Synodical Kittens - When Their Eyes Open - They Read the Book of Concord

Page Reads in a Day

Snowbird, Membership Initiative, Joy Radio Show,
Change or Die! Conferences, 2011 and 2012.

Google Blogger starts the new day at 6 PM Central.
By midnight there are often 500 new page-reads.
By morning the total is 1000 page-reads.
Mid-afternoon will total 1500 page-reads.
Closing will have around 2000 page-reads.

If something new comes up, I publish it, sometimes through "Blog This!" One layman in the East looks for late night posts, which Joe Krohn calls Icha-peeks. Joe's wife is an Icha-widow, but my wife claims to be the very first Icha-widow.

New Change or Die! Gathering for 2012. Working with ELCA Pastors Again. Abortion in Their Health Plan? No Problemo!

Didn't WELS and the LCMS throw Gausewitz under the bus a long time ago?

http://tentalentsforchrist.com/#/change-or-die-conference

Change or Die 2012

Stories from Lutheran Ministries that Are Growing

Thursday, February 23

The Harley Davidson Museum Conference Facility

Agenda

1:00 p.m.               Registration

1:30                       Welcome, Introductions, Thanks, Instructions                       ….Rev. Mark Jeske

1:45                       The Story of St. Andrew’s, Middleton and Waunakee    ….Rev. Randy Hunter

2:15                       Discussion

3:30                       The Story of Hephatha, Milwaukee                  ..…..Rev. Mary Martha Kannass

3:00                       Discussion

3:15                       Break

3:30                       The Story of Faith, Milwaukee   …Revs. Richard Peterson and Richard Suerro

4:00                       Discussion

4:15                       The Story of Risen Savior, Milwaukee                                     .…Rev. Ken Fisher

4:45                       Discussion

5:00                       Roundtable Reflections (Cocktails)

5:30                       Dinner

6:30                       The Story of LINC Twin Cities                                                …..Mrs. Sue Hewitt

7:00                       Discussion

7:15                       The Story of Shepherd of the Hills, Pewaukee                       …..Rev. Tom Wink

7:45                       Discussion                                                                                   

8:00                       Wrap-Up

***

GJ - Hephatha, Milwaukee is ELCA. Here is one link from their ELCA partner.

Here is an ELCA news story mentioning Hephatha.

Randy Hunter is well known in WELS for the Latte Church - with the woman pastor "administering the Means of Grace."

Ken Fisher is the WELS expert on getting grant money, not that Jeske is slack on using Other People's Money.

LINC seems to be a front for ABCD, whatever that is or does.

Shepherd of the Hills is a Missouri Synod cell group congregation.

Faith, Milwaukee is another ELCA parish:

"Richard Suero student at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, and member of our Mission partner congregation, Faith/Santa Fe Lutheran Church in Milwaukee  (The pastor at Faith/Santa Fe is a “son of Augustana,*” Richard Peterson) the Grow-Hanson family ELCA missionaries in Senegal."

*Augustana is a Reconciled in Christ congregation.
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Febreeze has left a new comment on your post "New Change or Die! Gathering for 2012":

I wonder if any of these are growing liturgical churches.

***

GJ - I remember when WELS had a gathering of mission congregations. One pastor was truly confessional and put up a cartoon about someone saying on a couch, "I can't stop going to Church Growth conferences." He got a severe dressing down soon after. His congregation was growing from LCMS defections. He said to me, "I hope my members all die before they find out how WELS is lying to them."

I am guessing the latest Jeske extravaganza is Thrivent-funded. It has that aroma: WELS, LCMS, ELCA.

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David Becker has left a new comment on your post "New Change or Die! Gathering for 2012":

When I first saw this, I thought it was a parody or something that was made up, but I checked the link and it is indeed an actual event. Intrepid Lutherans reported it too.

***

GJ - David, you laugh out loud when you read Ichabod? All I need to do is report the WELS and Missouri news for LOLs and ROTFLs. They denounce ELCA for abortion and homosexual pastors while working with ELCA congregations. And I am the bad guy. LOL.

PS - This conference is connected with Ten Talents for Christ. Intrepid research and spelling:


The address of "Ten Talents for Christ" listed on their website is:

2323 N. Mayfair Rd., Suite 104

Coincidentally, that's right down the road from the synod office, and it's in the very same building as WELS Kingdom Workers:

2323 N. Mayfair Rd., Suite 400.


The Registered Agent with the State of Wisconsin of Ten Talents for Christ Inc is one -

Danae S Oldenberg, who it appears is an agent for Thrivent and who's (sic) office appears to be 2323 N Mayfair Road Suite 104.

Ten Talents for Christ Inc has not filed paper work with the state of Wisconsin to be recognized as a Charitable 501(c)3 Organization yet, but is a NonStock, Non-Profit Corporation.

Was not able to find out Board of Directors.

The above is all from Public Records available in Wisconsin.

***

GJ - I tolja it smelled like Thrivent. Big grant for the schwaermerpalooza, I promise.

Emmaus Conference, 2012

Brett Meyer:


"I have 50 copies of Justification by Faith, 40 copies of Jesus Priceless Treasure, 20 copies of Jesus Lord of Creation (attempting to offset CPH's promotion of evolution), 50 UOJ vs. BOC and Scripture printouts, 50 Catechism comparison printouts."


The retail value of the books given away is $2,000, made possible by gifts from members. I get bulk orders at wholesale and various people get free copies when they ask about doctrinal issues.


Luther versus the UOJ Pietists, Justification by Faith contains all the favored quotations in support of UOJ. However, the UOJ Stormtroopers pretend that there are no possible arguments against their precious theory.


All three book covers are by Norma Boeckler, who donates all her time for this work.


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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Emmaus Conference, 2012":

Final distribution tally is 19 Justification books, 15 Jesus Priceless Treasure and 5 Jesus, Lord of Creation books distributed at the conference.

Overall it looked like attendance was down from last year. I recognized all but 8-10 people from last year's Emmaus Conference. I had many great conversations with people interested in the Justification book. Most laymen and a few clergy had never heard of the Lutheran Synod's teachings concerning Universal Justification. One Pastor was stunned to see what was being taught. The Synod clergy quotes caused them to ask more questions and the removal of Huber over his UOJ teaching from Wittenburg University caused them to ask even more questions. Overall an excellent level of interest from laity and less from the clergy.

***

GJ - Brett reports that attendance was not impressive, which was no surprise with the theme being so uninteresting.

Don't Take My Word for It

The most frequent rant posted--one hoary with age--is against my extensive quotations. In fact, the most popular post of all times is a list of quotations - no commentary.

I began databasing quotations for my writing projects and increased the number when VP Wayne Mueller claimed there was "no Church Growth in WELS."

Unlike the MDiv popes, I do not want you to take my word for it. If you do not have clarity through the Word and the Confessions, you will not get it through me. If I can get people studying the Word itself and the Book of Concord, I am happy.

The UOJ Thought Police are eager to have everyone get out their authorities and pledge allegiance to this person or that one. They enjoy tying people in knots about what someone really thought or said. They are like the mama birds that struggle on the ground with a broken wing, to lead danger away from the nest of eggs. We had a plover in the church parking lot who did that dance perfectly. We would take children out, show them the next hidden in the rocks, and gently interrupt the mom. Off she would go, wing cocked as if broken, away from the nest.

The nest is the revealed Word of God. The Holy Spirit at work in the Word is our professor.

WAM.2's Justification Paper in the WELS Holy of Holies

"Target acquired. Target lock.
Fire for effect."

WELS commentary on the essay itself:
In this paper Maier opposes the Synodical Conference view of objective justification. Many of Prof. Siegbert Becker's papers on objective justification were in part directed against Maier's views.  Similar views were held by some members of the WELS congregation in Kokomo, Indiana, who objected to WELS position on this doctrine.  The LCMS rejected Maier's position in their statement on justification, though they do not mention his name.


Dropbox link to the free PDF file.


I did not read every word of the Maier essay, but I read a lot of it, especially as it relates to the UOJ Stormtrooper dogma and the exegesis, plus the 17th century quotations that relate to Huber's error.


Maier writes along the same lines as Pless, which is also what Robert Preus wrote in Justification and Rome.


Stormtrooper dogma is clear, and this is sold as Gospel in Missouri, WELS, the Little Sect on the Prairie, and the scattered fragments of the Olde Synodical Conference. If you thought Bishop Stephan's syphilis was contagious, that disease was nothing compared to the UOJ he caught at Halle University.


Stormtrooper dogma: 
Every single person on earth has been declared forgiven. In fact, they are born forgiven. That includes cannibals, polytheists, and atheists, but not those who oppose this wonderful if invisible decree from heaven.


Maier, Pless; Robert Preus in Justification and Rome:
Christ has died for the sins of the world and earned forgiveness. However, there is a difference between forgiveness acquired and forgiveness received. This forgiveness is received only through faith and is not declared before faith.

I fault all three (Maier, Pless, Preus) for not being more pointed in their rejection of UOJ. Maier has plenty of choice comments about Pieper's errors and about bad exegesis, but one should not need a commentary on the commentary to figure that out.


I also fault those three for not being more pointed about the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. Once that Biblical concept is grasped, the UOJ castle falls down faster than a house of cards. It doesn't take a tornado - only a sneeze.


I get the impression that LCMS leaders never start with the heart of Luther's doctrine, the basis for all Biblical wisdom. All three men got touched on this issue but not enough to clarify things for the next generation or two. Rolf Preus (son of Bob) and Andrew (son of Rolf) are two examples of this neglect.


I believe Knapp's original statement in his dogmatics book, as translated by the Calvinist Woods, was more vague that what the Olde Synodical Conference communicates today. Walther promoted the Easter absolution of the entire world and installed minions who would repeat his and Stephan's error. WELS has enhanced the expansion of the error with Sig Becker's blessing of J. P. Meyer's hyperbole (Ministers of Christ, now reprinted on Bible paper by WELS).


Comic relief: When UOJ Canon Lawyers are raving against justification by faith, they are repeating the criticism of Calvinists against the Arminians. The Arminians taught faith as a decision or virtue. Thus the UOJ Squadrons are role-playing Calvinists while pretending justification by faith is Calvinism. Ignorance and bigotry arise when the Means of Grace are lost.

Useless Degree - By Itself - Just As I Said

$100,000 for a useless degree at Concordia, St. Louis?

Theology/Religious Studies This is probably the least career-driven of all the majors on our list. Each major, though listed as “useless” has a definitive job that goes along with it. But theology does not. This field garners you a median starting salary of $34,700 per year. While you can work as a professor or in other related fields if you double major, directly using your divinity degree requires you to be in some way involved in a church. However, churches are not soliciting new ministers. This is why theology/religious studies as a degree by itself is fairly useless. Read more: The Most Useless College Degrees | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/info_7972910_useless-college-degrees.html


***


GJ - You cannot work as a professor with a double major - only if a real degree is earned at the same time, such as an MA at Washington U. in St. Louis.


A Master of Divinity degree is useless by itself. If someone wants to spend that much money, I suggest getting something the LCMS really values - an MBA degree. Then he or she can make enough money to earn an MDiv later.


C. F. W. Walther only had a four-year degree plus cell group experience to be ordained a minister. Why do people need 8 years of higher education to teach against Luther and sinuflect to Rome?

"Another class of St. Louis MDivs!
More priests for us!"

Open Thread - Emmaus Conference

Last year's conference.

Post comments to this thread and I will copy and paste them into the main part.


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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Open Thread - Emmaus Conference":

Leaving for the Conference. I have 50 copies of Justification by Faith, 40 copies of Jesus Priceless Treasure, 20 copies of Jesus Lord of Creation (attempting to offset CPH's promotion of evolution), 50 UOJ vs. BOC and Scripture printouts, 50 Catechism comparison printouts.

Vernon Harley's Essays - Also Linked on the Left

Defeat the Dark Side (UOJ)
with the Means of Grace.

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "LCMS Pastor Vernon Harley - Synergism -- Its Logic...":


Vernon Harley's combined papers (pdf):


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34974726/lcms-pastor-vernon-harley-combined-papers_vs_UOJ.pdf


We could use WAM's as well. The WELS Holy of Holies is not downloading it - probably due to demand from the Steadfast Enthusiasts.


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Maier PDF - direct Dropbox link.


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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Vernon Harley's Essays - Also Linked on the Left":


You rang?


http://www.wlsessays.net/files/MaierJustification.pdf

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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Vernon Harley's Essays - Also Linked on the Left":

Bruce,

I have reviewed Maier's paper once more and there are no alternative verses that he claimed teach OJ.

In fact he explicitly stated, Scripture teaches only ONE justification, the justification by faith.

LPC


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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Vernon Harley's Essays - Also Linked on the Left":

Thanks LPC. Can the Maier paper on UOJ be made to square at all with this published statement?:

The book "Doctrine is Life: The Essays of Robert D. Preus on Justification and the Lutheran Confessions," Ed. Klemet I. Preus (CPH, 2006) says in the "Objective Justification" chapter which was written by Robert D. Preus during or shortly after the Maier UOJ conflict:

"...Dr. Maier has remained unpersuaded that his interpretation of the pertinent passages is faulty. At the same time he has consistently assured all that he has always taught the doctrine of objective justification as understood in the Missouri Synod. He has, however, referred to other Biblical evidence for the doctrine" (p. 151).

That would be "other" passages besides the "pertinent" ones given as: "Romans 4:25; Romans 5:16-19; II Corinthians 5:19" (p. 150).


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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Vernon Harley's Essays - Also Linked on the Left":

If Maier (WAM2) reportedly was a UOJer his whole life, and reportedly taught UOJ at Ft. Wayne, yet his writings indicate the exact opposite, it adds credence to Dr. Jackson's contention that Robert Preus rejected UOJ before he died, despite those who are skeptical of that claim. 


***


GJ - The faculty voted that they were all orthodox when I was there. That made it true, of course. One of the Preus clan laughed about that. I went to a class where Kadai was teaching. He was one of their liberals. He wanted a summary of Barth, so I said, as a visitor, "He suggested speaking with a newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other." Kadai liked that - it was the right answer. I added, "But others say Barth spoke with the newspaper in one hand, a Kalashnikov in the other, while standing on the Bible." Kadai was not happy with my reference to Barth the Marxist. But they were all orthodox. 


And Preus wrote an entire book about justification without mentioning OJ or UOJ, because...? 


The UOJ Enthusiasts used the same excuse with the Book of Concord, whose authors would have taught UOJ if they had realized how much we needed to comprehend the mystery. They just took it for granted, doncha know.


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LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Vernon Harley's Essays - Also Linked on the Left":

It is all about child like faith. The way the Gospel is laid out cover to cover in the Bible, is easily understood by children. And yet men feel the need to turn God's cheerful willingness to forgive into some kind of philosophical argument. I posted the example of the brazen serpent which succinctly shows faith=forgiveness/salvation; lack of faith=eternal damnation on BJS and the philosophers immediately went to work...oh, I almost forgot. LOL. 


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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Vernon Harley's Essays - Also Linked on the Left":

Bruce,

Very good insight, UOJ once again demonstrates its fallacy.

LPC

Emmaus Conference

Emmaus Conference:


February 9-10, 2012
Lecturer: President, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, St. Louis, Missouri Assistant Pastor, Village Lutheran Church, Ladue, Missouri.

The Reverend Matthew C. Harrison is the 13th person to serve as president of the 2.3-million-member Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Before becoming president, Harrison served for nine years as the executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care. He has also served as a parish pastor at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Westgate, Iowa, and Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He later founded the National Lutheran Housing Support Corp. - a faith-based housing organization that helps revitalize communities and renew neighborhoods across the country.

Harrison and his wife Kathy spent a year as missionaries in a remote Canadian Cree Indian village with the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the same institution. He has authored, edited and translated several articles and books, including The Lonely Way: Selected Essays and Letters by Hermann Sasse; At Home in the House of My Fathers; A Little Book on Joy; and Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith in Action. Harrison and his wife live in Ballwin, Mo., and are members of Village Lutheran Church in Ladue, Mo., where he also serves as assistant pastor. They have two sons.

_________________________


'via Blog this'

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - VIRGINIA:TEC Bishop Lauds Legal Win but Faces Financial Uncertainty in Takeovers

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - VIRGINIA:TEC Bishop Lauds Legal Win but Faces Financial Uncertainty in Takeovers:

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
February 6, 2012

Seven Episcopal congregations in Virginia, including two prominent, historic congregations that trace their roots to George Washington: Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church, now face the fact that after a 6-year legal battle they must walk away from tens of millions of dollars worth of real estate - a loss that just might turn out to not be quite the victory roll for the liberal Episcopal diocese.

Jim Oakes, a spokesman for the seven churches, said the theological problems are very deep. "We didn't separate over a dispute about the color of the draperies," he said. "These are very serious issues." Indeed they are. Communion breaking.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows reversed a ruling he made in 2008 giving custody to the conservative congregations. The Virginia Supreme Court overturned that ruling in 2010 and ordered a new trial. At issue for orthodox Anglicans in that diocese was the denomination's dangerous and unbiblical drift into pansexuality, a drift that is now a rift that has torn the very fabric of the Anglican Communion.

The judge still has to construct a final order to put Tuesday's ruling into effect, which will be complicated: It involves 42 separate deeds, as well as sorting out various personal property within the church. The one minor victory Bellows gave to the conservative congregations was that they could keep any donations and personal property associated with the churches they acquired since the split.

According to their budget, the diocese spent $2 million dollars last year in legal fees on this continuing battle with more fees due for this budget year. In his diocesan address, Bishop Johnson promised the departing congregations would be dealt with "graciousness" and no animosity. He then announced a "Dayspring Initiative" with three approaches: Vision - for the remaining congregations and their properties; Resources - meaning what can be used to implement the new visions; and Messaging - i.e. communicating the stories of how this Diocese is handling the new properties and visions. Of course, it remains to be seen how the Presiding Bishop will allow him to deal "graciously" with those who have left. Her track record to date has been abysmal. One should take nothing at face value from a sitting bishop or presiding bishop. She is on record as saying she would sooner sell parishes to be "saloons" than allow them to be sold to another Anglican jurisdiction.

"The future is absolutely bristling with possibilities. This is a truly historic time in the life of our diocese. It is not overstating the case to say that this is one of the most defining moments in all of our 400 year history," opined Bishop Shannon Johnston. However it is hard to see just what those "bristling" moments are. "Defining", perhaps; certainly in its 400 years, the diocese has never lost so many parishes and thousands of its adherents over such a short span of time. One wonders if the bishop was smoking something when he uttered those words or perhaps had seen a vision of Gene Robinson's ungodly consecration float before his eyes. His diocese voted overwhelmingly to "provide a generous pastoral response" by moving forward with guidelines to publicly bless same gender unions. Virginia Theological Seminary has been an incubator of pansexual staff and faculty adding fuel to an already glowing blaze. Ironically, no such "generous pastoral response" with regard to property was given to those with orthodox views and those who disagree with the "bristling" bishop on gay sex.

Then came a new twist in the settlement. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, which said it was holding out an olive branch to the departed CANA parishes, had their attorneys file a motion with Judge Randy Bellows for an award of prejudgment interest, a decidedly sneaky move, but one you might expect from a liberal bishop more concerned with property than "with the faith once for all delivered to the saints."

"Pre-judgment interest" means just what the name says -- it is interest on an amount made payable for a time period before any actual judgment is entered. (After a judgment is entered against a defendant for a sum of money, post-judgment interest begins to accrue on the amount of the judgment, and continues to accrue until the judgment is paid in full.)

When VOL confronted officials at the Diocese of Virginia, they responded, "The motion for pre-judgment interest was filed on January 23, two weeks ago. Assuming the 'olive branch' reference is referring to the Bishop's pastoral address that occurred five days later. The motion was filed in light of the fiduciary duty of the Diocese of Virginia to recover all Episcopal Church assets and return them to the ministry of the Episcopal Church in Diocese of Virginia. We remain open to creative solutions and are in discussions in a variety of circumstances," wrote Henry D.W. Burt, Secretary and Chief of Staff for the Episcopal Diocese.

But as Canon Law Attorney A.S. Haley told VOL, "The Diocese was applying maximum pressure on the CANA congregations by going after prejudgment interest while telling them 'we can settle this.'"

A PYRRHIC VICTORY?

The Episcopal Diocese may have won the legal battle, but they have lost the hearts and minds of thousands of parishioners who will never again darken the doors of their hard fought for parishes. The brokering in of sexual sin has come at a huge price, which can never be reversed unless diocesan officials formally repent of their "progressive" sexual and unbiblical views. Furthermore, there is the real possibility that they cannot, over time, sustain the victory in any meaningful way.

A report by the Institute on Religion and Democracy said that the legal victory may prove "pyrrhic." Most of the "continuing congregations" that stand to take possession of the disputed properties - bodies that split off from the seven congregations when they voted to separate from the denomination - simply cannot afford them. "The state of these continuing congregations - often by their own admission - can be described as at best poorly prepared to maintain and operate large church properties, or at worst, teetering on the edge of being non-viable," noted the IRD report.

The Falls Church, for example, has average weekly attendance of around 2,000 and a $6 million annual budget. The continuing congregation of that church has a reported average attendance of 74. Similarly, the continuing congregation of the Church of the Epiphany in Herndon reported 2010 income, including pledges, of $50,000 and average attendance of 20, according to the Institute for Religion and Democracy. The congregation that now maintains the facilities has average attendance of 380 and a budget of $800,000.

The diocese, itself financially stretched, may be in no position to offer the continuing congregations much aid. "According to self-reported statistics, the diocese has lost 26 percent of its attendance in the past decade and has ceased planting new churches, despite significant population growth in Virginia. With the rapid increase of the median age of Episcopalians, there may not be 'a future generation of Episcopalians' to worship in these properties," continues the Institute report. Anglican officials have suggested they may end up selling "non-consecrated" properties not received in the judgment to pay legal fees.

Johnston said that "while we are grateful for the decision in our favor, we remain mindful of the toll this litigation has taken on all parties involved, and we continue to pray for all affected by the litigation."

THEOLOGY OR LEGALITY

Johnston said it would be a big mistake to characterize this simply as a "legal" battle. "Rather, at its core, this is (make no mistake about it) about theology, meaning who we are as a Church in relationship with Christ and the world. At stake is our polity, that is, our ancient and defining order of our being the Church. Thus, it is altogether a matter of nothing less than our very faithfulness. It will therefore take more than the courts to settle things."

The truth is "theology" and "polity" are not the same thing and only tangentially connected. Nowhere in St. Paul's epistles does the apostle make any case for the church's polity being of equal status with theology and his (St. Paul's) rejection of any kind of sexual behavior outside of marriage places the church's teaching on sexuality as it relates to marriage and the Body of Christ well above polity. Polity might be closely related with ecclesiology if in turn it is aligned with the "sound teaching" that St. Paul talks about. Johnston and St. Paul are on a collision course. But when you step over that line, as TEC and the diocese have done what matter polity if the theology of the Body and sexuality has been violated and soundly trashed?

Can one say at this point that TEC or the diocese is in "relationship with Christ and the world?" Perhaps the world, but certainly not Christ. "At stake is our polity," says Johnson. Not true. At stake is the veracity of gospel teaching about how we should behave as human beings who are made in the image of God. Scripture and 2000 years of apostolic preaching has never deviated one iota from the true nature of marriage and "same-gender" unions are not now nor have ever been on the church's agenda until recently.

Johnston then candidly admitted that while his legal efforts are bearing abundant fruit, that same fruit is making ecclesial life even more complex. Really. "Despite the recent court ruling in our favor, we simply don't know now what the future holds. Nonetheless, we have reason to be more confident than ever that our properties will be returned. For nearly two years, we have considered and discussed such a positive outcome, and now we must move to put contingency plans in place. We will be fully prepared for any eventuality."

Johnston then stepped into high gear to a real fantasy level by stating in his pastoral address, "No community of faith, no ministry program will be summarily thrown out of its current place. We will be as open as possible to creative agreements, generous provision, and true mutuality, while protecting the needs of our own ministries and the integrity of our witness... I want to have a witness to the world, particularly the Anglican world, not just an 'outcome' in the court. In my view, the Diocese of Virginia is best positioned of all Episcopal dioceses to make such an epoch-shaping witness. "

Does he imagine planting his diocesan flag say in the Anglican Province of Nigeria? He should run for president of Pogo Land if he does. CANA is the North American plant of Nigeria and he has just tossed them all out of his diocese. Does he think he would be welcome in Anglican provinces like Uganda, Kenya or Rwanda? What world is he living in?

The Episcopal Church's harsh, take-no-prisoners approach to dealing with church property has become the hallmark of Katharine Jefferts Schori's imprint. The denomination should have allowed the diocese to sit down at the table with the departing congregations and negotiate a fair settlement, as was initially proposed by Bishop James Lee. Alas, Jefferts Schori would not allow it. Johnston was happy to roll over even at a cost of $3 million... after all what are a few million bucks when it comes to holding on to properties at the price of mission?

As if to excite his followers, Johnston declaimed, "[But] be confident. God is faithful and gracious, and will continue to bless the Diocese of Virginia as we serve our Lord Jesus Christ: 'For this time. For all time.'"

Fantasies die-hard. Time will reveal all, but to date there is not a single diocese in TEC, which has embraced TEC's pansexual agenda that has grown as a result. Not one. God can never go against His own character or revealed will. He can never bless what is clearly sinful behavior. Johnston is whistling Dixie.

As the grieving begins, the Rev. John Yates, rector of the Falls Church breakaway congregation, issued a letter to his flock saying that while "feelings of anger, grief, fear or just uncertainty" are "surely normal, and healthy," that "we must, for planning purposes assume we'll be leaving. And while a move may be delayed for some time, we must be prepared for a move within the next six weeks."

They will lose their buildings, but as Stephen cried out as he was being stoned (Acts 7:48), "...the Most High does not live in houses made by men." Bishop Johnston might reflect on that. He has stoned the CANA parishes, but in the end he will lose, just as those who persecuted and stoned Stephen. The church went on to great triumph and growth and so will CANA. The epitaph of the Diocese of Virginia will be the epitaph of The Episcopal Church.

'via Blog this'

Extra Nos: Falsifiability, is that important to you?

Say the wrong word, the trapdoor opens.
Dr. Cruz made an important point - no one can prove or disprove Gard's claim.

Extra Nos: Falsifiability, is that important to you?:


Over at Steadfast Lutherans (Waltherians IMHO) yours truly got banned from commenting further. The discussion revolved around the question whether or not Robert Preus rejected Universal Objective Justification(UOJ) in his later days. The question also involved Robert Preus' book Justification and Rome, his last work. You should get a copy of this book, it is a great book on Justification By Faith Alone (JBFA). I read about it at Ichabod's. My copy is in my library and is dirtied with notes and annotations. I do not keep my book clean, my loved books are dirtied (FYI).




Some people and the descendants of Robert Preus themselves claim that Preus never departed from UOJ.


Now to recap, UOJ teaches that your object of faith is should not be in the Atonement, but the forgiveness/justification (declaration of righteousness) that has already happened to ALL people and in the past when Jesus died on the Cross/Rose Again. Key passage here, so they say is Romans 4:25.


If Preus wanted to teach the most important concept that distinguishes Lutheranism from Romanism which is UOJ then in that book, Preus did a botched job in telling that. If we are to believe that he wanted people to learn UOJ from that book, he did a lousy job of doing that. If he wanted to be clear on UOJ he failed miserably in conveying that. If that is a book that will sell UOJ, you won't buy it based on that book. Instead, I walked away thoroughly enjoying JBFA, not UOJ.


At the Steadfast Waltherian blog I referred to earlier, Dr. Dan Gard, a professor at an LC-MS seminary made this claim: To state it once again: Dr. Robert Preus never changed his doctrinal position on Objective Justification.


Critical thinking suggests that when a claim is made, we must have some reasonable method of testing or verifying a claim. Falsifiabilty asks the question, do I have a method of obtaining evidence that proves this claim is false. I wrote about this topic in the area of testing the claims of evolution. This is where falsifiability comes in. Falsifiability is required if we are to accept a claim as valid and admit the claim as fact. To illustrate, I can claim that Jesus speaks to me each night and one night Jesus told me that UOJ is false. Now, how do you falsify that?


You can't. For in order to prove what I am saying is false, Jesus should come to you and deny my claim. Another, you have to be with me each night and observe if Jesus does show up but what if I meant he speaks to me in my mind, how do you verify that? You can't.


In that blog at Steadfast (so called), I asked a question to Prof. Gard, how does one go about proving his claim, apart from simply taking his word for it and basing it on his truthful character?


Apparently I was out of line in my questioning and so got banned by the moderator. The moderator stepped in and it was implied I was being sophomoric and out of line.


Do you think my question was out of line? Was I being sophomoric?


I thought my question was fair.


Over here we are constantly informed of university public lecturers. It is a great occasion whenever it happens. By public it means anyone can come and can asks questions after the lecture and yes usually well researched and titled people are the ones that give the lecture. However, in here no one is held sacred, not even if you are an old professor. That last 15 minutes for Q & A is what people wait for. In other words, the lecturer does not take your questions personally. It is a matter of facts, not a matter of persons. The reason is that by lecturing, the lecturer is asking the people to believe something and it stands to reason that if you are asking such a tall order, you can not run away from questions. For if you do, the public will simply think you are not a person that should be taken seriously, and that is the end of your future public lectures.

'via Blog this'

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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Extra Nos: Falsifiability, is that important to yo...":

This is what one respondent told me...

Mild Colonial Boy, Esq. said...
Mr Cruz, I don't think that your arguments were out of line, they were well within usual "robust" academic standards. It is simply that the LCMS don't like to have pointed out they and the rest of North American Lutheranism has made a sectarian deviation from orthodox Lutheranism. Why not stick to separate concepts of Atonement and Justification by Faith without the Jesuitry of Objective and Subjective Justification?

***

GJ - The more hysterical the attack, Lito, the more they reveal their fear.

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From Joe Krohn, Steadfast post:
I am not confusing, Jack. Only warning. Your comparison to the Trinity is an old argument, a red herring and irrelevant. No, there is not a widespread belief of universalism in the synods you name. And yes, at present , many rail against ELCA in this regard. But there was a time when the denominations that now make up ELCA did not buy into this universalism either. Of course ELCA no longer speaks in terms of OJ/SJ…duh…they are universalists. If you think that the synods who do not have a widespread belief in universalism right now are not susceptible to it, you are kidding yourself. Pride goeth before the fall. It was foretold in Revelation long ago. Full blown universalism is coming to WELS, LCMS and the ELS whether you like it or not. And it will come through this doctrine of OJ. It is already happening in WELS by what my former WELS pastor preaches…that I was forgiven subjectively before being offered the Means of Grace. And there are those in LCMS that say that there is no difference between WELS and LCMS regarding justification. So you tell me…I will go with Isaiah 21:6.

Many People Help with Ichabod, Especially the Opponents

Those UOJ guys are so lovey-dovey,
just like this kitty.

I appreciate the soaring readership on Ichabod. Rolf Preus had to refer readers on LaughQuest to the Harley essay I published. Why? Because Ichabod is the prime source for materials.

Many people help in various ways. The UOJ Pharisees should consider that when they rave against the doctrine of the Bible, Luther, and the Book of Concord. Yale and Notre Dame trained me to do original research, to question the tired old maxims paraded by guardians of the palace. Someone can look at the research and question the results, but the UOJ salesmen skip the data and repeat their mantras.

I am bewildered that such an infantile essay as this remains on the Net. A truly dumb word-play substitutes for theology. I wonder if it had been written down in class notes, long ago. Plagiarism works best with better material.

Fantasy Island - Steadfast Enthusiasts

MBW

@Paul T. McCain #56:
I also do not believe it is fair for a seminarian to have to shoulder the burden of this public false teaching and responding to it.


MBW:


Correct. I have personal experience with them. Greg and his disciple (who named his son after Greg and wrote a poorly conceived, illiterate “book” that tried to take UOJ apart) nearly destroyed a faithful MO congregation. The congregation, fighting for the Gospel, disciplined the followers of Greg’s disciple (Greg had moved on). Manteuffel and Marquardt wrote papers supporting the congregation. The feckless synod disciplined the congregation.

***

GJ - I have yet to meet a UOJ advocate who could tell the truth. This anonymous individual is naming Larry Darby from Trinity LCMS in Bridgeton, Missouri (St. Louis area).


Larry ran into UOJ and began studying it. Pastor Bischoff agreed with him, at first, that UOJ was false.


I wonder how Larry became my disciple when he was the one looking into it. He had a son named Greg, but I doubt that he named his son after me.


LaughQuest had me described as Larry's disciple, when they were not accusing me of being Walter Maier's disciple. Neither appellation is correct.


I have no idea who this field worker was. I doubt that he was there when I was a member, so it would have been hard to corrupt him into justification by faith.


Feckless? Trinity always supported Holy Mother LCMS. They growled and complained and fell in line. What do you call members and a pastor who shout "false doctrine," pray, pay, and obey? They sought the feckless synod's help and took their advice.


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LaughQuest:


Rolf Preus:

Vernon Harley clearly and emphatically rejected objective justification. Check out this article. 


Forgiveness precedes faith. Without forgiveness faith cannot be elicited. The denial of objective justification makes the truth of the gospel contingent on the faith that receives the gospel, thus making faith the object of itself. This is fideism and it is poison to the soul.


***


GJ - Rolf should stop reading his own posts and concentrate on the Gospel of John. The UOJ Enthusiasts have outted themselves. One of Harley's former members got me in contact with Pastor Harley.I met Pastor Harley before he died. He pointed out that no one in the LCMS argued with him, opposed him, or accused him of heresy. He circulated his exegetical essays for many years. 

David Becker on the Steadfast Enthusiasts

David Becker

David Becker has left a new comment on your post "Preus Clan Still Tries to Rescue Universal Absolut...":

Hi Pastor Jackson, I found it interesting that Andrew Preus did not even reference your writings or even give your full name. You were just "Dr. Jackson" (Jackson is a very common name of course) - he could have referenced your Lulu account, where all of your writings are available by PDF file, for free. I went through these. Jesus Priceless Treasure is my favorite; I thought that one was outstanding. Others were very good too. All of them present legitimate views and are not these "beyond the pale" writings that your detractors would claim them to be. Have they read them?

If for the sake of argument you are wrong on Robert Preus and objective justification and others are right, is that something to brag about?

You mentioned Walter A. Maier Jr. I always considered you in general agreement with him. Where would you say that you agree with him or disagree with him? How well do you know him? Perhaps you could clarify that?

Walter Maier Jr. was nominated for LCMS President twice. He got the most nominations in 1981, despite the accusations and concerns on doctrine. Pastor Herman Otten's Christian News strongly supported him then. I've sometimes thought that subsequent LCMS history could have been considerably different had Maier Jr. and not Ralph Bohlmann become LCMS President in 1981. James Burkee's book did not buy that Jack Preus's opposition to Maier Jr. was actually doctrinal.

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Hi Pastor Jackson, as you may know, after not submitting items to Christian News (and not even subscribing for six years) for a long time, I have picked it up again, and am sending CN stuff for whatever the editor may choose to print. Pastor Otten does not surf the Internet (not sure how much his wife or children do), but he has expressed his appreciation for my sending him whatever I believe to be potentially CN-worthy, from whatever I may find on the Internet. I have taken note of this article. There is nothing new in it except mentioning a jury date. Once a not guilty or guilty verdict is reached, or a change in plea is made, or some other significant new development is published and documented, I will forward it to CN for their consideration. (Of course there is nothing stopping CN from citing the article apart from me if they want to.)

I will also comment generally that although I don't agree with everything you say or how you say it (though you are frequently laugh-out-loud funny), I do appreciate your standing up for what you believe and do believe your voice is important and worthy of consideration. I did go through the PDF file of your new book on Justification by Faith and do believe it is worthy of reading. I did wonder about the statement in your Foreword, "This book is dedicated to all the faithful Lutherans, often unnamed, who have encouraged research into this vital topic of justification by faith. Two of them became Roman Catholics in their frustration with the pitiful ignorance of the so-called conservative Lutheran leaders and professors." Two of them became Roman Catholics? How is that good?

One post that I agreed with that you wrote was at http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2011/08/universalism-everywhere-elca-rome-syn.html. You wrote, "Telling anyone 'You are saved' without discerning faith in Christ alone for salvation, is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit at work in the Word." God willing, I may address this issue in something I might send in the future to CN. I was concerned to read on Lutherquest, "the object of our faith is not something like; 'Jesus died for me and if I believe that, God will credit it to me as righteousness'. It sounds very pious to say that; 'Christ with his perfect righteousness and satisfaction is the object of faith', but our faith is not merely in the Atonement." I thought about arguing about that on LQ but figured it would be a waste of time and effort.

In any event, that's all for now, and hope you and yours have a blessed day.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

David Becker

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David Becker has left a new comment on your post "Interfaith community is his legacy | Tulsa World":

Does Paul McCain warn against him as a false teacher who should be marked and avoided? How about Rolf Preus for that matter?

***

GJ - I was accused so often of being "a Walter Maier disciple" (LaughQuest bunch) that I never read his essay carefully. Now I will read the essay carefully and respond. The issue is not agreement with Maier but with the Word and the Confessions.

The UOJ Stormtroopers like to parse every moment of synodical history, so the real issues are obscured. When I left the LCA, the Kokomo controversy went past me because I had no idea that people believed and taught such nonsense. Laymen got me studying the sources and kept me at it.

I understand that Walter Maier Jr was immensely popular, even with the public beatings administered by Team Preus. I saw Maier at a funeral, and everyone enjoyed greeting him. Later, Jack Preus went after his brother Bob.

History would have been different with Maier, but how different is up for debate. Several factors control the destiny of the LCMS. One is its history of denying the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. The leadership would have to come clean about that. The second is their willingness to prostitute themselves for Thrivent money ($50 million+ per year) - AAL and Lutheran Brotherhood before the big merger.

Missouri's posturing about being orthodox Lutheran moves me to tears - tears of laughter. I see varieties of Lutheran Pietism at work in North America. Lutheran Pietism degenerates into Protestant Pietism (note the love for Babtists and Methodists in the Olde Synodical Conference). Protestant Pietism denegerates into the Unitarian-Universalism of ELCA. As everyone must know by now, WELS and Missouri and the Little Sect are only too happy to work with ELCA - and lie about it.

I am glad to quote the other side (especially since they erase their own words) and link them. The weaker their argument, the more I want to quote them. If they want to call me names, so much the better. The personal attack is the lamest of all logical fallacies.

Paul McCain has become the Waldo Werning of the LCMS. Like a skunk, he stamps his feet and raises his tail to warn his thralls against questioning his orders. They see, tremble, and obey.

Steadfast Enthusiasts Go Medieval on Lito Cruz, PhD: Rossow Beats Him Like a Rented Mule

Lito Cruz has won the Beaten Like a Rented Mule Award.
B. Teigen was a previous winner.

Lito Cruz, PhD:
Here is what Rossow said about me apparently because I questioned Prof. Gard and I checked his claims for falisfiability.

If your posts do not show up here anymore it is because I have finally grown tired of your sophomoric approach to these discussions.


I have let these discussions on SJ and OJ go only because the likes of Gilcrease (sic), A. Preus and Pierce have been giving us all a show of patience, love and most of all Scriptural and Confessional integrity.


I have learned something important from you and your other OJ deniers. As Kilcrease pointed out on the other string, the use of the terminiology (sic) of OJ and SJ are not necessary for salvation but the content and substance of the teaching are Scriptural and Orthodox. I never invested much time in the controversey (sic) years ago. What I have learned from you is that there is a subtle and important distinction between terms like “atonement” and “justification” but this distinction does not undo the basic truth that the sin of the world is accounted for in Jesus’ death on the cross. I thank you for pointing out that subtle distinction but your silly interrogation of Dr. Gard has crossed even the very liberal boundary that I keep for this site.

Pastor Tim Rossow

***

GJ - What a sour puss! Apart from the bad spelling and name-calling, Rossow shows an absurd grasp of reality, one that parallels the bizarro world of LaughQuest.

I doubt whether anyone could name a person more polite than Lito Cruz. I have been amazed that anyone would bother dealing so long with an UOJ shop like Steadfast (sic), where they keep a junkyard dog who moonlights at LaughQuest, carrying out the same duties. The UOJ Stormtroopers never mind that. But question one of their own, someone who might explode the Bob Preus OJ mythology? Where are my smelling salts!

I doubt whether Gard is being a cry-baby. At Notre Dame everyone was allowed to debate anyone else in the class about any particular topic. In my classes we had papal infallibility priests asking the others why they did not leave the Church of Rome, one charismatic Roman Catholic professor, and so forth. Since Gard went to Notre Dame, I doubt whether he is whining.

McCain shows his hand wherever he goes. Although he said in writing that he enjoyed my Photoshops, I doubt the claim. More importantly, he bristles at anyone stepping on their favorite dogma, which really allows anyone to do or say anything.

Sadly, the LCMS cannot deal with its own sordid past as the foundation for their problems today, doctrinal problems that spread into WELS, via the St. Louis trained men, like VD. The Missouri bullies lose by winning. More than one pastor and layman has read the posts and said, "So that's the way it is."

Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz, Andreae, Chytraeus, Gerhard, Leyser, and Robert Preus are now...
Objective Justification deniers!

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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Steadfast Enthusiasts Go Medieval on Lito Cruz, Ph...":

Correct Pr. Greg,

I doubt if Gard is complaining for he should be accustomed to this. He is a doctor, he should be at home with my stuff so I doubt if it Gard had something to do with this. To be questioned is just part of the day's work for a doctor.

Rossow stepping in shows he is afraid of something. He seems to be embarrassed by my question.


LPC


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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Steadfast Enthusiasts Go Medieval on Lito Cruz, Ph...":

"(UOJ) is Scriptural and Orthodox" - and yet the Lutheran Confessions are completely void of its teachings.

Luther must feel like a complete idiot right now, having forgot to make a full confession of the central article of Scripture.

***

GJ - Brett, Luther would have, if he had known how mixed up we were going to be.

That is the Lutheran Deposit of Faith. It is handed down by an elite group, generation after generation, revealed to the masses only when necessary. That is why God sank one ship of the Saxon Society instead of Walther's, to reveal UOJ to the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of that teeming shore.

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Paul McCain cannot handle the truth:


Pr. Rossow thanks for stepping in and calling a halt to the commentary being offered here by Lito Cruz, I urge similar action be taken against any and all coming on here advocating for Greg Jackson’s errors. I believe that these errors are very much a public skandalon/offense to the Body of Christ and of particular danger to the laity who will only ultimately, potentially, end up being confused and left to doubt the orthodox doctrine their pastors and others have taught them.

I also do not believe it is fair for a seminarian to have to shoulder the burden of this public false teaching and responding to it.

I would therefore respectfully urge BJS to consider banning those who are here, very intentionally, to try to spread the false doctrine of Jackson, errors that are attacks on the very heart of the Gospel.

And as for Cruz’ gracious response to you, this is by no means the case. Somebody sent me the link to Jackson’s blog site where Jackson and Cruz excoriated you and the BJS site.

Cruz said this about you: “Rossow stepping in shows he is afraid of something. He seems to be embarrassed by my question.”

So, such is the deception of this group of errorists, and they crave attention.

***

GJ - Paul, just keep selling Justification and Rome - and let the readers understand. They do not need Holy Mama Synod telling them what to think. If you would just accept a call to a congregation you might find out what people outside the Thrivent-ELCA-executive office suites are thinking.

Not Falsifiable Claims about UOJ and Robert Preus

LPC has left a new comment on your post "Preus Clan Still Tries to Rescue Universal Absolut...":

Pr. Greg,

The Herr Prof. Gard's claim suffers a shipwreck in my of course opinion.

He stated:


To state it once again: Dr. Robert Preus never changed his doctrinal position on Objective Justification

Such a claim is not falsifiable. It is pretty serious in my business, i.e. your testimony sir can not be admitted as evidence.

Apparently LC-MS theologians do not care if what they claim meets the standards for evidence.

I should not be shocked but I am.

LPC

***

GJ - Here is the definition of falsifiable from WordWeb, a cool free program - "Capable of being tested (verified or falsified) by experiment or observation."

In other words, no one can prove or disprove this claim. But what are we missing or avoiding? Yes, the book itself. What does Justification and Rome teach? California pointed out that the value of printed books is - they last and cannot be changed in a twinkle the way a web page can.

For example, I looked up the link where the LCMS banned McCain's horribly edited Book of Concord. The page existed before,  because I linked it and copied much of it. But I got - Error 404. Page Not Found.
Like the Church and Change material in WELS, or Ski's blog about the Drive Babtist Worship Conference, all someone has to do is remove the link or change the URL.

But Justification and Rome sits near my desk, next to my pile of Walther and Stephan resources. I remember when STD was a divinity degree, not something on a bishop's health record.

The datum is the book, which they will not argue. If Rolf really did help edit the book, why not share the actual draft he inherited? Why not debate the book rather than his self-serving memory?