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| This Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary building was a mansion located at Stevens Avenue and East 24th Street in Minneapolis and was named for the first president of Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary, Joseph Stump. Stump Hall functioned as a single student dormitory and had its own on-site boarding club, in which students shared responsibilities for meals. Back of photograph reads: Stump Hall, Stevens Ave. @ 24th Str., Mpls. Luther merged with Northwestern, and the Northwestern name was later dropped. Luther is selling off land to stay afloat. |
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| Stump belongs in the era when Evangelicals sought a compromise with evolution. |
Stump, Joseph
(October 6, 1866–May 24, 1935). B. Marietta, Pennsylvania; educ. Capital U., Columbus, Ohio, and Luth. Theol. Sem., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pastor Pennsylvania and New Jersey 1887–1915. Prof. Chicago Luth. Theol. Sem., Maywood, 1915–20; Chicago Luth.Divinity School 1920–21; pres. and prof. Northwestern* Luth. Theol. Sem. 1921–35. Works include An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism; The Christian Life; A Handbook of Christian Ethics; Life of Philip Melanchthon; The Christian Faith; A System of Christian Dogmatics. See also Ministry, Education of, X M.
The Christian Faith by Joseph Stump. Chapter III: Creation. 66-7.
***
GJ - Someone sent me this, which is relevant for the current deflections. All the Lutherans (ELCA-CLC-WELS-ELS-LCMS) are skipping past the Chief Article, Justification by Faith, because their precious Justification without Faith is "settled doctrine," according to Jay Webber's catechism student Jon-Boy Buchholz.
OK, let's call it OJ or UOJ - The Justification of the World (John Sparky Brenner) - which is like putting an transparent plastic raincoat over a saggy pair of pajamas. The terms are all cover for Universalism, not that they change the agenda of Universalism, only the marketing for its foul, anti-faith optimism.
Therefore, the current debate is Creation.
Stump's paragraph is delightfully ambiguous, and purposefully so. One can continue to believe in the six 24-hour day Creation or allow God - in His freedom - to take as long as He wished.
Contrariwise, Roland Bainton enjoyed talking about the Yale professor called Old Yom because the man insisted that "Yom" - Hebrew for day - always meant a 24 hour day. For Bainton, that clinched the argument that Bible could not be taken literally.
When I studied this topic some years ago, it was apparent that Evangelicals sought to compromise with Darwinism this way, by saying God created - but over a long stretch of time.
The Fallacy of Emphasis
The Fallacy of Emphasis is old and popular, often used at home, and frequently employed in denominations. For instance, rather than deal with false doctrine in ELS/WELS, the ELS bigshop yelled, "Would you take communion with Paul Kelm?"
The fallacy is based on shifting the emphasis to a new topic. Could a day be any length of time?
But the real issues of Creation are two-fold, both neglected at a genius level:
As I have written frequently, the efficacy of the Word is foundational in the Bible - not a matter of denominations or cultures or wheredidjagotoseminary. The power and efficacy of the Word has been neglected to the point of almost exterminating knowledge of the same in our culture. Proof is the "conservative" Lutheran dogma of UOJ, universal absolution without the Word, and the stinking mess called Church Growth.
John 1 is clear.
The efficacy of the Word does not allow for a compromised version of Creation.
Rationalism is like drinking salt water to cure one's thirst - the thirst only grows. Calvinism is at the root of this compromise, this fallacy of emphasis.
Does God have the power to create in an instant, a 24-hour day? Of course. Man's double-minded faith does not in any way change what God can do and what God has done. How it is that someone can pray for a solution to troubles and see that answered in an instant, in a way that never could have come from human skill, wisdom, or scheming?
Too Many City-Slickers in Theology
I argue that we have too many city-slickers in theology, not enough farmers. Mrs. Ichabod asked me, "How do you find a perfect cantaloupe every time I ask you to guy one? And avocados too. Perfect."
My answer, "You married a farmer."
Daily work in the garden reveals the perfect harmony of God's Creation, which demands the coordination of all elements together, not Project Management expertise of man.
Here is one example out of millions. The earthworm is perfectly engineered for a number of tasks:
Much argument has been expended on the question whether
the six days of creation were of twenty-four hours each, or
whether the days represent long periods of time. The record in
Genesis permits the holding of either theory. The word "day"
is sometimes used in Scripture to designate a period of twenty-
four hours, and sometimes it is used to denote a period of time,
as for example, the "day of the Lord" (Isa. 2:12; 13:6). A
thousand years are with the Lord as one day, and one day as a
thousand years (2 Pet. 3:8). That God could, if He chose to
do so, fashion the world into its present form and order in six
days of twenty-four hours each is clear to everyone who believes
in God's infinite power. On the other hand, it is equally clear
that God was, if He so chose, perfectly at liberty to use a long
period of time for bringing about the results specified under
the head of each day's work. The Scriptural record does not
define the length of the "day," and leaves us free to believe
either that the days were periods of twenty-four hours or of
millions of years.
***
GJ - Someone sent me this, which is relevant for the current deflections. All the Lutherans (ELCA-CLC-WELS-ELS-LCMS) are skipping past the Chief Article, Justification by Faith, because their precious Justification without Faith is "settled doctrine," according to Jay Webber's catechism student Jon-Boy Buchholz.
OK, let's call it OJ or UOJ - The Justification of the World (John Sparky Brenner) - which is like putting an transparent plastic raincoat over a saggy pair of pajamas. The terms are all cover for Universalism, not that they change the agenda of Universalism, only the marketing for its foul, anti-faith optimism.
Therefore, the current debate is Creation.
Stump's paragraph is delightfully ambiguous, and purposefully so. One can continue to believe in the six 24-hour day Creation or allow God - in His freedom - to take as long as He wished.
Contrariwise, Roland Bainton enjoyed talking about the Yale professor called Old Yom because the man insisted that "Yom" - Hebrew for day - always meant a 24 hour day. For Bainton, that clinched the argument that Bible could not be taken literally.
When I studied this topic some years ago, it was apparent that Evangelicals sought to compromise with Darwinism this way, by saying God created - but over a long stretch of time.
The Fallacy of Emphasis
The Fallacy of Emphasis is old and popular, often used at home, and frequently employed in denominations. For instance, rather than deal with false doctrine in ELS/WELS, the ELS bigshop yelled, "Would you take communion with Paul Kelm?"
The fallacy is based on shifting the emphasis to a new topic. Could a day be any length of time?
But the real issues of Creation are two-fold, both neglected at a genius level:
- Is the Word of God powerful and effective?
- Was the Son of God the Logos of John 1 and "and God said" of Genesis 1?
As I have written frequently, the efficacy of the Word is foundational in the Bible - not a matter of denominations or cultures or wheredidjagotoseminary. The power and efficacy of the Word has been neglected to the point of almost exterminating knowledge of the same in our culture. Proof is the "conservative" Lutheran dogma of UOJ, universal absolution without the Word, and the stinking mess called Church Growth.
John 1 is clear.
KJV John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
The efficacy of the Word does not allow for a compromised version of Creation.
Rationalism is like drinking salt water to cure one's thirst - the thirst only grows. Calvinism is at the root of this compromise, this fallacy of emphasis.
Does God have the power to create in an instant, a 24-hour day? Of course. Man's double-minded faith does not in any way change what God can do and what God has done. How it is that someone can pray for a solution to troubles and see that answered in an instant, in a way that never could have come from human skill, wisdom, or scheming?
Too Many City-Slickers in Theology
I argue that we have too many city-slickers in theology, not enough farmers. Mrs. Ichabod asked me, "How do you find a perfect cantaloupe every time I ask you to guy one? And avocados too. Perfect."
My answer, "You married a farmer."
Daily work in the garden reveals the perfect harmony of God's Creation, which demands the coordination of all elements together, not Project Management expertise of man.
Here is one example out of millions. The earthworm is perfectly engineered for a number of tasks:
- Burrowing in the soil - all muscle, bristled segments, tenacious.
- Sweetening the soil - unique Caltrate glands that add usable calcium to the soil, not like those useless egg shells.
- Fertilizing the soil - adding fine soil and useful chemicals to droppings.
- Increasing nitrogen - kidneys and digestion both add to usable nitrogen, the foundation for green plants and animal muscle.
But there is but one problems - earthworms do not digest food. Bacteria in their guts do that. Bacteria:
- Reproduce at a phenomenal rate.
- Attack soft materials already chewed or ground in the gizzard by the earthworm, who swallows tiny pebbles to help that function.
- Move so slowly due to the tiny size, that they need rides everywhere, and the worm is their city bus.
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| Our recent selfie. |
O wiser than wise men, how did God set aside enough time to design - at your speed - the earthworm for bacteria and bacteria for the earthworm? I have to ignore a lot of other dependencies just to outline this one.
Everyone should get down on his hands and knees each day - and weed. Yes, a closer look at Creation would dispel doubts about how God works and how fast His will is effected.
