The Reformation is the German Reformation, the basis for many to a part company with the Church of Rome. Luther's teaching and preaching of the Word changed all of Europe.
The term Evangelical is the one Luther chose over any group named after him, "a bag of maggots" plus a few other choice terms.
The term Protestant also came directly from the Lutherans, at the Diet of Speyer.
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Vance wrote a detailed look at all the errors of Calvinism. |
Non-Lutherans stole the name Evangelical, so Lutherans were forced to use the Evangelical-Lutheran name to distinguish themselves from the Calvinist-Zwinglians.
Now those same groups would have us think they are the "real Protestants" and the "real Evangelicals" because Luther did not compromise with their Enthusiasm, separating the Spirit from the Word.
Zwingli and Calvin were ferociously jealous of Luther's world-changing impact, so they pretended to agree while establishing their own followers. Zwingli died trying to be a soldier, and Calvin took up the challenge to replace Luther while pretending to be Lutheran. Calvin's against Westphal shows that the Geneva pretender was no Lutheran at all.
Walther Worshipers - Listen Up
CFW Walther was never a Lutheran. He grew up in the home of a rationalist father, who was an approved pastor. Walther attended Leipzig University, which was also rationalist. Unlike many of his Stephanite friends, he managed to be approved by the rationalistic state church examination board.
The rationalists hated Pietists, and that seemed to be the division in those days. If someone had a strict view of the Bible, he was a Pietist or Mystic. Rationalism began at Halle University, the mother ship of Pietism, so the influence from Halle was mixed.
Given the polarity, how did Walther talk his way into approval? He talked his way into ordination and a call to the parish. His friends had to settle for being tutors, because they were not approved.
Nevertheless, Walther sought the benefits of Pietistic cell groups and a cell group guru. When that man died, after moving away, the Walther circle adopted
Pastor Martin Stephan, a Bohemian Pietist with a Pietist congregation.
"Stephan became pastor in Haber, Bohemia in 1809.[2] In 1810, Martin became the pastor of St. John's in Dresden, a specially chartered church that had its origins in those who had fled from Moravia and Bohemia in 1650.Stephan preached in Czech and German." Stephan
Stephan's education was even more limited than Walther's, because the future bishop never finished a degree and only had his call because the Bohemian Pietists had more freedom to call. Their property was donated by
Zinzendorf, the very influential Pietist leader, and they were allowed cell group meetings on the property only. Stephan violated that rule and his female followers, too.
Stephan's Pietistic cult was apart from the congregation, and it became his power base. CFW Walther was his enforcer, who punished those who offended the easily offended Stephan. One man had to apologize to Stephan
before he was allowed to see Stephan. Anyone not in full agreement with Stephan was shunned was punished.
Contra- Luther, the Spirit of Calvinism
After seizing power from Stephan, Walther set himself up as the head of the Perryville cult in Missouri, taking his time, inheriting his brother's call to the church in St. Louis.
Walther was a pastor,
- the head of a group of parishes,
- the head of the synod,
- the head of the seminary, and
- the head of publishing.
Walther taught against the Bible, very much in the style of Zwingli and Calvin. He set about creating a body of work and a team of cult followers who would echo his errors and enforce his discipline.
Walther rejected Justification by Faith, as revealed in Genesis 15:6, Romans 3-5, Galatians, the entire Bible. The clown cult named LutherQuest (sic) simply parrots the Walther line without ever dealing with the Scriptures.
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Walther Shrine |
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Walther statues are abundant in the State of Missouri. |
The Big Swindle
Walther gradually assembled other Lutheran groups as allies, then drove away those who could not accept his Objective Justification backed by Election without Faith. He was clever, because the other groups were too alert on Justification and too likely to make him look the fool for teaching against it. Instead, he made his Election without Faith as the test.
Walther's dictatorial rule and his authoritarian rule over the shrunken Synodical Conference allowed Objective Justification to gain dominance, so clearly attuned to the rationalism of the 20th century. Hoenecke supported Walther!
ELCA loves OJ too, though God-talk is really beyond them now. Nevertheless, they are leaders in showing where Calvinism and Pietism lead - to no faith at all.
Justification without Faith is so dominant in the dying Synodical Conference that pastors and leaders are afraid to confront it, lest the OJ harpies scrape them into synodical hell for "opposing the Gospel without faith."
The Parallel Swindle Illustrates the OJ Fraud
Thesis 1 - The Synodical Conference is so Biblical, so Lutheran, so pure, so Book of Concordish, they just have to stop and admire themselves - again - for being so golly gee good.
Thesis 2 - The Synodical Conference Immaculata rejects the Church Growth Movement's false Calvinistic Enthusiasms.
Thesis 3 - However, since we are so pure and unmoved by false doctrine, we can spend millions of dollars and send all of our leaders to Fuller and Willow Creek, just to pick up some practical details.
Thesis 4 - Fuller Seminary assured us they were doctrinally neutral and proved to us that the Lutheran name, liturgy, hymns, ordinances (used to be sacraments), and sermons are detrimental to growth.
No one is going to print that in an official capacity, but the Four Theses have been their filthy lie, ever since the 1970s, with many different leaders and professors. Several degenerations of pastors and DPs have remained silent.
The Church Growth Swindle continues.
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Kent Hunter calls himself the Church Doctor. Where are the malpractice suits? |
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Hunter is unrepentant and a model of the favored LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) pastor. ELCA ThD, Fuller DMin - these are the best degrees a "conservative" pastor can get. |
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Don't laugh - he made more money attacking Biblical doctrine than the pastors teaching the Scriptures. |