ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
"Built on the Rock the Church doth Stand"
by Nicolai F.S. Grundtvig, 1783-1872
Translated by Carl Doving, 1867-1937
1. Built on the Rock the Church doth stand,
Even when steeples are falling;
Crumbled have spires in every land,
Bells still are chiming and calling,
Calling the young and old to rest,
But above all the soul distrest,
Longing for rest everlasting.
2. Surely in temples made with hands,
God, the Most High, is not dwelling;
High above earth His temple stands,
All earthly temples excelling.
Yet He whom heavens cannot contain
Chose to abide on earth with men,
Built in our bodies His temple.
3. We are God's house of living stones,
Builded for His habitation;
He through baptismal grace us owns
Heirs of His wondrous salvation.
Were we but two His name to tell,
Yet He would deign with us to dwell,
With all His grace and His favor.
4. Now we may gather with our King
E'en in the lowliest dwelling;
Praises to Him we there may bring,
His wondrous mercy forthtelling.
Jesus His grace to us accords;
Spirit and life are all His words;
His truth doth hallow the temple.
5. Still we our earthly temples rear
That we may herald His praises;
They are the homes where He draws near
And little children embraces.
Beautiful things in them are said;
God there with us His covenant made,
Making us heirs of His kingdom.
6. Here stands the font before our eyes
Telling how God did receive us;
The altar recalls Christ's sacrifice
And what His table doth give us;
Here sounds the Word that doth proclaim
Christ yesterday, today, the same,
Yea, and for aye our Redeemer.
7. Grant then, O God, where'er men roam,
That, when the church-bells are ringing,
Many in saving faith may come
Where Christ His message is bringing:
"I know Mine own, Mine own know Me;
Ye, not the world, My face shall see.
My peace I leave with you." Amen.
Hymn #467 The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Eph. 2: 19-22
Author: Nicolai F.S. Grundtvig, 1837
Translated by: Carl Doving, 1909, alt.
Titled: "Kirken den er et gammelt Hus"
Composer: Ludvig M. Lindeman, 1871
Tune: "Kirken den er et"
"Ride On, Ride On, in Majesty"
by Henry H. Milman, 1791-1868
1. Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry.
0 Savior meek, pursue Thy road,
With palms and scattered garments strowed.
2. Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
0 Christ, Thy triumphs now begin
O'er captive death and conquered sin.
3. Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
The angel armies of the sky
Look down with sad and wondering eyes
To see the approaching Sacrifice.
4. Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh;
The Father on His sapphire throne
Expects His own anointed Son.
5. Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain.
Then take, 0 Christ, Thy power and reign.
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #162
Text: Matt.21:9
Author: Henry H. Milman, 1827, alt.
Tune: Winchester New
1st Published in: Musikalisches Handbuch
Town: Hamburg, 1690
"Justification by faith?
Anathema sit! Anathema sit! Anathema sit!"
Rolf Preus:
Please take to heart the fact that the pastors you have been listening to have broken with their brothers and stand alone in rejecting this biblical truth. For example, when Vernon Harley went off the deep end on this he persuaded not one of his brothers in the ministry to follow him. It was a very sad spectacle, Mr. Krohn, to see such a respected and beloved minister of the word soil himself and his reputation with false doctrine during what should have been his golden years. "Pride goes before the fall." It is plain old fashioned arrogance that drives men to reject this precious truth, as if they're right and all their brothers are wrong! Don't follow these men, Mr. Krohn. Remember Jesus' warning about the scribes and Pharisees!
***
GJ - Pope Rolf has been taking charm lessons from Pope Paul the Unlearned. Both are infallible when they trash people ex cathedra. There is nothing wrong with identifying areas of disagreement, even when wrong, as Rolf and Paul often are. Their unholy zeal in personal attacks is a testimony to what UOJ has done for their personalities.
I see no evidence offered for Rolf's accusations against Pastor Harley.
No one agreed with Harley? Then why was he never charged? He did not leave Missouri, get kicked out of the Little Sect on the Prairie, or beg to get back into the LCMS - three notable events in Rolf's life.
One LCMS pastor said that at least 500 of his fellow pastors write as if UOJ never existed. I imagine they all agree with Harley.
Besides that, Concordia Publishing House is currently selling a KJV catechism with no UOJ in it.
Pope Paul the Unlearned is so busy trying to get me banished and silenced all over the Net. Why does he fail to censor the KJV catechism he sells?
Rolf Preus,
"It is plain old fashioned arrogance that drives men to reject this precious
truth, as if they're right and all their brothers are
wrong."
Interesting that Pr. Preus would make an appeal to majority
rule when his opposition to the Antichrist-ian dictatorial proclaimations of ELS
President Moldstad was largely made alone and was certainly the singular
dissenting voice during their convention.
The charge of arrogance is self
indicting.
***
Gausewitz was president of the Synodical Conference (tm), but managed to produce an enormously popular catechism that was used for decades in WELS and Missouri.
The issue is not whether something is a minority view, but Rolf is dead wrong on that point, too.
Confessedly, UOJ did not appear until the Age of Pietism, never became accepted dogma anywhere--including WELS--and faces considerable opposition today.
The best argument for UOJ dominance is its omnipresent teaching in apostate, mainline denominations and the Church of Rome. Everyone is forgiven, so let us all unite in our common confession of unfaith.
The mainline denominations and Rome outnumber the faithful in all denominations, so Rolf may have a point after all - but it is not the one he wants to make.
I used to wonder why some people would say, in an angry and correcting voice, "We are justified BY GRACE through faith." They raised their voices for BY GRACE.
Justification by faith is the only meaning for justification in the Bible and in the Book of Concord.
The angry, corrective tone and the wording are clues that the person believes the entire world is absolved from sin, without faith. Everyone is already saved.
That is not quite Universalism. It is crypto-Universalism. The crypto-Calvinists did not say they were Calvinists. They taught on Lutheran faculties and ran Lutheran bookstores. But what they taught was a cloaked form of Calvinism.
Even Calvin was a crypto-Calvinist. He signed the Augsburg Confession, proving that subscribing to a Confession means nothing if one's teaching is contrary to it.
Joachim Westphal exposed the anti-Lutheran views of Calvin. If the WELS UOJ fanatics would read their own publications from NPH, they would learn that crypto-Calvinism is no longer crypto. That comment is found in the History of Pietism, published by NPH, in the introduction.
The crypto-Universalists do not call themselves Universalists. They deny the label but not the teaching. They teach Universalism when they say the entire world is absolved, forgiven of all sins, forgiven before birth, and saved - without the Word, without the Means of Grace, without faith. The crypto means they tack on "But you gotta believe this is true." Walther was their double-talking model.
Now that UOJ has been exposed for what it is, the crypto-Universalists want to claim justification by faith for their novel opinion and odious dogma. But their version of justification by faith is an act of the will, a decision, what the Arminians taught in reaction to Calvinism.
Thus they are caught in the vortex of Calvinism, merging the atonement with justification, while calling the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace "Calvinism." Their response in WELS, crafted by J. P. Meyer, is decision theology.
This could be called crypto-Universalism,
but it is also Decision Theology, Arminius'
answer to Calvin.
This is on page 95 of the new edition.
Labels do not mean much. That is why I prefer Church of the Augsburg Confession to the many labels of today. Luther called himself a Theologian of the Augsburg Confession, and so did the editors and authors of the Formula of Concord.
The UOJ Enthusiasts back away from "forgiven before birth," which the early Robert Preus quoted with approval, from Eduard Preuss, who became a Roman Catholic. Born forgiven should be familiar to all WELS members and pastors, because J. P. Meyer endorsed that as well.
In the new version from NPH, this is on page 101.
The language of J. P. Meyer is close to Babtist expressions. They "make decisions" and "accept forgiveness." WELS Church and Changers feel right at home with Stetzer (Babtist), Andy Stanley (Babtist), and Rick Warren (Babtist). Missouri and WELS both invited Stetzer to lecture them, but the WELS COP finally got it called off. I believe Missouri backed away, too. Nevertheless, Church and Change denied they ever hired Stetzer, even though Stetzer blogged about it and published it on his schedule on the Net.
Apart from the bizarre claim of everyone in the world forgiven before birth, how far from synergism is Meyer? His scheme runs along the same lines:
God has done all this.
Now what will you do?
My favorite version of this came from a dinosaur book for children, written by Arminians and presented at a WELS Creation seminar:
"Now that you know the truth about dinosaurs, it is time to make a decision for Christ."
Re: "I used to wonder
why some people would say, in an angry and correcting voice, "We are justified
BY GRACE through faith." They raised their voices for BY GRACE."
This is
something I've noticed in regard to Holy Communion. Jesus tells us to receive
his Supper because it is "for you, for the forgiveness of sins" (cf. Matthew
26:28). Martin Luther asks and answers in the Small Catechism:
Q:
"What blessings do we receive through this eating and drinking?" A: That is
shown us by these words, "Given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of
sins." Through these words we receive forgiveness of sins, life and
salvation in this sacrament. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is
also life and salvation.
And yet, in spite of clear Scripture
testimony and the Lutheran Confessions of faith, WELS says we receive the
"pledge of your forgiveness" (Christian Worship, p.36). You won't
often hear WELS pastors talk in terms of the Lord's Supper actually
delivering the forgiveness of sins. You'll hear about how it brings
Christ's real presence to us or grace to us, but not explicit "forgiveness of
sins." Why? Because that would undermine UOJ.
The latest example of this
is in the April 2012 issue of Forward in Christ where Rev. Jon Zabell
writes about Holy Communion - one in a series of articles on "sacramental
living." The article is a fine testimony to the real presence of Christ's body
and blood under the bread and wine. But he doesn't answer the question "Why
should I care?" What does this have to do with "sacramental living"? He doesn't
answer Luther's Small Catechism question that fights off Enthusiasm's worship
practices and gives us what sacramental living really means: "What blessing do
we receive through this eating and drinking?"
In a discussion of the
Lord's Supper UOJ wants the emphasis to be on the Real Presence, not on the
forgiveness of sins so that we don't receive the answer to the question "Why
should I care"? Luther answers that question beautifully in "Against the
Heavenly Prophets":
"If I now seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run
to the cross, for I will not find it given there. Nor must I hold to the
suffering of Christ as Dr. Karlstadt trifles, in knowledge or remembrance, for I
will not find it there either. But I will find in the sacrament or the gospel
the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness
which was won on the cross" (AE 40:214).
Add to my comments
about Holy Communion delivering the forgiveness of sins, this confession from
the Large Catechism:
"But here our wise spirits contort themselves with
their great art and wisdom, crying out and bawling: How can bread and wine
forgive sins or strengthen faith? Although they hear and know that we do not say
this of bread and wine, because in itself bread is bread, but of such bread and
wine as is the body and blood of Christ, and has the words attached to it. That,
we say, is verily the treasure, and nothing else, through which such forgiveness
is obtained. Now the only way in which it is conveyed and appropriated to us is
in the words (Given and shed for you). For herein you have both truths, that it
is the body and blood of Christ, and that it is yours as a treasure and gift"
(The Sacrament of the Altar: 28-29).
A man with piercing blue eyes is putting flowers in the planters on the balcony of a retirement home. Father V. sits up and carefully pulls off his dirt-covered plastic gloves. "Many see me as the gardener here," he says.
In 1994, he was convicted on 28 counts of sexual abuse of minors in the Trier diocese and given a two-year suspended sentence. Despite the conviction, he remained a priest and, in 1996, he was simply transferred to a congregation in Ukraine. There, he says, he abused more minors.
V. is now 72. "I can only compare it to alcoholism," he says quietly with his arms folded over his chest and shaking hands. "It's like an addiction," he adds, "a sort of schizophrenia in which you switch off entire parts of your consciousness."
Nevertheless, he once again has access to minors since children regularly visit his places of work, a retirement home and a clinic in the Trier diocese. V. says he is abstinent. But when asked whether he is cured, he takes a deep breath and says, "No. It remains part of one's personality," adding that he shouldn't have accepted his new position.
Not Practicing What Is Preached
With this insight, the offender is further along than his superior, Stephan Ackermann, the bishop of the Trier diocese, in southwestern Germany near the border with France. Ackermann has been the spokesman on abuse issues for the German Bishops' Conference for more than two years. He promised "unrestrained investigation" of abuse scandals. Ackermann, who preaches a "culture of attentiveness" and a "zero-tolerance policy" toward offenders, wants to be the church's trustworthy point of contact for abused souls.
However, it would seem that this zero-tolerance policy doesn't apply in his own diocese. In January, Ackermann had to issue a public apology after failing to immediately suspend a suspected pedophile priest in 2011. Now SPIEGEL has obtained information about seven other cases of priests in the bishop's diocese who are suspected of having abused minors.
One priest, a teacher at a boarding school on the Saar River, allegedly had sexual relations with one of his students for years and is now a parish priest in the Trier diocese. Two of his fellow priests were convicted of possession of child pornography and now work as religious officials in hospitals. Another priest was allowed to return to celebrating Mass at the end of last year, even though he had just been suspended in March 2011. He is also accused of several cases of abuse for which the statute of limitations has already expired.
The treatment of problematic ministers is similar in many cases: The presumed offenders are reported to the authorities for suspected sexual assault or are encouraged to turn themselves in. Then, they are given a suspended sentence. After that, they are permitted to return to service within the Church. They are often assigned to hospitals or retirement homes as well as permitted to assist in the surrounding communities.
Father M., for example, is a hospital pastor and can also work as a so-called "facilitator" -- or assistant parish priest -- in the churches of a small city in the southwestern state of Saarland. In 1995, he was convicted on 40 counts of sexual assault. But now he is once again responsible for celebrating Mass as well as for presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals. "Yes, of course there are also children and adolescents at such events," says his superior, the dean. But, he adds, Father M. is not assigned to work with children and youth.
Choosing the Lenient Route
The Church has many ways to protect priests convicted of abuse while still taking the fears of believers seriously. It can remove offenders from their positions or send them to monasteries, or it can put them to work in Catholic libraries or in administrative positions.
But the Trier diocese prefers to take a more lenient route. Father W. is a case in point. Several years ago, the priest, now 48, assaulted several minors. "We picked up our children after a prayer weekend," says the father of one child. "They were supposed to be preparing for communion at the mission house." His 9-year-old son was distraught, but, after some hesitation, he told his father that he had been forced to take his pants off. The father says the priest told his son and the other boys to "pull everything down!" Then, according to the boy, the priest put the boys over his knee one by one and spanked them on their naked behinds. "The children's feelings of anger and shame are immense," says the boy's father.
W. was ordered to pay a fine, but he was allowed to continue working in another congregation. "It was not sexual abuse," he insists. He was told not to work with children and young people, but he apparently ignored the instruction. "He was very much involved with the altar boys and girls," says a priest from the local church administration. "That, of course, was contrary to the agreements."
Today, W. is a pastor at a hospital in Saarland, where children are both patients and visitors. "You're powerless against the Church's determination to cover things up," says the father of the boy who was abused by Father W. with resignation.
Criticizing Double Standards
Alarmed by the many signs of abuse within the diocese, Thomas Schnitzler, a historian who had been abused as a child, contacted other victims. Then, last year, he set up a research network with Claudia Adams and Hermann Schell.
The trio began their research where the diocese had stopped. They searched for witnesses in congregations, spent many hours in archives, compared data, and spoke with victims and their relatives. They publish their results on two websites, "MissBiT" and "Schafsbrief." "Nothing more than pseudo-investigations are conducted in Trier," Adams concludes. Secular teachers or social workers can expect to be barred from their professions if they are convicted of abuse, says Schnitzler, "but Ackermann allows former and potential offenders to continue working as priests." The risks to which he exposes children, Schnitzler adds, are "absolutely unjustifiable."
When Germany was rocked by revelations of a growing number of abuse cases more than two years ago, Ackermann, the bishop of Trier, was seen as the ideal man to re-establish confidence in the clergy. As one of the youngest members of the German Bishops' Conference, he was viewed as someone who represented the Church's desire to look into and resolve the abuse scandals.
But now he faces a firestorm of criticism. At a recent and emotionally charged event in Trier, even Church employees turned against their bishop. Jutta Lehnert, the spiritual director of Trier's Catholic Students' Association, told Ackermann in no uncertain terms: "The power structures in the Church must be carefully scrutinized," adding that they amount to "an open barn door for sexual predators."
Ursula Kaspar, a hospital chaplain from Saarbrücken, is sharply critical of the double standards applied to priests. She points out that, while people who were divorced and then remarried lose their right to be employed within the Church, pedophile priests with a criminal record apparently have no trouble retaining the right to continued employment. "This is indefensible," she says. Kaspar herself is one of more than 40 full-time and volunteer employees of the Catholic Church in the Trier diocese who have formed the "Saarbrücken Initiative," which aims to get local religious bodies to devote more attention to abuse issues.
Ackermann has defended himself by saying that he didn't know what to do with the offenders and by pointing out that there couldn't be a "Guantanamo for Church offenders." Their "limited deployment under certain conditions is possible," the diocese has now stated, although it is unwilling to say how many people could be affected by the policy.
Feeling Abandoned by the Church
However, the bishop recently proved to be particularly indulgent in the part of his diocese located in the nearby state of Saarland. In January 2011, the police informed his office that a pastor from Saarbrücken, the state capital, had allegedly abused minors.
According to the guidelines of the German Bishops' Conference, prompt action must be taken in such suspected cases, and the priest in question can be suspended until the accusations have been cleared up. But, despite these guidelines, and despite his status as the Church's spokesman on abuse issues, Ackermann allowed the suspected pedophile to remain in office. The priest continued to celebrate Mass and even held a dedication ceremony for a Catholic kindergarten in the summer. In the fall, another ceremony was held to mark his 70th birthday.
"We were appalled by the case," says Heiner Buchen, a pastoral assistant in Saarbrücken. "Why didn't the diocese management intervene immediately?" The diocese didn't even notify the alleged abuser's immediate supervisor, he notes. After experiencing an initial "state of shock," Buchen says he organized a meeting attended by 35 despondent Church employees. They wrote the bishop a letter about their "deep emotional and pastoral irritation, as well as anger, shame and dismay" over the handling of abuse cases in the diocese.
Instead of taking up the case, the central office of Ackermann's diocese initially reprimanded the critics and stated that they were to refrain from taking such actions in future. As a result, many victims and parishioners -- and even the priests in question -- feel abandoned by the Church.
Ignoring Victims' Interests
In conversation, Father V. repeatedly pauses for longer periods of time as he stares at the flowers he has planted in front of the retirement home. "This proclivity is something that is destroying me, down to the deepest depths of my soul," he suddenly says. "I just want to shout, even to God: Why did you allow this?" In his view, there is only one solution for pedophiles like him: radical separation from children. Unfortunately, he adds, it took him a very long time to realize this.
He says his superiors meant well when they tried to transfer him to a German-language congregation abroad. In the end, however, their efforts were self-serving. "Their perspective was one-sided," he says, "and directed not toward the interests of the victims, but toward those of the Church."
At Home in the Hoosegow of My Fathers Walther left Europe early to escape arrest warrants for kidnapping. Zion reports that other minor children, including girls, were also smuggled to America.
It looks like
the ULC chapel sale was a secret work in progress at the district level ever
since 2001. Up to that year the Southern MN District held the deed, paid the
property expenses, and paid for the chaplain. Then in 2001 an agreement was
struck whereby the congregation became tenants who paid $42,000 in rent to the
district, and the congregation paid the campus pastor. So the district in 2011
sold the building out from under the congregation based on the false charges
that ULC was a bad tenant because they installed a washer and dryer and rented
out space w/o authorization and kept the money. One can see the district was
hoping to sell the building to real estate developers for an entire
decade:
GJ - Walther was an Antinomian legalist. He had a law for everyone except himself. The Saxon society got out of its financial crisis by robbing their bishop and sending to Illinois at gunpoint. Zion on the Mississippi says they all knew Stephan was a serial adulterer.
Today the Olde Synodical Conference claims that the Great Walther handled the matter well.
Fake-o-Bod Tim "Jackson and his ilk will try all they want to discredit the WELS in connection with Joel Hochmuth's arrest. But WELS has handled the situation well." Yes, it sounds familiar - same UOJ DNA.
The UOJ advocates are sad because their favorite, Tom Hardt, mistakenly quoted P. Leyser, an editor of the Book of Concord, an expert on justification and the biographer of Martin Chemnitz.
The material in the two graphics is from Tom Hardt's essay in the festschrift volume given to Robert Preus.
Leyser and his associates made it clear, as Luther did, that Christ acquired all righteousness, but that this righteousness comes to us only through faith. UOJ fanatics pursue their delirium even farther than Knapp did at Halle University. That does not make them more orthodox but more false.
Leyser continued the work of the Harmony of the Gospels, which Chemnitz began and Gerhard finished - a monumental work of scholarship. Leyer's orthodox Lutheran credentials are impeccable, including members of his own family. He was fruitful (polykarp in Greek), and there was a Polykarp II, III, and IV.
Supported by his father, his uncle Andreae and later his stepfather Osiander, and also with input from his teacher Martin Chemnitz, Leyser came to have an ingrained support for Lutheran orthodoxy - indeed, at a difficult time for Lutheranism, he was one of those who founded that orthodoxy. In the creative force of his Loci theologici (1591/92), Harmonia evangelica (1593), Postilla (1593) and De controversiis iudicium (1594), his theological position was forged by the dispute sparked by (Crypto-)Calvinism in Saxony, by the 'Exorzismusstreit', by the difficulties over Lutheran Christology and by Huber's debate. Leyser is thus to be accounted one of the key figures of the Lutheran concord in northern and central Germany and was constantly attacked in pamphlets as the 'pope of Dresden'. As one of the key movers behind the Formula of Concord, he used his books to defend Lutheran orthodoxy and attack Catholicism and Calvinism, was commissioned by the elector to join several of the meetings which led to the Book of Concord and advocated that the number of sponsors be limited to three people.
He wrote more than sixty theological works and an extensive corpus of sermons. He also dealt with the literary controversies of his time, cultivating an extensive correspondence of 200 written by him and 5000 written to him - an extensive selection from it was first published by his great-grandson Polycarp Leyser III as Sylloge epistolarum in 1706....
On 3 February he was formally inducted into his role at Wittenberg. Leyser then made quick trip from Dresden to Austria to "pick up his bags". On 12 May he was back in Wittenberg and took up his official duties, aged only 25. Such a young man holding the highest church office in Wittenberg, before even being noticed in theological circles in Saxony, attracted much attention and some imputed his appointment to nepotism - until 8 June he was not even a professor of the theology department and until 20 November 1577 not a member of the consistory.
However, Leyser's calming of the situation after the expulsion of the Crypto-Calvinists and the reorganisation of the university was so successful that his critics were soon silenced. He was best served by his rhetorical skills and by an undemanding and reliable character, increasing his popularity among his students, including Philipp Nicolai and Johann Arndt. Leyser's skills were also seen in the drafting of the Formula of Concord and the publication of the Book of Concord in 1580. He developed close links with Martin Chemnitz and Nikolaus Selnecker. Leyser and Selnecker were asked to sign up to a Commission in Saxony on the Formula, that Leyser himself had signed on 25 June 1577 as first minister.
He immediately took part in the important theological meetings in Saxony, acting as their recording secretary. The inhabitants of Wittenberg always saw him as an outsider, however, and acted as a thorn in his side. To neutralise this he married a local girl in March 1580, namely Elisabeth, daughter of the painter Lucas Cranach the Younger. The marriage took place in the Wittenberger Rathaus and was overshadowed by student rioting and heavy drinking, which the town authorities had to deal with later.
Tim Glende:
On the Luther Quest (www.lutherquest.org) discussion forum, there has been a thread the past few days focusing on objective justification. Mr. Joe Krohn, a gullible disciple of the false prophet Gregory L. Jackson, is trying to convince the participants of LQ that universal objective justification is not only un-scriptural, but un-Lutheran. He is offering ridiculous arguments and receiving at times ridiculous responses. There have been some good responses to Krohn's silly arguments, which he undoubtedly is being spoon fed from Dr. Greg Jackson. It's sad, though, that Mr. Krohn continues to be deceived by Jackson. He also continues to contradict the clear confession of his own new church body, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
We want to share with you some quotes from Martin Luther himself that proves Luther taught universal objective justification. We thank Mr. Timothy Blank for sharing these on LQ:
***
GJ - Tim Glende has been known as a bully, ever since college. He also has a big problem with slandering people by name while hiding behind anonymity. He did that before, aiming at a lady in his own synod and Brett Meyer, under the guise of Anonymouse, which is what I called him before he gave himself away. He and his buddies seldom post to my blog now, because I can look at the map and see who is reading the blog and sending a comment.
Glende copies everything. He is famous for plagiarizing Groeschel, denying it, and excommunicating his own member, who patiently proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Glende's laziness is shown by his need to copy Timothy Blank's quotations, which are also copied from UOJ talking points.
Let detail some facts about Glende's latest slander:
Joe Krohn is not my disciple. He is not even a member of my congregation.
Joe is not gullible. He is quite intelligent, a requirement for his job, and does research on his own.
Glende claims, without support, that I am "undoubtedly" spoon feeding arguments to Joe. In fact, Joe writes his own material, unlike Glende, who cannot write, spell, or form a rational argument.
The LCMS does not have a "clear confession" of UOJ. Concordia Publishing House prints a KJV catechism that contains not a word about UOJ. I just bought one. Tim could buy a few with a Thrivent grant.
Tim pretends to be sad, but we heard about that emotion before, probably copied from a recent Oprah show. Tim invented a comment in Brett Meyer's name, then claimed he was sad about the remark he invented. When Brett told Tim to remove the falsehood and proved his identity, Tim refused to remove it. The false comment is still on his blog - here.
Brett responded -
Brett Meyer said...
I am requesting your consideration. Please remove the comment that someone left in my name. I assure you that I didn't write the comment. I stand by everything that I've written and posted on the internet and have linked to most of it at one time or another so anyone interested can see the context in which it was written and consider my opinions and confession. Since you disagree with my opinions and confession written elsewhere there's no need to maintain a false impersonation of my statements. Just let my confession speak for itself.
Thank you,
Brett Meyer
November 9, 2011 8:22 PM
Real Ichabod said...
We won't be removing your comment, Brett, or whoever you are. How do we know you're the real Brett Meyer? Maybe the fake Brett wants us to remove the comment. No, it will stay, since the original comment is consistent with what you have written previously.
Joe wrote to Tim before:
Please don't pray for me. You are of another spirit that you revealed in a comment concerning our excommunication. And like the cowards you are and continue to be, you deleted it. You have bigger problems than Dr. Jackson. If I can't think for myself, then neither can the Intrepids since they are confessing said same. Why don't you attend to your own WELS house instead of being concerned with those outside of your fellowship who really have no say in the matter.
Joe Krohn
***
GJ - If anyone asks me, I suggest not bothering with McCain, Glende, or Steadfast Enthusiasts. They are Waltherian in their duplicity, divisiveness, and Enthusiasm. Below is the real Katy Perry, someone Tim posed with so he could display his trophy on Facebook. His pal Ski did the same thing.
Katy Perry without makeup.
----
Lito Cruz, PhD, sent this comment:
I see that Fake-Ichabod Tim quoted Luther there. This quote is allusion to the
St. John passage, but the UOJ thinks that when Luther says forgiven, he thinks
that is UOJ, but clearly Luther was speaking about it in the sense of the
atonement. So it means paid for, in fact he even uses remit.
My conclusion is that Luther's quotes are being taken and must be taken
with a tweak to support UOJ but entirely based on the BoC and how the BoC
authors presented Luther's thoughts clearly now rejects that UOJ notion. For it
stands to reason that since they claim Luther taught this, the BoC authors
should have presented it that way in no uncertain terms. Yet they themselves
conclude that the BoC does not have UOJ in it.
***
GJ - Reading comprehension is lacking among the UOJ Enthusiasts, so they do not grasp the distinction between the atonement and justification by faith.
1. O Word of God Incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky,
We praise Thee for the radiance
That from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps
Shines on from age to age.
2. The Church from her dear Master
Received the gift divine,
And still that light she lifteth
O'er all the earth to shine.
It is the golden casket
Where gems of truth are stored;
It is the heaven-drawn picture
Of Christ, the living Word.
3 It floateth like a banner
Before God’s host unfurled
It shineth like a beacon
Above the darkling world;
It is the chart and compass
That o’er life surging sea,
Mid mists and rocks and quicksands
Still guides, O Christ, to Thee.
4 Oh, make Thy Church, dear Savior,
A lamp of burnished gold
To bear before the nations
Thy true light as of old!
Oh, teach Thy wand’ring pilgrims
By this their path to trace
Till, clouds and darkness ended,
They see Thee fact to face!
William W. How, Anglican Bishop, wrote:
O Word of God Incarnate,
For All the Saints,
Jesus Name of Wondrous Love,
We Give Thee But Thine Own.
Mr. Pierce, nice to see you again. Here is what precedes your Colossians quote...again all this in the context of faith:
"Alive in Christ
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead."
I have been witnessing to a co-worker. He tells me he believes in God and he hopes to get to heaven. I made the mistake of telling him his sins are forgiven in Christ instead of convicting him of his lascivious living. He thought he was golden and continued on in his life perversely. I have seen a change come in him now since I have been leading with the law. This is where I am coming from. Even the devil believes in God and the forgiveness of sins...but if there is no faith, it is in vain.
***
GJ - The debate continues on LaughQuest, with the UOJ Stormtroopers digging up "proof" that all unbelievers are forgiven, without the Word, without the Means of Grace, without faith.
Joe has made an important point, which I have considered many times. Various people have contacted me about being abused by WELS, and I know of many cases in the LCMS as well.
UOJ is ideal for making people think they can do anything the Old Adam wants, because "I know I am a sinner and I know I am forgiven."
This false doctrine has been fatal for many clergy, whether it has been the path of alcohol abuse, adultery, embezzling, or murder. The hierarchy has an easy excuse for their pals, especially their classmates.
The clergy have learned they can do anything, even against minor children in their own congregation, and it will be absolved and denied at the same time. Murder? Just concoct a feeble lie and the abusive synod will provide backers and a call to another state.
In WELS a teacher can murder his wife, lie about it, do a few years in prison, marry his children's baby-sitter, and lead a youth group in WELS after getting out of the hoosegow. That happened at ALA, which also gave birth to Jeff Gunn's CrossWalk.
But they also know there is One Sin they cannot commit--The Synodical Sin Against the Holy Spirit--criticizing the apostasy of the organization.
In WELS, the Church and Changers have been welcome to savage people and practices they want destroyed, so even the One Sin is a matter of nuance, subtlety, and Jesuit logic.
There are two groups of victims. Many souls are hardened and blinded by the anti-Christian UOJ propaganda, which comforts unrepentant sinners. UOJ sends many to Hell this way - but they know they are guilt-free saints in Hades, so there is a good side to Walther's Halle dogma.
The other group consists of those who do not realize what the cult is doing to them. They have Stockholm Synod Syndrome. After many years of abuse they still crave the abusers and want their love and attention. They are deeply conflicted because many in their family are still loyal. They listen to the double-talk, from the Synod President on down, about Biblical principles.
An excerpt from Luther's
discussion of what 1 Peter 2: 21-22 has wrought:
[I]ndeed, the
ecclesiasts distribute their own merits and works. Oh, shameful abomination,
that in the temple of God and in the Christian Church must be taught things
which make wholly insignificant the sufferings and death of Christ.
The Translation Evaluation Committee (TEC) is coordinating a new study of three different English Bible translations that WELS could consider for use in its publications.
In this study, more than 100 pastors will participate in a side-by-side comparison of the New International Version 2011, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, and the English Standard Version. Reviewers from three different groups—synod leaders, attendees of the translation workshop held at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) in January, and pastors who have been in the ministry less than 10 years—will be assigned a section of the Bible to evaluate, using translation principles discussed at the January workshop.
“It will be helpful for all participants plus assure the synod that we’re trying to do due diligence by looking at all these versions,” says Rev. Paul Wendland, WLS president and TEC chairman. “It also will give us an in-depth understanding of the strengths and the weaknesses of all of these versions.”
TEC members decided to put together this study after a significant number of people at the January workshop voiced strong concerns about the NIV 2011, the translation that the TEC recommended using in WELS publications at the 2011 convention. Wendland says the TEC wants to continue the discussion given the concerns expressed. “Conversation has more centered around the NIV and its merits and lack of merits,” says Wendland. “This will focus our attention differently—if not the NIV, then what?”
The committee also recently learned that Northwestern Publishing House, through fair-use laws, will be able to use the NIV 1984 in most of its publications longer than it expected, giving WELS more time to systematically evaluate other viable translations. “If a study like this is carefully made, I think it will give everybody a feeling of comfort and peace when the final decision is made that we really looked at this very carefully and everyone has had a chance to think it through,” says Wendland.
The study is scheduled to be completed in August.
The districts will be voting on which translation to use in the synod’s publications at the 2012 district conventions in June using a ballot prepared by the synod president and vice presidents. With the support of the Conference of Presidents, they are considering an option on the ballot to delay the decision until the 2013 synod convention. A two-thirds majority is required for any translation to be selected; otherwise the issue will go to the 2013 synod convention.
Learn more about Bible translation through articles, essays, and a congregational Bible study at www.wels.net/translation.
***
GJ - The so-called conservative Lutherans do not even consider the KJV family of translations. The apostates are allergic to precise translations, denouncing them as "literal" as opposed to their "imaginary" versions.
William Tyndale sacrificed his life to give the English world the prototype of the King James Version. The current generation are afraid of missing lunch - or that coveted chairmanship of the church camp committee.
"Reviewers from three different
groups—synod leaders, attendees of the translation workshop held at Wisconsin
Lutheran Seminary (WLS) in January, and pastors who have been in the ministry
less than 10 years"
So the majority of the ones in this pow-wow will all
have been taught by the same professors and subscribe to the same school of
thought. In the end, they will basically come to the same conclusion that the
NIV11 isn't that bad because they've all been force-fed the same
things.
"For All the Saints Who from Their Labors Rest"
by William W. How, 1823-1897
1. For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confess,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
2. Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
3. Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
And win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
4. O blest communion, fellowship divine,
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
5. And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
6. But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
7. From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
8. The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon, to faithful warriors cometh rest.
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Hymn #463 The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Heb. 12:1
Author: William W. How, 1864, cento
Composer: R. Vaughan Williams, 1906, arr.
Tune: "Sine nomine"
Another one of my
favourite hymns (and my favourite cathedral!).
I hadn't realised it was
Lutheran. Powerful lyrics and a beautiful melody.
Many
thanks
Churchmouse
***
GJ - William How was an Anglican bishop. I am using great hymns with an emphasis on the under-used Lutheran classics. The way we see it - It it is a great hymn, it is Lutheran.
"Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish"
By Johann Heermann, 1585-1647
1. Zion mourns in fear and anguish,
Zion, city of our God.
"Ah," she says, "how sore I languish,
Bowed beneath the chastening rod!
For my God forsook me quite
And forgot my sorry plight
Mid these troubles now distressing,
Countless woes my soul oppressing.
2. "Once," she mourns, "He promised plainly
That His help should e'er be near;
Yet I now must seek Him vainly
In my days of woe and fear.
Will His anger never cease?
Will He not renew His peace?
Will He not show forth compassion
And again forgive transgression?"
3. "Zion, surely I do love thee,"
Thus to her the Savior saith,
"Though with many woes I prove thee
And thy soul is sad to death.
For My troth is pledged to thee;
Zion, thou art dear to Me.
Deep within My heart I've set thee,
That I never can forget thee.
4. "Let not Satan make thee craven;
He can threaten, but not harm.
On My hands thy name is graven,
And thy shield is My strong arm.
How, then, could it ever be
I should not remember thee,
Fail to build thy wall, My city,
And look down on thee with pity?
5. "Ever shall Mine eyes behold thee;
On My bosom thou art laid.
Ever shall My love enfold thee;
Never shalt thou lack Mine aid.
Neither Satan, war, nor stress
Then shall mar thy happiness:
With this blessed consolation
Be thou firm in tribulation."
Hymn #268 The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Is. 49: 14-17
Author: Johann Heermann, 1636, ab.
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1869, alt.
Titled: "Zion klagt mit Angst und Schmerzen"
Composer: J. Hermann Schein, 1623
Tune: "Zion klagt"
Johann Hermann lost all his possessions, many times, when Catholic forces repeatedly sacked his city during the Thirty Years War, one of the worst times for faithful Lutherans. He also wrote "Ah Holy Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken," #143, and "O God Thou Faithful God" #395.
"O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken"
By Johann Heermann, 1585-1647
1. O dearest Jesus, what law hast thou broken
That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession, --
What dark transgression?
2. They crown Thy head with thorns, they smite, they scourge Thee;
With cruel mockings to the cross they urge Thee;
They give Thee gall to drink, they still decry Thee;
They crucify Thee.
3. Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which Thou, Lord, must languish;
Yea, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.
4. What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;
The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.
5. The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;
The sinful child of man may live in gladness;
Man forfeited his life and is acquitted, --
God is committed.
6. There was no spot in me by sin untainted;
Sick with sin's poison, all my heart had fainted;
My heavy guilt to hell had well-nigh brought me,
Such woe it wrought me.
7. O wondrous love, whose depth no heart hath sounded,
That brought Thee here, by foes and thieves surrounded!
All worldly pleasures, heedless, I was trying
While Thou wert dying.
8. O mighty King, no time can dim Thy glory!
How shall I spread abroad Thy wondrous story?
How shall I find some worthy gifts to proffer?
What dare I offer?
9. For vainly doth our human wisdom ponder, --
Thy woes, Thy mercy, still transcend our wonder.
Oh, how should I do aught that could delight Thee!
Can I requite Thee?
10. Yet unrequited, Lord, I would not leave Thee;
I will renounce whate'er doth vex or grieve Thee
And quench with thoughts of Thee and prayers most lowly
All fires unholy.
11. But since my strength will nevermore suffice me
To crucify desires that still entice me,
To all good deeds, oh, let Thy Spirit win me
And reign within me!
12. I'll think upon Thy mercy without ceasing,
That earth's vain joys to me no more be pleasing;
To do Thy will shall be my sole endeavor
Henceforth forever.
13. Whate'er of earthly good this life may grant me,
I'll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross, shall daunt me;
I shall not fear what man can do to harm me
Nor death alarm me.
14. But worthless is my sacrifice, I own it;
Yet, Lord, for love's sake Thou wilt not disown it;
Thou wilt accept my gift in Thy great meekness
Nor shame my weakness.
15. And when, dear Lord, before Thy throne in heaven
To me the crown of joy at last is given,
Where sweetest hymns Thy saints forever raise Thee,
I, too, shall praise Thee.
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #143
Text: Luke 23: 20-24
Author: Johann Heermann, 1630
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Herzliebster Jesu"
Composer: Johann Crueger, 1640
Tune: "Herzlebster Jesu"
The Hymn #268 Zion
Mourns 4:98
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm
23 p.
128
The Lection The
Passion History
The Sermon Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior 4:24
The Sermon
– Believe as a Child
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
The Hymn #361 O Jesus King 4:1
KJV Mark 9:31 For he taught
his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands
of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the
third day. 32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it
that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace: for
by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the
greatest. 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If
any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant
of all. 36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he
had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of
such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me,
receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
Believe
as a Child
I have had the misfortune of
reading hundreds of theological books and parts of many more. Recently I read
the autobiography of the most famous of all my professors.
One thing really stands out
in all that reading. The vast majority of all the modern theology writers are
loyal to a philosophy, in many cases to philosophy itself as the ultimate
expression of human thought. (Most philosophy professors are atheists, today.)
On one side of this gulf are
all the modern theologians, who write to please the philosophers, perhaps their
previous professors.
On the other side of the
gulf are those who write with child-like faith, even though many of them are
quite learned. Herman Sasse comes to mind as the only modern theologian who
fits this category. Of course, his conservative Lutheran associates in America
treated him like a rented mule, and he finished his career in Australia.
The Lutheran Reformers and
the Book of Concord editors/authors wrote with a child-like faith, and this
continued for some time after the Book of Concord.
Children are not simple.
They devote all their intelligence to learning, exploring, and assimilating.
They are quite intuitive and read people fast. They do not have a vast
background of learning and experience, but that really liberates them from a
lot of bad concepts, bad experiences, and false teaching.
Many people I know, for
instance, come from a background that is Pentecostal, Catholic, Evangelical,
and finally Lutheran. The worst off are those who were born and raised in a
synod, trained in parochial schools, and shackled with a church vocation. There
is a lot to un-learn! When I hear someone say, “What does synod say about
this?” I groan and wonder about the brainwashing that turns a political entity
into an infallible pope.
A
Concise Gospel
KJV Mark 9:31 For he
taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the
hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall
rise the third day.
This might be called an
introduction to the passage about children, or the part about children might be
called an application of this saying. They go together.
Mark 9:31 shows (as Mark 8
and 10 also do) that Jesus would suffer and die and be raised from the dead on
the third day.
32 But they understood
not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. 33 And he came to Capernaum: and
being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves
by the way? 34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed
among themselves, who should be the greatest.
The saying, verse 32, was a
formal utterance or announcement.
Lenski:
Mark points to the lack of
comprehension, which Luke stresses still more by using three verbs. Yet the
disciples did not in this instance do what they usually did: inquire of Jesus
and let him help them to understand. They were afraid to do so. Both verbs are
imperfect tenses and state continuous conditions of ignorance and of fear. We
are too familiar withthe crucifixion
and the resurrection of Jesus properly to place ourselves into the position of
the disciples when Jesus foretold these things. His words concerning his
resurrection seemed as strange and incredible to them as those about his death.
To the last their minds struggled against the plain meaning of what was dinned
into their ears, and thus what they did not want to know, what they were afraid
to know, they actually did not know or grasp.
Lenski,
R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Mark's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN :
Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 388
As the New Testament reveals
so often, the disciples got one message and often reacted as if they never
heard it. They were disputing who would be the greatest among them.
Jesus was teaching them that
He would become sin for all mankind, taking on the sins of the world, with all
of the hatred and abuse dished out in such punishment. But the disciples argued
who would be the greatest and refused to answer when asked.
Jesus did not need to ask to
find out the answer. He knew what was in their hearts. There are many times
when He rebuked them for their lack of faith. This time He offered children as
their example.
35 And he sat down, and
called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the
same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
We have people stand up for
formal talks. The Jewish tradition is sitting down. The disciples would have
been seated around Jesus to listen to Him.
This verse is an example of
irony. They wanted to decide who would be the greatest.
Jesus said (Jackson Living
Bible) “If anyone wills to be first, that person will be the last of all and the servant of all.”
The helping verb (to will,
to desire) emphasizes this attitude an act of will. To be first means to be
last. The greatest is the servant.
Jesus also said that
normally people lord it over others, using “lord” as a verb, just as we do
today. And isn’t that the truth.
KJV Luke 22:26 But ye shall
not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the
younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater,
he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at
meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.
Jesus Himself is the
example, washing His disciples feet and becoming the Suffering Servant of
Isaiah. Those passages were so alien to the popular understanding of the
Messiah that the Jewish people did not see the Suffering Servant passages as
Messianic. Liberals today always reject that, too.
I once received some Sunday
School materials from the LCA which went out of their way to say the Suffering
Servant was not Christ. I mailed them back spoke to Fortress. They said, “That
one has been coming back in droves.”
But when children hear those
verses, they say, “That is Jesus.”
His suffering death for our
sins was the greatest of all servant acts. There is nothing we can do to match
that, but we still have that as our example.
36 And he took a child,
and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he
said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name,
receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that
sent me.
A common claim is that
children do not have faith. The term used here is significant, because
“receive” is used in the sense of membership.
KJV 3 John 1:10 Wherefore,
if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with
malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the
brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of
the church.
KJV Mark 10:14 But when
Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the
kingdom of God.
Receiving – means being
taken in as a member of the Kingdom of God. Forbidding is expelling or keeping
from membership.
KJV Mark 10:14 But when
Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the
kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom
of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
A child-like faith means
grasping the truths of Scripture as the mysteries of God. My classmates from
grade school (a close group) were talking about our experiences at Garfield 50
years ago. Everything looked so large and impressive. Simply drinking from the
water fountain was fun.
Gerhardt’s hymns are great
because they are written in child-like language. He was a children’s tutor for
years. That does not make them silly like most children’s books today. They are
colorful and easy to remember.
The Gospel of John is the
easiest to read with the simplest vocabulary, but it is also the Evangel with the
deepest message.
A child-like faith means
letting people make fun us for believing what the Bible says, mocking us for
not having an adult understanding of everything.
The modern theologians and
philosophers like to be adults. They are up to date with the latest thoughts,
but they still use the old words when convenient. They just turn them around,
to sanitize them and make them nonembarrassing. So these things are hidden from
the wise but revealed to children.
KJV 1 Timothy 6:3-5 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
One person on LutherQuest (sic) said correctly that the vast majority of laity stare blankly when UOJ is discussed.
Rome: Grey Areas of Scripture
That alone should alarm the guardians of UOJ. The clarity or perspicuity of the Scriptures is one of the primary themes of the Lutheran Reformation. When the pope's leaders began arguing from the Word of God, they were trounced by the Reformers, as Chemnitz noted in his Examination of the Council of Trent. From that point on the papalists began attacking the lack of clarity, the incompleteness of the Scriptures. The Word of God was so bewildering that everyone needed the pope to explain it.
When WELS pastors identify a "gray area of Scripture," they are aping Rome and preparing the laity for another new opinion to be revealed by...the synod, which is run by Fuller-trained Church and Changers.
Deposit of Faith
From that point the papalists developed the Deposit of Faith concept. When new Roman doctrines appeared, it was because Jesus gave them to the apostles, who passed them down to bishops, to be revealed at the proper time. Thus the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Assumption of Mary could be taught without Scriptural support because these doctrines were passed down through the bishops.
The parallels with UOJ are remarkable, because "everyone is righteous, with or without faith" never appeared until after the Reformation and Book of Concord. The first version came from Samuel Huber, who was repudiated by P. Leyser - an expert on justification, an editor of the Book of Concord and the biographer of Chemnitz. Others joined in the rebuke and Huber lost his teaching position.
Pope and Priesthood
The Church of Rome has taught for centuries that the pope is infallible in all his teaching, because the Holy Spirit would not allow him to err in doctrine. All cardinals, bishops, and priests are also infallible if they teach in agreement with the pope.
Those who question the pope are banned, excommunicated, and sometimes hounded to extinction. One cardinal was afraid for his life after he opposed the new doctrine of papal infallibility. Even those who submitted to the pope were disciplined, because they dared to oppose him at first. Those who promoted papal infallibility were promoted and sainted.
Note that WELS excommunicates members for questioning their opinions, even for asking about how their money is wasted. One former member described a relative, a WELS pastor, who wondered about the financial wastefulness of WELS. He was removed from the ministry.
Cracks in the Edifice Do Not Matter
Rome produced a remarkable three-volume work on Mary, which gave away their historical knowledge that Marian doctrines were invented long after she died, centuries after the New Testament was revealed to the Church. That does not matter to them because the Magisterium has revealed these truths and they are fixed for all eternity, until they want to change things again, such as teaching the Assumption of Joseph.
WELS and Missouri simply skip over the fact that their new love is a recent invention, that generations have been taught without the precious insight of Sodom being righteous in the sight of God, Judas and Hitler being guilt-free saints in Hell.
Unified Truth of the Bible versus the Sectarian Spirit
The Bible is the Book of the Holy Spirit, as Luther wrote. Every verse is in harmony with the rest of the Scriptures, so Lutherans do not isolate verses--as the sects do--and create a new religion out of one phrase. Nor do the faithful change the Word of God (as the NNIV does) to provide words in agreement with the latest social and doctrinal fads.
The Scriptures teach the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. That simply means that the Holy Spirit creates faith and sustains faith in Christ, through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. The Holy Spirit does not work apart from the Word. Grace does not come to anyone apart from the Means of Grace.
UOJ Is Mainline
WELS and Missouri work so well with apostate mainline church bodies because UOJ is the unifying doctrine, truly their only doctrine. Richard Jungkuntz passed easily from teaching UOJ in WELS to teaching the same in the LCMS, moving on to a future ELCA college as provost. He was a leader in the Seminex cause and chaired their board. He was the Seminex hero I often read about in the Missouri in Perspective tabloid. Gehrke, from NWC, was another Seminex hero.
Roger Zehms, a Church Growther in WELS and now at Jeske's church, said, "Jungkuntz was the best teacher I ever had." He teared up a bit.
Missouri still has funerals with the Seminex banner displayed, and Northwestern College reunions feature many cars with Seminex bumper stickers.
When ELCA speaks of grace, they mean everyone in the world is already forgiven and saved. When "conservative" Lutherans emphasize saved by GRACE, they mean the same thing. They even say the same words, then claim they are not teaching Universalism.
Confusion of Terms
Roman Catholics write with great eloquence because they have a deep bench. Their varsity squad is bigger than all the Protestant faculties put together. To advance Rome's cause they dazzle everyone with their rhetoric and use words as they choose.
Book of Concord Lutherans do not have the luxury of juggling words. Baptism is not Holy Communion and the atonement is not justification.
When the matter is confused no one has the license to play with words, like Alice in Wonderland:
The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" "Come, we shall have some fun now!" thought Alice. "I'm glad they've begun asking riddles. — I believe I can guess that," she added aloud. "Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?" said the March Hare. "Exactly so," said Alice. "Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on. "I do," Alice hastily replied; "at least--at least I mean what I say--that's the same thing, you know." "Not the same thing a bit!" said the Hatter. "You might just as well say that 'I see what I eat' is the same thing as 'I eat what I see'!" "You might just as well say," added the March Hare, "that 'I like what I get' is the same thing as 'I get what I like'!" "You might just as well say," added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, "that 'I breathe when I sleep' is the same thing as 'I sleep when I breathe'!" (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 7)
The same logical summersaults are performed daily by the UOJ fanatics. Everyone is forgiven, but not everyone is forgiven. Atonement is justification. Their universal absolution is found everywhere in the Bible but they cannot locate a single passage articulating this message. If they contradict themselves at every turn, they are teaching human opinions rather than Christian doctrine. Can UOJ be grasped by a child-like faith?
Another sad result
of the Lutheran confession of the false gospel of Universal Objective
Justification is the requirement to embrace contradictions as though they were
from God. This is why they hate being quoted and rage when they are. Their
central doctrine is contrary to Scripture and therefore it is inconsistent and
opposes pure doctrine. So their explanation of Christ's doctrines are
contradictory because the source and root is. Contradictions abound and so they
do not want to be quoted nor can any statement be taken for what the UOJist
really meant.
A Pastor at the 2011 Emmaus Conference made an inference that the
quotes I provided attendees showing how (W)ELS and LCMS UOJists statements were
contrary to Scripture and the Confessions were taken out of context. He said,
“Did you quote the whole book?” as though I had to quote the entire book that
was written in order for the UOJ statement to be taken in context. What a
disgrace! Now when I email (W)ELS pastors about statements made in their
publicly published sermons that are contrary to Scripture and the Confessions
they refuse to answer or clarify. UOJ has destroyed their faithfulness to Christ
and rejects the work of the Holy Spirit which causes a Christian to desire to
give a confession of what he believes and teaches. They are scared to commit to
anything unless they have the protection of the Synod which will confirm if what
they believe and teach is correct.
