Looking for Authority Instead of Studying the Word of God

LPC has left a new comment on your post "Jack Kilcrease Butters Up David Scaer for Another ...":

Jack is an example of what happens when you become a Waltherian. When you become a UOJer, you become dependent on an authority. You have to look for someone 'great'.

In LC-MS, there are plenty of professors specialising in historical and systematic theology, they have no one (after Walther Maier) that can be considered a specialist in exegetical theology.

The weakness in exegesis leads to dependence on an authority of what the Scripture means ( according to so and so etc).

Only the synodical conference Lutherans interpret Romans 4:25 like they do, the declaration of the whole world irrespective of faith to be justified.

Lenski does not believe this interpretation, neither does Walther Maier agree with that interpretation.

This is where the Synodical Conference people are unique and on their own because they are the only ones that interpret Romans 4:25 the way they do.

LPC

Wauwatosa theologian.

Luther Rocks: TLH - Still Relevant for the Times. James Tiefel's CGM Hymnal - Not

Luther Rocks: TLH - Still Relevant for the Times:

'via Blog this'

TLH - Still Relevant for the Times

From Wikipedia: The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) is one of the official hymnals of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Published in 1941 by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri, it was the LCMS' second official English-language hymnal, succeeding the 1912 Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book. Development of TLH began in 1929 as a collaborative effort of the churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America and became the common hymnal for both the LCMS and theWisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). Containing 668 chorales, hymns, carols, and chants, plus the liturgy for the Common Service, Matins, Vespers, the propers, collects and prayers, the suffrages, canticles, psalms, and miscellaneous tables, TLH became an extremely popular and beloved worship resource in theLutheran church in North America, and attempts to succeed it in more recent years have often met with strong resistance.

The first attempt to replace TLH began in 1965, when the LCMS began work on the Lutheran Book of Worship and invited other Lutheran denominations in North America to participate in its creation. As a result of disagreement and compromise with the other churches involved in LBW's production, the LCMS objected to some of its content, and Lutheran Book of Worship was published in 1978 without the endorsement of the very church body that initiated its production. An LCMS revision ofLBW was quickly published in 1982 under the title Lutheran Worship. Lutheran Worship (LW) was intended to replace TLH as the official hymnal of the LCMS; however, many congregations were still unsatisfied with the final product, leading them to continue using TLH. According to a 1999 survey by the LCMS' Commission on Worship, approximately 36% of the synod's congregations were still using TLH as their main hymnal, and even more were continuing to use it in combination with LW and/or other hymnals and hymnal supplements. An even newer hymnal, Lutheran Service Book (2006), has restored many of the former hymnal's features in the hope that more widespread use can be achieved. In the WELS, TLH was effectively replaced by Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal in 1993, and few congregations continue to use it on a regular basis.

The Lutheran Hymnal is commonly referred to by many to as the "Red hymnal," in contrast with LW, the "Blue hymnal". However, the "Red hymnal" moniker is somewhat misleading. The initial editions of TLH were in fact bound in blue, and the hymnal has been simultaneously available in both red and blue cover versions for much of its history. Although the red cover version is now more common, many congregations' pew racks are filled with blue-covered copies of the "red" hymnal. Generally, members of these congregations refer to TLH simply as "the old hymnal". The widespread use of Lutheran Service Book (LSB) [1] has begun the process of resolving the LCMS' hymnal controversy, as initial reviews have been generally quite favorable. Concordia Publishing House has announced that all TLH-related supplemental materials, including specialized accompaniment editions and the agenda, will go out of print when current supplies are depleted, but plans to continue to produce the pew edition for the foreseeable future. TLH remains an officially sanctioned hymnal of the synod, and it is unlikely that the synod will ever formally decommission it as an official hymnal.

Jack Kilcrease Butters Up David Scaer for Another Concordia Seminary,Ft. Wayne Gig

Jack Kilcrease nominates North America's greatest Lutheran theologian,
earning our favorite Catholic lecturer another free trip to Ft. Wayne,
where they routinely turn out Catholic and Eastern Orthodox priests.

Dr. Jack Kilcrease has left a new comment on your post "Infamous Huberists: From the New Gallery at The Sm...":

Though I am certainly flattered to be chosen for your hall of fame - don't you think Dr. Scaer would be more fitting than I? I mean, I'm small potatoes. I think he's probably the greatest living Lutheran theologian in North America at this point (Oswald Bayer would be the greatest in Germany). Just saying.

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GJ - The facts show Walther to have been a brittle, tyrannical, and fanatical usurper. Tom Hardt is a UOJ fanatic, so he did a fine job of connecting Walther with Huber. Hardt's praise of Walther  mercifully exposes the Kidnapper's alarming opinions.

The following quotations are from Hardt's essay - Justification and Easter, A Study in Subjective and Objective Justification in Lutheran Theology.

Hardt - "As a first observation it should be said that Walther’s homiletic treatment of the relationship between Easter and justification shows no sign of a gradual development. Our material covers the period 1840-1886, and all the sermons seem to possess the same degree of dogmatic clarity."

Walther - “As we were co-punished in Christ’s death, we are again co-absolved from our sins in His resurrection.“48

GJ - Walther's statement above is bizarre and profoundly wrong.

Hardt - "In 1844  we see an expression coined that was to become well known: 'That the resurrection of Christ is the fully valid justification of all men.'”51

GJ - The early use of Easter absolution suggests learning this fallacy from Stephan, Pietistic circles, or even the rationalists of Berlin where Walther was trained.

Walther - “Yet, my beloved, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not only the highest and final consolation of all men, because not until then is the consolation of the cross and death of Christ revealed and are both of them made consoling, but because it contains a consolation in itself which is not to be found in any other work of the redemption, not even in the passion and death of Christ. Consider only the following and you will soon agree with me. Whereas the passion and death properly speaking were acts of Christ, His resurrection was, on the contrary, properly speaking the act of His heavenly Father... This is, however, of the highest and most consolatory importance... Whereas the passion and death of Jesus Christ was the penitence and confession of the Son of God for the entire apostate humanity, His resurrection was, on the contrary, the heavenly Father’s absolution, subsequently solemnly and factually delivered in Christ to all men, publicly before heaven and earth.”57

Hardt - "Easter as an act toward the world in general is thus continued, repeated, in the means of grace, the Gospel in all its forms, which effectively convey the gift of Easter to individuals."

GJ - Hardt does not recognize that he and Walther are using Easter as the Means of Grace for the entire world, without the Word, without faith. This opinion is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, who works only through the Word and Sacraments. The Scriptures do not teach that  the Holy Spirit works again to create a second justification that validates the first one. Hardt is consistent with Olde Synodical Conference false doctrine - no wonder he is admired by Ft. Wayne, the ELS, and Jay Webber. High church Enthusiasts are still Enthusiasts, as witnessed in the Church of Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Missouri Proceedings, 1860, Walther presiding -  "During the discussions a reference was made to the fact that within the Missouri Synod it had always been preached that: “Through the resurrection from the dead God has absolved all the world, i.e., set it free from sin; if now the world already is absolved and set free from sin, what is then the absolution or preaching of the Gospel in the church? Is it, too, a setting free, or merely a proclamation of the setting free that has already occurred? Answer: … precisely through the Gospel occurs the conveying of what is in God’s heart... a proclamation that really brings and gives the forgiveness… The absolution in the Gospel is nothing else than a repetition of the factual absolution which has already happened through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”63

GJ - WELS, Missouri, and the ELS do not teach the Biblical Means of Grace, but twist its meaning to say that the Gospel in Word and Sacrament simply states what is already true - they are already forgiven, whether they believe it or not. They were born forgiven, but they have to decide that they are forgiven, just like everyone else in the world. Walther is the hero who brought the false doctrine of Samuel Huber to the new world, later clothed in the double-justification language of Knapp (Woods' translation).

Hardt - "Another expression of considerable repute connected with Walther’s theology on Easter and justification is “objective justification” versus “subjective justification.” It has been investigated as to when this terminology was first used by Walther or men like him.68 It seems, as far as the investigations for this article permit us to see, that the terms were made known to Walther through an article in a theological paper in Germany, printed in 1867. Walther reprinted it in his Lehre und Wehre in the same year, and it can be said to throw clarity on the original meaning of the words."69

GJ - The article was printed in Germany in 1867, but the OJ/SJ language in English had been in use in the Knapp two-volume set (English translation) since 1831. Woods (Calvinist) was a super-star among mainline Protestant leaders in America, and Knapp was in print throughout the 19th century. Therefore one might expect that the OJ/SJ terms drifted across the ocean in English and drifted back in German. Walther was every bit as original as Paul Calvin Kelm, copying his false doctrine and gasping "Oh - this is so creative."

Note well - Walther introduced OJ/SJ terms originally from a Calvinist American used to explain the doctrine of a Halle Pietist.

Dr. Lito Cruz is correct in labeling all this a product of the Calvinists, smuggled into the Olde Synodical Conference by  Walther - the American Luther or the American Crypto-Calvinist?

Hardt - "The essential differences between Walther’s doctrine and Huber’s concerning universal justification can be summarized in the following way: First of all, we do not meet the slightest hint in Walther’s theology about God as being forced by His own essence to know of no contradictory tension between Law and Gospel. Walther at no place suggests that the unbeliever is no more under the wrath of God or that a second judgment is necessary to deprive the unbeliever of his first, universal justification. As early as 1846 Walther says in a sermon: “For that is indeed true: here everything depends on faith. He who does not apply to himself the victory of Christ in His resurrection through faith, upon him Law, sin, death and hell still have power. He experiences no power, no joy from this victory. For him Christ is still in His tomb.”72 So Walther upholds the truth of John 3:36: “The wrath of God abideth on him.” Within this frame all Walther’s statements on Easter and justification must be understood."


GJ - The first difference is not important for this discussion. The second one shows Hardt's inability to grasp basic Biblical, Lutheran doctrine. "Apply to himself" is synergistic at best, drifting toward Pelagianism, where man perfects himself.  This is not upholding the truth of John 3:36. The Synodical Conference is blind to the efficacy of the Word alone in the Means of Grace. We do not decide to believe in the universal absolution, a truly ham-fisted blend of universalism and decision theology. The Gospel Word creates and sustains faith in us by the work of the Holy Spirit. God declares us justified through faith in His Son's death and resurrection.


Hardt's Conclusion - "Not unimportant is the fact that Walther was well aware of Huber’s theology and its dangers. In his edition of Baier’s Compendium Theologiae Positivae, Walther inserted a page with very pertinent material concerning the Huberian controversy, dealing with the impossibility of saying that all mankind has received the remission of sins, pointing to John 3:36: “The wrath of God abideth on him.” As a professor of dogmatics Walther thus has seriously warned his students against Huberian aberrations.⁷⁵  In his ministry as a preacher of the Word he has certainly led his parishioners on equally safe paths. Also for coming generations his presentation of the relationship between justification and Easter has a lasting value."


GJ - Just as Joe Kron feared, Easter absolution (UOJ) had its place in the LCMS from the very beginning. However, the written evidence shows that Missouri was perfectly able to express justification by faith in Biblical, Confessional language - in its 1905 Catechism, in other statements before the 1932 Brief Statement (now canonized by the Enthusiasts). Concordia Publishing House prints a KJV catechism with no mention of OJ/SJ and once sold the WELS Gausewitz Catechism, which also managed to discuss the Chief Article without repeating Walther's fetish about Easter absolution.

Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Jack Kilcrease Butters Up David Scaer for Another ...":

"GJ - WELS, Missouri, and the ELS do not teach the Biblical Means of Grace, but twist its meaning to say that the Gospel in Word and Sacrament simply states what is already true - they are already forgiven, whether they believe it or not."

You nailed this one, Pastor Jackson. When arguing for weekly Communion, one reply I heard was, "I know I'm already forgiven, so why cut into fellowship time EVERY week and make those who can't Commune with us feel unwelcome EVERY week?"

Following this rationale, perhaps C&A should only be utilized on the non-Communion weeks, because I know I'm already forgiven. Besides, that "poor, miserable sinner" stuff is offensive to visitors.

Paul McCain Visits the Shrine of C. F. W. Walther: The Bicentenniel's Most Ironic Home Movie

Have you wondered why most Internet discussions about Lutheranism are about electing the next president and fussing about the most trivial details of official synodical history?

I do not wonder at all. Those in charge in the synods loathe Martin Luther's doctrine and spare no effort to eliminate all traces of it. They cannot deal with the facts of their own history and doctrine, so they dance around the edges. The leaders love to watch pastors bickering over trivia, because they derive their power from alienating people and manipulating the naive.

American Lutheran church history consists of telling the biggest lies and hiding the most facts possible. The Concordia Historical Institute has plenty of evidence about the criminal and unethical actions of C. F. W. Walther. The youngest of pastors who pledged themselves to their syphilitic, adulterous bishop--CFW -was schocked, schocked to find out about Stephan's errant ways. Sure. The bishop's family was booked for passage to America, but he only took his son and his long-standing mistress, Louise Guenther. His mistress was not a secret because Stephan was under house arrest for his affair with her and other wome, up to the moment he left for America. I think the court thought, "Good riddance." They took extensive testimony about Louise and others, so the matter was public, published in court documents. When a man takes his mistress but not his wife to a new location, he has broadcast his infidelity to the world. Those who pay attention to him should be jailed as his enablers. The cover-ups continue to this day, but synodical wrath is reserved for those who tell the truth.

Walther was the man who stole back the 40 acres given by the Society to the bishop. Fraudulently changing court documents is a crime. That would never happen today - except Jerry Kieschnick changed the will of an elderly woman and still became SP. No one seemed to mind. Christian News worried more about whether the conservative candidate du jour was Waltherian enough. Perhaps some grand theft larceny would have helped the other man seem more like CFW.

The LCMS could tell the truth about Walther, instead of having him hover six feet above the ground, more immaculate than the Blessed Virgin Mother. One of the Ft. Wayne heroes was actually in prison in Europe. The synod admits that much. They should brag that Walther ran from the police so fast that the cops never got to serve the arrest warrants for kidnapping his niece and nephew. Pastor Otten is a runner and a biker - he would appreciate that fact. Missouri hstorians rejoice that another pastor and 50 others drowned in the journey to America, sparing their beloved and irrereplacable leader, who would have been on the ship - if he had obeyed the law.

Walther involved his in-laws in the kidnapping, so his future mother-in-law was arrested for her role in Europe. He involved his lawyers in hiding the kids from his own father (a pastor) and the authorities. He also involved his future in-laws in the mob action against Stephan, although he never confronted Stephan about the adultery. Remember that when reading Walther's Pastoral Theology and Law and Gospel. Wonder no more why Missouri treats clergy so badly - Walther established the pattern.

Worst of all, Walther was a crack-pot theologian. I will explore that in the post above, giving people a chance to wipe their brows and get another cup of coffee.

Martin Stephan was investigated for many years. He installed a young
girl in his attic and lived with Louise Guenther at the spa, where he was treated for
syphilitic rashes. Three daughters were deaf, a symptom of congenital syphilis.
He was trained at Halle University, where Knapp taught double-justification.
Thus Stephan founded the Church Growth Movement in the Syn Conferance:
crypto-universalism combined with clergy adultery.

WELS' Doctrine Is Upside-Down: False Teachers Like Paul Kelm Are Rewarded. Sound Doctrine Is Banished.

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Infamous Huberists: From the New Gallery at The Sm...":

The ultimate irony is that today in WELS' brand of Lutheranism those who hold to UOJ terminology claim to be holding to the "old and universal method of teaching" and the one who holds to the "new phraseology and new modes of explaining doctrines" such as "Justification is by faith alone" is "compelled to relinquish his office, and go into exile."

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GJ - The WELS posture of teaching sound doctrine and avoiding false teachers can no longer be maintained without loud guffaws and knee-slapping.  Above is one false teacher congratulating his cell group for promoting the false doctrine of Fuller Seminary and their Father Below, crowing that a new version of their odious newsletter will be published to promote the same bilge.