How Does UOJ Differ from ELCA's Position?

Could this be why hundreds of ELCA congregations have left Holy Mother Ho and decided against joining the WELS, ELS, or LCMS? -
same universalism as ELCA.

Exposing the ELCA

Exposing the ELCA has documented that the ELCA’s official website supports and promotes Universal Salvation, the belief that “everyone will be saved.”  Within a section called “What We Believe,” on a page dealing with “Salvation” the denomination states:

"Because Jesus is the unique and universal Savior, there is a large hope for salvation, not only for me and others with the proper credentials of believing and belonging to the church, but for all people whenever or wherever they might have lived and no matter how religious or irreligious they may have proved to be themselves. It is clearly God’s announced will that all people shall be saved and come to the knowledge of truth (1 Timothy 2:4)."
(See here)

This is not the only mention of this false teaching on the ELCA website.  On “The Resurrection” page, is a subheading “Resurrection for all?”  The ELCA document, after first saying that most of the verses in the Bible say not everyone will be saved, goes on to say, 

"(B)ut ELCA members also look to New Testament texts that go beyond those parameters . . . Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler coined the phrase ‘Cosmic Christ’ in his 1952 address to the New Delhi assembly of the World Council of Churches, saying, ‘It is now excruciatingly clear that Christ cannot be a light that lighteth everyone coming into the world, if he is not also the light that falls upon the world into which everyone comes.’"

A little later it states, “For ELCA members, the resurrection that completes the victory of Christ over sin and death is not intended for Christians alone.”

The article continues, 

"Beyond that,

• our belief that Christ came into the world to redeem the world (John 3:17)
• our belief in the proclamation that God has ‘a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth,’ (Ephesians 1:10) 
• our trust in God’s righteousness 

causes us to bear witness that Christ, the principal of creation, is also the principal of the new life initiated by his resurrection for all creation. For St. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:19, ‘in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.’

ELCA members believe that, being ‘entrusted’ with this message of reconciliation, we are to proclaim this salvation intended for all humankind, this redemption of the whole world, this resurrection to new life.” (see here) 

This is on the ELCA’s official website, and it is contained in a section called “What We Believe.”  Is there any doubt the ELCA is preaching Universal Salvation?

To read more evidence that the ELCA teaches and promotes Universal Salvation see here.  

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "How Does UOJ Differ from ELCA's Position?":

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and School (W)ELS teaches this clearly:

Brett,
I now must say that you are splitting hairs. ALL MEN ARE SAVED (the guilt of their sins has been washed away), because Christ paid the price for ALL sins. Once again I would go to Romans 5: 12 – 19. Are all going to heaven (saved)?NO. Because not all believe in Jesus as their Savior. Just as the
analogy of the money in the bank asserts: If you don’t believe it is there for you the account will do you no good. Objective justification says that the forgiveness of sins has been completely earned by Christ’s merit, i.e. it is “objectively” there for faith to accept. The faith of the believer doesn’t add anything or complete justification.

That’s all I can say.

In His Service,
Stephan Rodmyre
Principal HTLS

Today’s truth battles have nothing to do with mausoleums, have nothing to do with museums, today’s truth battles are being lost in many cases because no one has the courage to stand today.......Ingrid Schleuter @ 27:31 mark, link.

Today’s truth battles have nothing to do with mausoleums, have nothing to do with museums, today’s truth battles are being lost in many cases because no one has the courage to stand today.......Ingrid Schleuter @ 27:31 mark, link.

The video posted is mentioned here.

Interesting observations about The River Church (non-denominational) are posted here.

http://www.crosstalkamerica.com/

Good News on the Abortion Front--Disturbing Developments in the Church

Date:	October 28, 2010
Host:	Ingrid Schlueter
Guest:	Chris Slattery
Listen:	RealAudio | Windows Media | MP3 | Order Tape or CD

WELS and Missouri Have No Trouble Working with This Apostate

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 28, 2010

ELCA Presiding Bishop Tells Young People 'It Gets Better'
 

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a video essay posted onYou Tube, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered reassurance to young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, saying, "You are a beloved child of God."

     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson said he wanted to speak honestly to young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and offer hope.

     "Your life carries the dignity and beauty of God's creation," Hanson said. "God has called you by name and claimed you forever.  There is a place for you in this world and in this church."  

     Hanson recorded the video in response to numerous recent reports of gay teenagers who have been bullied, with some taking their own lives.  The video can be viewed athttp://www.ELCA.org/itgetsbetter on the ELCA website.

     Hanson said he has listened "with pain and shock" to recent reports of young people who committed suicide, the result of abuse they have suffered because of their sexual orientations.

     "I can only imagine what it's like to be bullied for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," he said.  "But I do know how bullying can destroy someone."

     Hanson, the father of six children and four grandchildren, told a story about his daughter.  He came home one day and found her curled up in a fetal position on the floor weeping uncontrollably.  She was struggling to know "who she was as a biracial young woman," he said.

     "She felt bruised by words people had spoken about her, words that ate away at her sense of identity and self-worth.  I sat down by her on the floor holding her in my arms," Hanson said.

     Words have the power to both harm and heal, he said.  "Sometimes the words of my Christian brothers and sisters have hurt you," Hanson told viewers, "and I also know that our silence causes you pain."

     Hanson recorded his video after results of a survey were released last week by the Public Religion Research Institute.  It showed that two of every three Americans believe that people who are gay commit suicide at least partly because of messages sent from churches and other place of worship.

     Hanson added that as a Christian, he trusts God is working in the world for justice and peace "through you and through me."  

     "It gets better," he said.

     Hanson's video will be submitted to the recently initiated online video project, "It Gets Better," at http://www.itsgetsbetter.com on the Web.  Several public figures and celebrities have contributed video testimonials reassuring young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender that the bullying and torment they experience in their daily lives, especially in high school, will end, and that there's a better life ahead.

     Viewers are also directed to The Trevor Project, a crisis and suicide prevention hotline.

     More than 3,000 video essays have been contributed to "It Gets Better."  Last week, President Obama contributed a video to the project.  The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, a gay man who is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, also contributed a video piece. 

The Cult of Being Busy While Neglecting the Family

Norma Boeckler

Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "Lame Doctrine of Law-Salesman Savaged Again Tonigh...":

I noticed WELS called workers neglecting their families to "do the Lord's work". It almost became a contest as to who could work the hardest and complain most about being tired. What an example to set!

I'm not saying to be neglectful of your call, but sometimes "doing the Lord's work" is spending a nice quiet night at home being a great Christian husband/wife, father/mother. Ya' know, the Building and Grounds committee really can get along without you!

I did not grow up in a parsonage. One of the saddest things I ever heard was a DMLC classmate and later co-worker, a PK, say, "Well, my dad was never home".

Besides the wandering vicar at my home congregation, I also noticed the bulletin. I couldn't tell if I was at a church or a social club. I knew more about the congregation's blood drive than I did about the Word preached. The excuse was "getting the church out into the community". I kind word said to a co-worker or helping a neighbor in time of need gets the church "out into the community", more than any blood drive. Besides, it costs less because you don't need a staff minister to coordinate it!

Scott E. Jungen

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GJ - Scott, you are right. I heard one WELS DP say he had nothing to do with raising his children. They never saw him. I am sure he was bragging since this was an installation or anniversary service.

The Shrinkers defame their opponents, claiming that faithful pastors are lazy, unimaginative, and frightened of change. There is no excuse for neglect of the Word or pastoral visitation, but let's face it - the Shrinkers are the laziest and most parasitic lunks on the block. They devour money faster than the government, with less to show for it.

Congregations have made a poor bargain by forcing the pastor's wife or teacher's spouse into the workplace, to subsidize the miserable salaries paid. A spouse income must be reckoned in view of net gain after taxes, babysitting expenses, impulse buying, and extra meals out. Other results can be marital infidelity and exhaustion.

The works-salesmen say that everyone must be busy to be happy. With almost all couples in the church working, they may need rest, worship, and study far more than forced activity.

Teaching requires a lot of preparation. Being the social director of the Love Boat does not. How many Lutheran pastors today are prepared to teach the Book of Concord, books of the Bible, Chemnitz, or Luther?

The pastor's and teacher's children will be blessed by living in a peaceful, harmonious, and studious household where they see both their parents. That is why the bulk of church workers used to come from parsonages and teacherages. Why does anyone think the preps are so necessary and the church worker homes are not?

No surprise - the children of church workers are no longer following the knee prints of their parents. My guess is - they grew tired of the neglect caused by the worship of being busy, or, they did not want to be abused by their own synods, the way their parents were.

The highest imagined compliment aimed at a church worker is - He works so hard, or, She is always at church or the school.

The highest compliment should be - faithful to the Word, trusting in its efficacy.

Request and Answer

Pastor,

I know how you feel about plagiarism. This is why I am asking you first. I am a Lutheran and I write a prisoner through a church program. May I use some of your sermon from Sunday Oct 24th? I know Eph 6 and your commentary will help him greatly.

***

GJ - Many people use or adapt my material. The idea is to cite the original words of other people and to show when something is adapted from another person.

I have done that with all the books on Lulu and a lot of my educational materials. In this regard (only) I follow the Grateful Dead, whose cacophony has never appealed to me. They provided all their music free, without threat of legal action, confident that their fans would still keep them afloat.

I am pleased that I can broadcast Means of Grace materials in so many ways. I already know that they have their effect. Some effects are negative, hostile, abusive, and threatening. But I also see the positive effects already.

I am sure that many are encouraged that someone would take time to share the Word of God with a prisoner. When Dave H. had me involved in his jail, I saw how genuinely moved the prisoners were by the Law and Gospel. In fact, during one quiet session, all the prisoners began crying and confessing their sin. One young man gave up drugs, left prison, and spoke to his former drug pals about their sinfulness.

One never knows the extent of the influence of the Word of God, but it is mortally dangerous to go against it. Luther said it best:

Preaching of the Gospel – Stone in a Pond

"The preaching of this message may be likened to a stone thrown into the water, producing ripples which circle outward from it, the waves rolling always on and on, one driving the other, till they come to the shore. Although the center becomes quiet, the waves do not rest, but move forward. So it is with the preaching of the Word. It was begun by the apostles, and it constantly goes forward, is pushed on farther and farther by the preachers, driven hither and thither into the world, yet always being made known to those who never heard it before, although it be arrested in the midst of its course and is condemned as heresy."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 202. Ascension Day Mark 16:14-20.

Sad News from Notre Dame Football

I woke up to hear that Notre Dame was practicing outside in 50 mph winds, with a student filming the practice from a portable tower. The winds pushed the tower over and the student died of his injuries.

I like to see ND win, but that is #200 on my list of favorite things. I cannot imagine why winning is so important that practice had to held outdoors. They have an indoor practice area and used it earlier.

I went to some ND alumni board meetings in St. Louis. I could not believe how hyper people could get about winning. The pressure on the coach of the day is always enormous, but that should not trump safety concerns.

I would rather see schools rely on intramurals alone. That would end the college football business as a feeder system into the NFL. Some would grieve if that happened. But it would also put a clamp on cheating, drug abuse, and the win at any cost attitude.

Media reports here.

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American Life League

28 October 2010

Washington, DC – American Life League president Judie Brown issued the following statement on the news that contributions to the University of Notre Dame fell by over $120 million during the fiscal year in which [Alleged] President Barack Obama, a zealous abortion advocate, delivered a speech and was honored at commencement ceremonies.

As one of the first responders to the scandal, American Life League and its supporters insisted that the university had forfeited its right to be called Catholic and thus petitioned for the school’s removal from The Official Catholic Directory.

“It is heartening to hear that Notre Dame’s donors responded so overwhelmingly to American Life League’s call and that of so many other organizations and individuals that were genuinely scandalized and saddened by the mockery made of an institution also known as ‘Our Lady’s University.’

Blog Listing Note

Jesus and the Children, by Norma Boeckler

I add and subtract blogs from time to time. The idea is to give readers some links they may wish to follow, whether I agree with the blog authors or not. For instance, most people will want to see how deep the Intrepids will dig their hole as they excuse their crypto-Universalism...in the name of UOJ. But some of them, laity, post intelligent remarks.

I listed Divinity and Beyond temporarily, which dealt with ELCA. The author seems to be in the lap of Bishop Mark Hanson. Bad Vestments was fun from time to time, but not a keeper. I look it up for laughs sometimes, but the posts are infrequent and always at the same level of snark.

I appreciate Church Mouse because he is a dedicated Calvinist who enjoys studying the issues. We are exchanging emails about theological terms. I believe it is fair to say that he finds UOJ appalling. I am trying to grasp how justification by faith got perverted into UOJ. Being fair to another confession of faith is crucial in comparative dogma and the history of doctrine.

Norman Teigen is a good example of how people should engage in argumentation. He is cheerful, kind, and honest.

Lutherans need to do their own homework. I try to post as much data as I can, along with entertaining comments. The Changers provide the humor. I only need to observe their behavior and quote their alleged wisdom.

WELS COP Meeting Photo, Exclusive to Ichabod