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| Gausewitz died in 1927. A Man of Unusual Talents. |
Compare the final question under the First Commandment from these edtions of Gausewitz's catechism:
1932: "What blessings do we derive from this obedience of our Savior? He that believes in Him is justified in the sight of God, and learns to follow Him."
1956: "What blessings are ours through Christ's perfect obedience? We are justified in the sight of God and learn to follow our Savior."
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GJ - This proves what California has argued for a long time - that the odious changes in WELS began long before people suspected. If a congregation did not recycle their old Gausewitz edition, the 1956 prevailed ever since, setting up the sect for the blatant Kuske UOJ blue catechism.
Almost everyone confirmed with the older Gausewitz is already retired or shovel-ready.
The editing with this sentence is subtle. There is no obvious denial of justification by faith. Naturally, the liars who promote UOJ still claim they support justification by faith - even though they oppose it.
False doctrine does not openly oppose sound doctrine. The better scheme is to supplant it slowly, gradually, stealthily. Anyone can understand the 1956 sentence as justification by faith, even though "he that believes in Him" has been removed.
Thus, according to UOJ, everyone in the world has already been forgiven of all sins, even before birth, so "we are justified in the sight of God" really means grace without the Word, without the Means of Grace - and most importantly - without faith.
The language of the revision can also be used with Jay Webber's phrase about everyone forgiven "IN CHRIST" when he clearly does not know what he is talking about.
So the chief article of the Christian faith, justification by faith, has been supplanted by rewriting a faithful catechism and bending it toward apostasy. Error loves ambiguities.
Now several generations have been so completely brainwashed in UOJ that they imagine it has always been taught.
I am holding a 1982 Robert Preus essay, printed by Concordia Cemetery, Ft. Wayne, distributed at Bethany Cemetery, Mankato, where justification without faith (Huber's position) is clearly and unequivocally repudiated. The same quotations were used in Justification and Rome, but Rolf Preus, who grew up after that essay was written, insists that his father always taught UOJ. Two publications say otherwise.
There is a definite UOJ strand in the Synodical Conference, which was founded by Pietists, where Halle University was the Jerusalem, and Knapp the last of the Old Guard. Walther taught the Pietist flavor of Easter absolution, beloved by Rambach and Jay Webber.
Walther made sure his obedient disciples took over the training at St. Louis. Some of them founded the repugnant Wauwatosa theology in WELS.
But justification by faith was and is still being taught in Missouri and WELS. The German LCMS catechism taught justification by faith, without veering off into UOJ. The original Gausewitz did too.
I also have a copy of the CPH catechism, KJV style, which is also silent on UOJ but teaches justification by faith. The KJV catechism is still in print at CPH.
But Rolf Preus, preening for his pals at the Skunk Patch, said Pastor Harley "soiled himself" in teaching justification by faith. No one ever brought charges against Pastor Harley or had much to say against his exegesis.
The provocateur of Kokomo, Papenfuss (WELS), admitted to his members that he never heard of UOJ until he got to Mequon. Nevertheless, two families were kicked out of WELS for NOT agreeing with J. P. Meyer's three statements and the fourth statement from the Norwegian/Augustana debate. Sig Becker and the seminary defended UOJ.
