The Supposed Chief Article That Dares Not Speak Its Name

Ten little Stormtroopers jumping on my head,
One fell off the wagon, and he's pronounced dead.

UOJ - Justification without Faith - is the Chief Article of the Christian religion. The master and prince..." -
various LCMS-ELS-WELS leaders.

Someone started another anonymous blog - doubtless a "confessional" Lutheran blog. He or she is quoting the Large Catechism - anonymously. The anonymous introduction says very little, perhaps forgetting that the leaders of the Reformation did not hide away or duck issues, working only in the dark. These newly anointed martyrs and confessors claim that hiding away is a virtue, and the right way to do things. As one tried to say maladroitly, "Thank God I am not a blogger, like Ichabod."

When Wittenberg was under siege, Luther risked his life to come back and preach a series of sermons, exposing himself to capture and a long, slow torturous burning at the stake. These foxes and weathervanes will not risk an appointment to the summer camp committee, lest they lose some mileage money or a free lunch at some fancy bistro.

During the great Missouri Croquet Match, when everyone pretended to be Martin Luther yet suffered little more than some discomfort, the leaders used their own names and published. Nothing was really settled, except the biggest liars went off to form the AELC, which became the gay quota template of ELCA. The Seminexers, many from WELS, made sure they were over-represented and sent their faculty to the Lutheran School of Theology to bankrupt it. Good riddance to both. They even donated their own gay seminary professor, Deppe (former LCMS) who moved on to the UCC, leaving his wife and children behind. That should sound familiar to Missouri idolators. And WELS' own Richard Jungkuntz moved on up to the ALC, where the activist for the Lavender Mafia pronounced himself "old school."

Like the UOJ Stormtroopers,
slugs are bisexual.

As this current debacle unfolds, UOJ has turned into a slug that no longer inches along to leave  its slime on everything. As gardeners know, a slug responds to touch by pretending to be dead. The little antennae withdraw. The little gastropod feet disappear. The familiar profile transforms itself into a lifeless blob. The only way to bring the slug back to life quickly is to introduce it to some irritant like salt, which will make the true slug appear again as it dies, silently and hideouslessly.

The UOJ slugs have abandoned Romans 4 faster than Nixon abandoned Agnew. Nostalgics remember how UOJists used to write "raised for our justification - Romans 4:25!" as proof for their heinous dogma. . But that was only part of a verse. When Romans 4:24 was added, in the context of Chapte 4 showing Abraham to have been justified by faith, they curled up and played dead.

They used to mention Calov with reverence, which was handy, since Lutherans read Calov even less than Calov. One might as well quote the Constitution to Congress or the Scriptures to a synod president. As the graphic above shows, Calov eviscerated the UOJ slug in one comment.

But - let us return to the Bible. Another symptom of their Tourette's Syndrome is shouting "Behold the Lamb of God, who bears the sin of the world" or simply "John 1:29!" There is no connection between their Halle rationalism and this verse, and even less harmony with Luther's description of the Gospel of John.

John teaches mainly the sublime and chief article of our Christian faith: believing in Christ. Because of this article we are called Christians. Besides this, we do not find many sermons on the Ten Commandments in this Gospel. Rather it is his greatest task to establish well the sublime article of the righteousness of faith and to impress it deeply on the people. For there is no danger when this article remains pure and unadulterated and stands firmly. But when it is overthrown, we are lost and are no better than Jews, heathen, Tartars, and Turks, aye, we are as bad as the papists. For this reason, because he so diligently teaches this chief article, the evangelist John deserves to be highly praised.
What Luther Says, ed. Plass, 3 vols, II, p. 702. W 33, 82. E 57, 298. SL 7, 2252.

The UOJ leaders have this advantage - their clergy read Luther and the Confessions as little as they do. But the laity are another matter. The laity do not have the filter of synodical dogma, which fogs every article of faith.

The more we draw out the UOJ slugs, the more vulnerable they are. They live on moist rot in the darkness. They can travel in the light, but that is where they become obvious, like that ugly gastropod inching across the kitchen floor.

In the future there will no attempts to deal with justification by faith directly. Instead, the synodical talking points will be delivered with great pretensions of piety among themselves and large volumes of verbal abuse for those who appear to be threats.

Rik Krahn's Wish Is Not Granted

http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2014/08/dr-martin-luther-christian-unity-needs.html#comment-form

Rik Krahn said...

While I agree with the main thrust of this post, I think there is a dangerous assumption there. The assumption is being made that a couple blogs are the only places where these things are being discussed. That ignores every other avenue and arena for discussion. If someone notices the areas where there is error, or where wisdom is lacking, and says nothing to anyone, anywhere, then this criticism is valid. But what of the man who speaks of these things regularly to the pastors involved, speaks to his circuit pastor, speaks at his circuit meetings and conferences and conventions, communicates with his District President, Synod President, and other Synod officials? Is that man somehow shirking a responsibility because he is reluctant to use his name on blogs? Are these blogs now the only way to address problems within our Synod, so that a person who posts anonymously must be a coward, whose doctrine is to be questioned? Can no one recognize that there might be reasons, other than cowardice or dereliction of duty, for a man to not want his name to appear on some of these blogs?

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki said...

I question the integrity and the conviction of anyone who pretends to teach, correct, rebuke, or condemn others anonymously. If a person doesn't want his name on a blog, then let him leave the posting and the commenting to those who are willing to be known and to bear the consequences of their faith or their opinions.

AUGUST 19, 2014 AT 2:06 PM

Vernon Knepprath said...

Rik,

I don't think anyone is saying that blogs are the only way to solve problems in the WELS, or even the preferred way. For many of us, the blog topics we choose to involve ourselves with are topics we have already discussed, in some cases extensively, with the people you mentioned. And in those cases, where "the man who speaks of these things regularly to the pastors involved, speaks to his circuit pastor, speaks at his circuit meetings and conferences and conventions, communicates with his District President, Synod President, and other Synod officials", the discussions in those cases are not anonymous. I have found in my efforts to discuss topics with synod officials via email, they will seldom respond at all, but when they do, they will ask, yes even demand identification that goes beyond a simple name. Which perhaps explains in part why the anonymous end up at the blogs.

Also, the reasons Mr. Lindee gave for commenters remaining anonymous are the reasons they themselves have given for their anonymity.

Vernon

AUGUST 19, 2014 AT 2:31 PM

***

GJ - Rik Krahn's imaginary discussions with various officials made me stifle some laughter. I tried, but burst out laughing anyway. His dance card has one more event on it - Extending the Left Foot of Fellowship.

For example, Kudu Don Patterson will visit someone if that person never speaks a word. The poor victim can only listen to the tirade lovingly delivered for the good of the dissenter's miserable soul. Ask Joe Krohn.

This individual can ask a question at the voters meeting, but it will not be answered. Any doctrinal question is out of order. Ask Joe Krohn. I heard the recording.

Patterson, elected a DP for these people skills, is good friends with Tim Glende, since both are part of the Mark-and-Avoid Jeske solar system, revolving around Guru Mark in humble adoration.

---

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Naming the Perpetrator

http://shatteredpulpit.blogspot.com/2014/08/naming-perpetrator.html

Several people have asked for specific details regarding who, exactly, the perpetrator is and if he is still being allowed to serve in the church, etc. I would like to comment on that: 

I did find a "safe" pastor now that I have come to trust. I have also come to trust the two district leaders that are involved in my situation. All three know the perpetrator's name, as well as, all of the details and are in full control of the situation. They have assured me repeatedly that they will never allow him to serve as part of the WELS ever again.They acted immediately upon hearing all the details and took swift action to make sure of that. They continue to work with me during the healing process and respect my desire for privacy.Trusting three pastors after my world had collapsed in church was the most terrifying experience I have ever encountered, but they are bending over backyards to make it possible and to alleviate my fears so that I will continue to trust them.

***

GJ again - I can assure the blogger that this is exceptional. In Columbus, DP Robert Mueller and VP Paul Kuske welcomed a known adulterer kicked out of the LCMS and promoted him for a call. The Mission Board had no problem with it. The ELS had no problem with it, either. Jay Webber and Roger Kovaciny were glad to take his money and treat his Masonic congregation (for which Kuske and Schumann endorsed him) as one of their own.

Everyone knew, except they lied to me and to those who asked about the matter. They were eager to cover up for him, even though he never joined WELS and scoffed at WELS. He was treated as one of the circuit pastors and gave a paper at the pastoral conference.

Or look at Joel Hochmuth, a layman previously caught in homeosexual file swapping - child porn of the worst. WELS knew about that and most likely did his previously "counseling." It is all in the arrest document. WELS is not named - except he kept a lot of his child porn in his office at the Love Shack. But WELS said Hochmuth was not using the headquarters computers. And nobody knew nothing nohow. But Hochmuth was publicly forgiven by his boss Mark Schroeder.

Glance at the WELS Top Ten Crimes, which I am still filling out - so much to do there.

Unrepentant Plagiarist, CPH Book Editor Defines Sound Doctrine. Or - How To Make Sound Doctrine Look Ridickolus

http://www.alpb.org/forum/index.php?topic=5558.msg342074;topicseen#msg342074

Rev. Paul T. McCain

• ALPB Forum Regular
• 
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• Posts: 204
• Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
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Re: No doctrine, no Gospel. Know doctrine, know Gospel.

« Reply #119 on: Today at 11:08:35 AM »

Let us also put this on the table:

Ordaining women and active homosexuals is merely a symptom of the profound theological errors that lead to such practices.

When a tree stops putting out green leaves in my neighborhood, the city comes and cuts it down and is always rotting from the inside out.

***

GJ - McCain only served one parish, for about two years, while he ran Al Berry's presidential campaign via Herman Otten (denying it, of course).

Instead of providing the apology he has demanded from so many of his friends and opponents, McCain closed down and hid his plagiarizing blog.

For this he earns almost $200,000 a year and his boss at CPH gets almost $300,000.

According to the Book of Concord, especially the Augsburg Confession, this is the core of the Gospel, sound doctrine -

Article V: Of the Ministry.

1] That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, 2] the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear 3] the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake.

4] They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works. 

McCain does not teach sound doctrine and actively opposes justification by faith. He does not comprehended Robert Preus' last book, Justification and Rome, where McCain's aping of the Romanist Ed Preuss is thoroughly and repeatedly repudiated.

Some Cutting Remarks about Roses

The best roses begin with perfect buds.
Mr. Lincoln is perfumed, velvety, and spectacular in full bloom.

Our roses are spoken for, long before they bloom. We now have a list of five families that will take all the roses we cut. One bunch will go to Dr. Carol today. Their office kept the last ones for a week. Three neighbors on this cul-de-sac and our helper round out the list.

The disparity between those who love roses and those who grow them is remarkable. Everyone loves them, but few grow them. I go over gardening books, catalogs, and articles on the Net. I see a lot of flowers to consider. Each time I ask the big question - how much is that in rose dollars?

Mr. Lincoln can be found for $8 and will make back its cost on the first bloom. Roses on sale can be bought for a similar price. All these are bare-root, which is the ugliest form but the best way to grow them. Other roses can be purchased for $30 and even $50 for the tree rose. A true rosarian will say "standard rose" but that sounds like "ordinary rose." The long cane is called a standard, so they are officially standard roses: a wild rose root base, a straight cane grafted to the root, and a hybrid tea grafted to the standard. They require more winter protection, but they are the sign of a rose fan.

The floral equivalent to fireworks is
a row of standard roses in various colors.

Not a Lot of Work
Roses are not a lot of work, no more than enough to get people outside and in the sunshine. Roses are not riddled with bugs or loaded with weeds, if the right steps are taken early.

They require pruning, which is to say that people who grow them can have fresh roses indoors all summer long, plus roses to share with friends.

The Right Steps

1. Red wigglers are the best earthworms for soil improvement, so that means buying a bag and scattering them around the areas that need the most productive soil.
2. Good soil is being built all the time, so a layer of organic mulch will feed the earthworm population. There will be a little weeding, but not much. Dr. Ben Dover N. Pull recommends this.
3. When first purchased and dug in, whether bare root or in pots, roses need a lot of water at first. I also sprinkle the roses above ground for the first week or so, to keep the plant moist before the roots start doing their job.
4. Garlic chives or garlic will help roses and repel insects. Bugs like sick plants, so one deterrent is a healthy plant grown in a garlic gas cloud. If you doubt the gas cloud, bend over a rose bed seeded with garlic chives on a hot, humid day. It is eye-watering. 
5. Water twice a week when it does not rain, and prune every other day. Prune away dead wood and crossed branches. Cut the best roses and buds for inside the home and for friends.

Double Delight roses have to be ordered early.

Back to School - Undergraduates in Required English

I teach required English composition and world literature for Ecclesia College undergraduates. The first day was really fun with so many former students saying hello and fist-bumping in the hallway. The registrar told me at lunch that they can fill a class just by listing my name. "You're very popular with the students."

One freshman  in world lit was homeschooled and already earned 40 college credits from home. She was the only student who asked for the textbook - weeks before the class started. She tested out of English 1 and 2. Although there are exceptions to this rule, the best students are usually homeschooled.

One of the best students - ever - was a girl who asked her Ed.D. parents to take her out of school. She wrote essays that were easily A papers in graduate school.

Elective courses are the most fun to teach, because they do not bear the horrible description - required. Students never quite realize that electives are also required, since credits have to be earned in certain areas. Please do not let that word out.

Still, I enjoy required classes because all the students flow through them, and motivating them is a challenge. I have them call me "Your Excellency" as one possible address. They find that endlessly amusing. I have sound effects in my pocket, on a $10 device. I no longer fight a battle against texting addiction, because they all know I confiscate digital devices and give them to the academic dean, who approves my policy and asks the quavering student - "If this is yours, why do I have?

The readers are easily distinguished from the non-readers. The readers know grammar, spelling, and writing fairly well. That remains the best way to build language skills - reading extensively. The individual who develops a habit of reading will be much more knowledgeable in any field of study. The soft-spoken and articulate doctor/commentator Ben Carson was forced to read books and write reports each week by his impoverished mother, who cleaned houses.

My mother and my elementary school teachers read stories to us. They opened the door to that magical land of fiction. We listened to Lassie being taken away and finding her way home again. Sure, one was on TV and the other in Europe, but everyone loved that dog. We shivered when a man was trying To Build a Fire in minus 60 weather.  The Secret Garden was so spooky: I can remember that story from 60 years ago.

Due to various early trips to schools and meetings, a library often baby-sat me. That led me to read all the classical children's literature books at Garfield Grade School and the rest at Moline Public Library. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe sounded good - and it was. I discovered Freddy the Pig, Heinlein, and many others.

I read stories to our children, and our son reads stories to his.

Intrepid Lutherans - Laity Doing the Work, Instead of Pastors, in Rebuking False Teachers

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2014

Dr. Martin Luther: Christian Unity needs Harmony among Individuals; however, Ecclesial Unity requires that False Teachers be publicly Admonished and Rebuked by Fellow Pastors
http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2014/08/dr-martin-luther-christian-unity-needs.html

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In commentary following a recent post by anonymous blogger "Matthias Flach" entitled, A Travesty Examined, Part Nine , it was suggested that "Matthias" contact the President of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), and complain to him about all the problems he sees – the idea being that the Synod President, having enough complainers behind him, would be emboldened to, say, acknowledge these problems publicly, maybe even repudiate them... possibly, like Synod President Matt Harrison of theLutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), even use the publishing power of his office (the only power the WELS SP really has) to consistently expose the errors of false teachers in the WELS Ministerium who are apparently prized, protected and promoted by the entirety of the WELS Praesidium, warn against them, and rebuke those fellow pastors who embrace these teachings and practices.

Maybe such would happen... Assuming the best of the WELS SP, perhaps it can also be asserted that he needs numbers behind him, not for courage, but for factual corroboration. Quite honestly, however, even having the corroboration, I don’t think that any sort of public acknowledgement or admonishment would be forthcoming. At least nothing with any sort of impact that wouldn’t be immediately overcome by a swift, unanimous and well-coordinated action of the Twelve District Presidents who evidently oppose him. One primary reason, in my opinion, is how very close-knit WELS has become. It has grown unhealthy. For instance, when a person names a given WELS pastor, the instinct (in my personal experience) seems to be toward immediately calculating ones degree of familial relation to the man, and then recalling his direct and indirect experience with him. While this is perfectly natural in small old organizations, there now seems to be an inability to distinguish between individual and Office among them. Any just criticism of a pastor’s doctrine or practice seems to be interpreted as an attack against him personally or against his extended family and classmates, an arrogant elevation of the person issuing the criticism, and a disruption of the harmony necessary for unity to persist among them. The example currently found in the LCMS, of pastors exhibiting the courage to name false doctrines and practices among them, and, increasingly, the pastors who embrace and promote those teachings and practices, seems to be a cultural impossibility in WELS, unless it is already a family squabble of some sort, a matter of personal history or conflict between individual pastors going back, say, to high-school, college or seminary, or an internal political issue within the ministerium where lines have already been drawn.

Martin Luther preached, however, that recognizing a distinction between individual and Office is necessary, that Christian duty to cherish and preserve harmony – to be “compassionate and loving as ‘brethren, tenderhearted, and "friendly" or "humble-minded"’” – extends to the manner in which individuals carry on with one another. It is not, however, necessarily characteristic of the Office, the function of which includes the preachment of the Law in a way that cuts to the bone and exposes sin – which, to the person offended by the Law, does not seem like a very friendly thing to do – and as God’s representative, even extends to the withholding of forgiveness from the unrepentant (Matt. 16:19; John 20:23) – which does not seem to the unforgiven to be a very friendly thing to do, either. He preached further that it is a function of the Office, and thus of the pastor who is responsible to “represent not [his] own but God’s dignity,” to admonish and rebuke false teachers – i.e., fellow Office holders, saying:

But if one dishonors the Baptism, Sacrament, or Ministry committed to me by God, and so opposes not me but God Himself, then it is my duty not to be silent nor merciful and friendly, but to use my God-ordained Office to admonish, threaten and rebuke, with all earnestness, both in season and out of season – as Paul admonishes Timothy – those who err in doctrine or faith or who do not amend their lives; and this regardless of who they are or how it pleases them.

All of this – the duty to cherish harmony among Christians, the duty to rebuke false teachers in the Church (which appears disharmonious but preserves pure doctrine, which is necessary for true harmony), and drawing the distinction between these duties – is found in his Sermon on the Epistle Lesson for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity (1 Pet. 3:8-15), pertinent excerpts from which follow:

---

From Dr. Martin Luther’s Sermon on 1 Peter 3:8-15
The Epistle Lesson for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity

On the Duty to Cherish Christian Harmony
No one has a different baptism or sacrament, a different Christ, from mine, or grace and salvation other than I have. And no individual can have another faith than have Christians in general, nor does he hear any other Gospel or receive a different absolution, be he lord or servant, noble or ignoble, poor or rich, young or old, Italian or German. When one imagines himself different from or better than his fellows, desiring to exalt and glorify himself above others, he is truly no longer a Christian; because he is no longer in that unity of mind and faith essential to Christians. Christ with His grace is always the same, and cannot be divided or apportioned within Himself.

Not without reason did the beloved apostles urge this point. They clearly saw how much depends upon it, and what evil and harm result from disregard of the commandment. Where this commandment is dishonored, schisms and factions will necessarily arise to corrupt pure doctrine and faith, and the devil will sow his seed, which afterwards can be eradicated only with difficulty. When once self-conceit rules, and one, pretending more learning, wisdom, goodness and holiness than his fellows, begins to despise others and to draw men to himself, away from the unity of mind which makes us one in Christ, and when he desires the first praise and commendation for his own doctrine and works, his own preaching, then the harm is already done; faith is overthrown and the Church is rent. When unity becomes division, certainly two sects cannot both be the true Church. If one is godly, the other must be the devil’s own. On the other hand, so long as unity of faith and oneness of mind survives, the true Church of God abides, notwithstanding there may be some weakness in other points. Of this fact the devil is well aware; hence his hostility to Christian unity. His chief effort is to destroy harmony. “Having that to contend with,” he tells himself, “my task will be a hard and wearisome one.”

Therefore, Christians should be all the more careful to cherish the virtue of harmony, both in the Church and in secular government. In each instance there is of necessity much inequality. God would have such dissimilarity balanced by love and unity of mind. Let everyone be content, then, with what God has given or ordained for him, and let him take pleasure in another’s gifts, knowing that in eternal blessings he is equally rich, having the same God and Christ, the same grace and salvation; and that although his standing before God may differ from that of his fellows, he is nevertheless in no way inferior to them, nor is anyone for the same reason at all better than or superior to himself.

...

The other virtues enjoined by Peter are easily recognized – compassionate, loving as “brethren, tenderhearted, and ‘friendly’ or ‘humble-minded’.” These particularly teach how Christians should esteem one another. God has subjected them all to love and has united them, with the design that they shall be of one heart and soul, and each care for the other as for himself. Peter’s exhortation was especially called for at that time, when Christians were terribly persecuted. Here a pastor, there a citizen, was thrown into prison, driven from wife, child, house and home, and finally executed. Such things happen even now, and may become yet more frequent considering that unfortunate people are harassed by tyrants, or led away by the Turks [Muhammadans], and Christians are thus dispersed in exile here and there. Wherever by His Word and faith God has gathered a church, and that spiritual unity, the bond of Christianity, exists in any measure, there the devil has no peace. If he cannot effect the destruction of that church by factiousness, he furiously persecutes it. Then it is that body, life and everything we have must be jeopardized – put to the stake – for the sake of the Church.


On the Duty to Admonish and Rebuke False Teachers
The lesson teaches the duty of each individual toward all other individuals, not toward the God-ordained Office. Office and person must be clearly distinguished. The officer or ruler in his official capacity is a different man from what he is as John or Frederick. The apostle or preacher differs from the individual Peter or Paul. The preacher has not his Office by virtue of his own personality; he represents it in God’s stead. Now, if any person be unjustly persecuted, slandered and cursed, I ought to and will say: “Deo gratias;” for in God I am richly rewarded for it. But if one dishonors the Baptism, Sacrament, or Ministry committed to me by God, and so opposes not me but God Himself, then it is my duty not to be silent nor merciful and friendly, but to use my God-ordained Office to admonish, threaten and rebuke, with all earnestness, both in season and out of season – as Paul admonishes Timothy (2 Tim. 4:2) – those who err in doctrine or faith or who do not amend their lives; and this regardless of who they are or how it pleases them.

But the censured may say: “Nevertheless you publicly impugn my honor; you give me a bad reputation.” I answer: Why do you not complain to Him who committed the Office to me? My honor is likewise dear to me, but the honor of my Office must be more sacred still. If I am silent where I ought to rebuke, I sully my own honor, which I should maintain before God in the proper execution of my Office; hence I with you deserve to be hanged in mid-day, to the utter extinguishment of my honor and yours. No, the Gospel does not give you authority to say the preacher shall not, by the Word of God, tell you of your sin and shame. What does God care for the honor you seek from the world when you defy His Word with it? To the world you may seem to defend your honor with God and a good conscience, but in reality you have nothing to boast of before God but your shame. This very fact you must confess if you would retain your honor before Him; you must place His honor above that of all creatures. The highest distinction you can achieve for yourself is that of honoring God’s Word and suffering rebuke.

“Yes, but still you attack the Office to which I am appointed.” No, dear brother, our Office is not assailed when I and you are reminded of our failure to do right, to conduct the Office as we should. But the Word of God rebukes us for dishonoring that divinely ordained appointment and abusing it in violation of His commandment. Therefore you cannot call me to account for reproving you. However, were I not a pastor or preacher, and had I no authority to rebuke you, then it would be my duty and my pleasure to leave your honor and that of every other man unscathed. But if I am to fill a divine Office and to represent not my own but God’s dignity, then for your own sake I must not and will not be silent. If you do wrong, and disgrace and dishonor come upon you, blame yourself: “Thy blood shall be upon thine own head,” says Scripture (1 Kings. 2:37). Certainly when a judge sentences a thief to the gallows, that man’s honor is impugned. Who robs you of your honor but yourself, by your own theft, your contempt of God, disobedience, murder, and so on? God must give you what you deserve. If you consider it a disgrace to be punished, then consider it also no honor to rob, steal, practice usury and do public wrong; you disgrace yourself by dishonoring God’s commandment.

---

Notice that Luther preaches the following:

However, were I not a pastor or preacher, and had I no authority to rebuke you, then it would be my duty and my pleasure to leave your honor and that of every other man unscathed.

This is a note to us laymen. We don’t have the Office of rebuking and correcting. It’s not our job. It is for this reason that I, for one (and I think, perhaps, many laymen along with me), have been very reluctant to name specific situations or pastors, and have preferred to speak in general. IT’S NOT MY JOB! This makes the silence of pastors who see the error and yet remain silent all the more distressing, as it drives the laity, of necessity, to enter in where they would otherwise have no place. And to their shame, they seem content to allow the laity to do it, unaided. IT IS THEIR JOB! But they seem to either be derelict or cowards.

And to those WELS pastors who boldly speak behind the cloak of anonymity – you help no one other than rumour mongers and gossipers. You complain, “What of my family? What of my livelihood! I can’t let anyone know who I am, my adversaries might find out and cause me grief and woe!” But you are more than willing to name them publicly, to cause them grief and woe. Luther preaches above,

“It is my duty NOT to be silent nor merciful and friendly, but to use my God-ordained Office to admonish, threaten and rebuke, with all earnestness, both in season and out of season,”

and in times of persecution,

“body, life and everything we have must be jeopardized – put to the stake – for the sake of the Church.”

Your adversaries have the courage to openly preach and promote falsehood, but you do not have the courage to correct them with the Truth, to act in the interest of preserving their disciples and the Church from the impact of their false doctrine and practice? How strong, then, is your doctrine? Indeed, how eminently valuable is it if you are not willing to sign your name to it? Is it truly Christian Conscience and Confessional Integrity that drives you to “anonymously voice your deep concerns,” or is it sport? Tinged with a touch of schadenfreude?

You saw the hurricane approaching far in the distance, and you’ve waited only till landfall to begin preparing yourselves, your families, and your congregations for the inevitable? You have only yourselves to blame for the disaster you have brought upon them: “Thy blood shall be upon thine own head.” The time to act was in May of 2010, if not before. Where were you? Still deciding to prepare? Where are you now? Just beginning to prepare? Must you “first go bury your father” (Matt. 8:21-22)? I’ve got news for you – it’s way too late now to weather the storm intact. Your Leaders are unanimous: they are busy excommunicating the likes of Rev. Rydecki, while coddling the likes of Rev. Skorzewski and publicly endorsing events like the 2015 Christian Leadership Experience. In my opinion, the only way to survive now with pure teaching and faith intact is to evacuate, to leave everything behind and start anew on higher ground.

WELS Pastor's Alcoholism Fueled His Sexual Abuse

Monday, August 18, 2014

"Normal" doesn't automatically equal safe

http://shatteredpulpit.blogspot.com/2014/08/normal-doesnt-automatically-equal-safe.html

The “normal” pastor may develop a gradual and "sexually inappropriate" relationship with a vulnerable person during a stressful time in his own life. About half the time these men also abuse alcohol. If the pastor has an alcohol problem, family disruptions, or a parish dynamic of secrecy and closed process, it is important to be alert to the possibility that he could succumb to this temptation. - Soul Stealing: Power Relations in Pastoral Sexual Abuse

All of these were present in my situation: he liked to drink; he had family problems; I was vulnerable because of the situation at home; the church dynamic was engulfed in secrecy; and he struggled with both pornography and sexual addictions. That combination was a disaster...for both of us. It certainly succeeded in killing us both spiritually. 

Porn was more important to him than even his own spiritual welfare. He confided many times to me that he never read his bible anymore or studied God's Word. I always wondered why no one ever picked up on the fact that the pastor always seemed to be in a "depressed state of mind". No one ever questioned why he seemed "sad" all the time. 

When things were at the low point, he would spend 4-5 hours per day looking at porn. Then, add everything that was happening with me on top that. When all was said and done, the bulk of his day, every day, was consumed with sin. Everything else in his life took a back burner to porn...including his work at the church. I was relieved that he never brought out the bible during counseling because I didn't want God anyway so it was a relief that he didn't use scripture to "counsel" me. 

The more he seemed not to care about our spiritual welfare the less I did. I figured if my own pastor doesn't care, then it must be no big deal if I didn't either. He knew I was delving into Satan. I commented on that many times saying... "I guess I will be in hell"...and his response was..."I guess I will be joining you".... completely void and emotionless. 

After pornography, the next key ingredient that played a HUGE role was alcohol. If someone could have taken porn and alcohol out of the equation, I honestly don't think that it would haveever gotten to the point it did. I really don't. They were such huge factors. 

Alcohol played such a critical role, in fact, that I'm going to defer on that altogether for now, because that will take an entire post in itself. 

Once sexual abuse has been identified, expect minimization and denial, expect to be diverted onto issues of alcohol abuse or extreme stress.  

He blamed everything, and everyone, under the sun as the “problem”. He rationalized constantly to me as to why he did it...  He needed a “release” from all the stress in his life. He had conflicts at work and home. He couldn't help himself because he was addicted. He always had an excuse to take the blame off himself. And through it all, he would say that I was the only person he could turn to so if I ever said anything, then he would have no one, and his life would be over. This particular guilt trip was the worst for me because it always made me feel so trapped. I thought if I said anything it would destroy him. Not even realizing that it was destroying me instead.

Even in the situation where a "normal" pastor succumbs to temptation, women must realize that he manipulated her and abused his position of power. He was the person in authority, not the woman.Secondly, women must stop thinking of their abuser as a pastor and a "man of God" but as a sexual predator. When the predator was manipulating and abusing he was not acting like a pastor. Pastors who engage in sexual abuse are really sex offenders. That is hard for many Christians to accept. The level of evil that happens in clergy sexual abuse is just too great for many to comprehend and what it entails—for the perpetrator, the victim, the church leaders, and even the congregation in which it occurs. The sexual relationship is a sexual assault.  - Sharon's Rose

I didn't realize just how incredibly difficult that previous paragraph was for me to accept until I let out a big sigh right now trying to find the words to type. This is where a "normal" person will read what I am about to write and see that I still have a long way to go in my healing process. 

As often as I have read that, and as hard as I try, I just can't accept that paragraph..... even after everything that has happened. I still think of him as a "pastor". I just can not think of him as a sexual predator. I don't know why. I remember all the pain I have suffered but yet my mind still refuses to accept him as a sexual predator. That term does not seem to fit in the same sentence as the word pastor to me. Maybe someday I will understand why I am having such difficulty with that. Maybe it's because I see him needing help as much as I do, if not more. 

Shattered Pulpit - How a WELS Pastor Destroyed One Woman's Faith

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Death of a Soul

http://shatteredpulpit.blogspot.com/2014/08/death-of-soul.html

The psychological scars that are left when a pastor sexually exploits his parishioner are deep, life altering, and lasting. Because of his power, he can manipulate the woman not only psychologically but also morally, inducing spiritual confusion and guilt. The crisis then becomes a crisis of faith by exploiting the sacred trust in him in order to gain sexual pleasure. Sexual abuse is inherently shaming. This shaming is accentuated when the user is a spiritual leader. Because the assault is combined with spirituality, it makes it difficult to feel spiritual, theological, or fully human.- Soul Stealing: Power Relations in Pastoral Sexual Abuse

My concept of a "normal response" to a situation was extremely warped, it still is actually. I see people and desperately wish that I could react to situations like they do. The thought process that I used, as a coping mechanism, drastically changed how I thought and acted with everyone, not just him, and "normal" people frequently asked why I responded the way I did...even now.

I was convinced that I had to accept the guilt so as not to hurt my pastor who I was taught to respect and obey. However, by doing that it battered down my self-esteem even lower and further warped my thinking.  He then used his spiritual authority by pleading with me to forgive his “sins” or risk being rejected by God. 

This spiritual blackmail can trap women into silence and suffering for years or decades.Because he has redefined what is right and holy based on his own needs, women are left with a deep mistrust of their ability to distinguish right from wrong. 

I felt obligated that I had to forgive him. I was WELS as a little girl and learned that it was God’s command to “forgive your neighbor”. But I had no one to explain what “forgive your neighbor” all includes because my own pastor was the one doing it. He was the one that I was suppose to be able to go to for spiritual questions. So that left me alone with no one to ask.

I was too afraid to go to another pastor because what if he was the same way? I couldn't handle the pain that one pastor caused me much less two. I didn't trust my own instincts. I was fooled once and was NOT about to let that happen again. I never thought the first one would do that, so how could I trust my judgement again on a second pastor? The chance that all pastors were the same, and it happening again, was too much of a risk for me to even consider that as an option. Fear is a powerful motivator. 

The emotional wounds leave the woman with feelings of anger, betrayal, dismay, desolation, isolation, guilt, and shame. But the spiritual wounds are perhaps the deepest. These impair the woman’s ability to trust—others, as well as God—and to believe that God or others are good and loving. Many women report that not only have they lost their own church, but their trust has been so violated that they cannot go to any church. - Sharon's Rose

I walked away from church for years and never looked back. I hated God. I hated God with a passion. Every day I hated God more for allowing a "Called Pastor of God" to do this to me. I would be driving and literally cry out, "Why God? Why are you letting your pastor do this? Why are you allowing a pastor to kill my soul?" Hell started to appeal to me because it was far from God and pain. 

In my eyes, it was God doing this because a Pastor is a representative of God, so if I didn't want the pain, then I needed to be far from God. I surrounded myself with everything I could find about Satan; slowly my mind started embracing it and I convinced myself that was the only way to escape. It's probably lucky that I didn't succeed with suicide during that time or I would be in hell right now.

Pornography and Satan do have one thing in common - they are both extremelyaddictive. Because just how porn was a controlling addiction to him and escalated over time; that was Satan to me. The more I thought about how to be far from God and the pain, the more comforting those Satan thoughts became. At first it was a few thoughts here and there, but soon those thoughts started filling my mind until I was consumed with the thought that hell was peace and God was pain. But now you had a pastor escalating in porn and a woman escalating in Satan. What a lethal combination that proved to be and the longer it continued the more lethal it became.

Most chilling, she fears his retaliation on the spiritual level. It is difficult for others to comprehend the sheer terror that accompanies this form of abuse. But often because of the image of charismatic spiritual power that these men have asserted and fostered, the women's terror is akin to actually being cursed or damned. Victims fear that their very souls will be stolen.Because of the clergyman’s influence on the woman, trusting God enough to even open the Bible again can be a milestone.- Soul Stealing: Power Relations in Pastoral Sexual Abuse

When I walked away from church and God. I threw all my bibles in the garbage. Everything I could find that represented God I put in the trash. I actually sat by the window and waited for the garbage truck to take it away thinking, "good..I'm finally free from the God who causes so much pain". I felt free and fully embraced a life away from God.

***

GJ - Does anyone wonder why WELS, the ELS, and the LCMS work so frantically to cover up these scandals?

Sig Becker, when he moved from the LCMS to WELS, told Herman Otten he was shocked at the extent of alcoholism and adultery among the WELS clergy.

One layman, who traveled all over the US, said the WELS clergy are the crudest and most immoral of all the clergy he met - and he met them from all the denominations. Of the three sects of the Synodical Conferance, WELS is the most fanatical about UOJ.

The synodical leaders have a monetary reason to kill the lawsuits and silence the critics. They were eager to preach Marvin Schwan into heaven, even though he left his wife for his manager's wife. Ending two marriages, they briefly legitimized their relationship until he met His maker. "Treat the world kindly and be worthy of grace. Remember one day you will meet God face to face." (Judith Durham, My Father's Last Words)