Gideon - On Thy Strong Word: The Efficacy of the Word in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions

 Thy Strong Word: The Efficacy of the Word in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions

Pastor,

This book, Thy Strong Word: The Efficacy of the Word in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions which cost me nothing-- you gave it to me, has been a phenomenal read.  There have been many insightful portions of the text that made me simply stop and ponder...or in many instances when I thought I have previously had an original profound thought, it's here in the book.  It's really a textbook if you get down to it.

I've been taking the slow read through the book, and I find myself now in Part IV - Kokomo/LCMS Error - Forgiveness without Faith.  This is the stuff of which you write often in your blog, where you'll touch on this or that facet of the subject.  But here in the book, the topic is developed linearly.  J.P. Meyer has had a lot of press already, but these things really caught my eye:

1.  Page 236:

A history of the recent conflicts about justification would be interesting to read and large enough to fill several books, but it would not be edifying.  Too many articles have death with the recent history of the conflict.  Too often the discussion revolves around the latest opinions offered in America, as if Lutherans hold the quia subscription to the writings of Walther, Pieper, and synodical commissions.  As one minister wrote, "Are you calling Walther a false teacher?"  This attitude runs contrary to what Chemnitz states from the earliest history of the Christian Church, that we must return to the source when the discussion is murky.  The we must set aside the bulk of material and return to the Scriptures and the Book of Concord.  Otherwise, we fall into the folly of orthodoxism, where every single statement of each Synodical Conference author must be viewed as part of a seamless and infallible garment, invulnerable to criticism.  This attitude is exactly what we find in the Church of Rome."

Wow.  And, I've seen examples of this:  Young pastors who don't test the dogma.  I was told myself when Rydecki was expelled not to even investigate why.  Rydecki challenged the synod's view of justification, and that was all I should know.

2. Page 242: 

"Doctrinal Shorthand" where a correct statement is truncated and repeated until it was instituted:

"

A.  Correct -- We are saved in view of faith apprehending the merits of Christ.

B.  Incorrect -- We are saved in view of faith.  The shortened version made people think that faith itself was a virtue or a frame of mind generated by man."

Then the cries of Fideism arise out of the distortion of "B"

As genuinely helpful this book is, it is with sadness I write this email because this is an indictment against my former church body.  They got so much right, but this stubbornness as demonstrated in example 1 above, which basically says "This is the way Daddy did it, and this is the way we're going to do it".....it's so insidious because while they think their are protecting themselves from liberalism by being staunch in their views, they don't realize that they could be slowly wrapping themselves in error.  Layer by layer by layer, like an old water heater or car radiator.  Any why?  For pride.

Ironically, if my understanding of the Wauwatosa theologians is correct, part of their mission was to get back to the source, as Chemnitz suggested.  They more or less eschewed the church fathers and wanted to go back to the Scriptures.  Since then the layers seem to have accumulated, and unfortunately CNC/CG layers have been applied lately -- with seemingly no way to remove them.  Such is the folly of "orthodoxism" (not orthodoxy)

SDG,

Gideon

***

GJ - That was going to be my last word on those topics, Gideon. I am glad people are still reading it, because the book is just basic Christian doctrine, as ignored and trashed by WELS, LCMS, ELS, CLC, and ELCA. 

I appreciate the continuous opposition because that has energized more study and more books.

Creation Software - The Impossible Trap for Rationalists

If we concede that God created over vast millions of years - not that I would - even then, an impossible trap remains for anyone side-stepping the Six Day Creation (six 24-hour days, not six billion years).

I will explain the trap first, then show how the concept harmonizes with the truth of Creation.

The Great Pyramid was sheathed in limestone and capped perhaps in gold, 481 feet high, 2.5 cubic meters in volume.

We all admire engineering. I am fascinated more than most, because the basics are far beyond me. The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest man-made object on earth until the Eifel Tower was built, 40 centuries later. So I wonder - why did they take all that trouble? What was the purpose and the tools used?

 "Your car will not last," an attorney told me, 9 years ago.

Sassy says, "Oh?"

Our limo is a superbly engineered car. With all its troubles, due to 24 years age and 210,000 mileage, it still works well and floats through traffic. My car-building friend says that comes from the people who built it, taking great pride in their workmanship.

Software
No matter how good the engineering of Creation is, all the moving parts need software to run them.

The moment the Shasta Daisies bloom, Tachinid Flies land on the flowers. I want this to happen because the flies destroy garden pests, especially aphids.

The same effect can be observed when Parsley attracts the Black Swallowtail Butterfly and Milkweed the Monarch. The complex software in the insect brains tells them where to feed as adults, where to lay eggs so the children will grow up strong. But flowers have no brains, so how do they attract the kind of attention they need for their own health?

Even more perplexing, recent studies show that the lowly fungus in the soil is sentient, building a self-serving network among the roots to ensure its growth - asking for carbon, giving water and nutrients in exchange. A flower seems quite complicated, compared to a fungus, genius level, but now we learn the fungus is the keystone of soil.

A few glimpses at the natural world tells me that nothing could have worked together if the software managing them developed over a long period of time.

So that becomes an impossible trap for the rationalistic compromise about the Six Day Creation.

Bonus Aha! Moment
Given all the wonders we can see, if we spend a little time gardening, weeding, and bird-watching, one more thing needs to be added to the software argument.

Creation heals itself when damaged by man or cataclysmic events. Destroyed soil will repair itself through weeds blown in or germinated from the energy of the sun. Volcanoes are epic in their violence, but they also create rich soil for some of the best coffee in the world.

When rabbits abound, hawks increase in number, fed by the many lagomorphs. As most biology students know, "nature" tends to build up by the predators taking the weak and diseased prey.

People speak glibly about the Wonders of Nature, but avoid what that includes - Genesis 1 and John 1:3.

 This pose was held by our granddaughter for the camera. No injuries, lots of laughter. Who gave animals a sense of humor? Sassy stepped in to be part of the photo.

Creation Gardeners - Pay Attention to the Newbies

Free Balloon flowers and a free climbing rose
are growing like weeds. This is my photo from yesterday.

I tried something from Direct Gardening, an Internet vendor that has low prices and very small plants. Nevertheless, their Rugosa rose prospered in the back and got promoted to the rose garden. I stuck their free Balloon flowers into the soil, near our front door, and they are really blooming this year.

The Spruce:
The botanical name means "broad bell", but the open flower is really more of a star shape. However, it's the puffy bud that intrigues gardeners and entices them to grow this plant and that gives it its common name of "Balloon Flower".

Balloon flowers are long-lived perennials that rarely need dividing and are deer resistant.

Leaves: Alternate, bright green leaves grow along the stems. This is a clump-forming plant.
Flowers: The flower bud swells up into a puff and slowly opens, passing through a bell shape to a swept back star with five petals, joined at the base. The purple-blue varieties are the most commonly grown, but it also comes in white and shades of pink.
Botanical Name
Platycodon grandiflorus

Common Name:
Balloon Flower, Chinese Bellflower, Japanese Bellflower.

 Butterfly Weed can be quite impressive as the clump grows and flowers. This photo sows some incomplete mulching, which can be fixed with a few more newspapers and  more wood mulch.

Front Door Plants Get Attention
I have stuck plants in odd places because the soil was soft and I did not want to dig into the sod. I tended to forget and neglect them, or they were in zones best suited for very hardy weeds.

I also put Butterfly Weed by the front door. Like most plants that arrive in a cardboard box, they did not look so good the first year. Now they are colorful orange flowers near the front door.

I also scatter Borage seed near the front door, so we can pick the flowers later.

Our Joe Pye Weed Will Look Like This

 Joe Pye is very popular and hard to find later in the season.

Last year, I began two Joe Pye Weeds along the driveway. One grew especially well and attracted butterflies and pollinators like crazy, as predicted in various books and websites.

 The senior Joe Pye plant is ready to bloom, next to the driveway, six feet tall.

The second Joe Pye was weed-eaten and disappeared, but only for a time. The distinctive leaves came up again and I threw a protective rose collar around it.

When I see a nearby plant in need, I give it extra rainwater or stored water. The Joe Pye information said it appreciated extra water, so I have watered Hidden Lily and Joe Pye more often. As a result, the rain yesterday made both plantings look even stronger.

Exotic aromas are an extra benefit of the alternate plantings in the rose garden. Mint is strong coming from Cat Mint and Mountain Mint (both good for bees...and CM for cats). Butterfly Weed has a fragrance I missed but Ranger Bob caught. Joe Pye and Chaste Tree have a Vicks Vapo-Rub aroma.

Roses are herbs too. I was near a single Pink Peace along the fence, and the fragrance was potent.

Not my bushes, not my photo,
but Butterfly Bush will fill the yard with a sweet grape jelly smell.

Quotas Work - Slowly and Destructively - Especially Among the Lutherans

"Promote selective diversity - it worked for me.
I was unqualified and unsuited to be the Presiding Bishop."

Quotas have slowly and destructively worked their way through our various institutions. Those who benefit from quotas expand the demands until the final target is 0% for the other side, however it is defined. Quotas began openly as "reverse discrimination" in the Nixon era. But now they are promoted as

• Diversity
• Inclusion
• Making sure we have the most talented people.

The way to address wrongs in the past would have been to emphasize hiring and promotion based on merit, but that is unlikely to happen in the near future.

"We can fire a former assistant dean of diversity,
if her resume reveals a flaw in the agenda from years ago."

Higher Things, LCMS, loud and proud for UOJ.
Useful idiots are always welcome.

Among the Lutherans - ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC

The quota system is obvious from the results:

1. World and American mission people must be trained at Fuller Seminary or parallel beehives promoting the same garbage.
2. UOJ must be taught and defended at all times.
3. Women teaching men and usurping authority over men are good and healthy for the synod.
4. Debating these ideologies is not allowed, because that suggests there is another side to the issue.
5. To keep the synod brands alive, some carping about the other groups is permitted, but only as a sham. They all work toward the same goals via abortion-loving Thrivent.
6. Working with Rome and the Babtists is good.
7. Incompetents and degenerates are rewarded and protected, but the faithful are punished and shunned.

Otten promotes UOJ and Church Growth while hiding the criminal past of various Lutheran officials and clergy.
The masthead should read Spiked News.

Effluent of These Successful Endeavors:

• Christian News
• Steadfast Lutherans (sic)
• Intrepid Lutherans (sic)
• Higher Things
• LutherQuest (sic)
• Synodical magazines
• Emmaus Conference, where people are blinded.
• Teigen Lectures, named after the Lutheran slandered with impunity by his own, The Little Sect on the Prairie.
• The overpriced colleges and seminaries, failing as fast as Holy Mother Synod.

 "We used to be tokens. Now we are bosses. Try and stop us now."
In the synod, the mighty synod, the quotas sleep tonight.
In the synod, the quiet synod, the quotas sleep tonight.
A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh.