

[end of blog smokescreen]

Thanks again for your support and prayers, and God bless you all with the peace that comes from knowing that the omnipotent Father in heaven was more willing to let his perfectly faithful Son die innocently for our sins rather than see us die in them—and especially with the peace of his victory over our death.

Your brother in Christ,

Aaron

***

GJ - We all know Glende is hysterical about anyone going to Notre Dame, but he is silent about AnnMarie, the female theologian from Notre Dame, the Muslim apologist speaking at Mary Lou College.

Mrs. Ichabod just said, "He is only opposed to you going to Notre Dame." Ah, that is it.

Frey and Glende try to wrap themselves in the mantle of WELS sentiment, trying to claim Ichabod is an anti-WELS blog. (That is bad, automatical in WELS, like being anti-American.) Their reading comprehension is as limited as their grammar.

This blog was planned as a discussion about apostasy. If I see it in any given denomination, I discuss it, with extensive research and links provided. That has always inflamed the WELSians Pietists. They do not want their false doctrine to be quoted.

MLS is the red-headed kid no one wants to acknowledge. Frey has done the synod a favor by moving the school faster toward closing. Frey's resignation after a few month's work proves something was wrong, just like Glende's assistant asking for a new call after only a few weeks in the Promised Land of Church and Change, Driscoll and Groeschel.

Since WELS leaders are so bad at lying, they should start telling the truth and apologizing for the harm they have done.

Watch MLS enrollment plummet.

British Church Mouse and Islam.Driscoll, A WELS Favorite

Church Mouse knows about Eurabia.


churchmousec (http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/) has left a new comment on your post "WELS' Yankee Stadium Moment: The Wrong Message abo...":

Thank you so much, Dr Jackson, for this succinct yet informative post on Islam.

To anyone reading this post, please circulate, discuss the facts therein with your family, ensuring that your children are aware of them. Also, please read some reliable books (pre-1970s) about the Crusades. The subject has been generally absent from history books in schools and, where it is present, has been a revisionist study for many years.

All best wishes from the UK
Churchmouse

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churchmousec (http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Willowcreek's Little Chapel - Turning Your Ministe...":

Two words for what's going on here: 'itching ears'!

Every time I see Mark Driscoll's name, I get queasy. This is someone who has had no qualms about speculating on Jesus's metabolic functions in front of an audience. He makes light of them ... very bad, indeed:

http://thechristianworldview.com/tcwblog/archives/1640

'Mark had fun with the question whether or not Jesus went “potty.” ... What was the congregation’s response? They laughed.'

What more can one say? There is a LOT more at the link.

Churchmouse

Guess who studied under Driscoll in Seattle? Ski, Glende, and Bishop Katie.

Vatican Bank Laundering Funds

Vatican bank chief investigated over money laundering claims

In unprecedented move, judge freezes €23m held in account at financial institution with close church links

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• John Hooper in Rome
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 September 2010 13.23 BST
• Article history

Under investigation: Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, president of the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR). Photograph: Emanuela De Meo/AFP/Getty Images

The head of the Vatican bank has formally been placed under investigation in an inquiry into a suspected violation of Italy's money-laundering laws, judicial sources said today.

At the same time, a judge in Rome ordered a freeze on €23m (£19.5m) held in an account opened by the Vatican bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), at another financial institution in the Italian capital. It was thought to be the first time such action had been authorised against the IOR in Italy.

Since last September, the Bank of Italy has classified the Vatican bank as a non-EU institution whose dealings with other banks are thus subject to especially close scrutiny.

The sources said that last Wednesday, on the eve of Pope Benedict's departure for Britain, a unit of the Italian revenue guard alerted prosecutors to an anomaly in an account owned by the IOR at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano, which has close historic ties to the Catholic church.

Of the €28m deposited, €23m was destined for transfer to JP Morgan in Frankfurt and another €3m to another Italian bank. But in neither case, it is alleged, had the Vatican's bankers supplied details of the individual or corporation for whom they were acting, as required by a 2007 legislative decree.

The sources said the president of the IOR, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and another senior executive were under investigation. It was not immediately clear whether there was any connection between this inquiry and another in which the Vatican bank has been named, which concerns suspect property dealings.

The Vatican has a long history of withholding co-operation from Italian investigators seeking access to its bank's books. The IOR was involved in a major scandal in 1982 arising from the fraudulent bankruptcy of Banco Ambrosiano, then Italy's largest private bank.

WELS' Yankee Stadium Moment: The Wrong Message about Islam - From the Genius Faculty at Martin Luther College

Fuller Seminary sets the doctrinal standards for Martin Luther College.
Ask Larry Olson, DMin, Fuller Seminary.

DP Benke, rescued from oblivion by McCain-Barry, forced himself (uninvited) onto the Yankee Stadium pan-religious celebration to commemorate the innocents slaughtered on 9/11/2001. Benke gave a a generic prayer at this generic service, ran into a little flak from conservatives, and triumphed again. The conflict spawned ELDONA.

Martin Luther College's promotion of AnnMarie is worse than Yankee Stadium. The school invited her and paid her handsomely to perform, an event scheduled for September 22nd.

AnnMarie is not just a guitarist, although she is well known for her music. She earned a PhD in theology from Notre Dame and uses that credential to teach "understanding Islam" for the US government. She has published her propaganda on the Internet.

I have taught about Islam for years, drafted into teaching world religion. That assignment got me into reading thousands of pages of history. No one can summarize 14 centuries of Islam. I will offer some thoughts about why the MLC program is a disaster.

Mohammed was hated during his lifetime and there were efforts to eliminate him. After he died, a failed attempt to get rid of his reform ended in Muslim victories. Islam is a reform of Bedouin polytheism, and many customs and ideas (such as the meteorite at Mecca) predate Mohammed.

Mohammed died in 632 AD, and Islam expanded militarily until 1683, stopped outside of Vienna by a brilliant charge against the undefended Ottoman camp.

Much earlier, Islam captured Jerusalem from the Christians and precipitated the First Crusade by capturing Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem and selling them into slavery. Subsequent crusades were not successful, unless one counts the Spanish campaign to drive Muslims out of the country into North Africa. That created one dream - to recapture the days of Muslim dominance over Spain.

The great dream of Islam had been to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), which was a Christian empire for 11 centuries. They accomplished this on May 29, 1453, and sold their captives into slavery. Constantinople had prevented Islam's surge into Europe, which moved forward after that victory.

Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (Turkish) is the best known Muslim territory. The empire expanded in every direction and survived until WWI.

There was some religious toleration in the Ottoman Empire, but there were also rules that encouraged Christians to become Muslims.

If a Christian area was captured, the Muslim army thought nothing of forcing circumcision on all males. They also took away the sons of Christians and turned them into Janissaries, fanatical troops trained especially in military skills. A man who objected to having his son taken away was simply killed on the spot.

When Islam encountered Hinduism in its conquests, thousands of Hindu priests were slaughtered because they were pagans and deserved death. Hindu temples were destroyed. The tensions in India today date from that period. Partition after WWII caused unimaginable bloodshed, from both parties.

The most famous example of persecution by Muslims is called the Armenian Genocide. At the end of WWI, there was a systematic campaign to murder or drive out all Armenians from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Hitler is credited as saying that he could get away with persecuting the Jews because no one lifted a finger to help the Armenians. (The Kardashians are Armenians.)

Myths Promoted
Religious persecution is a fact, and no religion has been free from that accusation. The myth of Muslim toleration is often contrasted with carefully selected episodes of Christian behavior.

The Muslims did absorb and transmit culture, but they did not single-handedly preserve the classical culture of Greece and Rome, as some school materials claim. That kind of puffery exists only because the Greek-Christian Byzantine Empire is almost completely unknown and unstudied. Greek scholars fled Constantinople to help start the Renaissance in Europe.

The Irish also preserved classical culture - an interesting sidebar all by itself.

In fact, war and conquest are great ways to spread culture and technology, as Alexander the Great proved.

The British were seldom sensitive to local concerns while building their world-wide empire, but they left behind higher education and democracy wherever their flag flew: America, Canada, Australia, India, and a few other countries.

Reading the news from Europe (Eurabia, as it is called) - I fail to see religious toleration or the improvement of culture in those developments.

What Will WELS Do?
WELS will not even have a minor dust-up over this lecture/concert offered by a visiting female theologian. Decades of unionism have turned spines into Silly Putty.

Willowcreek's Little Chapel - Turning Your Ministers into Little Hybels and Lowbelles

Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel

& Student Center

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WELS National Campus Ministry Staff Conference

December 27 — December 28, 2010 (Monday noon — Tuesday noon)

70% of our WELS confirmands are gone by age 22. We know you care, so you’ll want to attend…

University of Wisconsin—Madison
(Concourse Hotel by the Wisconsin State Capitol)

Pastors, campus ministry staff and lay-leaders… the “Connect” Conference is for you if you wish to…

• Take your ministry to college students to the next level
• Rejuvenate your ministry to college students
• Start a ministry to college students
• Participate in a working conference led by four skilled teachers who will help you develop specific “take home” ministry strategies based on Holy Scripture
• Analyze four ways you might connect the gospel (biblically and culturally) with young adults: Simplify, Deepen, Expect & Multiply—drawing on Thom and Sam Rainers’ research (Essential Church?: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts) of 1,000 young adults who dropped out of church, including those who came back
• Reflect on Sam Rainer’s observation: “Young adults dropping out of the church has less to do with ‘losing their religion’ and more about a desire for a vibrant Christian community”

Where?

Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel and the Concourse Hotel by the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, WI

How much?

$100 (includes lodging and meals)
Note: This conference is subsidized with a generous grant. 100% Travel subsidy is available for the first 50 registrants (up to $400 per person) and 50% travel subsidy for all remaining registrants.

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Biography

Thom S. Rainer (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, Tennessee. He was founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His many books include Transformational Church, Essential Church, and Simple Church.

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Salty Earth Pictures

Music by the WELS-Tones,
one of my obvious Photoshops.
The material below is real.

Urkel has left a new comment on your post "Original Words - Lord, Keep Us Steadfast:Martin Lu...":

What do you think of the production company the Salty Earth Pictures? I found a YouTube channel that is a bit suspicious. Is my suspicion well-founded? (Apparently this company has connections to the WELS.) Be sure to check out "A Word for Women." (It comes dangerously close to a woman doing pastor-like work, unless it actually is pastor-like work.) This is the fishiest set of videos that I have seen; the fishiest has the title "What is your Personal Ministry." Isn't that some sort of Church Growth buzz-phrase?

***

GJ - I see a Steve F. Zambo listed there, and that name is connected with WELS media here.

On Facebook, WELS and Thrivent and relief.



Insights from "You've Got Mail."

Original Words - Lord, Keep Us Steadfast:Martin Luther College Is Going ELCA

Influence shrinking, shrinking.


Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word;
And curb the murderous pope and Turk
Who'd wrest the kingdom from Thy Son
And set at naught all He hath done.

Luther's original words have been changed for the delicate. Above is an English version.

Waiting for Glende's Fake-O-Bod

Team Glende should be on Martin Luther College's case by now, but they are not. Their fake, anonymous blog is filled with wrath that I went to Notre Dame.

The guitarist theologian AnnMarie is playing and teaching about the glories of Islam.

If I still lived there, I would ask about Female Genital Mutilation, which is practiced in Muslim lands. Do not Google that unless you have a barf bag nearby. It is horrible beyond belief.

Child brides would be a good question. Full-grown men marry little girls 7 to 9 years old.

And there are little details left out of her propaganda about the cruelty of Christians and the toleration of Muslims. For instance, the slave trade in Africa was always a Muslim business. Moreover, the First Crusade was precipitated by Muslims capturing Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem and selling them into slavery.

Jerusalem was a Christian territory and this pouncing on peaceful pilgrims made the Crusaders want to protect them and regain the Holy Land. They did not set any records for decorous behavior, but to portray Islam as heaven-itself and Christianity as evil is typical disinformation.

We all know the MLC students are unprepared for critical thinking. They believe a Fuller DMin qualifies a man to teach Staph Ministry as a step toward women's ordination.

AnnMarie is a theologian from Notre Dame. That should be enough to send Glende and Ski into DTs.

Check their blog daily for their latest on the Muslim Papist theologian/guitarist at Martin Luther College. They should unburden themselves soon.

Double Good News

Eight years of teaching at one school earned me a DD rating, which is the largest size, as you probably guessed. One D is for doctorate. The other D is for teaching experience. Each course is a separate contract, with no benefits, but online education is thriving at the moment. I get a lot of positive remarks from those classes.

The other school gave me a bonus for achieving their benchmarks, which involve a number of qualifications, including student retention, grading, and student satisfaction.

Bad news for WELS - continued loss of income means additional cuts are already planned for the schools. AnnaMarie may be the last RC theologian/guitarist hired. They may have to resort to Lutherans in the future.

Oh no!

Stalinism Thrives in the Modern Medieval Church

Professor John Jeske seemed offended that I wore this to a WELS get-together.
I wore it "to fit in" with WELS.
He was not offended that the WELS seminary president was a Fuller alumnus and advocate.

Stalinism is a state of mind, where everyone is under suspicion and punishment is distributed generously, just to keep everyone else in line. Read Animal Farm for pointers and 1984 for another treatment.

Freedom is the enemy of tyranny. That is why church organizations work so hard at suppressing the truth and providing cover stories for the evil they do. One consistent method is the use of synod minders.

A synod minder is someone who makes sure that the pastors never stray from the official agenda. Minders love the derived power they get from their roles. A few of them are lay-toadies. Most of them are clergy.

If an independent group has a meeting about the synod's doctrine, minders will show up or closely question anyone who attended. I attended several independent meetings in St. Louis where about 30 AARP members gathered, watched over by five to ten synod officials, including the editor of the Lutheran Witness. One seminary student who attended was never approved for ordination.

Sometimes a parochial teacher will help out, sending information about congregation meetings to the right official before people get home.

Overall, NPH has been very kind to me, but they did refuse to publish Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, even after placing it on their print schedule. The reason given was--and I paraphrase--you have to change your attitude. That led me into independent publishing, and they promoted the book, astonishing me. WELS sold boxes of CLP, just as they sold out two printings of Liberalism.

Minders work through friends. Kincaid Smith, a frequent contributor to Christian News, phoned to tell me not to publish in CN. That probably came from Mischke telling Orvick to get someone on my case. The editor of The Northwestern Lutheran (now FICKLE) told me I would never get anything published in his magazine if I wrote again for Christian News. I did and the accepted articles never saw the light of day. NWL paid for articles and CN did not, but I was unwilling to sign on to Stalinism. Before my mother died, we sang "Don't Fence Me In" with her fellow patients at the nursing home. The song ended and she said, "That's me." Mrs. I said, "You got it from both parents."

Based on my example, anyone can see that the publishing house and magazine are used to promote the agenda, which is seldom related to sound doctrine or even to satisfied readers. FICKLE is a joke, an expensive toy for Church and Change, paid through WELS offerings.

Blogs have minders, too. Google helps by allowing people to have notices sent whenever their names or certain tags show up. Blog-minders make sure no one ever pursues a doctrinal issue to the point of clarity. Paul McCain--a layman who wears clerics all the time (available for a call?)--warned his brethren not to form any new confessional groups, as soon as Harrison was elected. His dogmatics expert, Father Jack Kilcrease, OP, helps out. Minders often work with lapdogs, who give the impression of greater numbers, a spontaneous display of opposition or concern.

As my readers know, my blog email address is published and often printed in a post for anyone to use. Nevertheless, one ELS pastor has been whining to one of my friends - about how he is misunderstood and blah-blah. Does he write to me? Of course not. Does he explain his actions, as he has claimed? Definitely not. Is this a case of Matthew 18, so often cited by the minders themselves?

There are synod minders and those who allow themselves to be minded. My biggest laughs come from anonymous minders who tell me to repent, using copious Scripture passages, but cannot use their names. Based on style and content, I would put the number at about three who have commented that way with any consistency.

However, there is a vast body of minders who warn people not to trust anything they read on Ichabod. Unfortunately, I am one of several people teaching members how to spot false doctrine from their own congregation's website. I hear from them all the time.

Every DP and CP is a synod minder. If you think they are concerned about doctrine or practice, or keeping people safe from predators, look around. The evidence is there in the congregations and the police blotters.

Synod minders are doctrinal capons.

Norman Teigen Is Back

This is not Norman Teigen, but if it were, he would be saying, "My blog is back."

Worse - MLC Roman Catholic Theologian A Muslim Apologist

The Muslims dream of retaking Spain,
and MLC's Roman Catholic theologian/musician AnnaMarie
is a obvious apologist for that agenda.

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churchmousec (http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Worse - MLC Roman Catholic Theologian A Muslim Apo...":

I should have added that YOUR content is essential here. Many people are unaware of what this occupation REALLY meant (and why Jan Sobieski's siege was so important in Vienna in 1683, if I recall correctly -- perhaps worth a post?).

Your friend in Christ
Churchmouse

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A Delicate Dissonance

by AnnaMaria Cardinalli-Padilla, PhD. • SantaFe.com

Dec 15, 2009

Local History • Hispanic Influences

For a moment, let your imagination slip away into a tavern in Santa Fe, late on a Friday night. Take a sip of deep red wine, and hear the driving rhythms of flamenco guitar being played. Focus on its sound. It is compelling. It is familiar, yet speaks of something distant and foreign. You may begin to hear echoes of a sound that isn't quite European. You note hints of an exotic scale, and you notice dissonances that seem to tug at your attention to tell their story.This is the sound of a number of Spanish peoples--Mozarabes, Merranos, and Moriscos--each as Spanish as the next, but some forced into struggle and stealth simply to maintain their identities in a world that had once embraced their diversity. It is also the sound of the Gitanos, the gypsies whose art still speaks to that lost beauty.

For 700 years, ending in 1492, Spain existed under Moslem rule, long flourishing intellectually, artistically and culturally in an unparalleled environment where the three monotheistic religions were tolerated and, at times, mutually appreciated. A tenant of Islam states that religion can not be compulsory. Therefore, those living under Moslem rule had the freedom to practice their individual faiths as well as enjoy the lifestyle that only Moslem communities knew.

While Europe endured its dark ages, the Mediterranean Moslem world flourished in all regards--from its legendary achievements in philosophy, science, astronomy, medicine, and art to very practical advancements unknown to most of Europe in cleanliness, fashion, perfumes and cosmetics. This world knew the use of fine dining utensils, cuisines, and spices and refined the enjoyment of poetry and music. Perhaps the greatest achievement among all of these was the freedom of time that such improvements allowed for citizens to study, learn from, and appreciate the surrounding world.

Imagine this advanced society and fine lifestyle as it must have existed in the near Eden of Andalusian Spain--an endlessly sun-baked climate, abundant in citrus, olives, and grain, surrounded by sea and mountains that insulated its inhabitants from the concerns and cruelty of the world beyond. To the land of Andalusia, the Moslem world brought the sound of its music. Its expressive scales and intricate beauty was embraced by Andalusians--Jewish and Christian alike.

Jewish communities had existed in the edenic land they called "Sepharad" since time immemorial--in fact, the history of their arrival in Southern Spain is so ancient to be only the material of legend and myth. When Moslem conquerors first arrived in the land, Jewish citizens quickly allied with them to cast out the Visigoths--a northern people who, while practicing an uncertain form of Christianity, had been barbaric in their rule. In the freedom and beauty of the courtyards of Sepharad, influenced by the intricate Arabic art and music surrounding them, Jewish poets and musicians created gentle love songs.

Catholics, too, practiced and flourished in Andalusia. Called Mozarabes, they learned from the most exquisite and sophisticated expressions around them and created an Arabic-language liturgy that surely reflected the Jewish and Moslem artistic sensibility of the land while giving voice to their Catholic faith. Unfortunately, the harmony that existed in Andalusia was too delicate in its beauty to last for long. The true Mozarabic liturgy was one of the first things destroyed early on as Spain began to change and thoughts of the "Reconquista"--the return of Spain to Christian rule--took hold.

In 1492, the last Moslem Prince was expelled from his palace, called the Alhambra, on a hillside outside of Granada. The Alhambra still stands as a testament to the beauty, sophistication, understanding, and gentle artistry that was Andalusia. Legend tells us that as that last prince crossed the hillside that would forever take the Alhambra from his view, he cried a single, heartbroken tear.

Like a pendulum, it seems, a society that was once unparalleled in its tolerance would at some point become legendary in its intolerance. The Reconquista complete, all Jewish and Moslem citizens were required to convert or to leave the land. This resulted in the mass exodus of Sephardic Jews and Spanish Muslims into North Africa and the Middle East. It also resulted in vast numbers of Jews and Muslims choosing to stay in their Spanish home by acceding to conversion, whether this was heartfelt or not. Little did those conversos who chose to remain know the trials and violence that would await them.

Their journey would eventually play a part in the 400-year history of Santa Fe being celebrated through 2010. This series of articles will continue to explore their stories.

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Wally's World
Program Options: Ideas for presenting Anna Maria on your campus (back to top)
1) AnnaMaria’s typical program, a Musical Journey, tracing the Cultural and Historical Development of the Roots of Flamenco and its parallel in northern New Mexico through the dramatic storyline of the life of an individual character. While this program is continually updated and adapted, elements represented musically often include the fleeing of Inquisitional Spain in order to more safely maintain a unique ethnic/religious identity (i.e. the cases of Crypto-Judaism and Crypto-Islam, the plight of the gypsies, or the suppression of Mozarab Catholic expression), the new cultural developments encountered in an emerging Mexico, and the trials and triumph of Spanish Colonial identity in the most dangerous and remote outpost of the Spanish New World. This especially explores the contributions of the Penitente cult, the great maintainer of Spanish religiosity and culture through centuries of isolation and a hidden remaining clue to the origins of Hispanic identity throughout the world today.

2) Lectures on the above material suited to a truly academic format. Program option 1 presents a great deal of the heart of my research, but without ever loosing its entertainment value as part of an engaging performance. Program option 2 would address this fascinating area in a much more traditional scholarly format. Academic areas that could be emphasized in lecture format include: Hispanic/Latino Studies, Music, History, Theology, and a number of interdisciplinary possibilities.

3) A purely Classical Concert . Eliminating the research and dramatic aspects of program option 1, I am able to offer a quite popular concert format to the university classical music audience and to a cross-over audience intrigued by the romantic allure of the Spanish guitar.

4) A Master Class. It is typical that universities securing a concert from a classical artist will request that the performer stay to offer technical help to music students on campus in a master class format. I especially love interaction with other young musicians.

5) Any combination of longer-term options, up to a length of Residency. Lectures could be adapted to classroom format, and I would be happy to speak to any number of classes. Musical instruction can expanded from the master class format to longer-term periods of immersion in classical or flamenco technique, perhaps ultimately preparing students for a group flamenco program of their own. (This type of residency has been quite popular with students and worked well for me in the past.)

6) A program designed to help students Fall in Love with Opera by making its world accessible, understandable, and relevant to the life of a young, educated person. Such a program would likely incorporate a series of scenes, and it may well be possible to bring in a small corps of talented professional opera singers to span the necessary range of roles. A more scaled-back program of the same nature might simply focus on the sultry realm of the mezzo-soprano repertoire (i.e. “Get to Know a Mezzo”) or illustrate a style of opera (i.e. Italian, French, etc.).

7) Like program option 6, could possibly incorporate a larger show of more performers or simply be limited to my own performance, Collaborations, Encounters between Nationalities , opens up a different realm of possibilities. For example, the encounter between the Native American and Spanish population presents an interesting musical palate for two performers as does.

Reviews and comments (back to top)

Our students ABSOLUTELY LOVED Anna Maria. We got excellent reviews regarding her performance and interaction with our students. Thank you so much for working with us.
Ms. Samantha Wilson, Associate VP for Student Life, Southern Wesleyan University, Central, SC

Anna Maria was AMAZING. She is a lovely person and it was a pleasure meeting her. The audience really enjoyed her. I was surprised by their response. After her last song ended, she walked off stage and they all remained seated…this has never happened. I said that she could answer questions, but if people needed to leave for class they could go. No one moved. Then there were several questions asked, and after that, many came up to meet her personally. Again, I can’t stress how unusual this is for our campus. She was a pleasure to have, and her musical ability was mesmerizing.
Carissa Kollath, Student Activities Coordinator, Northeast Community College – Norfolk, NE

The experience was marvelous for us. As I told AnnaMaria, the website information is very accurate in saying that she engages the audience with such warmth. Her musical ability, knowledge of history and sincerity with the audience is phenomenal.
Barbara Velazquez, Coord of Intercultural Education, Metropolitan Community College - Omaha, NE

I must say that it was a great program. I really enjoyed working with AnnaMaria, because she was both flexible and genial. Her talent and knowledge is definitely unmatched. Everyone there was eager to speak with her and expressed their hope she would come again in the future. Thanks for helping us out with this one. Have a good day!
Tashayla Collins, Director of Student Activities, University of Arkansas, Little Rock

Anna Maria was dynamic, very interactive with the students and she received a standing ovation.
Alex Hines, Director for Cultural Diversity, Winona State University - Winona, MN

AnnaMaria was great! I received a lot of positive feedback! A lot of people that would like her CD, to have her back, etc., thanks…it was a good show! J
Molly Murawksi, Student Life Advisor, Dunwoody College - Minneapolis, MN

AnnaMaria was wonderful and we certainly hope that she is interested in coming back. Many of my students agreed that she was the best performer we have had over the past four years. I hope that AnnaMaria enjoyed her Lakeland College visit as much as we enjoyed her music and company!
Katie Shumway, Fine Arts Coordinator, Lakeland College - Sheboygan, WI

AnnaMaria was great!!!!!!!! Despite some technical difficulties. She was very gracious. The crowd of 205 was great and according to our survey enjoyed her performance very much. The ratings for her on a scale of one being the lowest and five the highest, were all fives. We did have some problems with the lighting and sound, and this being my first "big" event I was not prepared. I will make sure it doesn't happen again. I would like to thank all of you for your service and help. AnnaMaria was very helpful with materials and advice. Thanks again and may God bless you.
José J. Mercado , Associate Dean , Center for Multicultural Enrichment, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

AnnaMaria’s performance at ENMU was superb. Her talent, personality, and disposition towards the faculty, staff, and students were astonishing. Most definitely, we will invite her to come back on campus.
Diana Cordova , Multicultural Affairs Director , Eastern New Mexico University

Things were awesome with AnnaMaria! We love her and I always have a good time talking with her. She is very uplifting and our conversations are always fulfilling! AnnaMaria is just SO wonderful with the students. Please let her know we enjoyed her presence at the college!
Krissie Harris, Coordinator of Student Activities, Oakton Community College - Des Plaines, IL

Lalo - Bill Miller - Anna Maria - - Cultural Day - Grand Valley State University, MI
The event was great. I don't know what to say other than that. Each of them had their own individual input into the success of my event and I greatly appreciated it. Some individuals were even talking about getting Bill Miller to come back to do an event for our Native American community. I thank you for helping work that out for us and we will keep you in mind for future events.
David A. Clark III, Programming Graduate Assistant, Office of Student Life, Grand Valley State University, MI

Anna Maria was wonderful!! The audience and student group that sponsored her, loved the performance.
Brittney Wood, Program Coordinator, Student Activities, Texas A&M, Corpus Christi

Anna Maria's concert went great. We enjoyed the show and got a great turnout. All of us got to know Anna Maria and hang out with her for a while. She is a class act and hopefully we'll get an opportunity to see her again in the future.
Tap Rudra, President, Islander Cultural Alliance, Student Activities, Texas A&M, Corpus Christi

Thank you so much for suggesting Anna Maria. The concert last night was a real hit and I learned a lot from her lecture yesterday morning. We greatly enjoyed having her on our campus. She is a very gifted performer, especially in the way she engages the audience in a dialogue. I will recommend her highly to other campuses.
Billy Pritchett, Campus Arts Director – Northwood University

AnnaMaria, thanks for the fantastic evening with our students last week. I promised to share the student feedback and here it is: Comments: (sic) “I LOVED IT!!” - “She is great! I could tell that she puts herself into what she plays. The passion stands out and makes it so enjoyable!” - “Talented, interesting, and pleasant.” - “Beautiful music. Reminds me of Spring Break last year. I went to Spain; you feel this music more than hear it.” - “Musician was very talented & very pretty.” - “She was incredible. She’s an amazing musician.” - “Excellent performer, excellent program.”
Jamey Campbell, Assistant Director of Student Activities, Hendrix College, AR

AnnaMaria was great! She's very personable and performed well. The feedback I got from the audience was that they enjoyed the music very much. It is always hard for performers to connect with the audience when it is an operating cafeteria, but throughout AnnaMaria's performance she had people moving up to the "stage" area, and hanging out longer than it took them to finish their meals. For us, that shows she was well liked. She was a joy to work with.
Shelley McNeely, Student Development Specialist Western Wisconsin Technical College - La Crosse, WI

AnnaMaria’s performance was wonderful. Her interactions with staff, students, and the public were great. The concert attendees were very pleased with her performances and many remained after the performances to talk with her. Her music, explanations and the background she shared with attendees made it a bit of a personal performance, which attendees enjoyed. She engaged attendees by asking for questions, again bringing the attendees into a more personal setting and experience. She delighted attendees by playing some of the music they requested. I would say it was a huge success and her performance was enjoyed by all.
Beth Raffaelli, Special Events Committee University of Wiscinson - Sheboygan at Shebyogan, WI

The event with Anna Maria went great. First of all, it was a real treat to get to spend the day with her. She is a very down-to-earth person, and very kind. Her performance was awesome, too. I really enjoyed her music. I feel privileged that I was able to spend so much time with such a wonderful person.
Jared, Diversity Chair, University of Akron

AnnaMaria was a wonderful addition to our cultural programming series. The performance she gave in the community theatre was also wonderful - the audience didn't want her to let her quit. She was a delight to work with - she is a gifted artist and performer, she was accommodating, flexible and most of all she is a wonderful person. If all campus programming involved people of her caliber and character this job would be a walk in the woods. I would recommend her without reservation to anyone interested in quality programming.
Dennis Thompson, Director of Placement - Alexandria Technical College

"Some specific things I’d like to say about AnnaMaria is she really asked a lot of questions to find out what her audiences would be so she could tailor her performances to them. She mentioned that some of the requests I made and the kind of performances she did while she was here were not her typical performances so she adapted very well. The presenting that she and her father did were very appropriate and they spoke considerably about the importance of community college and how helpful it was to allowing her to reach her dreams, so that was great. All in all, she and her family were wonderful to work with and very flexible, well organized and prepared!"
Deana Trawny, Associate Dean of Student Services - Marshalltown Community College (IA)

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churchmousec (http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Worse - MLC Roman Catholic Theologian A Muslim Apo...":

Thank you for posting this, Dr Jackson.

Its content needs to be said **again and again and again**.

In Christ
Churchmouse

Shocker - Notre Dame Graduate (PhD, Theology) Welcomed at Martin Luther College

Notre Dame's name means Our Lady of the Lake,
the Blessed Virgin Mother,
Co-Redemptrix,
the Immaculate Conception,
the Mother of the Church.

This week, Martin Luther College is featuring a guest with a PhD in theology from the University of Notre Dame.

Here is webpage linked. No, it is neither a satire nor a hoax.

Here is the bio page.

Tim Glende will be denouncing this on his anonymous blog any moment. He is deathly opposed to anyone tainted by Roman Catholicism.

He is a confessional Lutheran, modeled after his mentor David Valleskey. The only thing that ever upset Valleskey was someone criticizing Church Growth.

Publication Plans

Cover design and artwork by Norma Boeckler

I have uploaded the second rough draft of Luther versus Pietistic UOJ: Justification by Faith.
The PDF download is free.

I receive so much enjoyment and fulfillment from studying these doctrinal issues. I wish others would do more of the same.

God willing I will have a finished version ready for Reformation Day this year, with improvements to follow later. More research is developing.

Thy Strong Word will also be ready from Lulu.com in the near future, perhaps by the same date. The original volume was 650 pages, so this will be a big book.

I would like to devote some donations to promoting the books. That can be done in a number of ways:
1. Sending them to Lutheran libraries.
2. Having them reviewed - not likely but it can happen.
3. Providing several of them as e-books, which costs an extra $200 to prepare. My choices would be CLP and Luther versus the UOJ Pietists.

The costs add up but they are worth it. The WELS Shrinkers in Texas felt they had to organize a conference just to prop up their wheezing gasbag UOP opinions. Thy Strong Word has fueled many a debate where the laity have trounced their UOJ opponents. The last defense of UOJ I heard from a WELS DP was, "I haven't unpacked your book yet."

Library Book Sale To Promote New Publishing Efforts

I am going digital, so the library is being reduced with only a few exceptions. The income will be used to help promote the new books and get into e-books.

The general book categories are:

1. Lutheran and related theology books.
2. World literature.
3. Classic children's literature.
4. English history.

The books are listed in Excel. I would rather sell them by groups. Many are leather bound Easton books. Others are from Folio in England.

I can arrange payments from people I know - EZ pay.

If you are interested, send an email to:

gregjackson1948@qwest.net

I will send the Excel attachment, tomorrow at the earliest.

Every book in every category will be listed - all in one Excel file.