Chapter Fifteen - The Gospel of Faith: From John, the Disciple Jesus Loved

 The Gospel of Faith: From John, the Disciple Jesus Loved

I just started Chapter 15 in the Gospel of John. This is quite an experience, to go through an entire Gospel and explain the main points.

From Alec Satin, Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

It is a peculiar characteristic of faith that the more it confides in God's Word, and the more it recognizes His works, so much the more is it astonished and moved to praise and thanksgiving. Where there is no faith, indifference prevails as to what is seen or heard, and there is neither joy nor pleasure there.

 

Luther, from Sermon after Christmas, House Postil

Ecclesia College Bought Land They Did Not Need from Tax Funds, Which Could NOT Go to a Church. EC Calls Itself a Church So How They Squandered Our Money Is None of Our Business

 No one in the Paris family was qualified to run a college or an online school, but they went for tax funds "to expand" and only expanded their debt.

Foreclosure seeks land bought by Arkansas college linked to corruption case

By Tracy Neal

Posted: August 31, 2018 at 4:30 a.m.

BENTONVILLE -- Ecclesia College faces foreclosure on land at the center of a federal corruption investigation.

E.C. Funding LLC, a newly formed Rogers investment firm, filed a foreclosure lawsuit Thursday in Benton County Circuit Court against the private Christian college that seeks more that $1.8 million. The investment firm claims that Ecclesia defaulted on two loans for which a majority of the 240 acres it owns was put up as collateral, according to court documents.

"It may be a one day story," James Baxter, the attorney for E.C. Funding, said Thursday. "Today's Bank reached out to my client about a payoff amount. They are interested in helping Ecclesia out of the foreclosure."

Today's Bank is chartered in Huntsville and has 11 branches. Larry Olson, president and CEO of Today's Bank, did not immediately return a message left for him late Thursday afternoon.

Travis Story, an attorney representing Ecclesia, provided a statement from the college confirming a potential new loan.

"Earlier this summer E.C. Funding, LLC, a local group of investors in Rogers purchased our loans from Centennial Bank. Less than a week ago, we were informed that E.C. Funding, LLC would discontinue the normal annual practice of automatically renewing our loans," according to the statement. "However, in just four days we were able to find a local bank that will be refinancing all of Ecclesia's loans in the coming days."

Ecclesia took out loans of $1 million and $1.3 million in February 2014, when it was also seeking the state grants. The loans underwent several modifications over the years and were due Tuesday.

Filings that changed ownership of the mortgages from Centennial Bank to E.C. Funding were recorded May 18 with the county clerks in Benton and Washington counties.

Arkansas secretary of state records show E.C. Funding was incorporated on May 21 and lists Robert Powell McKinney as the lone officer.

Ecclesia has an outstanding balance of $1 million on the first loan and $855,218 on the second loan, according to the complaint.

The foreclosure lawsuit also names former Ecclesia College President Oren Paris III and Cari Paris as defendants.

Oren Paris resigned as college president April 3. He pleaded guilty the next day in federal court to paying kickbacks to former state lawmakers Jon Woods and Micah Neal in return for state grant money used to purchase some of the land sought in the foreclosure.

The kickbacks involve $550,000 of the more than $717,500 in state General Improvement Fund grants Ecclesia received from 2013 through 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice contends.

Duane "Dak" Kees, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas confirmed during court proceedings that the federal government has no method to recover any of the money, which was issued by the state.

The school said it used the state grant money to help purchase two parcels of land: Ecclesia purchased a tract at 4095 Arkansas 112 on Nov. 7, 2013, for $500,000; and a tract at 3870 Als Drive on Dec. 2, 2013, for $675,000. Both parcels are included in the foreclosure lawsuit.

Less than a year later the school was failing to raise enough money to cover expenses, said Seth Duell during April 13 testimony in Woods' corruption trial. Duell is the college's former professional fundraiser.

Ecclesia had no record of any donations greater than $15,000 when he came on board, Duell testified. The college's enrollment was too small to cover its expenses with tuition, he testified.

A jury found Woods guilty of money laundering, wire and mail fraud and conspiracy in May. Neal pleaded guilty in January 2017 to a conspiracy charge.

Also convicted in May was Randell Shelton Jr., a consultant formerly of Alma. Federal prosecutors argued during trial that Paris disguised the kickbacks as consulting fees to Shelton, who then passed money along to the former legislators.

The four men will be sentenced in the next two weeks.

 Ask where the money went. New classrooms? Ha.
Ask about Oren III's pay and bonus!

Two Kinds of Encouragement

Encouragement 101
Nothing stirs me like having someone create an anonymous account on LutherQuest (sic) and launch a vicious, irrelevant personal attack against me and Sassy Sue, the Wonderdog.

That means something is really eating at that rotten soul, and the corrupt tree must shed its evil fruit. I am still waiting for a host of false teachers to tell us all why they hate Justification by Faith. They never quote the sources I have supplied promiscuously in the hopes they would come clean about their perfidy.

Let's blink at the marvel of it all. A group of people spent an enormous amount of hours for a year - preparing a very inexpensive, illustrated set of Luther's Sermons, Lenker edition, plus the Gems volume, and LutherQuest (sic) denounces it and the practice of posting one Luther sermon each week.

It's public domain! - What a scandal.
Anybody could do that! - But no one else has.

And worse, we broadcast our worship service for free, no secret passwords, for anyone to appreciate or deprecate.
They broadcast on the Net! - So does our synod.

The truth brings out the bully in these sewer rats, who scurry away when the light goes on. I started this blog for a few friends, not for anyone else. Why would someone order me to stop writing? Are they required to read anything on this blog? I would never think of silencing LutherQuest (sic), SteadfastUOJists, or ALPB. I mine their posts for quotable pratfalls and quirky sectarian nonsense.

 The worst ones have endowed positions.

 Why would the LCMS publish a Book of Concord with ELCA?
Wengert is the ELCA hero of gay activism, yet LCMS-WELS pretends to scorn  ELCA for its deviant ways.

Encouragement 201
Laity and some pastors encourage me to keep writing. I could add a lot of details here, but for some reason they slip my mind at the moment.

A lot of background information and links come from laity.

 God's wrath is revealed in His use of false teachers, who shun the truth of God's Word and reward error and corruption.

The Abuse Springs from False Doctrine - Roman Catholic and Papal Lutheran

I hear often from people who are disgusted with the rapid downward plunge of WELS. They are not worried about numbers but about the many ways WELS has turned its back on its own heritage.

The global scandal is the Pope and his utterly degraded franchise, where large abuse networks have been identified for decades and yet remain hardly damaged and regrowing everywhere.

Let's stick to Lutherans for the moment. They have borrowed the papal attitude of the insitutional church being infallible and indefectible. Oh yes, they all acknowledge (Pope and Mini-Popes) that mistakes have been made. Nevertheless, the denomination is without spot or blemish and the leaders are infallibly correct.

I heard this garbage in the LCA, where it was well known that no one - and I mean no one - was allowed to mention any flaw in the denomination, its programs, its materials. Wrath was visited upon the speaker, the writer, and the entire family.

Need I say this? WELS is even touchier and even more dictatorial. They retreated to rationalistic Pietism by chasing Fuller and the laughable Willow Creek denomination. WELS has only one sacrament - shunning. It is comical to see how they shun and hate on people for sound criticism, while loving their lavender bedfellows in ELCA. Of course, that reveals more than they would like about their many scandals (that never happened, but if they did, were handled well).

 Who told you that?

Jesus Ended the Sermon on the Mount This Way Matthew 7

Matthew 716 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

 My home congregation in Moline mentioned their Thrivent chapter lovingly. Thrivent is another institutional supporter of abortion and its hideous body parts sales.

A Bit More on Publishing

God willing, the first draft of John's Gospel will be done this weekend, ready for artwork late on Sunday. Reason - I got a big break on finishing some odious paperwork, and tent-making is calm but steady for the moment.

Luther's Sermons - Lenker Edition - In One File
Breaking news - If all goes well, I will soon have the entire Luther's Sermons set in one PDF, which means easy Internet sharing and searches. Example - where did Luther write about marriage? Control - F "marriage." Searching all 9 volumes. Then another word could be used to make it more complete.

That file, which includes the Gems, will be free for anyone to have and share.

I am trying to make up for the disgraceful response of the WELS-ELS-LCMS to the Reformation's 500th Anniversary.

Definite Schedule
Lutheran Dictionary
Calvinism
More Luther

Potential Titles
Creation as Taught by Jesus

Why Did I Start Looking Up Congregations I Knew in Canada?

Opperman was a visiting whirlwind and insisted on students visiting all over town. Our confirmation program was Biblical and lasted three years.

St. Peter's nave intimidated me. My first reading was "Perfect love casts out fear." I thought "fear, fear" and could hardly breathe.

I looked up the congregation where I vicared, St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Kitchener, Ontario. Rev. Henry Opperman was the supervising pastor. He had a German pastor - I helped in the German services as a lector. That was the total pastoral staff: 3,500 members. One full-time pastor, one semi-retired German pastor, one vicar.

Now they have a labyrinth in the former German chapel, boasting that the concept is 4,000 years old and found in many religions.

I posted Opperman's grave because he was already crying about the betrayals there, before he retired. They sent over an activist seminarian to work there. The student bluntly told Opperman about his proclivities. Opperman was a major supporter of the seminary and his congregation was traditional, liturgical - enough to get him thrown out of WELS today. Moreover, Opperman grew up in Kitchener.

Ulrich Leupold was the dean of Waterloo Seminary. He was a noted music scholar, an organist, and a fine teacher.

 One of the founders of the seminary was a Pietist 
and taught UOJ. Imagine that! 
Jay Webber was schocked, schocked.

So I toured the congregational site again, looked up downtown churches in Kitchener - all mainline, all shrunken down to almost nothing. A giant UCC church next to St. Peter's has sold its property because they were down to 60 Sunday attendance.

Waterloo Lutheran Seminary is hardly that anymore and has a new name, almost as ironic as LutherQuest (sic). Martin Luther University Seminary! But they have almost no seminary students now, which is just as well. They have dog days so students can come to the chapel and pet dogs, apparently a rare species in Canada.

 Otto Heick's two-volume doctrinal history book was popular in WELS, but I don't recall any WELS books popular at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.

Working on the Gospel of John

I am enjoying the Gospel of John, adding clarifying comments to the text for an illustrated - by Norma A. Boeckler - edition of the Fourth Gospel.

I am on the 11th chapter this morning.

For that reason I am blogging less and putting up shorter posts. That will help Mordor, Willow Creek, and Fuller graduates.

In publishing news -

1. More sermons are being sent out this week as the last batch arrives at homes.
2. More Luther will be published.
3. One book will be a Lutheran dictionary.
4. Another will deal with the destructive effects of Calvinism.

Lutheran Vatican Observer

As the Lutheran Vatican Observer, I will keep readers updated on the Pope Francis scandals. His election as pope was proof of the utter corruption of the College of Cardinals. He had a long history of the worst scandals already, back in South America, so his brethren obviously approved.

Pope Benedict, aka B-16, was most likely forced out of the papacy for taking some mild measures to reduce the abuse. He trimmed McCarrick's feathers, but Francis immediately restored the predatory cardinal.

Pope John Paul II was no angel. Although he stood up to Nazis and Communists in the past, he protected Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Mary, a serial, bi-sexual child rapist.

The anti-Biblical principle involved is this - every priest is a "son of the Church," so the prelates must protect these sons at all costs - and each other. Cardinal Law in Boston had around 200 bad priests, and he was rewarded with a prestige Vatican post. Diocese records are brought to the Vatican, where they are beyond the reach of a search warrant.

All the LCMS-WELS-ELCA Colleges Need This New Luther Statue. If Only They Still Taught the Chief Article

 I buried the Concordia, St. Louis Luther statue in the sand,
thanks to Photoshop and Planet of the Apes. Herman Otten did this to Luther. So did LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic). Missouri and WELS once taught and published Justification by Faith catechisms.

September 3, 2018, Christian News

"The Luther statue is still a landmark at this LCMS college, which no longer insists all professors at the college teach what Luther taught about the inerrancy of the Bible, creation, and the historicity of Genesis."...GJ...And the Chief Article, Justification by Faith. Why omit the Chief Article, Pastor Otten, when it is labeled by Melanchthon, Luther, and the Book of Concord as The Chief Article, Justification by Faith?

Holy Father Pope Herman I does not teach the Chief Article and always side-steps that issue.
Take the quiz - if you fail - you can be at the level of Harrison, Schroeder, McCain, Cascione, Bivens, and Otten. If you pass,
you can live in Ford limo down by the river, in Arkansas.

Jack and Robert Preus sandbagged WAM II for teaching Justification by Faith, holding up rascals like Edward Preuss and CFW Walther as norms in Lutheran doctrine. That only shows how degenerate LCMS teaching became after the odious and fallacious Brief Statement of 1932.

For Those Who Love Sassy the Cyber-Pet

 Long ago, Sassy was rescued and treated for her damaged leg. She did not want help walking anywhere. This is a photo from her foster family in Arizona.

 I took Sassy to the park in Phoenix every morning.
In Arkansas, she was perfect at catching her orange ball and bringing it back. The people at the dog park clapped for her catches, so the other dogs were jealous and wanted her magic orange ball.

Sassy gets fan-mail from blog readers. She is called the Cyber-pet by some and readers want to hear more about her. She is half German Shepherd and half Australian Cattle Dog. ACDs are also called Heelers and Queensland Heelers.


Her German Shepherd side is intensely loyal and protective, intelligent and independent in her thinking. The ACD side is also known for intelligence, independent thinking, but especially for talking and singing. When I make up a song and sing it to her, Sassy howls and barks with me, especially when her name is in the lyrics.

People adore her and make a fuss over how gentle and sweet she is. She expects that. They also laugh when she bosses me around. She barks at me for talking to neighbors on walks.
"Are you in a hurry today?"
"Bark!"
"You have an appointment?"
"Bark! Bark!"
"You have to go now?"
"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

Children observe, "You have a bossy dog."

Yesterday Sassy stepped out for her early evening walk, went on full alert, and began barking loudly. We saw the oldest Ess girl sitting on the porch. One reason to bark was - she was Sassy's first good friend on the block. Then Ess 2 took over and doted on Sassy. Now Ess 3 makes a point of petting Sassy while the baby Ess 4 giggles and laughs. Their names all start with S, so we call them the four Esses.

The barking was so loud because Ess 1 was holding a kitty. Sassy loves them and is very gentle, but she thinks barking loudly at a cat will endure her to the kitty. Sassy homed in on the cat and eventually touched noses with her. We laughed about how Sassy used to chase her black cat onto the roof of the house. But later, the same cat latched onto Sassy's thigh for getting near her kittens. Sassy was unharmed, except for her dignity. That took place during a yard sale when we were all milling around and Sassy got between the kittens to be given away and the mother cat.

Sassy listens closely to the voices of those who meet her. We found one new neighbor who was late for work but anxious to pet her. Sassy felt that love sat for her moment of adoration. "What a sweet face. I'm so glad I met you, Sassy."

Ranger Bob leaves water out for all critters, and Sassy stops by for a drink every morning. She pauses and listens for noises inside the house. She is happy to call Bob outside to fuss over her. They are the best of pals and the primary reason we commissioned a J. C. Penney portrait of her.

Ranger Bob often talks to her like a rough, tough sargeant, but he can do no wrong in her eyes. She can hear the real Bob, who buys food for stray cats - even for the one that annoyed him by generously marking his bedroom window. Bob said, "He let me pet him while he was eating."

Three-legged in this case. Tragic?
No, we got Sassy from that horse hurting her leg and the family abandoning her.

Pople Francis Should Resign. Exact Parallels with WELS and LCMS Cover-Ups

Pope Francis was known to be dirty when he was elected in 2013. Stories circulated about how destructive he was in South America, but there is another story about the disappeared people during the reign of the military junta in Argentina.

A high-ranking official has accused Pope Francis of covering up the scandals, chiefly Cardinal McCarrick in this case.

Calls for his resignation have increased. Whatever appears in the press, the truth is far, far worse.

American Spectator - the pope and all other officials supporting the corruption should resign.

Roman Catholics have recognized that the leaders elected Francis because they all participate in the same corruption and protect it as well.

The Curia and others imagine this will go away, but indications suggest just the opposite. Unlike the situation in Lutherdom, powerful leaders have spoken up to say that they know the reporting is factual and verified by many witnesses.

The WELS and LCMS leaders have deluded themselves into thinking that their cover-ups and lies are effective. They have intimidated many into silence and shown that the corrupt are the ones who get promoted. However, their management expertise does not bring people to church or students to their schools.

The Michigan District of WELS leaders proved time and again that they favored adulterous pastors, alcoholic pastors, and false doctrine. In fact, those three characteristics often came in the same package - except for the lavender contingent. There are many stories about that kind of abuse in WELS, but the facts have a half-life of 10 minutes. Soon after, "What? Who? Never happened. I don't know. I'm not in that district. Who told you?"

In light of the Hybels meltdown, imagine listening to the bragging of WELS leaders about how pure they are, how Lutheran they are, how orthodox, how strict, how heaven is not good enough for the Wisconsin sect.

Then ask, "Why were they so bankrupt that they funneled millions into sending clergy and others to Fuller, Willow Creek, Andy Stanley, and other anti-Lutheran cesspools? Why did this precious sect - that dropped from heaven and kept dropping - bless and promote DMins from the worst schools?"

Ski, Glende, and about 8 others worshiped with Andy Stanley, who is now widely acknowledged to be another blatant apostate. He is velcro to their lint. Ski blogged about it and the blog remained public for the longest time.

I used to read books about sales. One was especially interesting. It said, "If you hire someone to train salespeople and that person was not successful, then the trainees will be no better. They will capture that person's inability, no matter what materials are used to teach."

The parallel in the churches should be apparent. Dimwits like Valleskey, Bivens, Werning (all buddies in Church Growth) went to anti-Lutheran at Fuller and loved it. No matter what they claimed for themselves, the essence of their hatred for Luther's doctrine came through in all their work. And what is worse - so did their cancerous hypocrisy.

I remember Kovaciny repeating the bromides of WELS Church Growth -
"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!" I said, "Don't wash the baby in sewage."

Mirthless Mark Schroeder's buddy said, "Larry Olson is harmless. Everyone knows he is a false teacher."

Meanwhile, people write to me about the abuse they have suffered from WELS leaders, not to mention the rampant lying and denials in the face of the facts.

Every time I read the sarcastic responses of the Roman cover-up artists, I remember the same approach used by WELS and the CLC (sic). Even as they all shrink to nothing, the same script is followed. Tim Glende used the same tactics practiced in Columbus to prop up Floyd Luther Stolzenburg to save face in Appleton. The rich adulterers can be counted upon to say, "Yay. Amen. You are our hero!"

 Church Growth in the Michigan District, WELS, was a cancer transplant facilitated by Dr. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg (he let people call him that, haha). WELS was hotter than Georgia asphalt to get this rolling, and now St. Paul's is a shell.

The National News Will Unravel on Tuesday, September 28th, 2018

 Q posts are often hard to interpret, but they are clearer now.
They come from US military intelligence.

Sarah A. Carter began the avalanche of news about the Russian collusion fantasy. Our government paid a British agent - Stefan Halper - $1 million to help in fabricating the Trump Russian collusion fairytale.

Bruce Ohr is going to testify, and it is now widely known that he and his wife Nellie used their federal jobs to meddle with the election and help set up the collusion story.

As I noted before, the Special Counsel business reminded me of judo, where the strength and power of the opponent is used to toss him across the ring - as I was in judo class. Mueller's work has eliminated the top felons from the FBI and Department of Justice. Meanwhile, AG Sessions has accumulated 45,000 sealed indictments and Gitmo has been prepared for many unhappy campers.

Television news is mostly bogus, and that includes Fox News. The only solution is to read widely, to keep an open mind, and to pray for our country.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

 Lynn Forester de Rothschild bio, 
Senator John McCain Institute.

Wiki:
Her third husband is Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (born August 29, 1931), whom she was introduced to by Henry Kissinger at the 1998 Bilderberg Group conference in Scotland.^[22] They married on November 30, 2000, in London, England,^[1] after de Rothschild divorced his wife in 2000.^[23] She is his third wife.^[1] On the announcement of the marriage, the Rothschild couple were invited to spend their honeymoon at the White House by the Clintons.^[24] 

Wikileaks

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, who married billionaire financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild in 2000, plays prominently throughout Clinton’s political career — including her tenure at the State Department.

In fact, it could easily be argued Clinton’s Big Bank loyalty more accurately lies specifically with the Rothschild family.

Wikileaks’ previous release of Hillary Clinton’s emails disclosed an April 2010 exchange in which  Rothschild tells Clinton under the subject heading “Miss you” that she “would love to catch up” and “I remain your loyal adoring pal.” Clinton responds in kind, “let’s make that happen,” and signs off, “Much love, H.”

Then in September 2010, Clinton messaged Rothschild, “I was trying to reach you to tell you and Teddy that I asked Tony Blair to go to Israel as part of our full court press on keeping the Middle East negotiations going.” She also asks, “Let me know what penance I owe you.”

Rothschild thanks Clinton for “personally reaching out to us,” and notes, “You are the best, and we remain your biggest fans. Sweet dreams and Godspeed with everything you are doing.”

In January 2012, Clinton emailed aides, reminding them about an upcoming “conference in England about climate change … sponsored by Jacob Rothschild at his historic estate, Waddesdon.”

And the Rothschild influence obviously continues — on May 12 this year, Clinton showed her true colors by attending a $100,000-per-plate fundraising dinner hosted by none other than Lynn Forester de Rothschild.

Progress in the Gospel of John

 Tischendorf was a thief and a liar, just the person to begin the modern era of textual criticism for apostates.

I reached chapter 8 and looked into evidence about the Woman Caught in Adultery, removed from modern translations, with italics, brackets, or with a drop into the footnotes or endnotes.

https://purelypresbyterian.com/2016/12/01/defense-of-the-pericope-adulterae/

This rings true, and I trust Augustine more than the apostate publishing houses of Lutherdom -

According to Augustine (c. 400), it was this moralistic objection to the pericope de adultera which was responsible for its omission in some of the New Testament manuscripts known to him. “Certain persons of little faith,” he wrote, “or rather enemies of the true faith, fearing, I suppose, lest their wives should be given impunity in sinning, removed from their manuscripts the Lord’s act of forgiveness toward the adulteress, as if He who had said ‘sin no more’ had granted permission to sin.” (33) Also, in the 10th century a Greek named Nikon accused the Armenians of “casting out the account which teaches us how the adulteress was taken to Jesus . . . saying that it was harmful for most persons to listen to such things.”

S. S. Patrum J. B. Cotelerius, Antwerp, 1698, vol. i, p.235. Cited by https://purelypresbyterian.com/2016/12/01/defense-of-the-pericope-adulterae/; from Dr. Edward F. Hills, The King James Version Defended, pp. 150-159.

Quotation on Apostasy - From Luther's Sermons

Take the Justification Quiz - you may qualify for a teaching position in any of these synods - LCMS-ELCA-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic).

Therefore we also should let this sermon of Christ be an admonition and warning to us. For we also, through the preaching of the gospel, hear this voice of John the Baptist, which directs unto this Savior, Christ, and says: This is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. To Him you should cling in faith and confession, and thank God that He has given you this knowledge, and this sermon and direction of John the Baptist shall endure to eternity. But now it depends upon this too, whether we are people who receive the testimony. For if, like the greater part of the Jews, and as, alas! is always the case in the world, we let it pass by, we will share the same fate with them and others. Factions and sects will come afterwards, through which the pure doctrine and God's Word will be darkened among us, and go out altogether. Then will they begin to seek Christ, and will be unable to find Him, just as was formerly done in the darkness of the papacy. For no one can give any other doctrine unto salvation than this, as Peter says, Acts 4: There is no other name nor doctrine, whereby we can be saved. If we neglect this, it is all over with us, as it is now with the Jews and Turks. There will be no lack of teachers; we will have enough of these, as the Jews and Turks also have, who will preach much and want to show the way to heaven, and every one will show diligence in seeking, as the Jews now also seek their Messiah; but, alas! it is a seeking always in vain, and never any finding. For He made all depend only on this His messenger who pointed Him out with his voice and finger, that we might know where to find Him; else it would end in nothing, and our seeking would ever be in vain.

 Quotation courtesy of Alec Satin's Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

***
GJ - "There will be no lack of teachers." What do the false teachers do? They only want to improve, clarify, and help, so they set up their own conferences and academies to supplant sound doctrine. They are not against sound doctrine - oh no! - they can repeat all the formulas they covertly reject. They only want to gradually replace some of that stuffy and outmoded stuff with their brilliance.

In WELS, Mark Jeske, John Lawrenz, Steve Witte, and others copied what Kent Hunter and Waldo Werning did in the LCMS. There were so many clever thieves spoiling the Egyptians at Fuller and Willow Creek, scarcely any treasure remains.

To celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, the LCMS brought out two Objective Justification farces - their Dogmatanic and their Babylonian Talmud Catechism. WELS went easy on their new Catechism, putting the odious terms OJ/SJ only in the index.

However, their Holey of Holeys, the WELS Essay File, has 60 hilariously ponderous treatments of Objective Justification - not one about the Chief Article.

Oh wait! Mistake, mistake! Two essays call Objective Justification the Chief Article - Mark Zarling's diamond debacle and Frosty Bivens plagiarized version of the same. But that does not count. Being dead wrong and felony stupid do not add credibilty to false claims, even if the authors have MDiv degrees from Mordor in Mequon.

 John Maxwell's bromides are served up by Lawrence Otto Olson, DMin, Fuller Seminary - the Waldo Werning Professor of Church Growth at Martin Luther College, WELS (irony noted). They have so much in common. No, John has a personality. But John too has purchased a Drive-Buy DMin from Fuller Seminary. Olson has helped to lead WELS into the abyss, so he deserves some plaques, medals, and hororary doctorates from people who market those coveted items.

Scooping Christian News Cardinal Burke Demands Roman Catholic Purge

 Even more is revealed about Pope Francis and others covering up abuse in this long letter.

BREAKING: Cardinal Burke responds to former US nuncio’s explosive letter about Pope Francis

https://www.lifesitenews.com//news/cardinal-burke-responds-to-former-us-nuncios-explosive-letter-about-pope-fr#When:18:11:00Z

“The corruption and filth which have entered into the life of the Church must be purified at their roots,” said Vatican Cardinal Raymond Burke in response to a LifeSite request for comment on the release of Archbishop Carlo Viganò’s testimony. The 11-page letter issued by the former papal representative in the United States released to LifeSiteNews and a few other outlets is filled with revelations of scandals within the hierarchy.

“The declarations made by a prelate of the authority of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò must be totally taken to heart by those responsible in the Church,” said Burke. “Each declaration must be subject to investigation, according to the Church’s time-tried procedural law.”

Read the full text of Archbishop Viganò's explosive letter here.

In addition to the main charges that Pope Francis knew of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s abuse and nevertheless lifted sanctions that Pope Benedict had secretly imposed on McCarrick, some of the other explosive declarations include:

• Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State under Pope Benedict XVI, “notoriously favored promoting homosexuals into positions of responsibility.”
• Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the current Secretary of State and thought to be the top contender to replace Francis, “was also complicit in covering up the misdeeds of McCarrick.”
• Cardinal Parolin ordered the reservation of the Diocese of San Diego for the notoriously left-wing Bishop Robert McElroy
• Pope Francis warned Viganò as nuncio that he did not want bishops in the United States like Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput: “They must not be right-wing like the Archbishop of Philadelphia,” he quotes the Pope as telling him.

“After the truth of each declaration has been established, then the appropriate sanctions must be applied both for the healing of the horrible wounds inflicted upon the Church and her members, and for the reparation of the grave scandal caused,” says Cardinal Burke.

Cardinal Burke called on “all good Catholics” to “insist upon knowing the truth” and added that they “must pray and sacrifice for the Church at this tumultous time.”

A purification, he said, “Such purification can only take place with the full and uncompromised respect for the truth.”

 More about Cardinal McCarrick can be found here.

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