Apostates - unbelievers - control ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS. I am not ignoring the micro-minis. They are statistical blips, including the Little Sect on the Prairie. The Big Four - or rather the Big Three and a Circuit - make up 99% of all those who call themselves Lutheran.
Apostates are worse than people who never had faith. One can assume that church leaders once had faith as children and lost it through the concerted efforts of synodical schools and perhaps graduate school. Church leaders who have turned against the Christian faith while pretending to be Christian are especially effective in their destructiveness.
One example is the justification by faith Lutheran who reaches seminary and learns that the entire world has been declared free of sin, without faith, that the denizens of Hell are "guilt-free saints." Two opposite beliefs cannot be held at the same time, so justification by faith becomes an evil that must be destroyed.
Apostate Leaders
These dominant forces are clearly represented in the synodical popes and district popes, even in the circuit popes (though some clean-up may still be necessary among the CPs - be patient). They do not believe? Worse - they hate the Christian faith but cannot make a living outside of the synodical womb. Besides, the pay and benefits are great, in spite of what they say, for the apostates. The rubes, hicks, and suckers in the clergy can starve, for all they care.
Being nice does not work. Predators only have the DNA to strike down and kill. No one averts a wolf's attack by offering a cheese sandwich with a side order of waffle fries.
The Word is an effective Shield and Weapon. That is the only line of attack. First we have to know the enemy's tactics, as Luther advises, and to know them better than he does. Many have been convicted of the evil of UOJ simply because I have published all the UOJ arguments I could find. Shocked readers have said, "That is UOJ? I thought it was just another word for the atonement."
Thus knowledge of their false doctrine and Biblical refutation are both essential. Destroying false doctrine from the Word is an individual obligation, but it is enjoyable and satisfying to acquire. Lack of clergy preparation and lay-concern has helped the apostates immensely, because the unbelievers cast out lies faster than the innocent can counter them. The strong will always defeat the weak, and the so-called conservatives have been weak, willing to be manipulated, and eager to perpetuate the divide-by-shunning tactics suggested by their opponents (who stick together amidst DUIs, murders, child molestations, and adultery).
Lie down before wolves - get devoured. The opponents of the NNIV never had the spine to oppose it at the last WELS National Coven. They conceded to the wolves without a fight. They had every right to bring up a motion to condemn and reject the NNIV, its crafts and assaults, and those who would promote it. Even when the Clown President of the Sausage Factory got up to say WELSians were "afraid of the Bible," they remained lambs waiting for the feast.
Test the Spirits
Luther wrote that all false doctrine breaks down into attacks against the divinity of Christ, against the humanity of Christ, or against justification by faith.
Justification by faith is undermined by the explicit or implicit denial of these basic Biblical truths:
1. The Word of God is always effective and never returns to Him empty.
2. The Holy Spirit and the Word are always linked together and never work separately.
3. Grace comes to us only through the Means of Grace - the invisible Word of teaching and preaching, the visible Word of the Sacraments.
If one or more elements are missing from the jabber of the false teacher - and they always are - then that is the path to pursue by asking pointed questions and demanding answers.
Some unbelievers, like ex-DP Robert Mueller, know how to answer correctly when pressed on a point, but the logical next step is to ask why the actions are the opposite of the supposed beliefs.
Assume Demonic Rage
Doubt causes fear while faith is bold to trust in God's Word. Opposition is quick to follow from astute observations and Biblical arguments. While we naturally recoil from the raging attacks of church leaders, we should also assume it is the surest possible sign of being on target.
When a Synod or District President tries to make his points by trashing another person, using guilt by association (a logical fallacy), immediately imagine him doing the same thing to you - behind your back. He will do that with a lust and delight normally reserved for their Thrivent-supported bacchanals. The solution is not to back down in fear of being slimed, but to ask how that is relevant to the question.
Satan is the greatest slanderer of all time, and they follow his lead, since they worship at his sulfurous altar. Luther answered this one directly, "I may be a thousand times worse than you say, but Christ is my Savior, and he has paid for my sins."
Persist
One pastor said he would be glad when the battle was over. I warned him that the battle is never over while we are still alive. If the opponents cannot beat us down in one fight, they will start another one and another one.
Like disease, having the same thing happen repeatedly, in spite of our best efforts, is discouraging and depressing. That is where Satan attacks us - in our emotions.
God can turn rejection, firing, theft of our funds, and vindictive slander into blessings. Here is a recruiting poster for Mequon. "If you teach justification by faith, our favorite plagiarist will mock your dead daughters and picture WELS members eating cat droppings (yours) from a toilet. And we will reward him with vast sums of money for his anonymous blog."
On the surface, it seems there is only one good choice, to join the army of their Father Below - to surrender and apologize. But persist and God will work His justice as only He can.
The King of England jailed and bankrupted one of my ancestors for daring to take him to court over past-due debts. Because of that, one branch came to America.
The Pope persecuted and slaughtered French Protestants, so many survivors came to America for religious freedom. Because of him, another branch of my family came to America.
Some of you are afraid of a synod so weak that it cannot make a case for its false doctrine, except through lies, slander, bullying, and deceit. Trust in the Word of God, which is far more powerful and lasting than Holy Mother Abusive Sect.
