Luther Rocks: Au Contraire Mon Frere

Luther Rocks: Au Contraire Mon Frere:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2011

Au Contraire Mon Frere
Forward in Christ for November has an article on forgiveness based on the Book of Hosea.  Like many denominations today, liberty is taken with Bible stories to make them relevant.  No where in Hosea does it speak of Hosea or God giving unconditional forgiveness.  I challenge anyone to find a passage.  In fact Chapters 12 and 14 urge Israel to seek forgiveness!  It speaks of God's love, mercy and sovereignty; forgiveness accompanied by contrition.

Brett Meyer offers a great review here:

Brett Meyer said...

"In the November Forward in Christ the (W)ELS continues to teach the false gospel of Universal Objective Justification (UOJ) in the article, How Forgiving is God?.

I'll post three of many false and misleading statements.

Question - Hosea legitimized the children Gomer brought into the relationship. How has God done that in your life? What is the baggage that he accepted along with you? Answer - He has accepted us all with the sins of our past and the sins that still come from our sinful nature.

Here (W)ELS teaches the subtle UOJ confession that unbelievers and believers are no different in God's eyes. They are equally under God's wrath over their sin and under His grace and eternal forgiveness simultaneously. (W)ELS teaches that God accepts your sin because of His love. This is false, a direct consequence of their false central gospel. God does not accept sin. God's wrath abides on everyone who is alive to sin. It is through faith in Christ that His righteousness becomes ours, He in us and we in Him through the gracious gift of faith, which washes us from all sin. Washed clean in the blood of the Lamb we are accepted by God the Father. (W)ELS UOJ Pastor David Jay Webber put it this way, "Pastor Webber (ELS) states, "In Christ, as God looks at the world through Christ, all are under divine mercy and are forgiven, and are therefore invited to believe and be saved. But outside of Christ, as God looks at the world apart from Christ, all are under divine wrath and judgment, and are condemned. The same people - namely all people - are under consideration in each case." http://extranos.blogspot.com/2010/03/grinding-my-ax.html

Question - Detail God's plan of forgiveness for his unfaithful wife (vv. 19,20) and her children (v. 23). Answer - God would promise to remain faithful in his love and compassion for Gomer. She would respond with faithfulness and love for God. Her children would be embraced by the love of God and become part of his people. All this is about the nation of Israel and applies to all sinners.

God chooses to give forgiveness that transforms us from sinners to saints and members of his family.

These two quotes are the heart of the (W)ELS Universalism. The (W)ELS version of UOJ teaches the whole world, including all unbelievers are children of God. They would have to be if it were true that upon Christ's payment for the world's sin God the Father declared the whole unbelieving world totally forgiven, completely justified and absolutely righteous in the blood of Christ. The Kokomo 4 are the correct teachings of the (W)ELS, not only because they were formulated by J.P. Meyer (WELS) but because they continue to teach and confess them.

http://www.wels.net/news-events/forward-in-christ/november-2011/how-forgiving-god

The Hochmuth case is but the continuation of the (W)ELS harvesting the fruit of their false doctrine of UOJ. Their commitment to it was clearly confessed when they excommunicated Joe and Lisa Krohn for rejecting the false teaching that the whole world was forgiven before and without contrition over sin and faith in Christ."


'via Blog this'

MAL Contends . . .: WELS Church Censors Interview Between Accused Child Porn Possessor and Mark Neumann

MAL Contends . . .: WELS Church Censors Interview Between Accused Child Porn Possessor and Mark Neumann:

WELS Church Censors Interview Between Accused Child Porn Possessor and Mark Neumann

Update: Child porn charges filed against church official (MJS).
WELS church communications director, and advisor to the WELS Synodical Council and Conference of Presidents, Joel Hochmuth, has been arrested on child porn charges, WISN reported.

This morning the WELS church scrubbed Hochmuth's interview with prominent WELS member, U.S. candidate Mark Neumann [and member of the WELS Kingdom Workers national Board of Directors (Spring 2011 Newsletter; p.5),] from the WELS site, where the two discussed the "Good Lord," "Christian principles," "abortion," and God's plans for Neumann in politics.

The interview page now reads: "You do not have sufficient privileges to view the requested page. If your user account has access to this page, please log in."

This message began appearing after the piece, WELS—Mark Neumann's Church—Comm Director Arrested on Child Porn Charges, was posted here this morning.

The claim of "sufficient privileges" contradicts the site's Technological pagereading: "Sign In is not required for http://www.wels.net/, ... ."

WELS Board member, Neumann and whole of WELS leadership should condemn Hochmuth and Neumann should use his considerable influence with his church to ax this guy.

WELS should stop covering up, and start speaking up.

Do what Joe Paterno refused to do.

I don't care if it's Penn State football, the Catholic Church or WELS, preying on children is flat-out wrong, and silence is acceptance.

***

GJ - I just found the interview available.

http://www.wels.net/sites/wels/files/podcasts/Mark%20Neumann-final.mp3

"No access" can come from server maintenance, such as trying to scrub the computers clean of photos and videos, or looking for the missing $8 million.

'via Blog this'

Basketball scandal developing in Syracuse _ Penn State affair triggers onset of trauma for other male survivors of abuse

No one will ask on that great and terrible Day,
"Was the reputation of your institution protected by
your smooth and deceptive maneuvers?"

Basketball scandal developing in Syracuse _ Penn State affair triggers onset of trauma for other male survivors of abuse:

POSTED BY JOELLE CASTEIX ON NOVEMBER 18, 2011 ·
http://www.snapnetwork.org/abuse_victims_group_blasts_syracuse_officials

It’s heartbreaking to read that a victim of a predatory Syracuse coach came forward to police and university officials years ago but nothing happened. It's the trifecta of betrayal - a predator who commits child sex crimes and an employer and a police department that seemingly do little or nothing to stop those crimes.

This is a painful reminder that even when the police are contacted with credible child sex abuse reports, the outcome is far from certain. We beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers in abuse cases to report to law enforcement and keep on reporting – as often and as long as possible – even though it’s extremely hard.

We commend Bobby Davis and Mike Lang for reporting Fine, subjecting themselves to questioning and scrutiny, and for doing so publicly, not anonymously. It’s very hard to disclose childhood victimization, but especially hard to do so in public and to accuse a prominent figure.

This awful situation is especially chilling to me. As a girl in high school in California, I was repeatedly sexually violated by my trusted, popular music teacher, Thomas Hodgman. He abused me, impregnated me, and gave me a sexually transmitted disease. I sued, won a $1.6 million settlement and got internal records showing that he admitted his crimes. Yet today, he teaches music at Adrian College in Michigan.


'via Blog this'