The Majestic Mr. Lincoln and the Glorious Veterans Honor . Should KnockOut Rose Growers Be Certified First?

Veterans Honor looks velvety in the garden,
not just red but RED! The rose glows in the middle of the greenery.

I was doing some routine pruning when I came across one rose after another to bring inside. Veterans Honor simply glows red in the midst of green foliage, and the fragrant blooms are perfect.

Mr. Lincoln grows tall produces the best buds of all, opening into majestic roses, also fragrant.

Mr. Lincoln grows like Jack's beanstalk:
it buds and flowers like crazy.
Like Veterans Honor, the blooms are fragrant.

Paradise bi-color - $5 for a bare root rose.

Today I showed Mrs. Ichabod some neighborhood  KnockOut roses, which compared unfavorably to our 8 KnockOuts, 4 magenta, 2 white, 2 pink. The magenta doubles are my favorite, because of their color and vigor.

The nurseries should require a certification course before someone can buy KnockOut roses. They are disease free. They are easy to grow and vigorous, but they are not like my Pokeweed and Fireweed, requiring no additional attention.

The Knockout magenta double rose is about $25 at a nursery, potted.
The rose is disease free.
Aphids love the white ones, so the white KOs trap the aphids to feed the beneficial bugs.
Soon all of them are pest free with no insecticide used.

KnockOut roses require:

1. Frequent pruning for maximum color and beauty.
2. Watering - to keep up with their fast growth.
3. Mulching - to keep the roots moist and fed.
4. Earthworming - to increase the fertility of the soil,  to improve the fungus/root interactions.

This is not a heavy burden to bear. KnockOuts are so prolific that they look sad in hot weather if left unpruned. Fading blooms can be left on for a short time, but they soon became ugly and turn to seed. A little pruning done a few times a week will make the roses a showcase for the neighborhood.
They are a great color splash between hybrid tea blooming cycles. By themselves, hybrid teas are a bit fickle. Combined with KnockOuts, hybrid tea roses make the front yard very special.

Newly opened KnockOut blooms are good for vases, too, supplying a need many have for red roses, any red rose, at any time. A few white John Paul II add contrast and fragrance.

John Paul II - fragrant and prolific.

Steven A. Hein - A Calvinist in the Lutheran Woodpile

Steven A. Hein

Rev. Dr. Steven A. Hein    

Dr. Hein currently serves as Director of Concordia Institute for Christian Studies, an organization that offers auxiliary educational services to Lutheran congregations and church gatherings across the country.  He also serves as associate pastor at Shepherd of the Springs Lutheran Church and affiliate professor of Theology and Ethics at Colorado Christian University. He has previously served for over two decades as a professor of Theology at Concordia University, River Forest. 

He earned his Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology in Systematic Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Historical Theology from St. Louis University. 

He is a contributing editor to the theological journal Logia:  A Journal of Lutheran Theology and has published many scholarly articles over the years.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education. 

He has been in demand as speaker and essayist in the Church at conventions, pastoral conferences, and various congregational groups throughout the country.  He is a frequent guest on the syndicated radio program, Issues Etc.  His special areas of interest focus on classical, Christian education, and the shape and challenges of faith-life and vocation in the Church and the world.

--

This Is All We Need To Read 

But, it is a fiction that Hell is a place where God’s justice is meted out against unrepentant sinners. He already executed His justice against all evil and evil doers with His Son on Calvary’s cross. Jesus died for all, not simply the repentant. Here Lutherans part serious company with the Reformed who champion a limited atonement on the cross. All in Hell are both forgiven and justified. They just insist on living separated from these realities and the Author of them. Rather than say to the Lord God, thy will be done. The Lord God reluctantly has said to them, thy will be done.

Hein, Steven A. (2015-07-21). The Christian Life: Cross or Glory? (Kindle Locations 2995-2999). NRP Books. Kindle Edition. 

Or take the fanciful question entertained in Lewis’ The Great Divorce: if rebellious sinners in Hell were given a chance to transfer to Heaven and live in and for the full presence and glory of God, would any want to do so? No. Think gals of that geek that made your skin crawl who was after your heart. You would die first than have him, right? That is the way the unbeliever is wired to feel about the true God, the supreme Geek of Heaven. They would rather die that live with Him, and God reluctantly allows just that. Hell is God’s provision for those who would rather die that live with Him In this sense, Lewis concluded, the doors of Hell are locked from the inside. 100


Hein, Steven A. (2015-07-21). The Christian Life: Cross or Glory? (Kindle Locations 3003-3008). NRP Books. Kindle Edition. 

***

UOJ Stormtrooper at work - "I'll have a little Lewis, a little Capon,
a little Kierkegaard, a little Walther...

GJ - A quick read of this horrible book shows that Hein likes to play around with this theologian and that, always asserting some grand thoughts that were threadbare decades ago among mainline apostates.

Using C. S. Lewis to define Hell is significant. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia are fascinating tales, but they are not theology. Lewis gave away the show with teaching a common form of modernist Universalism - all those who are faithful to their own religion are also saved. That is one of those startling! revelations that often pop up in such works.

Just like JP Meyer, Jon Buchholz, and the Kokomo Statements - 

All in Hell are both forgiven and justified.

The Means of Grace are mentioned once in The Christian Life. That is like mentioning soil once in a gardening book.

As I wrote many times before, I read enormous numbers of mainline theology books while earning a PhD at Notre Dame. All of them had the same "make it up as you go along" spirit of this book, and they all repeated the same kinds of bromides.

The one I remember most is defining "grace" as never including faith, because actual belief cannot be made a contingency - no ifs.

Romans 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Paul did not know this - or the Holy Spirit left him in the dark.

A review of a book on Kant reminded me that that the German philosopher is the great divide between classical philosophy and modern philosophy. All the modern theologians are Kantian and simply bypass the concept of faith. The Scriptures are simply a springboard for fanciful essays and books.

The Calvinistic Fuddlementalists treat Scripture the same way. As a critic of serial molester Jack Schaap--and his repugnant father-in-law--observed, the Fundamentalists start with a text and preach nothing whatsoever based on the actual verses' content. The passage is simply a way to launch a sermon on a favorite rant.

This is why there are almost no protests against the new, official position of UOJ, canonized in the Brief Statement of 1932. Like Herman Otten, the pastors are baptized in Calvinism and the horrors of "if we believe on Him."

Any sect that takes Romans 4:25 as proof of their hideous UOJ should be de-certified as Lutheran, because they refuse to read or acknowledge the entire sentence. Even worse, they cannot comprehend the next two verses and glory in their imaginary UOJ found in Romans 5.

5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Kindle did a search for the phrase "justified by faith" in this book. No results found.

Calov or Cascione? Let me think on that one.

Who enabled McCain's Roman Catholic plagiarism?
This dude did - linking each papist post - never apologizing for misleading his readers.

What Could Be More Confessional Than To Join the CLC (sic) in Rejecting Justification by Faith?

Progress in doctrinal discussions

2015/09/01/in Together

On Aug. 21, 2015, representatives of the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC sic), the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) met in Mankato, Minn., for their third round of doctrinal discussions. It is a joy to report that the nine participants agreed to a revision of the 1990 document entitled “Joint Statement Regarding the Termination of Fellowship.” This document will now be sent to the CLC (sic) Board of Dogma, the ELS Dead Orthodoxy Committee, and the WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations and Rock Music for their consideration.

Agreement on this document does not imply full agreement on all the controverted matters. There still are a number of significant issues to discuss, and another meeting has been scheduled for Nov. 13, 2015. But this agreement is a good first step in overcoming the differences between our synods.

Presumably the “Joint Statement” will be made public in the future, but at this point the appropriate committees from each synod are reviewing the document without public distribution. Prayers are welcomed that God will continue to guide this process for good. (GJ - Confidential to the three, apostate, abusive sects - God is already punishing you for promoting false doctrine.)

Joint ordination of women would be appropriate when the talks conclude.

The doctrinal discussions between WELS, the ELS, and the CLC (sic) have been described as “formal” because they have the potential to lead to a restoration of fellowship relations between the CLC (sic), ELS, and WELS on the basis of a unity in doctrine. In contrast, the ongoing talks with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have been characterized as “informal” discussions because we crack a smile now and then. They are informal because, while the discussions will help the church bodies understand and clarify respective doctrinal positions, it is the understanding of all involved that such informal discussions are only a very preliminary and necessary first step to a possible restoration of fellowship in the future. [Satis est - All agree on the residents in Hell being forgiven saints.] Certainly all of us pray that God would someday make that restoration of fellowship take place, but only if it can be demonstrated that the synods share a full unity in doctrine and practice. Representatives of WELS, ELS, and LCMS will meet for the fourth time in December. We did not include the CLC (sic) because they are so humorless, stiff, rude, boring, and irritating.

Serving Thrivent in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder

WELS and ELS Pastors Invited to WELS Seminary's Annual Simpletonposium. $60 Registration Fee! Are They Crazy?

Older pastors will want to find out how to take advantage of the
winter look in makeup as their hair turns silver and white.

Pastors invited to WLS symposium

2015/09/01/in Together

All WELS and ELS pastors are invited to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary’s annual symposium, which will be held Sept. 21-22 in Mequon, Wis.. This year’s focus is on the “Pastor as Teacher.” Knowing that a pastor teaches in many venues and among many people, three presenters will help identify the challenges pastors face in a society that values education on the one hand, but is biblically illiterate on the other. They will also gain insights into teaching methods that are practical in today’s world.

Is green your color? Attend and find out.

In his paper “Jesus taught the way of life—and so do we” Rev. Andy Mueller will discuss how to select dresses and makeup for the congregational picnic. Rev. Daniel Habben will present on “St. Augustine taught the catechumens—and so do we,” and Rev. Paul Prange will share “Luther taught the children—and so do we.”

Symposium sessions begin in the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary auditorium at 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 21. The symposium adjourns Sept. 22 at 12:30 p.m. The registration fee for WELS and ELS pastors is $60 ($30 for retired pastors). Online registration is available. The essays, faculty responses, and worship will be streamed live on livestream.com/WLSLive. Copies of printed materials will be available for downloading the day they are presented.

LCMS-ELS-WELS gathering for Webber's attack on justification by faith -
Emmanus, 2015. Standing Room Only!
When will that farce be uploaded to the precious WELS Essay File?