Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Now Available - The 25th Anniversary Edition of Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure.
Author's Price Only $4 for Congregations or Group Orders

The current books can all be found on the author's Amazon page.
Click the link on the Amazon page "to follow" for future publications.


Lulu books by Gregory Jackson, to be moved to Amazon, can be found here.
I wrote earlier about Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure. Readers have heard many times over that no one dare raise an issue unless it is face-to-face. But Valleskey and Bivens hated my work so much - not that they ever told me -  that they threatened an independent book publisher if he printed Angel Joy.
This printer and seller of books, including the Valleskey/Bivens book, said, "I have to feed my family. I cannot publish your book." He then repeatedly refused to give me back the photos for Angel Joy, even though he was the one who solicited me for books he could publish and sell.

The only public reference Valleskey made  to me was in his icky Church Growth promotional article in the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly. He argued that one could harvest figs from thistles, that Fuller dogma was like rich gold, silver, and jewels - good for the stealingThere he was suspiciously flattering, as the Apostle warned in 

Romans 16:18 

For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.




By the way, I challenged Valleskey's awful WLQ essay when he gave it, sought to talk to him about his study at Fuller Seminary - which he denied and later confirmed. I also sat next to Valleskey at supper, but another CG fanatic, now an avowed atheist, made sure I could not say anything.

I also talked to John (Sparky) Brenner about the false claims of the article. He said, "Write a letter." I said, rather heatedly, "Does the faculty support these falsehoods? Are there any editorial standards?" Brenner's wife looked at me like, "How dare you speak to my professor husband!"

In spite of the obstacles created by the WELS Church Growthers, the book came out eventually and sold like beer at a WELS convention.



Here is the Table of Contents - 

Introduction                                                                     7
Chapter One: Decline Of The Mainline Churches
-                                                                                                 9
The Merry Widow Waltz                                                            9
Reimarus: Liberal Hero                                                             11
Historical-Critical Method                                                        13
Yale and the Progress of Higher Criticism                                15
Benjamin Bacon                                                                       15
The New Scholarship at Yale                                                    16
Educational Victories                                                                21
Pietistic Bridge                                                                         22
The Fruit                                                                                   25
Chapter Two: Merger Mania:                          28
Becoming Unitarian                                                                  28
A Little Unitarian History                                                         32
Apostasy through Merger                                                          36
Unionism                                                                                  38
ELCA Doctrines, Shared with Mainline Churches                    39
Merger Works                                                                           40
Mainline Churches, Home Missions for the Unitarians             41
Gradualism                                                                               43
Chapter Three: The Mainline Churches And
Evolution                                                                          46
Another Approach to Evolution                                                51
Darwin, Theologian and Scientist                                             52
The Earthworm, Darwin's Nemesis                                           53
Purpose                                                                                     54
Compost                                                                                   58
Why?                                                                                        60
For the Believer                                                                        61
Mainline Malaise                                                                      61

        Creation                                                                              62
        Devolution                                                                          64
Chapter Four: Charismatics Are Liberals                                                                                                  68
          A LITTLE HISTORY                                                        70
        Revivalism                                                                          70
         Pentecostalism                                                                    71
          Charismatic Renewal                                                         72
               DOCTRINAL ERRORS OF THE CHARISMATICS    75
             Confusion about the Two Natures in Christ                     75
         Two Baptisms                                                                     76
              Unscriptural Practices concerning Tongues                     79
           Women in Leadership Roles                                             81
          Theology of the Cross                                                        82
            CHARACTERISTICS SHARED                                     83
             BY LIBERALS AND CHARISMATICS                        83
        Subjectivity                                                                         83
             Ecumenism, Unionism by Another Name                        84
               New Revelations Transmitted through the Emotions      85
          Ordination of Women                                                        87
                       Ill-educated Clergy: Rote Memory of Dogma, Shallow Dogmatism                                            88
         Excommunication                                                              91
          Work Righteousness                                                          92
         Political Power                                                                   93
Chapter Five: Defending Morality                98
              MATERIAL FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE                98
            The ad hominem (against the man)                                   98
           The tu quoque (and you too)                                           100
            The ad populum (to the people)                                      100
            The ad verecundiam (out of respect)                              101
             The ad ignorantiam (pleading ignorance)                       102
          The fallacy of accidence                                                  102
             Ignoratio elenchi (changing the subject)                        103
           Ad baculum (appeal to force)                                          103
           Ad misericordiam (sympathy)                                         104
        MATERIAL FALLACIES OF INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE                                                         105
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (after this, therefore because of this)                                                            105
             Petitio principii (begging the question)                          105
        Opposition                                                                        106
         Special pleading                                                               107
          Hasty generalization                                                        107
            FALLACIES OF AMBIGUITY                                     108
Equivocation                                                                           108
OTHER FALLACIES                                                             110
Slippery Slope                                                                        110
False dilemma                                                                         111
Two wrongs/common practice                                                111
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT                                                 112
Chapter Six: The Cure                                         116
EVANGELISM                                                                      127
PIETISM                                                                                127
Unionism                                                                                128
Results! Results!                                                                     129
Cell Groups                                                                            131
APPLICATION                                                                      132
A NEW APPROACH                                                             135
Books To Buy and Study
---

 Herman Otten's secret agent, Paul McCain,
reviewed  Liberalism favorably in  Christian News,
but some might want to purchase it anyway.

The Daily Post on Creation Gardening

 Moonflower - Datura Family.

Sometimes I begin the day with some information and opinions about this brave new Age of Apostasy. Or - I report on the latest embarrassment among the Lutheran sects, such as the LCMS marketing the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in the style and character of a Walter Drake catalog.

My favorite beginning is a post about Creation Gardening, Sassy Sue the three-legged wonder dog, or both.



Norma Boeckler, our artist-in-residence, posted on Facebook about a seed pod, asking people to identify it. I looked up various gardening sources and figured it was from the Datura family, though the exact one eluded me. I realized that Jimson Weed and Moonflower seem to be names for the same flower, a beautiful white trumpet that creates a spiky green seedball. I mentioned it growing at Almost Eden Gardens and Nursery, almost next door to us.

She wrote, "If I lived next door to a nursery, I would be there every day."

I responded, "And I'm not?"

Norma asked, "Is that where you walk Sassy?"

I said, "Yes, and we see the owner and his dog Opie, many days." Sassy has a lot of friends, so she takes routes that include children and adults who know her, call her by name, and pet her.

That was where I saw the Moonflower. I am happy to say we are welcome there, and Sassy often picks that route on our walks. For her, the ideal is going down Joye or Daline, heading past the fire station, and going through Almost Eden, where Opie yelps to be petted and asks to play tag with Sassy.

Another Rain Prediction on Tuesday - For Wednesday
We will probably head to Almost Eden early today. Yesterday we walked over to get some video of beneficial insects on the Coreopsis and a portrait of Sassy. But Sassy figured posing was an excuse to roll over for petting, or to grin and give me some dog-smooches.

The upcoming rain also meant I needed to empty all the rain containers on Tuesday. Favorite roses got the first-fruits of my collection, followed by plants from Almost Eden, then by willow from Almost Eden.

"Goodbye and thanks for all the worms."
Mr. Mole also eats underground insects, before they eat my plants.

Cardboard and Wood Mulch
Although the willows are supposed to be tolerant of dry weather, they are not immune to being overwhelmed by tall grasses in the Wild Garden. I had some squares of cardboard, so I have been placing those extras around each willow and adding small logs to hold it down. I even gave some willows several gallons of rainwater.

A cardboard box is ideal for mulching, because a slot can be fashioned to fit around the stem or stems at the bottom. This alone will create an area for holding in water and suppressing weeds. The stem area will grow weeds, but it can be packed with wood mulch to slow them down. The cardboard can be weighted with old wood from a tree, small logs, autumn leaves, or shredded wood mulch. Cardboard can also be supplemented with newspapers.

 Beautyberry is a feast for birds late in the season.
I have two bushes from Almost Eden.

I worked down a row of bushes from Almost Eden the same way, only using up some $1 mulch from Walmart. The row includes Clethra, Beautyberry, Chaste Tree, Gooseberry, Helianthus, and Bee Balm. The Beautyberry is stunning as the berries turn color - a plant for birds and for artists.

The lawn in the front and back is receding from the onslaught of cardboard, newspaper, autumn leaves, and shredded wood mulch. No one asks where all the leaves went from last fall. This spring I was knee deep in leaves in the Wild Garden. Now they are decomposed enough that some weeds rise from their decomposing layer.

The Almost Eden row of bushes near the bird feeders is now mulched again with cardboard and shredded wood. I did the two gardens near the house this way at first, and the soil is quite rich from the red wiggler earthworms, plant growth, and decaying mulch. I wanted the spaces between the bushes to be heavily mulched so they tolerate dry weather better.

The other garden, destined for Hosta, ends with a row of blueberries and one Chaste Tree, with cardboard and pine needles for mulch.


Tuesday, August 30, 2016

In 2012, Dino-Lutheran Asked This Question of WELS


Gardening and Reading - Fun Things I Learned the Last Few Years


Every post on gardening - and most other subjects - means I am reading information from books, magazines, or the Net to support claims or fill in gaps of information. Below are some things that struck me as new, unusual, or essential to know, in spite of gardening and reading about the subject for the last 35 years, starting in Midland, Michigan.

Giant Weed Is Creation Gardening Dream Plant
Pokeweed annoyed me with its gigantic growth everywhere. On the Net and in books I learned - birds and mammals love the berries, and beneficial insects flock to the flowers. Now I admire my healthy, growing, blooming and fruiting Pokeweed.

Crabgrass Is a Grain
Crabgrass spreads because it is a grain plant brought over in the early days. As they say, it got loose. It is easily controlled with mowing - or even better - mulching over it to create compost.

"I don't digest? Then why are you selling my manure,
you heartless capitalist! You exploit the poor for your
profits, your luxuries. Bacteria do the digesting?
Pardon me."


Earthworms Do Not Digest Food
I am the Johnie Appleseed of red wigglers, but they do not digest the food they eat. Bacteria in their gut break down the food and make it available for plants. Bonus fact - slugs and earthworms share the same task, shredding food so it can decompose.

Spiders without Webs
The spiders in a yard may destroy more insect pests than any other beneficial creature. Many of them work without nets, running along and snagging their food - cursorial spiders. Observation - many perfect roses are found with a thick spider's net at the bottom of the flowering part.



Treat a Plant Like a Princess
I knew about Crepe Myrtle and had one struggling near our mail box. When I put extra mulch, lawnmower droppings, leaves, or mushroom compost underneath, the soil food disappeared rapidly and the flowers began to change from boring to wow. I spent a lot of time removing lower branches to give it the Lyle Lovett look, so now we have pink fireworks on top for months. Pruning some of those flowers renewed the blooming all over. Bonus fact - Cardinals love CM seeds, and I now have a pair nesting there.

Squirrels Are Like Bears
Neat holes in the mulch are probably from squirrels digging for earthworms and grubs. Almost Eden told me - they are like bears, eating anything. Bonus fact - mama squirrel kicks the babies out of the nest rather early, so that is why I have baby squirrels eating sunflower seeds from the bird feeders.

Chaste Tree Forehead Slapper
I knew how great the Chaste Tree bush was for bees, but I grew one in a shady area and watered it diligently. The plant looked so bad I researched CT care on the Net. Errors:

  1. Never water a Chaste Tree.
  2. Always plant it in the sun.
  3. Prune it as much as desired.

I dug it up, planted it in the sun, pruned every branch somewhat, refused to water it, and saw it perk up and sprout healthy leaves.

Foundational Mistake - Jeff Lowenfels
In the olden days, every gardening book emphasized having a healthy supply of earthworms in the soil as the basis for fertile, lively plants. Wrong! The real foundation is microbial, with fungus doing a surprising amount of decomposition, movement of nutrition to plant hairs, and disease control. Therefore, moving the soil around unnecessarily is a big mistake.  Earthworms are the proof of a healthy microbial foundation - fungus, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, all eating and being eaten - but with fungus feeding desired products to the root hairs in exchange for carbon from the plant.

Aphids love white and Peace roses.
Therefore, they attract beneficial insects and feed them.


KnockOut Roses Not Like Any Other
KnockOut roses are popular but treated badly. As disease resistant shrubs, KOs are packed with growth energy when mulched and watered. Based on several years experience - they respond with delight to heavy pruning - as much as 50% - and regain the lost height by growing and blooming all over again. Too much heat and wilted flower? - prune heavily. Too much rain  and droopy bushes - prune 50% and watch them sprout 50 blooms each.

Walliser Dictum - The Pests Are Food for Pest Predators - Backed by Sharon Lovejoy
Nothing makes us go crazier than aphids destroying rose blooms. No man-made cure works. Hosing them off? Haha. Pesticides? - sure, kill all the spiders too. The first attack will generate a response team that usually lays eggs that hatch into aphid eating monsters,  creatures which mature into egg-laying beneficials that... Jessica Walliser and Sharon Lovejoy write about this phenomenon. My white and Peace roses are trashed by aphids on the first bloom, then almost perfect the rest of the season.

One of the greatest rose hybridizers
gave us Chrysler Imperial and Queen Elizabeth roses.
A PhD, he was a Creationist.


Tiny Flowers Are Good Flowers
The beneficial insects that eat pests are tiny - not just the cute little Ladybugs. Because most of the adults need flower or pollen or both, any plant with tiny flowers will help the beneficial insect population. A constant bloom of tiny flowers will create a yard where the beneficials can wait for the cry of stricken plants. That may come from extra nectar being released, hormones, or maybe the sound of sipping and crunching from the pests. Therefore, I want:

  1. Mints
  2. Sunflowers
  3. Queen Ann's Lace
  4. Clover
  5. Carrot family plants, and
  6. Those little colorful plants that bloom in the grass for a short time.
 Mountain Mint - tiny flowers.
Many overlooked and unknown flowers are
the perfect medicine for gardening, attracting beneficial insects
and supporting other life in the garden.


Moles Are Good Soil Mixers
Every spring the gardeners share their hatred of moles with each other. I already knew they could not be killed. Secondly, I learned their annoying food tunnels, that alarm us in the spring, are difficult to trace later in the summer. Most importantly, since moles will never go away - they are superb soil mixers, like giant subway tunnel borers in comparison with earthworms, one of their favorite foods. The underground swimming of moles opens up the soil and creates room for new earthworms to take over. When moles establish storage places for earthworms - up to 1200 at a time - they are making sure more nitrogen is placed in that area.

 Queen Elizabeth Rose - developed by Lammaerts,
designed by the Creating Word.