"In philosophy an error that is small at the beginning becomes very great in the end. So a small error in theology overturns the whole body of doctrine...That is why we may not surrender or change even an iota (apiculum) of doctrine." What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1365. Galatians 5:9.
KJV Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Lito Cruz, PhD - On Smells and Bells Lutherans":
GJ and LPC,
Comparatively speaking, liturgy-emphasizing confessional Lutherans turning to Rome is (sic) far less a problem than Church Growth pietist Lutherans taking an entire synod to Fuller.
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GJ - One sentence is so packed with logical potholes that I will not try to unravel it.
I favor the formal, high church style of worship, but I do not think one fad is less dangerous than another. I pay attention to what people emphasize. When they make their actions more important than their doctrine, the first is a smokescreen for the second.
For instance, the Shrinkers hate the liturgy and insist on getting rid of Lutheran hymns, the Ecumenical Creeds, and Lutheran Biblical sermons. What the Shrinkers really believe is reflected in the messages they plagiarize - salvation by works in the absence of the Means of Grace. WELS, the Little Sect, and the CLC (sic) are completely captive to these oafs, and they cannot even acknowledge its existence - let alone its dominance.
The Romanizing crowd includes such posturing peacocks as Paul McCain, MDiv, whose peritus is Jack Kilcrease!; David Scaer, seminary doctorate; and Fenton, who left the bosom of Missouri UOJ for Eastern Orthodoxy. McCain and Scaer are as goofy about UOJ as the worst in WELS.
The problem is not the incense but the nebulous doctrine. The issue is not "extremes of worship" but foul doctrine. A Lutheran minister should be content to preach in a garage in a black robe with the incense shipment lost in recent floods, trusting in the efficacy of the Word.
A Lutheran minister will not hide the Sacraments, but he will not offer canonical law on the only possible way anyone could worship. I recall a worship professor at LSTC leading people down that path. When he was kicked out of teaching for liturgical fundamentalism, he took a parish call and became a leader in gay activism, having one of the first Reconciled in Christ congregations.
The pastors bewitched by such people as David Scaer should recognize that the LCA led the way in the same trends, following Rome. They should ask themselves why they all feel compelled to obey instructions from Rome on the three-year lectionary, liturgical observations, and even liturgical colors. Is this really the time to identify with the Antichrist and present such slavery as a better way to worship?
