raklatt (http://raklatt.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Should the Sheep Judge the Wolves? Not in WELS":
On page 366 there is more from Luther:
Rely on the words of Christ and be assured that God has no other way to forgive sins than through the spoken Word, as he has commanded us. If you do not look for forgiveness through the Word, you will gape toward heaven in vain for grace, or (as they say), for a sense of inner forgiveness.
Luther, M. (1999, c1958). Vol. 40: Luther's Works, vol. 40 : Church and Ministry II (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (40:366). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
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GJ - Luther consistently taught that forgiveness comes only through the Means of Grace. When a Lutheran pastor quotes Luther or the Book of Concord to prove otherwise, he only reveals his ignorance of Biblical doctrine and his sources.
Grace comes to us only through the Means of Grace. Faith receives what God gives through the Word. As faithful Christians know, the Holy Spirit works through the Word (and only through the Word) to create and sustain faith.
Syn Conference doctrine reminds me of the time I had cardboard boxes stacked in a wet basement. Water wicked up into boxes and they softened, collapsing the entire pile, which fell over.
The Syn Conference began with Pietism, suppressed it for a time, then allowed it to dominate--with unionism--in various ways. The Enthusiasm of Pietism is not a solid foundation, because it draws from the emotions, rationalism, and human methods. What seems to work for a time is actually the undoing of Pietism, as Halle University proved. The Jerusalem of Pietism became a citadel of rationalism and atheism in only one generation or so.
Thus the Syn Conference is more than willing to cuddle with ELCA while carrying on its holier-than-thou stance.
