Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Last Thirty Days - Most Read Posts - Embedded Link...":
Ichabod -
I think that Dino has more sense than all of the WELS hierarchy.
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GJ - I was thinking about this all afternoon, because three holy days always make me feel inadequate -
- Reformation,
- Christmas, and
- Easter.
I wonder - How can anyone say enough or teach the message of those days clearly enough? Luther and the Reformers put their lives on the line when most of the power of Europe was marshaled against them.
Given the choice between the greatest Biblical expositor of all time and the enforcer of sex cult run by a syphilitic bishop, I would choose Luther on academic merit, character, and natural ability.
But it is more than our Reformer versus their go-fer. The great divide is between truth and authority, or combines truth and authority.
Who defines truth? The Word of God, by itself, is the only divine authority, the only book written by the Holy Spirit (and a perennial best-seller, as they say in the trade).The Scriptures are the truth and the only authority, even if no one on earth believed a syllable of the Bible.
The opposite side says that the visible church organization holds the truth and is the authority on what is truth. Therefore, it is pointless to use the classic passages on justification by faith when they simply add a word to invent a justification without faith to those clear sections. Their argument is, "But that is what I see." Or - "We have a paper written by Professor Schnorrfest. Are you calling him a false teacher, and by extension, accusing all of our faculty members?"
Although the opponents are not very bright, persuasive, or analytical, they have each other as mutual authorities and Holy Mother SynConference as their ally. Touching that web of deceit alerts all the spiders waiting in their chambers for a little action. They rush out, insert the fangs, inject the toxin, and let the victim fall into a peaceful sleep - still alive but no longer a danger.
The longer one remains in the falsehood of universal forgiveness and salvation, the more hardened and blinded he is. The clergy are especially vulnerable because they get the most brainwashing and benefit the most from the false teaching. All they have to do is recite their little UOJ catechism and the coffers belch money and honors. "You just can't put your faith in faith." That alerts the minders, who nod approvingly. Or - "If I don't know that everyone is already righteous, forgiven, and saved, then I have nothing to believe in." This is best spoken solemnly or with a self-satisfied smug expression, like the man who bought useless land and repeated what he was told - "Just like money in the bank."
The clergy are especially hardened and blinded because they handle the Word. They teach and preach, even if they are lazy. I know some are at work already on next week's sermon. The Mequon graduates are on Google, searching for the sermon they will preach. No wonder the titles are the same and they appear in series of four.
Someone in the mindset of UOJ will look at a text or the Book of Concord (if the volume is ever cracked open) and wonder how to find UOJ there. The more he turns truth into falsehood and error, the blinder he becomes.
The laity are not subject to the same immersion in the Word. Seldom will any layman spend years in the philosophy of UOJ because the clergy never tell the whole story until they are forced into admitting their slavery to this self-serving philosophy of works and law. Enough prodding will get the UOJ clergy to confess their tawdry dogma, but that is rare. I am glad to see it happening today.
The laity turn to the Scriptures for guidance and comfort, so they find the Gospel as it is, not as filtered by Huber, Knapp, Rambach, Stephan, Walther, Pieper, J. P. Meyer, Tim Glende, and David Valleskey.
A layman, like some innocent clergy, will hear the key UOJ words and interpret them back into the actual Biblical meaning. They hear Objective Justification as another word for Atonement or Redemption. They hear that Christ has paid for all sins, not that the entire world of unbelievers has been declared righteous, forgiven, absolved, and saved. Precious few sermon titles are:
- Hitler is a guilt-free saint in Hell.
- Sodom burned up, but its victims are declared free of sin.
- Stalin, Mao, and Bin Laden - three forgiven amigos. Saved. Period. End of story. (Sermon idea for Buchholz, based on his convention essay.)
The timid UOJ Stormtroopers without the universal absolution cup from the laity, and the laity re-image the false terms they hear, believing the Word rather than the philosophy of liberal, rationalistic Pietism.
Can anyone imagine the clergy creating and posting the DinoLutheran graphics, asking pointed questions about the one and only dogma of the Synodical Conference?
Links about Justification by Faith
Luther's Galatians endorsed by reader
Luther's Galatians on Gnesio Lutherans
Roman Catholic adjunct Jack Kilcrease as Humpty Dumpty
Calov, quoted by Robert Preus, repudiated the UOJ position of WELS
Kilcrease, the McCain tutor, equivocates.
Buchholz is anti-Luther
Pastor Bickel on Tossing Rydecki Under the Bus
Church and Changer Jeff Gunn and His Mequon Class of Shrinkers
Paul McCain and Jon Buchholz - Bedfellows of Apostasy
Abraham Is the Common Theme in Justification - Justification by Faith
Pastor Rydecki's Account of His Suspension - October 9th
Intrepid Account October 6th- Pastor Rydecki Suspended
LutherQuest (sic) Opposes Justification by Faith
Warming Up the Tar and Feathers on LutherQuest (sic)
Pastor Bickel Answers Jon Buchholz
Kokomo Statements - WELS UOJ - JP Meyer
Jack Kilcrease Showing Signs of Stress
Dr. Lito Cruz and Brett Meyer Dispatch the UOJ Stormtroopers on Extra Nos
Latest Links
DinoLutheran Asks Impertinent Questions
Clarification from David Becker
Three Comments from Sola Fide
Otten Celebrates Rydecki's Removal: Two Front-Page Stories
Mixed Messages from LutherQuest (sic)
Departing from the Confessions - Berean
Loyalist-Conservatives and Holy Mother Synod
Jack Cascione Dusts Off Iron Maiden
Wauwatosa Influence in WELS
Mighty in the Scriptures - Luther Sermon Passage
False Claims by WELS
UOJ Is Pavlov's House
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| Hunnius repudiated an early form of UOJ, backed by P. Leyser, an editor of the Book of Concord, a biographer of Chemnitz, and an early expert on justification. |
