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| The Chief Article is Justification by Faith - as endorsed by Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz. |
The Chief Article of Christianity is not The Church but Justification by Faith. Jesus did not say the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin - about Church Polity, because they have not episcopal government - but about unbelief, because "they believe not on Me."
One LCMS graduate of Ft. Wayne wrote me that Eastern Orthodoxy is "just a different polity." Oh?
I know Ft. Wayne filled the heads of its students with a great love for Eastern Orthodoxy, perhaps as a substitute for knowing nothing about Lutheran doctrine.
Lutherans have too much love for their Holy Mother Sect, infallible and indefectible, and too little for the Word that brings Christ to us. As a result they spend an enormous amount of time teaching that their sect is perfect while all others are terrible.
One sign of the Holy Mother Sect syndrome is an overwhelming fear that "you have hurt the image of our Church."
I received a letter from the Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) stating that I showed contempt for their convention resolutions. I was doing my best to hide my contempt. They were so unfair. Haha.
Look at the leading description for ELDONA -
In the Lutheran Church, one encounters a great deal of talk about ‘confessional Lutheran’ doctrine and practice; sadly, the substance has been something quite different. The various ‘synods’ often appear more interested in a ‘theology of glory’ (focusing on worldly prestige, money, and ‘numbers’) than a ‘theology of the cross’ which recognizes that the Church is despised by the world, because she is the Bride of Christ.
The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America is committed to the restoration and advancement of consistently Evangelical Lutheran doctrine and practice in harmony with the Sacred Scriptures and the Book of Concord (1580).
My impression of the Bride of Christ people is their over-emphasis on The Church, elegant and expensive robes, smells and bells worship. One can only have a single first priority. Whatever is second remains in second place. The priority can easily supplant everything else, especially when one is defending Holy Mother Church and its Grand Vizier at the same time.
The Lutheran sects are pathetic in this regard. Like the Hilton Hotel chain, they began in poverty and grew in net worth. Their capture by Thrivent has enabled a vast flow of funds controlled by a few, for the few. All these officials carry on like South American dictators when their will is thwarted or even questioned.
Let us be clear about this - every single sect is "confessional" - including ELCA - and they all gladly pull the Book of Concord out of the library so they can forget it again.
