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| The Efficacy Motherlode |
A reader was trying to figure out how someone could advocate UOJ when it is full of contradictions. I pointed out the lack of classical Western disciplines being taught, not only basic logic and critical thinking, but the foundations of Latin and Greek.
No one in seminary today could make it through the Philadelphia or Gettysburg seminaries of the General Council/General Synod. Their Biblical language requirements were that difficult.
But there is a more important matter, which I should have stated. The issue is authority. No matter what the UOJists say, the clear Word of God has no authority for them. Like Roman Catholics who mine the most absurd alloys from the Scripture, the UOJists simply repeat the dogmatic statements that seem to reflect the favored passages. I am not saying they ever look at them closely. That obviously stopped happening at the 1932 LCMS convention, when they cited Romans 4:25 for their imaginary dogma. Did anyone at the convention notice that Romans 4 is about Abraham as the example of Justification by Faith?
As they say about counterfeit currency, the best way to spot it is to know the attributes of genuine currency. That is utterly missing in their training, because the students are fed the warped and twisted meanings going back to Walther, Stephan, and Rambach.
As Matthias Loy wrote, no one was allowed to disagree with Walther. I have heard legends about CFW's fits and tantrums when opposed, but fortunately Loy put them into writing. Although Loy was excessively polite and gracious toward Walther, one disagreement led to a permanent rupture. Note how that happened with Loehe too, and even today true blue Waltherians must hate Loehe.
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| The UOJ cool cats do the same with doctrine. |
European Lutherans are bad too. Ask Otten. Ask Cascione. I wonder if they include Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz. They certainly know more about Geschichte der Leben-Walther-Forschung* than they do about Luther's doctrine.
*The original title of Schweitzer's The Quest of the Historical Jesus was Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung - The History of Life-of-Jesus Research.
If Holy Mother Synod is the ultimate authority and power, then UOJ is the key to success and promotions. Felonies do not keep church workers from their church jobs, but questioning Holy Mother means immediate excommunication.
All the logic in the world will not turn the UOJists away from their pot of fool's gold. Logical fallacies? Their idols use logical fallacies all the time. "Your faith is not in Jesus! Your faith is in faith, so you are your own Savior!" That drivel is best delivered in a towering rage with a red face.
My favorite for being deliberately dishonest is - "We are saved BY GRACE through faith," always when correcting Justification by Faith.
My simple vocabulary test is the following:
- Can you say Justification by Faith is the Gospel?
- Tell me about the Means of Grace.
- Can you express the Gospel without using the Pietistic terms of Objective Justification and Subjective Justification?
- How does your position differ from ELCA's?
