Sunday, October 21, 2012

VirtueOnline - News - Disgraced Bishop Resigns

Why does WELS wait for a felony arrest -
as they did with Al Just, Ed Werner, and others?

VirtueOnline - News:

"Church officials remain tightlipped, but sources have told VOL that he was told to resign or face disciplinary charges, a trial, and then be tossed out, based on a new canon passed at the church's recent General Convention. The 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church passed an historic resolution in Indianapolis, B021, recognizing that when the relationship between bishops and dioceses is severely strained, sometimes to the breaking point, there is a way out that includes getting rid of the diocesan bishop. Behind the scenes public pressure was put on him to make a public statement.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Pennsylvania apparently used the new canon to finally get rid of Bennison without using any of the Title IV disciplinary canons."

'via Blog this'

Head Anglican archbishop makes final push to ordain women bishops :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

The Very Smug Archbishop.

Head Anglican archbishop makes final push to ordain women bishops :: Catholic News Agency (CNA):


.- The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is trying to persuade members of the Church of England’s upcoming General Synod to back the ordination of women as Anglican bishops, putting further strain on the theologically divided Anglican Communion.

In an article published in the Anglican newspaper The Church Times, Archbishop Williams said the church legislation “will shape the future of the Church of England for generations.” He contended that a vote against the proposal “risks committing us to a period of continued and perhaps intensified internal conflict with no clearly guaranteed outcome.”

The archbishop is trying to push through the measure at the General Synod in November. The synod is the last gathering of Anglican leaders before he leaves office in December 2012 after 10 years as the leading clergyman of the Church of England.

The failure of the legislation would mean it cannot be revisited until the next general synod in 10 years.

Archbishop Williams said the ordination of women as priests but not bishops creates an “anomaly” that introduces “unclarity” into Anglican theology, which he said accepts only “the priesthood of Jesus Christ.” He said it is “inconsistent to exclude in principle a baptized person from the possibility of ordained ministry.”

The archbishop denied that the effort is a concession to “secular egalitarianism” but he said the Anglican Church must admit that “without secular feminism we might never have seen the urgency of this or the inconsistency of our previous position.”

One major controversy in the Anglican legislation is whether it offers adequate protections to Anglicans with theological objections to women bishops. Some proponents of women bishops view the accommodations as discriminatory.

The Anglo-Catholic group Forward in Faith and the evangelical group Reform have both opposed the legislation.

The group Women and the Church, a major proponent of ordaining women bishops, has said its members are divided over the issue and is not taking a position, the U.K. newspaper The Guardian reports.

The legislation risks further alienating traditionalists, many of whom have already left for other churches because of objections to leading Anglicans’ theological and moral differences with historic Christianity.

Pope Benedict XVI has created a new Church structure called an ordinariate for converts from Anglicanism who wish to join the Church while retaining many of their customs and liturgical practices.

Archbishop Williams’ push for women bishops will be one of his last major actions as Archbishop of Canterbury.

His replacement will be nominated through the British Crown Nominations Commissions, which will submit a preferred candidate and a second acceptable candidate to the U.K. Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will then advise Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the Church of England, on the appointment of the archbishop’s successor.


'via Blog this'

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Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. Matthew 22:1-14.
Parable of the Wedding Feast

Norwich


The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, 2012


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson


Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn #  39        Praise to the Lord                              3:1
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       
The Gospel              
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 370            My Hope Is Built              3:11     

The Bride and Groom

The Communion Hymn # 246            Holy, Holy, Holy             3:35
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 309                 O Jesus Blessed Lord             3:70

KJV Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

KJV Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Twentieth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We thank Thee, that of Thy great mercy Thou hast called us by Thy holy word to the blessed marriage-feast of Thy Son, and through Him dost forgive us all our sins; but, being daily beset by temptation, offense, and danger, and being weak in ourselves and given to sin, we beseech Thee graciously to protect us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we fall not; and if we fall and defile our wedding-garment, with which Thy Son hath clothed us, graciously help us again and lead us to repentance, that we fall not forever; preserve in us a constant faith in Thy grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.


The Bride and Groom


KJV Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

The parable has several lessons, which remind us about the basic Gospel. In this parable we can see the wonderful unity of the Scriptures, where each passage is related to the others.
We also have such clear pictures of the lessons being given. Parables are for believers, for additional instruction. They deepen our understanding of the Gospel, which is designed for one purpose – that we believe in Christ, receive forgiveness of our sins, and dwell with Him now and in eternity.

We can see that this parable is an answer to what just happened before –

KJV Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

The context matters especially when the introductory sentence shows a transition, as this one does. Jesus is warning the religious opponents, and this next parable serves as a warning and a lesson.

Jesus described Himself as the Bridegroom and the true Church as the Bride. This relationship is also used in Revelation.

KJV John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

KJV Revelation 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

So first of all there is a spiritual meaning to this parable, and it is built around an event common to all people – being invited to a wedding. But this is a royal wedding.

This king is God, and his son is Christ.

Lenski:
The unity of the parable is at once expressed: “a king who made a wedding for his son.” We are told what happened in connection with this wedding, namely how the king and his son were treated by the various persons who had been invited to the wedding. For this reason nothing is said about the bride of the king’s son. The moment we perceive the force of the opening statement and note that it governs everything that is introduced into the parable, its grand unity will be apparent, and we shall not agree with those who speak of two parables pasted together (v. 3–10, and v. 11–14) or of a parable consisting of two parts. The perfect unity of the whole is again stated at the conclusion in v. 14. The word γάμος or its plural may mean either “a wedding” or “a wedding feast”; in v. 2–9 we have the plural, but in v. 8 and in 10–12 the singular. This wedding and the invitations to attend it picture the grace of God that provides salvation for the world of sinful men in connection with Christ. It includes redemption, the means of grace, and the efficacy of the Holy Spirit, as these apply equally to all men.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN. : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 848.


2 The kingdom of heaven is like

The parable answers the question about salvation – who is saved and why? Many different voices try to confuse the issue, because people would rather dither about many things than listen to the clear teaching of the Word.

So, if someone is wondering about these matters, or needs to be instructed in more detail, this parable answers the big questions about the Christian Faith, about all religions.

 unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,


The king is God, and the Son is Christ. A royal wedding is a national event in any country. This is One King and One Son, so it means the one true God and His only-begotten Son.

All weddings are special events. When my Facebook friends get married, I make a point of wishing God’s blessings, because it is a witness to society in this age of do whatever you want. A wedding unites friends and families. The wedding traditions of other societies are more illustrative than ours.

An ethnic wedding includes as many people as possible, and the service itself is followed immediately by a huge feast, which lasts for hours. The German tobacco farmers in Canada would have a formal meal for 400 guests, which they considered modest and typical, followed hours later by a second midnight informal dinner. Everyone was expected to come, and everyone was expected to eat heartily both times. One cousin said, “A dinner for 600 is just too much – showing off.”

In India, there are many traditions for weddings, and each wedding is expected to last for days to accommodate all the individual events.

We can picture this parable as equivalent to the only son of the monarch of England getting married. Who would not want an invitation? Who would not want to go? It would be the event of a lifetime. Since the king can avoid anyone he wants, each invitation is gracious, special, and to be treasured.

Matthew 22:3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

This is redemption in the parable. In the Scriptures, the Gospel is an invitation. Christ has died for the sins of the world. He allowed the law to throw its entire force against Him so that He carried the full weight of the sins of the world.

Redemption (one English word) has two different but related meanings in the New Testament.

One meaning of redemption is to pay the price – easily recognized in Greek as related to the market place (agora). People with agoraphobia are afraid to go out in the public.

KJV Galatians 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Another meaning of redemption is release or ransom -

KJV Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

KJV Luke 2:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

KJV Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

KJV Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

As Lenski argued, this redemption is an accomplished fact, announced by the apostles and followers of Christ.

and they would not come.

This is the efficacious call of the Gospel. Everyone is invited but many refuse. Many begin in the faith and fall away.

The obstinate refusal of man is often turned into “making a decision.” This is common (but not universal) in Baptists, for there are Calvinistic Baptists. This is also common in Universal Objective Justification, where people are told they are already forgiven, without faith, and now they must make a decision about this (J. P. Meyer, WELS, Ministers of Christ).

The crucifixion, resurrection, and Gospel call are a fact. The Holy Spirit stirs up faith in this truth, this action from God, in the very act of inviting and proclaiming.

The Word has an effect, and we should never doubt that effect. The more someone is lost in his own righteousness, the more he will respond against the alien righteousness proclaimed in the Gospel Promises.

Faith makes a meager beginning, and Satan reacts against that, eager to keep his own kingdom full. Baptized babies are blessed with parents who believe (unless they just want their child “done”), and lack the adult resources to doubt everything. Children have years of wanting to learn, being eager to learn, and parents can teach them without hesitation.

Adults are often surrounded by antagonists against the Gospel and cultural bias. Our friends from Hong Kong said their conversion to the Christian faith was seen by their families as a betrayal of the clan, which is very powerful in Asia. One never goes against the patriarch. An immigration leader said that an Asian patriarch could decide to move to another city, and 150 people would move with him.

This particular example, in the parable, illustrates the refusal of the Jewish people to receive Christ. Many did, but the many conversions cause a reaction where the Jewish Christians were kicked out of the synagogues and people like Paul (before his conversion) worked against the Christian Faith.

4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.



Luther:
4. These words beautifully picture to us and teach how we should make use of the life of the saints; namely, to introduce examples by which the doctrine of the Gospel may be confirmed, so that we may the better, by the aid of such examples and lives, meditate upon Christ, and be nourished by and feast upon him as upon fatlings and well fed oxen. This is the reason he calls them fatlings. Take an example: Paul teaches in Romans 3:23f. how the bride is full of sin and must be sprinkled by the blood of Christ alone, or she will continue unclean, that is, she must only believe that the blood of Christ was shed for her sins, and there is no other salvation possible. Then he beautifully introduces the example of Abraham and confirms the doctrine of faith by the faith and life of Abraham, and says, 4:3: “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.” That is a true ox, it is properly slain, it nourishes us, so that we become grounded and strengthened in our faith by the example and faith of Abraham. Again, soon after Paul lays before us a fine fatling, when he cites David the Prophet of God and proves from him, that God does not justify us by virtue of our works, but by faith, when he says, Romans 4:6-8: “Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works,” saying in Psalm 32:1-2: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.”

--

Jesus Weeping Over Jerusalem, by Norma Boeckler
http://www.normaboecklerart.com


5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

This great invitation is mocked, because of the foolishness of man. Three responses are listed in regard to material concerns. One went back to his farm, the other went back to his business.

These are the three barriers that prevent us from coming to the marriage feast. The first, or the farm, signifies our honor; it is a great hindrance that we do not think of Christ and believe in him; we fear we must suffer shame and become dishonored, and we do not believe that God can protect us from shame and preserve us in honor. The second go to their spheres of business, that is, they fall with their hearts into their worldly affairs, into avarice, and when they should cleave to the Word, they worry lest they perish and their stomachs fail them; they do not trust God to sustain them. The third class are the worst, they are the high, wise and prudent, the exalted spirits, they not only despise but martyr and destroy the servants; in order to retain their own honor and praise, yea, in order to be something. For the Gospel must condemn their wisdom and righteousness and curse their presumption. This they cannot suffer; therefore they go ahead and kill the servants who invited them to the dinner and the marriage feast. They were the Pharisees and scribes, who put to death both Christ and his Apostles, as their fathers did the Prophets. These are much worse than the first and second classes, who, although they despised and rejected the invitation, yet then went away and neither condemned nor destroyed the servants.
--

Luther’s words describe three groups of people quite well. One group is offended that they might need God and forgiveness. Another group, especially the clergy, worry that faith would cost them comfort, security, and a full tummy. The clergy can pretend to believe and go through the motions, but they do not believe if they reject justification by faith – which is the Gospel. The third group today is the hierarchy of all church bodies. They are timid and helpless, until they get a chance to get rid of the pastor, scatter the flock, and grab the property for themselves. The quivering, passive bowls of jello—the DPs and Bishops-- turn into savages who roar their revenge and spare no effort to express their vindictiveness and greed.

This has been the case throughout history. The teaching of the pure Word has been accompanied by rejection and violent reaction. Luther describes the fruit of the Spirit as affliction. If the affliction is great, the Gospel is having a greater effect. Our weakness sees the affliction more than the blessings, because there is no obvious blessing meter to show us the daily score. The afflictions are easy to experience, count, and recount. As Luther observed, the worst is having it come from within the visible church.

7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

This is the Destruction of Jerusalem, about 40 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. It happened after Christianity took root in Jerusalem, so strongly that apostles were killed and the believers driven away. Jerusalem had many warnings and gracious invitations – from the prophets, from Jesus, from the apostles.

Some would say that God is so gracious that He forgives everyone without any notion of faith. This parable says the opposite, because the one thing that matters is faith.

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

I find this to be humorous in an ironic way. The traditional guests did not accept the invitations, rejected the servants, mocked and killed them. So God invited the left-overs, the good and bad – and we are those people.

This parable reminds us of the Sower and the Seed. The sower throws the seed in all directions, knowing it will take root (or not). God broadcasts the Gospel invitation through believers, and we know that the seed of the Word will take root. We do not have to judge, because it is up to God, and God will prosper His work.

Very Important Climax of the Parable
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
The under-text of the parable is the relationship between the Bride (the Church) and the Bridegroom (Christ). Faith draws them together. On this earth, the bride cares only for the groom, and the groom does all he can for the bride. People put their wedding photos on Facebook, and we see that reflected in their faces. Even better, we see the photos from 40 and 50 years ago. I know a couple that met at my elementary school. They are retired and living near their grandchildren. They look like Ken and Barbie in their wedding photo.

So Christ, as the Groom, loves those within the true Church and yet never stops extending the Gospel call to believe. The Bride returns this divine love and is united with Christ in faith and love.

http://www.normaboecklerart.com


16. Now, what do we bring to him? Nothing but all our heart-aches, all our misfortunes, sins, misery and lamentations. He is the eternal light, we the eternal darkness; he the life, we death; he righteousness, we sin. This is a marriage that is very unequal. But what does the bridegroom do? He is so fastidious that he will not dwell with his bride until he first adorns her in the highest degree. How is that done? The Apostle Paul teaches that when he says in Titus 3:5-6: “He gave his tender body unto death for them and sprinkled them with his holy blood and cleansed them through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” He instituted a washing; that washing is baptism, with which he washes her. More than this, he has given to her his Word; in that she believes and through her faith she becomes a bride. The bridegroom comes with all his treasures; but I come with all my sins, with all my misery and heart-griefs. But because this is a marriage and a union, in the sense that they become one flesh, Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5, and they leave father and mother and cleave to one another, they should embrace each other and not disown one another, although one is even a little sick and awkward; for what concerns one, the other must also bear.

The many invitations to the festival are the Means of Grace. This confrontation teaches justification by faith. For unbelievers, the ending of the parable is nonsensical and confusing. Why would someone be invited to a feast, attend, and then be cast out for not being dressed properly?

The king sees a guest without a proper wedding garment. The confronted man has nothing to say – he is speechless. The king casts the man into the outer darkness, where he is also bound hand and foot. “Many are called but few are elect.”

The proper wedding garment is not our righteousness but the righteousness of Christ, which is ours only by faith.

“Clothed in righteousness” is an important phrase to remember.

KJV Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

KJV Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

The baptismal robe signified the external or alien righteousness of Christ, which we put on through faith in Him. It is the only appropriate garment, since otherwise we are simply sinners without forgiveness.

That seems so clear to believers, opaque to the rest. When confronted about doctrine, the false teachers defend themselves with their own honor – they have the right relatives, the right teachers, the right membership in the right visible church.

The false teachers strike by saying, “You are a bad person. You do not count for anything. You have talked to me in the wrong way, which is a sin.”

Repeating Lenski:
This wedding and the invitations to attend it picture the grace of God that provides salvation for the world of sinful men in connection with Christ. It includes redemption, the means of grace, and the efficacy of the Holy Spirit, as these apply equally to all men.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN. : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 848.

Therefore my death thus vanishes in his life, my sins in his righteousness and my condemnation in his salvation. Here my sin is forced between the hammer and the anvil, so that it perishes and vanishes. For now since my sin, my filth is taken away he must adorn and clothe me with his eternal righteousness and with all his grace until I become beautiful; for I am his bride. Thus then I appropriate to myself all that he has, as he takes to himself all that I have; as the Prophet Ezekiel 16:6f says: “I passed by thee, and thou wast naked, and thy breasts were fashioned and were marriageable; then I spread my skirts over thee and covered thy nakedness, gave thee my Word and put on thee beautiful red shoes.” Here he relates many kind acts he did for her; and later he complains in verse 15, how she became a harlot. He tells us all this, that he clothed us with his riches and that we of ourselves have nothing. Whoso does not here lay hold of this as sure, that he has nothing of himself, but only Christ’s riches and cannot without doubt say, Thou art mine, he is not yet a Christian.

18. Now since Christ is mine and I am his: if Satan rages, I have Christ who is my life; does sin trouble me, I have Christ who is my righteousness; do hell and perdition attack me, I have Christ, who is my salvation. Thus, there may rage within whatever will, if I have Christ, to him I can look so that nothing can harm me. And this union of the divine with the human is pointed out in the picture here of the marriage feast, and the exalted love God has to us, in the love of the bride.

19. Now the wedding garment is Christ himself, which is put on by faith, as the Apostle says in Romans 13:14: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Then the garment gives forth a luster of itself, that is, faith in Christ bears fruit of itself, namely, love which works through faith in Christ. These are the good works, that also flash forth from faith, and entirely gratuitously do they go forth, they are done alone for the good of our neighbor; otherwise they are heathenish works, if they flow not out of faith; they will later come to naught and be condemned, and be cast into the outermost darkness.

--

So we can see how Jesus gives us a clear portrait of salvation in Him, the rejection of the Gospel, justification by faith, and unbelievers within the visible church.

The more we think about this parable, the more clearly we can see church history and the state of the church today.

http://www.normaboecklerart.com

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Pastor Herman Otten Joins Forces with Paul McCain -
Otten Sells the Bigoted Roman Catholic, Anti-Luther Book:
The Facts About Luther


Follow up:

For good reason I have focused on the McCain-Weedon-Harrison promotion of Romanism in the LCMS. McCain, as the under-blogger for Concordia Publishing House, promotes the Apocrypha and the Catholic Encyclopedia in honor of the Reformation.

But McCain is a regular Chemnitz compared to his old political buddy, Herman Otten. 

Earlier, Christian News had a feature on The Facts about Luther, by O'Hare, which is published by TAN - the Roman Catholic side of Thomas A. Nelson (Protestant) publishing. Oh, how rich, to cover both sides of the ecumenical church and make money from both.

Otten has learned from TAN/Nelson. His big spread on books for Reformation includes the horrid, bigoted, lying and slanderous book about Luther - The Facts about Luther, by Msgr. Patrick F. O'Hare.


Why exactly would a Lutheran pastor give money to the papists to attack the Reformer with a pile of lies?

Ironically, he did not list Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant on the same page. What better book to discuss the differences among the three major branches of the Christian Faith? In fact, CLP deals with the factual errors and outright lies in the O'Hare book.

How many books deal with the actual differences between Rome and the Lutheran Reformation, using the original sources?

Answer - One. Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant.

I do not see how Otten can criticize any Protestant group or any leader when he sells Roman Catholic Dreck to make a few bucks.

Perhaps he will offer statues of the Virgin Mary giving St. Bernard a fill-up next. McCain would take three- one for him, one for Weedon, one for Harrison.


From CLP:

Now we know what the LCMS thinks about Luther -
while Walther is venerated as a saint!


The Seven-Headed Luther
Coclaeus published his Seven-Headed Luther (Septiceps Lutherus) in 1529, with a title page illustrating Luther as a seven-headed man keen on novelties, raging furiously, looking for violence, and eager to set up a new papacy for himself. The image is from the Book of Revelation: Revelation 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns,
and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. Surrounded by unreliable associates, Cochlaeus became increasingly wild and undiscerning in his attacks, publishing another work in 1534. One scholar wrote:

For the personal element in this history of the Lutheran Reformation is so dominant, the reader finds it difficult to avoid the impression that, for Cochlaeus, the Reformation was exclusively to be blamed on Luther. No good was to be expected of such a man, and no defamation seemed too base to
be left unmentioned.

***

GJ - Here is a free clue, Herman Otten - the Roman Catholics have abandoned the Seven-Headed Luther and the book based upon Cochlaeus' defamation of Luther - The Facts about Luther.

Why is the editor of Christian News selling this book - FOR REFORMATION STUDIES?





---

Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Pastor Herman Otten Joins Forces with Paul McCain ...":

Ichabod -

I gain the impression that Otten is another McCaininite. Hence, it follows that those who engorge themselves with the false doctrine of universal objective justification; they then naturally become attracted to Roman Catholicism.

Come to think of it; - no wonder CPH's McCain is so hooked on his Mother Mary lactation.

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org


***

GJ - People think their Mennonite shunning methods are the equivalent of fellowship principles. For instance, Otten shuns me for being against UOJ. Or Grace does. She is the theologian in the family.

But UOJ does make people oblivious about doctrine - except for that one dogma.

I know from Notre Dame that the only dogma that mattered was being a member of Rome. They laughed at Lutherans as the "Western Orthodox" in the worship department.

Reformation Song for UOJ



narrow-minded has left a new comment on your post "For Reformation, 2012, UOJ Has Become Pavlov's Hou...":

Sung to Fat Albert's Theme Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WT-fxBNKs8

Hey-hey-hey, it's U-O-J!
Now we have some heresy for you;
No Call Paul and Kilcrease, too.
 Antinomianism is the song we sing;
Gospel Reductionism is our greatest thing.
 Seminex for all time, [repeat]...

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WELS Pastor Joel Lillo, Fox Valley, Anything Goes District has left a new comment on your post "Reformation Song for UOJ":

Once more you demonstrate that you cannot write a song parody that matches the meter of the original song to save your life. Listen to some "Weird Al" (or Allan Sherman who would be from your generation) and see how it's done.

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GJ - I did not write this parody. I thought Joel swore he would never read Ichabod again. He seems to read it and comment on it...daily. The posts must get under his thin skin.

WELS is famous for thin-skinned, humorous clergy.

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narrow-minded has left a new comment on your post "Reformation Song for UOJ":

Orthodox clergy in the SynCon with backbone get kicked out. Ask Pr. Rydecki.

Sorry about my lack of musical talent. I thought the YouTube screen and poor meter would be in line with the style of "worship" so prevalent in Lutheran churches today. Popcorn, anyone?

***

GJ - Do not apologize to Joel Lillo, Narrow. He suggested I post Klaus Nomi's version of a song.

Teenager had sex with high school teacher -- and mom wants $10 million - NY Daily News

Erin Sayar, 36, at State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, for a scheduled court hearing.  Ms. Sayar,a public school teacher, is charged with statutory rape for alleged trysts with one of her high school students
The teacher - WELS has had plenty of these too,
male and female predators.

Teenager had sex with high school teacher -- and mom wants $10 million - NY Daily News:



The mother of a teenager who fessed up to a torrid affair with a teacher at Brooklyn’s James Madison High School made good on her promise Wednesday and sued the city and the instructor.

Maureen Eng, who announced earlier she would be seeking $10 million in damages, claimed in court papers that her son Kevin “had his childhood robbed from him” at the so-called Horndog High.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/sex-teacher-worth-10m-article-1.1186072#ixzz29qobESJk


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For Reformation, 2012, UOJ Has Become Pavlov's House

File:Pavlov's House.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlov%27s_House


The tactical benefit of the house was its position on a cross-street giving the defenders a 1 km line of sight to the north, south and west.[1] After several days, reinforcements and resupply arrived for Pavlov's men, bringing the unit up to a 25-man understrength platoon and equipping the defenders with machine gunsanti-tank rifles, and mortars. In keeping with Stalin's Order No. 227 - "not one step back", Sgt. Pavlov was ordered to fortify the building and defend it to the last bullet and the last man. Taking this advice to heart, Pavlov ordered the building to be surrounded with four layers of barbed wire and minefields, and set up machine-gun posts in every available window facing the square. In the early stages of the defense, Pavlov discovered that a PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle he had mounted on the roof was particularly effective when used to ambush unsuspecting German tanks; once the tanks had approached to within 25 meters of the building, their thin turret-roof armor became exposed to AT rifle fire from above, and were unable to elevate their weapons enough to retaliate.[2] Pavlov had reportedly destroyed nearly a dozen tanks personally using this tactic.
For better internal communication, Pavlov's soldiers breached the walls in the basement and upper floors, and dug a communications trench to Soviet positions outside. Supplies were brought in via the trench or by boats crossing the river, defying German air raids and shelling. Nevertheless, food and especially water was in short supply. Lacking beds, the soldiers tried to sleep on insulation wool torn off pipes but were subjected to harassing fire every night in order to try and break their resistance.
The Germans attacked the building several times a day. Each time German infantry or tanks tried to cross the square and to close in on the house, Pavlov's men laid down a withering barrage of machine gun and AT rifle fire from the basement, the windows and from the roof top, devastating the German attackers and forcing them to retreat. By mid-November, Pavlov's men reportedly had to use lulls in the fighting to run out and kick over the heaped piles of German corpses so they could not be used as cover by the next round of attackers.
Eventually the defenders, as well as the Soviet civilians who kept living in the basement all that time, held out during intensive fighting from 27 September - 25 November 1942, when they were relieved by the counter-attacking Soviet forces.

***

GJ - Nimzovitch, the chess master, observed this about chess - which applies to every kind of warfare, including doctrinal warfare. One piece or location can become the focus of the entire attack and counterattack.

Advancing the knight can create a large-scale threat, so the opposite side attacks the knight, and the knight is defended just as forcefully. If the right move is made, the opponent's game collapses around the strongpoint (schwerpunkt).

The UOJ Enthusiasts have wormed their way into Lutherdom, the first victory being their precious Brief Statement of 1932. Catechisms and doctrinal books did not ape the Great Kidnapper, but that has been forgotten.

Now the Enthusiasts realize that their UOJ is under attack, that it supports the complete edifice of all their errors:
  1. Constant union efforts with ELCA.
  2. Church Growth/Emergent Church.
  3. Selling Indulgences to Marvin Schwan and other rich adulterers.

The UOJ Stormtroopers will reinforce their Pavlov's House indefinitely, because they know that everything will crumble when UOJ is defeated. Many secretive Lutheran pastors will support justification by faith, until it really matters. Then they will back away or even lead the enemy to the back door, as that traitor Ephialtes did at Thermopylae.

This year, many nominal Lutherans are celebrating the defeat of justification by faith, in honor of the Lutheran Reformation. They have a new Chief Article of the Christian Faith - universal forgiveness, absolution, and salvation - without faith.



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Joe Krohn has left a new comment on your post "For Reformation, 2012, UOJ Has Become Pavlov's Hou...":

"They have a new Chief Article of the Christian Faith - universal forgiveness, absolution, and salvation - without faith."

You are delusional...

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we2r1inhim@clear.net

4/29/2011


Dear Pastor Jackson,

I know you have a PhD and all…but I see you more as a good shepherd than a good doctor…although you’re pretty good at prescribing antidotes!

Thanks for your words in this http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2011/04/promoting-sanity-another-feature-of.html post last week.  Two years ago you got my attention when your words rang true regarding Rock and Roll church.  Your words were never truer last week either in describing what we are now going through here in Austin with Patterson.  These guys know no boundaries nor do they have any ounce of decorum.

I am still trying to figure out how work all of this since we still are members at Holy Word although we have not been in attendance since April 10th…nor have we contributed even since before that.

I pray all is well with you and yours.  I see you have gotten your share of rain and storms.  We could use a lot of rain here.

Blessings,
Joe

Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed: LCMS Seminaries - Where the Money Is. Ultra High Tuition and Salaries

Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed: LCMS Seminaries - Where the Money Is. Ultra High Tuition and Salaries:

A visitor from Fort Wayne, Indianaviewed "Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed: LCMS Seminaries - Where the Money Is. Ultra High Tuition and Salaries" 4 mins ago

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2011/12/lcms-seminaries-where-money-is-ultra.html












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From Bruce Chuch, Ichabod Research Department:

Summary: The LCMS seminaries have the highest overhead per student of all the accredited Lutheran seminaries in America, in part due to  an inadequate endowment fund. However, much of the overhead is a result of choices the LCMS seminaries and synod have made. First and foremost is the facilities overcapacity. One seminary on one campus would more than suffice for the needs of the LCMS (allowing for the expansion of classroom buildings and dormitories, of course). Secondly, there is the over-payment of professors at Concordia St. Louis, which campus has the highest tuition rates, by the way. Third, the federal government deems the LCMS seminaries to be in great financial shape, better off than most of the ELCA seminaries, and they of course charge much lower tuition. In other words, the LCMS seminaries could afford to lower their tuition quite a bit without losing their OK credit rating with the government, and without going broke. 

Discussion: In the spreadsheet and charts, I have called overhead any cost not associated with professor salaries. However, if one wished, one could add to overhead the amount that he or she estimates the Concordia Seminary St. Louis professors are overpaid. When professor salaries are subtracted from tuition, a LCMS seminary student is paying $21,500 for overhead per year, twice as much as all the ELCA seminary students, except at one seminary. The fiscally troubled Philadelphia ELCA seminary still has $5,000 less overhead per student than the LCMS seminaries. Philadelphia also has the highest tuition and fees of any ELCA seminary, but its yearly tuition still trails $5,000 behind the LCMS seminaries.

The professor salary ($89,483) at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is $22,923 more than the average ($66,560) holding at the nine other Lutheran seminaries listed. Its associate professor salary ($71,201) is $14,287 more than the average ($56,914) at the other  seminaries. The assistant professor salary ($59,830) is $5,410 more than the average ($54,420) at the other seminaries. If the amount of this over-payment of professors were factored into the overhead cost, the overhead cost per student at the LCMS seminaries would be even greater.

Links of Interest:

With church membership dwindling and more families struggling to afford the cost of college, many private religiously-affiliated colleges and universities are slashing tuition and offering incentives to attract new students -- and to stay afloat.

Concordia Seminary FAQ on its high tuition--It's all your fault!

Dept of Ed Rates Private Seminaries and Colleges for Fiscal Soundness:

    or download 2009-10 report here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34974726/0910CompositeScores.xls





ELCA Seminary Fiscal News:





This report's spreadsheet and charts can be found here:

Seminary Tuition Scandal:


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