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| Volume III is almost in production. Volume II is about to Kindle and have its economy black and white edition. |
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| I am still looking for a place in Luther's writings where he endorses Justification without Faith, UOJ, a dogma totally at war with this sermon passage. That would be quite a discovery - that Luther anticipated the influence of Calvin upon Pietism and began teaching rationalistic Pietism in the midst of the Reformation. |
"Does Buckwheat seed itself?" I asked Almost Eden. I found out this year. Deciding the plants were fully mature under the Crepe Myrtle bush, I pulled a bunch of the shallow-rooted plants out and used them as mulch under the bush.
Yesterday I looked at the base of the myrtle and saw scads of new plants - Buckwheat! More and more August rain germinated the the seeds that fell, in spite of Cardinals and Mourning Doves eating them as fast as they could.
Fortunately, winter kill will turn this crop into a big asset for the soil. I am afraid my grandson will say, "Grampy, I remember the summer you grew chest-high Buckwheat in the rose garden." Or roses in Buckwheat field.
Cover crops have two basic functions. One is to invigorate the soil with a large volume of organic matter growing there. A good cover crop will fade in the winter and decompose into the soil. When I bought beans by the pound, I ended the season with leftover bush beans that would do this for me.
A second function of cover crops is to displace weed growth, denying them sunshine and space to grow. Gardeners and farmers pick plants that will drive deep into the soil with their roots, to help rain infiltration, or produce food in the soil - to break it up rather than to feed any creatures.
Weed growth in Lutherdom has taken place because the Means of Grace have been neglected. The business or marketing model has been substituted for being faithful to the Word of God. That is the natural consequence of trusting something so valuable to alcoholics and adulterers. They are more interested in protecting their sinecures than doing anything else.
The so-called conservative Lutherans have recreated the Monty Python show where the Masonic Lodge member is chosen over someone who is competent. The Lutheran Masonic handshake is UOJ, so the fertile fields of spiritual growth have been take over by the lush growth of invasive, persistent, toxic weeds.
Wanna be seminary president? Promote UOJ and get your Church Growth tattoo at Fuller, Willow Creek, or Trinity Divinity. All three would be best. You meet the best people there.
Wanna be synod president? Scowl at Church Growth and wink at its proponents, enabling and funding and protecting them.
Worried about being stuck in a first call? Drop "missional" into conversations with church officials. Sign up for their ridiculous brain-washing gatherings and defend the false teachers with self-righteous fury.
