Wednesday, June 8, 2011

WELS - The Cutting Edge of Dumbing Down

Who edits this stuff? Mr. Rogers?



norcal763 has left a new comment on your post "NNIV in WELS: Pro and Con. The Convicts Love the ...":

Assisting the dumbing down of the churches-WELS is LEADING it. Read Forward in Crisis, donation solicitation letters to members, or any Synod tracts-they read like Guideposts meets Mr.Rogers.

Absolution - As Though We Heard a Voice from Heaven


"On this account, as the Augsburg Confession in Article XI says, we also retain private absolution, and teach that it is God's command that we believe such absolution, and should regard it as sure that, when we believe the word of absolution, we are as truly reconciled to God as though we had heard a voice from heaven, as the Apology explains this article. This consolation would be entirely taken from us if we were not to infer the will of God towards us from the call which is made through the Word and through the Sacraments."
Formula of Concord, SD, XI. #38. Of God's Eternal Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1075. Tappert, p. 622. Heiser, p. 289.

Ray Klatt - On Translations


Tyndale died to give us the text of the KJV, which is his translation slightly revised.


raklatt (http://raklatt.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "NNIV in WELS: Pro and Con. The Convicts Love the ...":

I applaud the efforts of Pastors Boehringer and Tomczak. If the NNIV can be kept from adoption by WELS, that will be a good thing.

On the other hand, the choices offered as alternatives seem less than satisfactory to me. Let us look at a couple of passages only. My research time is limited.

KJV/ 21st Century KJV Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore and teach all nations…..
and
KJV/21st Century KJV 1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless: is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break: is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

In the Matthew passage, the ESV, HCSB, NASB and the NKJV all convert ‘teach’ into ‘make disciples’. The discussion has been going on a long time. It is the Holy Spirit who makes disciples through their hearing of the Word. Pastors and laymen alike do not make disciples. Instead, they can only teach people using the Word. The Holy Spirit, always with the Word, does the making.

William Beck in his AAT and Young’s Literal both say “disciple all nations”. That is awkward in English but common sense would indicate they are both saying ‘teach’. Luther once said of his efforts at translation that it is difficult to make Hebrew speak German. So, too, it must be difficult to make some Greek verbs speak either German or English. We do not understand ‘disciple’ as a verb. We do understand ‘teach’.

Luther’s translation says ‘lehret alle Volker’, which may well be where the King James folks got ‘teach’.

In the Corinthians passage, there is wider variance. Instead of ‘communion’, the ESV used ‘participation’ along with the NIV. The HCSB and the NASB both say ‘sharing in the blood/body’. Young’s Literal uses the term ‘fellowship’. It seems to me that ‘sharing’ and ‘fellowship’ are not specific and would need many additional words to be precise. The sacrament is in fact Christ coming to us individually. That would eliminate politically correct sharing. The NKJV retains ‘communion’ as does the AAT.

Luther employs ’gemeinschaft’ which I found means ‘community’. Close enough.

Looking at 1 Corinthians 10:18, we find enough variations to cause serious confusion.

As an old Lutheran, brought up on the King James version, I will stick with the KJV and the 21st Century KJV. The latter only attempts to relieve the confusion created by some of the old words, because they have become obsolete or indefinable, by substituting reasonable alternatives. The 21st Century King James Version holds well to the King James text and does not tinker with verses that are key to the Lutheran doctrine, the Christian faith.

Could it be that the search for the best translation would lead not to a choice among the most popular current translations but to the English translation that has been around the longest, is close to Tyndale and to Luther, and has done a good job for 400 years? Seems like a good idea to me. If people have been so poorly taught and find the KJV or the 21st Century KJV hard to deal with, that is what Bible Study classes are for.



***

GJ - That is an excellent post, Ray. I talked this over with Mrs. Ichabod, fluent in German.

LUO 1 Corinthians 10:16 Der gesegnete Kelch, welchen wir segnen, ist der nicht die Gemeinschaft des Blutes Christi? Das Brot, das wir brechen, ist das nicht die Gemeinschaft des Leibes Christi?

She agreed that Gemeinschaft is "getting together" and communion is a good English translation of the German. Or we might say the German means "togetherness with," although I would not use that even in the Jackson Living Bible.

English is profoundly influenced by German and Latin.

The Latin is communicatio - communion.

Participation is lame and anti-Sacramental.

WELS already has its Bible, the NIV. They excommunicate those who disagree with it.

The NIV rejects the sacraments and turns a Gospel admonition into Law - Go and manufacture disciples (diciples for Stetzer). The essence of Church Growth is manufacturing disciples, anti-Sacramental Pietism. Joel Gerlach, the WELS sem professor who studied at Fuller, argued in an essay - disciples making disciples who make disciples who make disciples. And no one laughed!

Because Fuller and Willow Creek--the main training centers for the faculties and staff of WELS and Missouri--are also feminazi centers, a feminazi Bible is required.

The Shrinkers will fight hard for the NNIV, because they have principles.

The so-called conservatives do not have principles. They will compromise on anything to get that foreign mission call, that new parish, that bowl of lentils.

I have a variation on the new WELS mantra: "We all know that no translation is perfect."

Mine is, "We all know that no one has improved on the KJV, which is modeled after Luther's."

---

Ray Klatt added:


My thanks to Mrs. Ichabod for her fluency in German and to Ichabod for expanding on 'Gemeinschaft".  I had to leave it at 'close enough' due to time constraints.
 
I was glad when my lengthy remarks were accepted as a comment.  I was overwhelmed when they showed up as a separate post.  Thank you for adding that very appropriate graphic.  If all the effort indicates is there are people out here who care about what the Word says, the time was well spent.
 
I appreciated all your comments below the graphic.  I got stirred up when all those inadequate translations were suggested as possibles.  Lutherans forget to inquire where those translations come from and who was involved with them.  I told Mark Porinsky at Faith/Dexter a long time ago that I was amazed that the WELS reps who attended the NIV84 meetings didn't walk out in disgust.  The reaction was a blank stare.
 
To be concerned about why the NIV84 texts can no longer be used after a certain date is to miss the point.  Any company or corporation under the control of Rupert Murdoch is out to make money.  Murdoch's Zonderan then becomes a Schwan Foundation in reverse.  Funny world.
 
Thanks again.  I hope I have helped to stir the right pot.
 
Ray Klatt

NNIV in WELS: Pro and Con.
The Convicts Love the Feminist,
Adam-as-a-Myth Translation


Pastor Boehringer said...
At the Western Wisconsin District's teacher-pastor conference in Watertown yesterday (June 7, 2011) John Braun, a member of the Translation Review Committee, announced that the Committee is recommending adoption of the 2011 NIV for our NPH publications. (http://www.wels.net/news-events/forward-in-christ/bible-revision-new-international-version-2010) I hope that the Synod-in-convention this July seriously considers an alternative to Zondervan's rapid and unilateral revision and to our Committee's recommendation: a joint project of the WELS and the ELS to produce a confessional Lutheran Bible translation. I can't think of a better gift to the Church-at-large for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation than a translation that captures the majestic promises of the Messianic psalms, that is clear about our roles as women and men, and leaves fashionable gender politics out of Scripture. These are just a few issues with the NIV 2011 and other translations. We want a Bible that is allowed to speak for itself. We can do this! I believe that our congregations would rally around an opportunity to support a project of this magnitude and importance. In the spirit of being proactive, having our own translation doesn't make us a cult. (Those who consider us a cult already do, and many of them currently belong to our synod or have already left it.) Instead of isolating us from communion of saints, our own translation will give us something valuable to share with the wider Church. I don't want to be held captive to every future change that Zondervan, Biblica, and the Committee on Bible Translation deem necessary. (Their decision not to offer the NIV 1984 alongside this new revision strikes me as odd. I've asked them to comment on this strange business decision, but have received no answer. I asked John Braun to pass along my question to them.) Let's not settle for the "best current option." Let's spend the time and treasure now to bring the Scriptures to life with clarity and boldness! We can do this by God's grace. In Christ and Him crucified, Pastor Luke Boehringer
Pr. Benjamin Tomczak said...
On Monday, the South Central District met for pre-Synod Convention business and sent a memorial to the Synod in Convention resolving "that we urge the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in its 2011 convention to commission a thorough study of the other leading options among the current Bible translations for use in our publications (An American Translation [AAT, Beck], English Standard Version [ESV], Holman Christian Standard Bible [HCSB], New American Standard Bible [NASB], and New King James Version [NKJV]), to be reported to the constituency of our synod; and be it further "resolved, that we urge this study to be conducted with the serious consideration that one of these other translations may be more appropriate for use in WELS publications; and be it further "resolved,that we urge the 2011 convention to make no decision regarding which translation the WELS will use in its official publications." For the full memorial with whereas' and what not, go to http://scdwels.wordpress.com/reports/ This is not to speak against your motion, Luke, of producing a Lutheran translation and (perhaps also) study Bible. We discussed, briefly, the merits of a translation, and one of our pastors (and co-author of this memorial) spoke positively for our ability to do what your asking -- produce such a translation. He also pooh-poohed, as you did, the cult-like aspect of such a project. He honestly believes the day of a "universal" translation across English-speaking Christendom (a la KJV and NIV84) is over. It's a translation time of the Judges. What a thought -- celebrate the anniversary of the Reformation with not just a new hymnal (which is planned for 2024) but with a new Bible translation! Here's the "meantime" question, which my Lutheran grade school teacher wife brought up -- what do our schools do in the meantime while we're up in the air about a translation (and perhaps for a time without the "approved" NIV unless Biblica extends our usage permission past 2013)? Grace and peace, Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

Joe and Lisa Krohn
On Their Excommunication

Monday, June 6, 2011


Excommunication - An Open Letter to the Members of Holy Word Lutheran Church

Dear Members of Holy Word,

As Lutherans, we believe that the Holy Spirit is never separated from the Word or the Means of Grace.  It is mentioned throughout Scripture and in the Lutheran Confessions in the explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles Creed.  Note that the forgiveness of sins is here and not in the Second Article; it is a work of the Holy Spirit:

"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true."

As Lutherans we also believe this statement to be true and the hallmark of our faith:

"The sinner is justified by grace for Christ’s sake through faith."

You can not separate that sentence in any way shape or form or you end up teaching falsely.

And this from The Apology IV, 57; it talks of the object of our justification and the remission of sins through faith alone:

"57] And throughout the prophets and the psalms this worship, this latreiva, is highly praised, although the Law does not teach the gratuitous remission of sins. But the Fathers knew the promise concerning Christ, that God for Christ's sake wished to remit sins. Therefore, since they understood that Christ would be the price for our sins, they knew that our works are not a price for so great a matter [could not pay so great a debt]. Accordingly, they received gratuitous mercy and remission of sins by faith, just as the saints in the New Testament.

More on justification hence forgiveness through faith alone.  Apology XII, 53 &54:

53] For the two chief works of God in men are these, to terrify, and to justify and quicken those who have been terrified. Into these two works all Scripture has been distributed. The one part is the Law, which shows, reproves, and condemns sins. The other part is the Gospel, i.e., the promise of grace bestowed in Christ, and this promise is constantly repeated in the whole of Scripture, first having been delivered to Adam [I will put enmity, etc., Gen. 3:15, afterwards to the patriarchs; then, still more clearly proclaimed by the prophets; lastly, preached and set forth among the Jews by Christ, and disseminated over the entire world by the apostles. 54] For all the saints were justified by faith in this promise, and not by their own attrition or contrition.

Nowhere in Scripture or the Confessions does it say that the forgiveness of sins/justification is imputed to anyone before they were born as Pastor Patterson preaches and teaches.  The work of the Holy Spirit is working faith and the forgiveness of sins.   We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  (Rom 10:17)  If we are not yet born, how do we hear it?

Since you are entrusting your spiritual welfare to the leadership at Holy Word, you are culpable to their actions on your behalf.  I have stood on Biblical truth and the Book of Concord, your profession of faith.

This from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod website concerning excommunication:

"Congregations must excommunicate members who have sinned and refuse to repent even though their fellow Christians have warned them according to the steps described in Matthew 18:15-18. An excommunicated person cannot attend the Lord's Supper or exercise any rights of membership in the congregation.

A member can be excommunicated only if his (or her) action is clearly against God's law, if it is proven that he is guilty of sin, and if he has refused warnings to repent. Scripture says an impenitent person has no forgiveness of sins. Excommunication, therefore, does not simply exclude an individual from membership in the congregation, but declares that the offender has excluded himself from eternal life since no impenitent person has forgiveness of sins and no unforgiven person can enter heaven.

The congregation excommunicates a person in the hope that this drastic step will lead the sinner to come to his senses and repent. The excommunicated person will then be welcomed back to the congregation.

Excommunication, therefore, is an act of love for sinners, aimed at saving them from the eternal consequences of impenitence.

When the case has not yet proceeded to the point of excommunication, a pastor who knows that a person is impenitent should warn him or her not to come to communion, since it offers forgiveness only to the repentant. Those who come without repentance bring harm upon themselves by misuse of the sacrament. Exclusion from the Lord's Supper has the same evangelical purpose as excommunication: to bring the sinner to repentance. The pastor can take such action only if the guilt and impenitence of the person are clearly established but the congregation has not yet had an opportunity to act on the case."

Where have we broken God's Law?

We pray you realize the graveness in all of this.

In His Grace,
Joe and Lisa

Everyone in the World Is Forgiven--
Except Rich Techlin, Joe and Lisa Krohn--
According to UOJ Expert Tim Glende, Deputy Doug Englebrecht, Kudu Don Patterson,
And the WELS COP



Without warning, St. Peter Congregation terminated my fellowship with the WELS as a persistent errorist.  This means that St. Peter Congregation has marked me as someone all WELS congregations and members should avoid lest my influence corrupt their faith.  (Please see the post entitled “Terminated from WELS Fellowship“).

In my letter appealing this wrongful termination of fellowship, I asked District President Engelbrecht to give me a letter allowing me to commune at other WELS Churches pending my appeal.  (April 30, 2011 appeal letter).  In a letter dated May 6, 2011, District President Engelbrecht responded:
In regards to your question about communion, I am seeking the advice of my brothers on the Conference of Presidents.  My own opinion at this point in time is that since the termination of your membership was because you publicly stated that you are not in doctrinal agreement with your pastors, your congregation, the district, and other leaders in the WELS, another WELS pastor would have difficulty allowing you to partake of Holy Communion … at least not without him consulting with your former pastors to get their blessing.  I know that you said those words were taken out of context, but they were made public and were taken at face value and bear consequences that may not be to your liking.  [May 6, 2011 letter from District President Engelbrecht].
It has now been over a month with no new word.  That May 6th letter was the last communication I received from District President Engelbrecht.

Thus, as part of my submission of written materials for the Appeal Board on May 24, 2011, I asked Pastor Wenzel, the chair of the Appeal Board, if he would be able to provide me with such a letter.  (May 24, 2011 appeal cover letter).  His only response to date has been that the Appeal Board hopes to arrive at a decision regarding my appeal within a few weeks.  So far, I have not been invited to speak with the Appeal Board.

Nonetheless, at the invitations of Pastor Martin and Pastor Suhr, at St. John Lutheran Church (WELS), during the Divine Service I received Holy Communion on May 29, June 5, and June 6, 2011 A.D.  I have also been invited to receive Holy Communion at other WELS churches by other WELS pastors.  These pastors are not intending to despise the fellowship practices of the WELS, rather they are confident that I am in doctrinal fellowship with the WELS notwithstanding the bogus declarations of St. Peter Congregation.

I do not wish to be a catalyst for strife, but duly called and ordained servants of the Lord have offered and are offering me this precious gift, and what the Lord gives, I want to receive.

These pastors are also fully aware of my circumstances, and I am grateful to them beyond measure.  They stand in the place of Christ not only to distribute His gifts, but they also stand in the place of Christ because they are willing to potentially sacrifice a great deal to distribute His gifts.  Unlike some, these servants are not greater than their Master who sacrificed everything (John 15:20), but through grace alone as servants of the Word they share in His glory that is hidden in the cross.  And on the last day, they will also share in His triumph.

May the Lord bless and protect His true servants.

Field of Dreams Evangelism - Brought to WELS by Perish Consultants and Cornerstone

The Enthusiast Zwingli is the spirit behind UOJ, Church and Change, Fuller, and Willow Creek.



rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "More Enthusiasm":

This is a another good example of Field of Dreams evangelism - if you build it, they will come. Here at Ichabod, this is also known as masonry evangelism, as in bricks and mortar. To paraphrase a line from the movie, - "is this heaven? No, this is South Dakota, just north of Iowa."

***

GJ - I am guessing that many WELS parishes have gone through this process.

1. The congregation seems stagnant, because they do not trust the Means of Grace or the efficacy of the Word.
2. The Church and Change synod-minders finagle an invite from a Perish Consultant, known for the congregations they have polarized and ruined.
3. The Perish Consultant, trained in Fuller methods, says they need a pop music service and a huge capital funds appeal. If pop music is too bold, a blended service will take the parish into Fuller-land in baby steps.
4. The parish hires Cornerstone to raise a ton of money, which usually falls short. If not, the building plans are like the first payment of a deluxe car, much easier to make than all the rest.
5. The parish languishes under huge debt and the ridiculous notion--now exposed as false--that bricks and mortar evangelize.

Their Father Below Does Not Appreciate the Laity Studying the Word of God and the Confessions


I have noticed two trends lately.

One is an upsurge in responses--often private--from pastors, teachers, and laity. They come from all over, all ages, men and women, all synods.

Another trend is an exponential increase in pure nastiness from the UOJ clan and the Shrinker fans, not that they are separate groups. Many UOJ advocates claim to oppose Fuller's Enthusiasm, but they have muzzled themselves well for the last 20-30 years.

The UOJ-Shrinkers are scared. A lower level recession, really a Great Depression, is drying up even more funds. Shrinkers always relied on big spending to hide their incompetence. Many of them are quite Biblical - "I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed." Luke 16:3. Some of them have been on the Church Girth diet, gaining 150 pounds.

They would do well if they could cover their critics with garbage, as they have in the past, while hiding the criminal records of their pals, which they also did without fear or reprisal. But alas, the times are past when people read the synod PR vehicles with baby blue eyes. They are more likely to do their own research and to stay in contact with one another.

For instance, the ELCA bishop over Moline, Illinois, my home town, was unable to bully Faith in Moline into staying in his lavender synod. He even earned himself a Photoshop, which was sent to his office. The officials were filled with wrath over a Photoshop but not over anything significant, such as overturning the Nine Commandments. (The bishop was fond of the Eighth, like all his tribe.)

I had already posted the secret Mark and Avoid Jeske petition in WELS when a contact wrote, "Do you know about Jeske petition?" I responded, "It's already posted." He said, "But it was a secret." I said, "The blog knows all." (That is definitely not true, but it's fun to claim.)

The idea was to gather all these signatures from the usual suspects and present it at the WELS convention, forcing a vote. I was told, "Mr. Ichabod. Tear down that post." Somehow, merely copying their petition would ruin its chance, due to my reputation for telling the truth.

That has worked so well for them in the last 30+ years: cower in the rabbit warren, trembling lest some Shrinker say "Boo!", and hint about how something might be wrong, adding "But I am probably mistaken."

SP Schroeder can get Herman Otten to print lies on the front page of Christian News, but he cannot Photoshop the truth. Like many amateur Photoshops, the lies only make the flaws show up in greater contrast.

Chrysostom - The Hem of His Garment and Holy Communion



Chrysostom:

"If those who touched the hem of His garment were properly healed, how much more shall we be strengthened if we have Him in us whole? He will quiet in us the savage law of our members, He will quench the perturbations of the mind, drive out all sicknesses, raise us up from every fall, and, when the power of the enemy has been overcome, He will incite us to true piety and indeed will transform us into His own image."
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1986, II, p. 234.