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| The original quotation was, "In chess, too, bishops move obliquely." |
Modern Lutherans seem to be informed by every persuasion, except Luther. Concordia Seminary in St. Louis sent a letter to every pastor in two districts, because of Missouri's soft or moderating position on Creation.
Using the horticultural subjunctive - "Let us skip the Chief Article and skip to Creation." No one in the LCMS will discuss Justification by Faith, except to replace it with Halle's University's universalism, disguised as Objective Justification or the more robust and redundant Universal Objective Justification, WELS's favorite flavor of this blasphemy.
Both are answered by the Biblical doctrine of the Word, which gave Luther a consistency lacking in the non-Lutheran Reformation, Rome, and Eastern Orthodoxy.
God only works through the Word, and the Word is always effective. Not only is it effective, but it prospers the will of God. So when God wills something, through the Word, the result is so powerful that few doubt its origin. In these last days, of course, the divine cause of anything is doubted, but that is a result of the Word blinding and hardening obstinate hearts so efficaciously.
The more someone in a teaching or preaching position works against the Word and uses the Word to turn God's doctrine inside-out, the more that individual is hardened, blinded, and turned into bitter hatred of the Scriptures.
The situation is so dire in the UniSynod (WELS-ELCA-ELS-LCMS-CLC sic) that the leadership is entirely on the side of ELCA:
- For universal forgiveness and salvation.
- For Church Growth and Pentecostalism.
- For cell groups.
- For open communion.
- For women's ordination.
- For any translation or paraphrase - except the KJV family.
- Against the warnings of Romans 1.
- Against closed communion.
- Against Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz.
- Dumber than a box of quartz about Luther's doctrine.
Luther's Biblical doctrine of the Word is not important because of his name, but simply because he stuck to the Scriptures as one unified Truth rather than as a toolkit to impress people with new ideas. That is what kept rationalism from corrupting the Lutheran Reformation. The problems later caused by faint-hearted and compromising Lutherans came from the incursion of rationalism from Calvin, Zwingli, and their Father Below.
One answer addresses both issues - Justification by Faith and Creation.
The Gospel Word plants faith in our hearts, even as babies at baptism, but also sometimes as adults when we were spiritually neglected by our parents. The Spirit dwells in us and directs us to appreciate and love the Promises of God. This implanted faith is represented by James as a graft, a technique in gardening or farming where two plants grow together with the attributes of both.
Thus faith is good as God's Creation through the Word, not something to be rejected, hated, and denigrated as the blind followers of Walther, JP Meyer, and David Valleskey do so maladroitly.
The sending of the Gospel Word and its reception are the result of the Holy Spirit at work. Please see Isaiah 55 for confirmation of this doctrine, which is found all over the Bible, from Creation onwards.
Creation by the Word
The crypto-Calvinists are no longer crypto, as one WELS wit noted (in print!) and he is still alive. His survival stems from no one reading scholarly books in WELS/ELS. If they do, they misapprehend what is written.
These modern Lutherans have a Satanic gift for troubling themselves about the wrong issues. If someone believes what the Bible teaches, he is no longer troubled by Creation through the Word of God: Genesis 1 and John 1. That God created in six 24-hour days is not an issue for those who believe in the power and efficacy of God's Word. The UniSynod does not.
The St. Louis seminary faculty is either Calvinist, Roman, or both. They are aroused, kindled, and energized in opposition to faith. No wonder they love working together with ELCA. St. Louis faculty members are so ecumenical - they love every denomination except their own.
Receptionism in Another Form
Some may remember the UniSynod being indifferent about Holy Communion. Dave Preus, as president of The ALC, wrote me about their joint communion services with the Calvinists, mocking the Real Presence. ELCA will commune anyone, and the ELS will commune ELCA. WELS practices demi-semi-closed communion. Basically, close your eyes to their open communion practices. Missouri honors closed communion in the breach.
The LCMS-WELS-ELS mocked Holy Communion by saying the elements become the Body and Blood of Christ by being received. I had trouble accepting that as anyone's opinion, until one WELS pastor told me, "That is what we were taught." OK, that makes it so. I was taught to say "wash" as "warsh" and Washington DC and Warshington DC. However, I learned better English later.
This is another example of error from the rejection of the efficacy of the Word, an error basic to Zwingli and Calvin. In place of Biblical doctrine, they inserted their human opinions, their Old Adam reasoning. And Calvin openly mocked the Real Presence in his Institutes, just as the Calvinists did in their war with the Lutherans.
Replacing Faith with Doubt
In each case - Creation, Justification by Faith, Consecration of the elements by the Word - the denigration of the Word has led to fatal errors, which promote disbelief in all the Promises of God.
The clergy and teachers are too distant from Creation and the Word to see the relationship. I am watching our garden fall into its winter sleep. The Cat Mint and Borage were hanging on and bright green, in spite of many short-term freezes. But 20 degree nights have cast a shroud over their bright color - they have retired until spring arrives.
Meanwhile, the soil is alive with last-minute mole digging for the remaining grubs and worms.
Birds stayed away from the feeders when our Indian Summer gave them lots of fresh food to enjoy. Now the Cardinals, Finches, and Chickadees are happy to munch on the sunflower seeds they ignored for weeks.
I must be the only Creationist on the block, because I have bags of leaves on the rose garden and under the Mother of All Crepe Myrtles. The bush will rest above ground, but the roots will continue to grow and enrich the soil all winter, fed by the gradual decomposition of the leaf blanket.
Faith in the power of the Word informs our actions, so we can see neglect of the articles of faith as a direct result of rejecting the efficacy of the Word. Lutherdom has skidded off its foundation, like a tower of stone dislodged by a tornado.
