Various people have been discussing Holy Baptism. A Trinitarian baptism is valid and remains valid, so one of the debates today concerns those who avoid "In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" due to an excess of sensitivity about gender. I remember when that began in the LCA. The directions for women's Sunday, when they took over the service (in ideal circumstances), stated that certain hymns were not to be sung, because they contained such odious terms as "prophet, priest, and king."
Anyone with mote of doctrinal sense would call alternative baptism formulae "pagan."
The term Evangelical is broad enough to include many sub-confessions. A Christian minister will not repeat a Trinitarian baptism from any other denomination. Roman Catholics are not supposed to re-baptize.
Those who practice believer's baptism or adult baptism will probably insist on immersion, since they emphasize the amount of water rather than the efficacy of the Word. However, I have also noticed blended confessions, where a congregation says, "We do not believe in infant baptism, but we will still provide them if you ask."
Many are moving toward a generic faith-without-belief stance, where it is important to have faith in something without having any clearly defined beliefs. Schuller polished this art form, giving us a new version of Norman Vincent Peale. Rob Bell has revived it again. Schuller and Bell are closely associated with Fuller Seminary, the Mother Ship of Missouri and WELS.
The Pietists and Neo-Pietists call their approach "deeds, not creeds." The Babtists say "No creeds but the Bobble."
Luther rightly emphasized the effect of the Gospel, even in the midst of opposition and heresy. With so many people taking an independent stance, it is not shocking to find a Roman Catholic who denies all the important articles of papism: the infallibility of the pope, Mary as co-Redeemer, Purgatory as a blessed place of endless waiting and torture, justification by faith plus works.
Most Evangelicals, following Zwingli and Calvin, make baptism an ordinance, a law to be obeyed.
The Little Three (Missouri, WELS, ELS) have fallen into the vortex of Evangelical doctrine by:
- associating with them;
- promoting their books;
- attending their schools - Fuller, Trinity Divinity, Willow Creek;
- learning how to "do church" with them;
- copying their watered-down services;
- singing their vapid hymns;
- plagiarizing their law-based sermons;
- promoting their horrid books and magazines;
- eliminating the Creeds;
- removing the Sacraments from worship.
- never acknowledging they have changed from Lutheran doctrine and practice to Zwinglism and Thrivent boot-licking.
The Little Three are a feeder system for the great finishing school - Fuller Seminary. When presidential candidate Bachmann left WELS for a community church, she could not tell the difference! Nor did she know about the Antichrist!
The Scriptures divide people into believers and non-believers. We are justified by faith, not by church membership. However, constant teaching against God's appointed Means of Grace will eventually have its effect, although not necessarily on every single person.
Theology is the grammar of faith. The MDivs like to run around, blabbing about this and that, without study or research, especially in the very place where they would learn the most - the plain, clear, efficacious Word of God. That is why many laity outdistance the clergy in spiritual understanding. Few laity have their understanding darkened by the talking-points memorized from seminary classes and clergy conferences.
I have noticed the UOJ clergy retreating from the battle about justification by faith. They are nastier than ever, as befits their rejection of the Gospel, but they no longer dare to sneer at Luther's doctrine and the Book of Concord.
So, if we neglect sound doctrine, we will be led astray by the wolves and hired-hands, the belly-servers who use flattery to continue their predation.
The demi-semi-quasi-Zwinglians are more dangerous than the loud atheists. Their enablers, protectors, and defenders--the DPs--are the most dangerous of all.
