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| Walther did not want an early history of the Missouri Synod written. I wonder why. |
LPC has left a new comment on your post "Is Walther's Election Argument Just Another Calvin...":
Dr. Greg,
To answer the question, yes it is just another gambit.
Walther's election doctrine is Calvinistic. I say this as an ex-Calvinist who studied Calvinist confessions and articulation of their main doctrinal flagship - Election - Sovereignty of God.
In Calvinistic Election faith does not play any role nor picture in it even in a secondary sense.
If a Lutheran embraces Walther's doctrine of Election, there is nothing that prevents him from also believing in once saved is always saved (OSAS).
This is in perfect keeping with Walther and Huber's negation of faith. As argued by Hunnius against Huber, if a person is justified without reference to faith then he is justified even though he loses faith even though he had it at some time. For it stands to reason that if you got justification before faith, certainly you have it after faith is gone as it had nothing to do with justification which Walter's UOJ gang teaches. This runs counter to the pronouncements of Jesus for example, when he sent the Samaritan leper in peace.
Did Luther believe in OSAS? The Smalcald Article says no. Clearly there Luther asserted that one can lose faith and thus lose justification.
LPC
