Lacking the Horsepower for Critical Thinking, Lutherans Are Sinking Fast

Some universities teach critical thinking as a course. When one university required it, I taught the course many times and had a great time with it.

Logical Fallacies
The exact components vary, but the courses include logical fallacies and how to refute them. We would have sessions where I warned them, "I will use logical fallacies against you, so be prepared to refute them."

One learning team made a claim. I asked, "Are you from Mesa?" because I knew they were. "Yes." I said, "That explains everything" in a condescending voice. Of course, that was completely irrelevant, but they erupted.

We had many episodes like that, and they began to see how to detect fallacies and counter them.

Examining the Issues
The most difficult problem to address is an inability to examine all sides of an issue. Simply declaring a position is not enough. One learning team jumped from using alternative fuels to showing the oceans dried up. I asked, "Have you considered the energy required to dry up the oceans and where that moisture would go?" They had not.

 This is wrong, because most clergy processions
are dominated by UOJ Stormtroopers.

Actual Research - Beyond Wikipedia
I teach all my classes to go beyond Wikipedia to find actual academic sources. One trick is to add "Harvard" to any Google search. That results in a page of sources connected with Harvard. Otherwise most searches start with Wikipedia, and some papers are verbatim from Wikipedia - without citations.

A Harvard result is just as easy as a Wikipedia result, but one has a lot more credibility - whether it is good material or not. Subordinate to that, I helped them use Wikipedia's footnotes to find good sources. Didja know that Evita Peron wrote an autobiography? I did not until I read the footnotes in the Wickedpedia article about her. I usually say "Wickedpedia" to make them know that I know they are using it.

Primary sources are seldom valued by readers or writers, but those are the foundation for making a case about anything.

In Theology Today - Critical Thinking and the Lack Thereof

Logical Fallacies
Arguments in favor of Universal Salvation without Faith  - UOJ - rest securely on a false appeal to authority. A careful reading of their arguments and responses show that they go back to certain authorities and raise those people above the Scriptures (the ruling norm) and the Book of Concord (the ruled norm).

The Otten-Cascione-SpenerQuest gang cannot imagine Walther being wrong about anything. With that as a starting point, they find UOJ under every rock. All discussions must end with them top dogging about who can say the most ridiculous thing, such as "Everyone in Hell is a guilt-free saint," which is the position of WELS-ELS today.

Therefore, they give up the real authority for all Christians - the Scriptures - in favor of a political trick, to line up with those who will promote a career or (they hope) will not doom it.

Clearly, Jay Webber has argued for the defenestration of Rolf Preus (fellow alumnus and ELS member) and Paul Rydecki (in fellowship with him), smirking and gloating over his imaginary power. But as they say, "Any jackass can kick down a structure. Few can actually build one."

The threat of force - either physical (like Wayne Mueller wanting to get his hands on the one who leaked his lies to me) or monetary (threatening to fire or excommunicate) - is a logical fallacy.

Luther faced the threat of death and expected to be martyred when he married Katherine, years after the official start of the Reformation. Surrendering to Rome because of danger was NOT part of his agenda, which makes it doubly tragic that Lutheran clergy and laity fear the synodical authorities. That is worse than the threats.

Another version of the threat of force is bribery. Giving someone a promotion for backstabbing and toxic gossip yields the same result as capitulation from a threat to fire or excommunicate. Kincaid Smith and Jay Webber are highly valued agents of destruction in the Little Sect on the Prairie. They got the WELS and ELS to be in fellowship with DeJaynes' Lutheran Confessional Synod (sic). Or - "by their fruits ye shall know them."

The LCA offered me a cool job to quiet me. I laughed at them.

Examining the Issues
Seminary education is really quite shallow, especially at party schools like Mordor (Wisconsin Church Growth Seminary). Conformity is valued above all else, so the LCMS seminaries teach men - "Cooperate to graduate." If someone fails his vicarage year, he is not eligible to graduate and does not have an MDiv degree.  The LCMS does not allow do-overs for the vicarage year. If you are looking for a Gollum, start there.

The UOJ Stormtroopers are sterling examples of men who never examine issues. Some - like Rolf Preus - repeat the same declarations decade after decade, even when taking credit for editing a book that explodes those supposed verities.

As I am teaching my New Testament Greek class studying the Gospel of John - "If we know the Fourth Gospel, phrase by phrase, we will not be fooled by those who imagine that John 1:29 is UOJ."

Examining the issues means knowing the other arguments better than the proponents. A good Lutheran pastor can teach a class in Roman Catholic doctrine, Calvinism, or UOJ. The beginning of a good refutation is knowing the sources and heroes of the wrong position.

Nota bene - note well - the UOJ Stormtroopers never go beyond ignorant name-calling. For them, Justification by Faith is "Calvinism" and also "Decision Theology," when those two categories are opposed to each other.

 Jay Webber claimed Luther taught Objective Justification
and even mentioned Luther's Galatians in his diatribe against the Gospel.
But he never dealt with this or any other citation from the book.

Ecclesia College President Oren Paris & Others Plead Guilty

Neal pleaded guilty already,
and there are records of the large wire transfers.
A former board member, Jim Parsons, is suing to
obtain the facts about finances at Ecclesia College.
A former coach is also suing the college.

Ecclesia College President Oren Paris & Others Plead Guilty:

"According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Ecclesia College president Oren Paris, state Senator Jon Woods, and mutual friend and alleged co-conspirator Randell Shelton pleaded not guilty in a bribery and kickback arrangement which has already ensnared a state Representative.

Read the indictment here. 

I suspect the defense of Woods, Paris and Shelton will be complicated by the previous plea deal accepted by former state Representative Micah Neal. Neal admitted guilt in the kickback scheme which involved the three men. If the state Senator, college president and friend are found not guilty, then Neal might question the wisdom of his plea deal."

 The rapid expansion of Ecclesia College never happened,
except for even more land. The building in the background
is the only real classroom building, but it also includes
administrative offices and the top floor reserved
for the coaching staff.

'via Blog this'

Not-guilty pleas entered in Ecclesia College kickback case | Arkansas Blog

"Not guilty! Not guilty! Not guilty!" - they plead in court.

Not-guilty pleas entered in college kickback case | Arkansas Blog:


"Not-guilty pleas entered in college kickback case
Posted By Max Brantley on Tue, Mar 28, 2017 at 3:27 PM
Three men implicated in a kickback scheme involving state tax money directed to Ecclesia College in Springdale pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Fayetteville.

KFSM reports on comments from any of the accused at the proceeding. They are former Sen. Jon Woods of Springdale, Oren Paris, president of Ecclesia, and Randell Shelton Jr., a friend of both Woods and Paris. Woods and former Rep. Micah Neal, who has pleaded guilty, have been accused of guiding state money to Ecclesia and getting kickbacks, with help from Shelton.

The three in court today were scheduled for trial May 8."

 God told Heidi Cruz to quit her job to glorify His Name
in running the Cruz campaign.
Did He advise a not guilty plea in Oren's indictment?

'via Blog this'

Compare and Contrast - The Gospel of John with the Fake Gospel of UOJ

 Compare this verse - and the theme of John and the Bible -
with the eructations of Edward Preuss and his UOJ fan club.

 UOJ products of Concordia Ft. Wayne are
reason enough to close the school.
Bethanites are no different.

The "conservative" synods have replaced child-like faith
with the cunning of devious, greedy men
and their spineless sycophants.

Seldom Is Heard This Encouraging Word in the "Conservative" Lutheran Seminaries: "Be Sure To Read Luther's Sermons"

 Mmmmn. Folger's coffee percolated for hours -
that reminds me of the Concordias, Bethany, and Mordor.

Question: How many pastors have graduated from the LCMS-WELS-ELS seminaries without hearing these words -

"You have to read Luther's sermons. They are the best way to study the Scriptures and the Christian Faith. Learn how to preach from Luther."

Answer - Almost no seminary student has heard that suggestion.

The denominations are clever. They control the faculty by making sure their apostates or get-along-go-along people are on the seminary boards. A few aggressive people control the faculties and their future.

Decades of universally approved false doctrine just about pre-determine the outcome for the seminary graduates. For example Spineless Brenner actually objected to WELS having Church Growth goals - so inflated that the numbers would serve as high comedy if someone could find them. He told me about discussing that with Carl Mischke, whose only defense is that Carl was better than Gurgle, who was better than Schroeder. Mischke said, "We are watching it," - a masterpiece of ambiguity.

The "conservative" seminaries ignore Luther, much like the Crypto-Calvinists of ancient history. The seminaries actively promote anti-Lutheran books and gush over the products of Fuller Seminary and its clones while lying about studying at those places (including Willowcreek, Trinity Divinity, and the Purpose-Driven rabbit warren.

WELS always says about Lenski, "He is bad on justification," which sounds much better than "We are opposed to Justification by Faith."

One graduate of Concordia, St. Louis, said - "My first seminary reading assignment was The Purpose-Driven Church, by Rick Warren."

Since the anti-Lutherans are held up as the best possible examples of "how to do church," the actual Lutherans of the past are forgotten, not studied, or panned with a few choice remarks.

The LCMS has the additional baggage of promoting the Walther mythology, which makes CFW into The Great Prophet who explains all truths, even though his Biblical languages were weak and his training stopped with a BA from a rationalistic school.

I cannot criticize Walther for covering up the adultery of Bishop Martin Stephan, because all the church officials do the same today - but only for their friends.

 Will this replace the Luther statues?
"They are not ready for it...yet."

Where's the Coffee? - A Good Sign

The first words I heard this morning - "Is there coffee?" Chris has been feeling good since surgery, but even better this morning.

The last great effort to capture Vienna - and possibly Europe - was turned back by a Polish general, Sobieski. The defeat of Ottoman forces was so great that the threat against Europe ceased at that point.

But more important to coffee drinkers, the coffee beans left behind introduced Vienna to the brewing of the roasted beans, and the Vienna coffee house was born.

A second great turning point was the imposition of tea taxes on the American colonies by the British government. The Boston Tea Party inspired opposition against British taxes and laws, leading to American independence. Thus Americans began favoring coffee while the Canadians remained loyal to their tea.

My father insisted on the best coffee at his bakery and donut shop. We threw away coffee older than 15 minutes, since coffee sitting on a burner is quickly demolished. We even blended the coffees in advance, combining Maxwell House with Yuban.

Even at home we had the quaint and seldom used vacuum system. The water was boiled and the top attached. We loved seeing the water drawn up and then filling the glass container below.

The French press is similar, with arm power used to push the grounds to the bottom of the cylinder where coffee grounds and hot water mix. That does make a very good coffee, but in smaller amounts.

The total negation of good coffee was this abomination in the olden days:

• Start with cheap Robusta beans, already ground, in a tin can.
• Use tap water in an aluminum percolator.
• Percolate until the coffee aroma in the kitchen provides an illusion of coffee in the aluminum pot.
• To disguise the flavor or lack thereof, add sugar and cream, or better - a powdered mix that makes the coffee more tolerable.

Starbucks invented the $4 cup of coffee by adding a fake cream and sweeteners to their cold brewed coffee. People caught on to the folly of paying $4 for ten cents worth of coffee, so the corporation is not doing so well.

How Does This Apply To Theology?

For some of us, the analogy is clear. Everyone welcomed coffee in America as a substituted for British tea. According to one story, peaberry was popular because housewives roasted their own green beans in frying pans. The round beans were easier to roast, and naturally they ground their own beans.

Convenience led people to accept worse and worse coffee, the dreaded church coffee leading the list of bad brews percolated and heated forever. Restaurant coffee was often no better. As long as people were used to this, they were passive and obedient in accepting the substitute.

When people are introduced to Luther's sermons and to the clear Gospel of the Lutheran Reformation, they lose their apathy and begin to enjoy again the best of Christianity.

Likewise, if enough people, laity and pastors, know Greek, they are unlikely to accept the horrid mess of the NIV, which is eagerly sold by the "conservative" Lutherans. 

Rejecting the NIV has been a reason for kicking out pastors in the WELS for decades, when that action should have resulted in kicking out the DPs and the low-IQ professors of Mordor. Once the WELS cult members got used to the abuse and accepted the classic NIV, which was bad enough, the entire cult adopted the disastrous New NIV. The newest NIV makes Professor Kloha seem to be another Martin Luther in comparison (but only in comparison). 

Twelfth Greek New Testament Lesson - Last Part of John 3

John 3

19 αυτη δε εστιν η κρισις οτι το φως εληλυθεν εις τον κοσμον, και ηγαπησαν οι ανθρωποι μαλλον το σκοτος η το φως - ην γαρ πονηρα αυτων τα εργα

GJ - Get used to checking out Thayer-Strong's. Copy and paste the Greek word into Google.

20 πας γαρ ο φαυλα πρασσων μισει το φως και ουκ ερχεται προς το φως - ινα μη ελεγχθη τα εργα αυτου

21 ο δε ποιων την αληθειαν ερχεται προς το φως, ινα φανερωθη αυτου τα εργα, οτι εν θεω εστιν ειργασμενα

22 μετα ταυτα ηλθεν ο ιησους και οι μαθηται αυτου εις την ιουδαιαν γην - και εκει διετριβεν μετ αυτων και εβαπτιζεν

GJ - rub away becomes spend time

23 ην δε και ιωαννης βαπτιζων εν αινων εγγυς του σαλειμ - οτι υδατα πολλα ην εκει και παρεγινοντο και εβαπτιζοντο

24 ουπω γαρ ην βεβλημενος εις την φυλακην ο ιωαννης.

prophylactic  treatment

25 εγενετο ουν ζητησις εκ των μαθητων ιωαννου μετα ιουδαιων περι καθαρισμου

GJ - Katherine, Catherine

26 και ηλθον προς τον ιωαννην και ειπον αυτω - "ραββι ος ην μετα σου περαν του ιορδανου ω συ μεμαρτυρηκας - ιδε ουτος βαπτιζει και παντες ερχονται προς αυτον"

27 απεκριθη ιωαννης και ειπεν ου δυναται ανθρωπος λαμβανειν ουδεν εαν μη η δεδομενον αυτω εκ του ουρανου

28 αυτοι υμεις μοι μαρτυρειτε οτι ειπον |"ουκ ειμι εγω ο χριστος αλλ οτι απεσταλμενος ειμι εμπροσθεν εκεινου"

GJ - Note the importance of Jesus sent from the Father, John sent before Him, the apostles being sent. False teachers send themselves.

29 ο εχων την νυμφην νυμφιος εστιν ο δε φιλος του νυμφιου ο εστηκως και ακουων αυτου χαρα χαιρει δια την φωνην του νυμφιου - αυτη ουν η χαρα η εμη πεπληρωται

30 εκεινον δει αυξανειν εμε δε ελαττουσθαι

31 ο ανωθεν ερχομενος επανω παντων εστιν - ο ων εκ της γης εκ της γης εστιν και εκ της γης λαλει; ο εκ του ουρανου ερχομενος επανω παντων εστιν

32 και ο εωρακεν και ηκουσεν τουτο μαρτυρει  - και την μαρτυριαν αυτου ουδεις λαμβανει

33 ο λαβων αυτου την μαρτυριαν εσφραγισεν οτι ο θεος αληθης εστιν

34 [ον γαρ απεστειλεν ο θεος] τα ρηματα του θεου λαλει - ου γαρ εκ μετρου διδωσιν ο θεος το πνευμα

35 ο πατηρ αγαπα τον υιον και παντα δεδωκεν εν τη χειρι αυτου

36 ο πιστευων εις τον υιον εχει ζωην αιωνιον - ο δε απειθων τω υιω ουκ οψεται ζωην αλλ η οργη του θεου μενει επ αυτον

Mid-Week Lenten Service, 7 PM, Wednesday, Central Daylight Savings Time

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers, 2017

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Daylight Savings Time

The Hymn #523    Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me         
The Order of Vespers                                                p. 41

The Psalmody                          Psalm 24                  p. 128
The Lections                            The Passion History

                                                  
The Sermon Hymn #657        Beautiful Savior               

The Sermon –      Jesus Preaches on Faith

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #552              Abide with Me

John 7

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

Jesus Preaches on Faith

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The Fourth Gospel is full of images and symbolism. For that reason, Luther said it is a great book for heretics. They take plain language and weave a new religion from it.

We know from many passages that references to the Spirit also apply to the Word, because the two are never separated. The living water is the Gospel and fruit of the Gospel. One could say from John 1 that two things are constantly emphasized in John - believing and confessing that individual faith. Homiletics (preaching) comes from that word for confessing one's faith.

Thirst refers to thirsting for forgiveness of sin, thirsting for salvation. One includes the other. No one thirsts for forgiveness unless he is aware of his sin. That is why the great, wise, and powerful seldom feel that thirst. They are quite satisfied with themselves and see no reason to admit to their sinful nature.

So this passage is teaching quite clearly that Jesus is the righteousness that people receive through faith. Believing is forgiveness, to put it simply. That is why Jesus said this about the Books of Moses and the Gospel of John.

11. Therefore we have here in the Books of Moses the real goldmine, from which everything that is written in the New Testament concerning the divinity of Christ has been taken. Here you may see from what source the gospel of St. John is taken, and upon what it is founded; and therefore it is easy to understand.

To look at the first three Gospels without the Fourth is a big mistake, and to read the Gospel of John without the Old Testament is an equally bad mistake.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Believers would soon enjoy the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which helped them believe in the Gospel at the start and continues to draw them to the Gospel afterwards.

That is why believers are drawn to the refreshment of the Gospel, which is living water, for which they thirst, and that is why this same Gospel flows from them. We have words - justification for forgiveness and sanctification for the Christian life - but the Christian life naturally flows from the heart of the believer.

As anyone can see, this is a sermon from Jesus about faith in Him and how important it is. 

40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

People were beginning to confess their faith in Jesus. But others doubted, as will always happen. When a pastor confesses his faith in Jesus, in sincerity and truth, that fosters faith in the congregation. Those ministers who are trained in rationalism and various forms of denominational loyalty - they are the ones who slowly slip away into indifference and finally into no faith at all. 

Some will say - and spend a lot of time on this - that the most important thing in the world is a non-faith matter. But the Chief Article for Jesus should be ours as well - faith in Him, forgiveness of sin through faith in Him.

42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? 43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

Nothing is feared more than division in a church body, and yet Paul said "there must be divisions." Jesus must have been a bad pastor or rabbi, because there was a division among the people because of Him.

The Scriptures consistently teach the division - faith or unbelief. From faith in Jesus comes all good things that matter the most, forgiveness and salvation and the fruits of the Spirit.

It is natural for the believer to confess his individual faith. Some like to pressure people to do this, to accomplish something for the church or for others. But is the natural fruit of the faith, not a forced sanctification project (divided into steps). 

In the hospital we had two piles of books, Angel Joy and Creation Gardening. Those who wanted a book or two took them as needed. My wife's main nurse said, "I grew up taking care of flowers, at my parent's nursery. I really want that book." Later a nurse said, "Why does she get all the books." So they spread around. I wondered when Angel Joy would be finished and printed. Now the original is over 20 years old and still being read. The Jackson Diaspora has meant a spreading of books.

Jesus does not name or describe a program but the divine power of the Spirit at work in the Word. There are many ways that is expressed and God guides the result. 

Luther said it best in his pond analogy.

Conservative Students ‘Violently Threatened’ At ELCA Lutheran College

So why are Missouri, WELS, and the Little Sect on the Prairie
hotter than Georgia asphalt to work with us?

Conservative Students ‘Violently Threatened’ At Lutheran College:



"Like some liberal students who felt unsafe after the election, a St. Olaf conservative student said she “went home for awhile” because of the animus toward conservatives in her classes. She said online harassment led her to transfer to another school after the fall semester.

MORE: ‘I lift, bro’ professor allegedly threatens conservative students for flyers

And there’s this:

On Feb. 18, a student posted an unsolicited photo of a group of students that supposedly included Trump supporters and encouraged fellow students to “remember their faces.”

It’s lonely being conservative at St. Olaf, even though its College Republicans chapter didn’t endorse Donald Trump and refused to phone bank for him in the general election:

In response to St. Olaf’s predominantly liberal campus, many conservative students choose to stay under the radar for fear of being cast out and misunderstood by their peers."



'via Blog this'

Martin Luther College - Children's Theater - No Caption Needed

 

Mystery Solved - How ELDONA Magically Moved from Universal Objective Justification to Justification by Faith

ELDONA will change doctrine for the right price,
and they reject the satis est while claiming to be
Book of Concord certified.
Heiser enforces his own weird ideas and legalistic decrees,
and the supine priests go along with it.
Wives work for their husbands but cannot attend the clergy party,
not even the wife of the husband honored.

Some have wondered how ELDONA changed from treating the Universal Objective Justification of Halle, ELCA, and the Unitarians as an adiaphoron, a matter of indifference.

I was a witness to the events, one way or another, and the answer occurred to me late one night. I became independent with Bethany Lutheran Church in 1997.

Rydecki (above) and Spencer (below)
hosted the first and last Intrepid Lutherans conference.
Spencer bailed out and apologized several times
for hurting others in WELS!

I had some contact with Jim Heiser when he was running Repristination Press under the banner of the Lutheran Confessional Synod (1994), endorsed by Jay Webber and Kincaid Smith. And no one had more to confess than Randy DeJaynes, the bishop-for-life who was later imprisoned.

Later, Heiser emerged again as the pastor of Salem in Malone, Texas, and still running Repristination Press. He began using the Yankee Stadium pan-religious worship service (9-11 memorial) as a reason to leave the LCMS. Benke was suspended in 2002.

However, Heiser was all hat and no cattle when it came to leaving the LCMS. He had every reason in the world to delay - and also wanted to the LCMS pension plan vested. Missouri was not so bad that he wanted to be without the benefits.

Heiser had his name picked out and a website domain (eldona.org) when I asked him if anything was going on. He said, "No." I almost believed him. Funny how telling a websearch can be. "Heiser Lutheran" brought up the website and a new name - but nothing was going on. Here is a convenient summary of various groups.

ELDONA discloses less than the NSA about its operations, but it finally started in 2006. I met some of them because I was invited to speak in Malone, and Heiser was selling Thy Strong Word - and promoting it.

Heiser clearly found the real meaning of Objective Justification to be disgusting, after reading Thy Strong Word. Imagine my shock when he gloated about partnering with the Rolf Preus Synod, admitting that Rolf was a UOJ fanatic. Rolf came up often, such as when Heiser and others were going to pounce on him about UOJ at a conference. Rolf found out and gave a supposed Justification by Faith paper, but brother Dan gushed UOJ in his paper. I asked why no one said anything to Dan on the same topic. Heiser's excuse was - "Dan is going to be a leader" or some such nonsense. Yes, Dan is Fifth Vice President of Missouri, quite an honor for a false teacher.

As Luther says, one does not stay in the same stall
with false teachers. Heiser and the Rolf Preus Synod are
proud of their opportunism and indifference.

Note the Ft. Wayne connections - Bob Preus, Rolf Preus (his son), Jim Heiser, Jay Webber, Kincaid Smith, Paul McCain, and even I - who took summer classes there. Most of ELDONA is Ft. Wayne, which is designed for men with weak Biblical language skills (like Walther). Repristination Press was a good title for these UOJists.

Intrepid Lutherans
I suggested the now-comatose group blog idea to WELS Pastor Steve Spencer. He resisted but agreed it was good to air issues in WELS - haha - a previous blog killed off by WELS. But Spencer was a friend and classmate (Mordor) of SP Mark Schroeder.  Nothing could possibly go wrong. They started in 2010 and stopped by 2014.

The links are a symphony of hypocrisy. They did not like WELS, but promote Northwestern Publish House, home of a hive of NIV promotions, Church Growth fanaticism, and a horrid hymnal - CW.

The Time Out link will take the reader to an Asian erotic site.

They link bad synodical publishers but not Martin Chemnitz Press. Although I had some contact with them, they suffered badly from Icha-phobia, an intense and fatal fear of being accused of knowing me. So they wanted to know how to track down what was going on in WELS, but did not want that to come from the blog. I gave them some hints and excused myself from any planning or organization.

Some early participants were Pastor Paul Rydecki, laymen Doug Lindee and Vernon Knepprath. Rydecki supported Objective Justification at first, and Spencer used that to prove OJ had to be grrrrrreat.

Lindee finally admitted that I was correct about the Halle origins of Objective Justification.

Rydecki came around at some point. Both Rydecki and Knepprath were at the Emmaus Conference attended by our member Brett Meyer and UOJ Stormtrooper/LCS sponsor Jay Webber. We were giving away Justification by Faith books and materials at this "free"conference, really a pre-merger conference. Bret Meyer laughed at Jay Webber hiding behind a pillar and motioning Rydecki to come to lunch with him.

I was often in contact with Rydecki, who eventually had a book to publish. That was another interesting connection. Someone found these Latin sources, Hunnius, dealing with justification. I passed them onto Rydecki, and another friend donated money for him to buy a new version of MS Office.

When Rydecki wanted to publish, we talked over how to get that done. I said I could help but he would be shunned if it was a Martin Chemnitz Press book. Completely alone - that is also a problem. He brought up the fact that he had been orbiting ELDONA for some time.

I ignored ELDONA after Heiser's pursuit of the Rolf Preus Synod and Jim's indifference about UOJ, so I pointed out those problems, plus Heiser's devious ways. Rydecki's mind was made up. Unlike Ft. Wayne graduates, I do not try to order people around.

I did what I could to promote their sudden devotion to Justification by Faith and their rejection of UOJ. The remnants of the Rolf Synod (minus Rolf) rejected them, coached by...Jay Webber.

Did Knepprath's foundation change Heiser's public position?
Does Heiser have any convictions at all?

The crucial factor was Knepprath's foundation. He had a core of WELS members leaving their congregation (NIV and UOJ) but without the pastor going along.

Heiser perhaps saw a BOGO offer too tempting to resist. He could have a large property, pastor, and congregation in New Mexico, plus another group of laity on the Left Coast - and a foundation to support them.

All of ELDONA's property has been taken from other synods. No one has built a church building from scratch. Bethany did but that is the hard way. Heiser likes the easy way.

ELDONA also believes in wives supporting their husbands by working. ELDONA does not like the NIV, but uses the Babtist New KJV and the Calvinist ESV.

The last ELDONA conference had the gang complaining about me all the time, sounding like pre-schoolers who needed a nap, a snack, or both. One interesting whine was this, "Rydecki works with people. Jackson does not." That is pretty hilarious, given the help and support our congregation gave Rydecki when Jon-Boy Buchholz was excommunicating him and foreclosing the congregation's mortgage. I wonder, "Did Rydecki tell the brethren about

1. The free books I sent him?
2. The original link to Hunnius?
3. The gift of MS Office?
4. The promotion of translations and the ELDONA theses?"

Our congregation does not try to snag or keep people. We encourage others to speak out for sound doctrine.