Significant Otter - For Valentine's Day

Responding to LutherQuackers Are Quaking Up

Hi Greg,

In your post this morning "LutherQuackers are Quacking Up." you quoted a Rev. Boisclair who said in part,

"What is mystifying to me is Jackson's love for Luther, who would never have stomached Jackson's Synergism."

Perhaps you could request that Bosclair provide proof of:

1. Your Synergism.  How does he define this in his words?

2. Luther's rejection of "Jackson's Synergism"

Without this, it's all emotion and fear without anything real to grab hold of.  You have written so much, it should be easy for him to provide quotes of "Jackson's Synergism", whatever that is.

This would let us all have a real discussion - or at least understand from both sides where the theological divide occurs. 

If "Jackson's Synergism", whatever that is, is condemned anywhere in the Book of Concord, let's see it. 

The National Weather Service has issued a Hot Air Alert for the LutherQuackers websty.

Enjoying the Hissy Fits from LutherQuackers

A few observations are enough to send the noisy LutherQueasies into fits of rage. They illustrate the shallow ignorance of Lutheran leaders today.

The essential beginning is the Word of God. The Objective Justification extremists hijacked Romans 4 to impose their dogma on the Missouri Synod, using the non-Scriptural Brief Statement of 1932. For some reason that was elevated above the Book of Concord and the Bible.

If anyone wants to discuss Justification in the LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic), the Brief Statement is not only the starting point - but also the template for the entire canon. Every atonement passage is kidnapped for Objective Justification. Anything following the absurd OJ obsession is nonsense.

Sorry boys, but I read and listened to modern theology for years, and OJ is modern, rationalistic, mainline, apostate theology. As one LCA leader snarled on a Word and Witness tape, "They have no grace." What does that mean? He was denouncing all the Evangelical ministers because they taught faith in Christ. Here is the syllogism:

1. God's grace cannot be linked to faith, a contingency.
2. They (the evil ones) speak about faith in Christ.
3. Therefore, they never teach grace.

 Listen up! Faith-ians. See below.

That is why Walther, Pieper, and their lick-spittles always run away from Scriptural exegesis. One must start with the Watherian thesis, borrowed from Stephan, nicked from Halle, press-ganged from Calvin. The OJists respond from the Waltherian sermon barrel - 

1. Calvinist! 
2. Arminian! 
3. Synergist! 
4. OJ-denier! 
5. Election without Faith denier!
6. You make faith a work of man!
7. You think salvation is incomplete so you must do one thing more - believe!
8. You are not a Christ-ian. You are a Faith-ian. Your faith is in faith, not in Christ!

 Luther was a faith-alone-ist.

As Shakespeare (Oxford) said, "A little pot is soon hot."

To maintain this level of Scriptural stupidity, each OJ expert must ignore the plain meaning of God's Word, starting with Genesis 15:6 - continuing throughout the Old and New Testaments. 

LutherQuackers Are Quacking Up.

 "Come for a blessing, child. You seem stressed, worried, and befuddled."

Rev. David R. Boisclair (Drboisclair)
Advanced Member
Username: Drboisclair

Post Number: 703
Registered: 1-2002
Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 7:47 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post
"The lady doth protest too much methinks"--Shakespeare, Hamlet, act III, scene ii

Jackson covers his own logical fallacies by accusing others of committing them. He is the unmatched king of the fallacy of ad hominem argumentation. His website is a monument to that lamentable FALLACY.

His Achilles's heel is his total embrace of the Synergism of the Iowa and Ohio Synod's F.A. Schmidt and F.W. Stellhorn, who claimed that faith precedes God's gracious election to salvation. He has even firmed this up by his advocacy of the "later Melanchthon," who was Synergist par excellence. This dovetails nicely with his synergistic doctrine of justification.

Pope Jackson thinks that Martin Chemnitz supports his heterodoxy, but Martin Chemnitz taught that God's gracious election COMES BEFORE faith not after it as Jackson and his minions opine. Oops, no electio intuitu fidei finalis.

What is mystifying to me is Jackson's love for Luther, who would never have stomached Jackson's Synergism.


Rev. David R. Boisclair (Drboisclair)
Advanced Member
Username: Drboisclair

Post Number: 704
Registered: 1-2002
Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 8:40 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post
Oh, and Pope Jackson is guilty of an historical error. John Bunyan (1628-1688), whom he is showcasing now with his study of The Pilgrim's Progress, fought on the side of Cromwell and the Long Parliament, not King Charles I. Sorry. His holiness Jackson said that Bunyan was on the side of the king and the Cavaliers.

Also, The Pilgrim's Progress is Calvinistic in its theology, see the Interpreter's exposition of the chicken and her chicks in the second part. John Bunyan was a Calvinist.

Here endeth the LutherQuack, anothe quack without Scripture or Luther.]

***
GJ - Bunyan was not concerned with leaving his life history, so his side in the war is debated, not confirmed. There is certainly evidence that he fought for the royalists and helped put Charles II on the throne.

There is a Jackson family story that an ancestor loaned Charles II money and sued to have the loan paid. The King put him in prison and ruined him, so the Jacksons have mixed feelings about Charles II, as Bunyan probably did. Charles bankrupted our ancestor, but that got one part of our family to America. The Huguenots were another branch, persecuted by France and lucky to only be exiled. We thrive under duress, so keep quacking, Luther Quackers.

David neglected the fact that Luther's Galatians was Bunyan's most read book after the Bible, an odd oversight since we are always listening to David's excited quacking about what a good Lutheran he is. I do not think I know any OJists who have a clue about the Galatians book.

But, like most nasty-grams from this dysfunctional cell, the posting misses the point. I am teaching the class and writing Understanding Pilgrim's Progress because it is a worthwhile Christian book to read. The people who defy Luther and condemn Justification by Faith might start with a careful reading of the Book of Concord and Melanchthon.

We belong to the Church of the Augsburg Confession. I consider myself a theologian of the Augsburg Confession, a term found in the Formula of Concord.

Perhaps David is so prone to find Calvinism where it is not because he is stuck on that dogma, inherited like Stephan's STD, passed on by Walther and his lick-spittles.

 This is next, followed by a book on Luther's Galatians, then CFW Walther: The American Calvin.

---

A Reader Responded -

Hi Greg,

In your post this morning "LutherQuackers are Quacking up." you quoted a Rev. Boisclair who said in part,

"What is mystifying to me is Jackson's love for Luther, who would never have stomached Jackson's Synergism."

Perhaps you could request that Bosclair provide proof of:

1. Your Synergism.  How does he define this in his words?

2. Luther's rejection of "Jackson's Synergism"

Without this, it's all emotion and fear without anything real to grab hold of.  You have written so much, it should be easy for him to provide quotes of "Jackson's Synergism", whatever that is.

This would let us all have a real discussion - or at least understand from both sides where the theological divide occurs.

If "Jackson's Synergism", whatever that is, is condemned anywhere in the Book of Concord, let's see it.

Abusive Cult Behavior in Politics and in Synods

Abusive cult behavior in religious groups is well known. One WELS pastor sent me a book on this and asked what I thought. I wrote, "It fits WELS, every bit of it."

I just finished an article from a woman describing the Left-wing social activism among knitters.

1. This is her article. 
2. The previous link was blocked! Here is one that works.

The Objective Justification cult has taken over two synods - WELS and LCMS - that originally taught Justification by Faith. Missouri was behind WELS in its revolution. WELS was first to get rid of Gausewitz and substitute an OJ catechism, Kuske's. They proved with the Kokomo debacle that they could deceive everyone and attack the Kokomo Statements as "a parody" when those statements from their own dear JP Meyer were used to excommunicate people.

Unlike cub editor Phil Hale, I went to Kokomo and talked to the two men who were kicked out by WELS, with their families. And those men gave me the letters stating their alleged crime (which Armin Panning also approved) - the sin of rejecting the Kokomo Statements - which were written out in the letters.

The OJ cult in WELS and LCMS used their dogma to unite around Church Growth and to kick out anyone who questioned their Calvinism.

Valleskey is very clear about love, love, loving OJ and Church Growth.

Calvinist News Tries To Review Treasures from Luther's House Postils, Fails.Jesus' Blind Man Parable Comes To Mind

 The wrong illustration was used by the editor. He could have emailed me for the correct one.

Review: Treasures From Luther’s House Postils, by Gregory L. Jackson, February 17, 2020 Issue, CN

Introduction by OJist Phil Hale, cub editor of CN. Alleged review by Pastor Jonathan Reprecht, WELS pastor, certified OJ advocate.

From Hale - lots of laughs -

"More attention should be given to Luther’s sermons. They at one time had a place in most Lutherans’ houses. But to have 37 pages, including strange advertising, out of multiple volumes of Luther’s sermons, cannot give but a taste.

Every serious Lutheran should read Luther’s postils. Many seem to be available online for free, since the recent Baker published version is partially based on the Lenker edited edition of Luther’s works (The Precious and Sacred Writings of Martin Luther), which is now in the public domain. The newest volumes of Luther’s Works (CPH) is (sic) also re-translating many of Luther’s sermons. [GJ - Please translate this glossolalia!]

Since the real thing is available at no cost, there is no need to settle for a select bite, edited by someone who denies what Luther taught on justification and thinks he is virtually the only orthodox Lutheran in American (sic) today. Rather than just promoting Luther’s teaching, he cannot help but promoting himself. –ed."

[Here endeth the Hale storm.]

GJ - We have provided the House Postils at a bargain cost in the printed version, especially when ordered at the author's price. We have also provided them at 99 cents on Kindle, and free as a merged set of all three plus the Treasures - PDF.

The purpose of the set was to make them more available, portable as Kindles and as free PDFs, and non-profit. 

The Treasures volume is a low cost way of introducing the set when they have been largely overlooked. 

People appreciated the Gems volume of the Lenker Luther Sermons (8 volumes) so I decided to create one for the House Postils.

Hale has no argument for Justification without Faith, so he indulges himself in personal attacks, at the level of a middle school remedial English student. Even then he would get a D for not matching the subject to the verb and failing to follow through on parallel constructions.

Lazy Ruprecht - Typical WELS Hot Air Merchant

Ruprecht seems as unsettled - dealing with Luther's words - as Hale is. The first part is a hilarious, uncited, unsourced monologue on exactly who wrote the House Postils. Using sharp research skills, perhaps from the Dummies Guide to Luther, Ruprecht has thrown doubt upon the historical postils simply by wondering which words Luther really wrote. Too bad the age of synoptic Gospel comparisons is over. He could have attained tenure at Mordor or even the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie. (Are you related to Gaylin Schmeling? Sorry, can't hire you.)

The same logic could be applied to Law and Gospel, by another Calvinist, CFW Walther. He lectured and someone took notes. Also, Luther's final version of Galatians - he lectured from an outline, and notes were taken. But Luther agreed to what they took down, so no one says, "He never really wrote them, though scholars are still divided."

Ruprecht - 

"The supplementary information mentioned above takes up 10 of the book’s 37 pages. It is all interesting yet sometimes a bit frustrating due to the lack of details to satisfy the curiosity that is stimulated. Pastor Gregory Jackson is the editor, and he compiled his vignettes from the work of one of his members, Alec Satin, who published Luther’s complete House Postils in three volumes. But others have also published this three-volume compilation, and all seem to agree that it is very difficult to do so without extensive research in the notes of the original German Weimar Ausgabe of Luther’s works. Even Concordia Publishing House reportedly refrained from publishing this work due to the accuracy questions."

[Here endeth Ruprecht.]

I have the House Postils (three volumes) edited by Eugene Klug, who is far more credible than Ruprecht. CPH despises Luther and Justification by Faith, and their treatment of the 500th Anniversary is a shame.

Lazy Ruprecht could have asked for details by email or phone, since he is so interested in playing the role of the wise professor. This was a joint project between Alec Satin, Norma A. Boeckler, and me. 

By lowering prices and making everything free, our participants expect to see these works carried over into the next generation, not buried by neglect as so many books were before. 

Some Lutheran individuals have reprinted old classics, but they are scattered. We are trying to gather them into several distribution points, where they can be used in America and for world missions.

Sixth Lesson Tonight - Pilgrim's Progress - 7 PM

SIXTH LESSON

The Gate Beyond the Dark River

After many discussions between the believers and fellow travelers like Atheist and Ignorance, Pilgrim and Hopeful discovered they could not reach the Celestial City until they crossed the Dark River, which had no bridge. P. 171

They entered the Dark River with fearfulness and difficulties, but they were helped in cross from life into eternal life.

Then I saw in my dream, that Christian was as in a muse a while. To whom also Hopeful added this word, Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole; and with that Christian brake out with a loud voice, Oh, I see him again! and he tells me, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.” [Isa. 43:2] Then they both took courage, and the enemy was after that as still as a stone, until they were gone over. Christian therefore presently found ground to stand upon, and so it followed that the rest of the river was but shallow. Thus they got over. Now, upon the bank of the river, on the other side, they saw the two shining men again, who there waited for them; wherefore, being come out of the river, they saluted them, saying, We are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for those that shall be heirs of salvation. Thus they went along towards the gate. P. 173

The descriptions of Heaven which follow are full of glorious citations from  the Scriptures. Here is one passage –

Now while they were thus drawing towards the gate, behold a company of the heavenly host came out to meet them; to whom it was said, by the other two Shining Ones, These are the men that have loved our Lord when they were in the world, and that have left all for his holy name; and he hath sent us to fetch them, and we have brought them thus far on their desired journey, that they may go in and look their Redeemer in the face with joy. Then the heavenly host gave a great shout, saying, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” [Rev. 19:9] There came out also at this time to meet them, several of the King’s trumpeters, clothed in white and shining raiment, who, with melodious noises, and loud, made even the heavens to echo with their sound. These trumpeters saluted Christian and his fellow with ten thousand welcomes from the world; and this they did with shouting, and sound of trumpet. P. 177

Ignorant Removed – Wedding Feast Garment Lacking

Ignorance did not have his certificate, so he was not greeted and not allowed into Heaven. Instead he was carried out and placed into a shute that led to Perdition, illustrating the wedding feast parable where one guess came without a proper garment and was thrown out to Hell, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Now while I was gazing upon all these things, I turned my head to look back, and saw Ignorance come up to the river side; but he soon got over, and that without half that difficulty which the other two men met with. For it happened that there was then in that place, one Vain-hope, a ferryman, that with his boat helped him over; so he, as the other I saw, did ascend the hill, to come up to the gate, only he came alone; neither did any man meet him with the least encouragement. P. 179

So they told the King, but he would not come down to see him, but commanded the two Shining Ones that conducted Christian and Hopeful to the City, to go out and take Ignorance, and bind him hand and foot, and have him away. Then they took him up, and carried him through the air to the door that I saw in the side of the hill, and put him in there. Then I saw that there was a way to hell, even from the gates of heaven, as well as from the City of Destruction. Matthew 22:1-14

What of my dross thou findest there, be bold

To throw away, but yet preserve the gold;

What if my gold be wrapped up in ore?—

None throws away the apple for the core.

But if thou shalt cast all away as vain,

I know not but ’twill make me dream again.

Part Two Christiana’s Story

After the overwhelming success of The Pilgrim’s Progress, with a phenomenal number of books sold for that time – 100,000 – Bunyan wrote Part Two, Christiana’s Story, not as a second book, but as a continuation of the original. However, many editions only include the first part, which make those works more portable, but leave the readers to imagine the family enduring the sorrows of the City of Destruction. The Lutheran Librarian’s printed and online versions contain both parts. The third part did not come from Bunyan, but from someone who hitched a ride on his fame, like the publisher who wrote a Lutheran blog filled with verbatim (but uncited) biographies from The Catholic Encyclopedia – and even linked them shamelessly on LutherQuest.

Part Two has a lengthy opening in poetry, compared to the first part getting involved in the urgency of leaving the City of Destruction and trying to include Christian’s wife. The narrative in this part starts with Christiana realizing she should have gone with her husband, repenting of that error, and telling their four sons about the need to take the same pilgrimage.

The family passed through the Slough of Despond and entered through the Wicket Gate.

Interpreter’s House, P. 220

Christiana was shown new lessons at the Interpreter’s House. After the muck-rake is the spider.

INTERPRETER. That prayer, Said the Interpreter, has lain by till it is almost rusty. ‘Give me not riches,’ is scarce the prayer of one of ten thousand (Prov. 30:8). Straws, and sticks, and dust, with most, are the great things now looked after. With that Mercy and Christiana wept, and said, It is, alas! too true. When the Interpreter had shown them this, He has them into the very best room in the house; a very brave room it was. So He bid them look round about, and see if they could find anything profitable there. Then they looked round and round; for there was nothing there to be seen but a very great spider on the wall: and that they overlooked.

MERCY. Then said Mercy, Sir, I see nothing; but Christiana held her peace.

INTERPRETER. But, said the Interpreter, look again, and she therefore looked again, and said, Here is not anything but an ugly spider, who hangs by her hands upon the wall. Then said He, Is there but one spider in all this spacious room? Then the water stood in Christiana’s eyes, for she was a woman quick of apprehension; and she said, Yea, Lord, there is here more than one. Yea, and spiders whose venom is far more destructive than that which is in her. The Interpreter then looked pleasantly upon her, and said, Thou hast said the truth. This made Mercy blush, and the boys to cover their faces, for they all began now to understand the riddle. Then said the Interpreter again, ‘The spider taketh hold with their hands (as you see), and is in kings’ palaces’ (Prov. 30:28). And wherefore is this recorded, but to show you, that how full of the venom of sin soever you be, yet you may, by the hand of faith, lay hold of, and dwell in the best room that belongs to the King’s house above!

CHRISTIANA. I thought, said Christiana, of something of this; but I could not imagine it all. I thought that we were like spiders, and that we looked like ugly creatures, in what fine room soever we were; but that by this spider, this venomous and ill-favored creature, we were to learn how to act faith, that came not into my mind. And yet she has taken hold with her hands, as I see, and dwells in the best room in the house. God has made nothing in vain. Then they seemed all to be glad; but the water stood in their eyes; yet they looked one upon another, and also bowed before the Interpreter.

Thank You to Alec Satin, Lutheran Librarian, for Kings and Priests

Lenski is closely identified with Capital University and the ALC.

 Cap Seminary got themselves into insolvency with their radicalism - now they are merely a department of the school.

 Lenski's Kings and Priests

Dear Pastor Jackson!!!

 

I see on Ichabod this morning that you list access to Lenski's Kings and Priests! Thank you, thank you thank you! You don't know how long I have been looking for this book and now I have one on order. I am now reading in Lenski's " Revelation" book, the last one for me to read in his 12 volume set. I also have 2 of his Eisenach selection series. I have seen Kings and Priests referred to quite a few times in these volumes and wanted to read it--and now you have found it and I can! I am 81 years old and have prayed that the Lord would let me live long enough to finish reading Lenski's New Testament Commentaries and He has answered my prayers (almost--still have about 150 pages to go) Again, thank you so much for introducing me to Lenski some years ago--I sure would never have known about him from my "conservative" Lutheran pastors!

 

May the Lord continue to bless you!

We give these away as ebooks - much appreciated. I use them all the time.

This Foundational Doctrine Is Almost Forgotten But Still at Work

I stopped by a page dedicated to In View of Faith, a term used in opposition to Calvin's strange and blasphemous denial of the Holy Spirit always at work in the Word. The Appleton Gang wanted to condemn me, using the Latin term, but got it wrong. The Latin is intuitu fidei. Their version was Inuitu fidei - reminding me that the Eskimos are also called Inuits.

Someone said on the page, "That is my hope! We've certainly put in the effort to try and convince a few. Maybe it will pay off."

I hastened to reply, "The Word is always effective. Isaiah 55:8ff." I know from my own experience that this foundational doctrine is not taught and embraced by Lutherans. In the LCMS-WELS, I remembered with irony that the last person to express this in front of pastors was a liberal LCA bishop. He said, "The Word does all the work." And I heard an Assembly of God minister express this doctrine by quoting the Isaiah passage, when we visited his church in Wheaton:

Isaiah 55:8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

[Note the three-fold promise - like the rain and snow,

1. God's Word is never lacking in effectiveness, expressed as a litotes, double negative, no exceptions possible.
2. God's Word will accomplish what He pleases.
3. God's Word will prosper what He has willed.]

12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

The Calvinists, on their way from rationalism to atheism, put all their emphasis on planning, marketing, and telling God what He must do to please them - for example - "10% growth in membership and income in the next three years." (Posted on an Episcopalian bulletin board, after the priest attended Fuller Seminary. I always research bulletin boards.)

However, the Scriptures put all the emphasis on faith and the Gospel Word.

God's Word springs up like new seed scattered on freshly raked, rich-in-organics soil. We are not snow covered, so we have daffodils sprouting and starting to bloom for Valentine's Day. North of us, the snow is protecting the ocean of life beneath, ready to melt later and give everything a special boost. Winter bulbs grow up to the surface during winter and sprout roots, the top part checking to see if it is really spring (and bulb opinions vary). When the signal is clear, the grey-brown gardens will be dazzling with yellows, oranges, whites, and fresh greens, all too cold for the greedy bugs.

Our little group has about 200 book titles in print or in ebooks.

• One little mention brings out three (3) hymn story books. 
• Another mention - The Pilgrim's Progress, plus a video series and booklet following.
• Another one - Lenski's Kings and Priests.

Everything we do at Bethany is non-profit and public domain. When I am finally dead, as one critic wished, the same Biblical doctrines that plagued and unhorsed the Calvinist-Lutherans will be freely available for years to come. Moreover, one set will be free PDFs, easily shared. Another set will be free Word documents, available for use in translating, editing, distributing in various forms. All our media ministries work the same way, modular, not dictated by DNA or politics.

 Why are Lutherans asleep, not at all alarmed at the Biblical text being corrupted by the modernists, the seminary professors in love with rationalism, the synod leaders in bed with ELCA, abortion, and popcorn entertainment services? They have not sharpened their senses with Biblical debate.

The Indiana district bishop visited a pastor and said, in love, "You are getting people upset. Buy a book of sermons and read them." Result? - ELCA.

 They are harder to get rid of than a time-share in California. 

Efficacy Motherlode - Utterly Lacking on LQ and Christian News and the Lutheran Seminaries (All of Them, From ELCA on up to the CLC's)

Army Ranger Bob and Sassy - A Special Day

Army Ranger Bob came over with a special package. He had a complete Meals Ready To Eat (MRE - also called Meals Rejected by Ethiopians). His friend at work got one, so he decided to demonstrate its use and share some Ranger stories.

Sassy demanded her usual round of treats - Milkebone first, then a few training treats, then some cinnamon crackers. Normally she tells off Bob for not feeding her enough and various other deficiencies. She also looks at him with her loving eyes and allows him to give her a tummy rub. Her end game is to stretch on the floor and listen to his stories.

This demonstration, complete with many stories about Army training, had a special meaning. Bob said as he was leaving, "I drove Mike's body to his grave, one year ago, today." He was feeling the loss all over.

He left home at 16 to give his mother one less mouth to feed and Army money to help her along. Since we moved here and got to know Bob, he lost his mother, his Army Ranger step-dad, and his brother. Mike was almost helpless at birth, but his family helped him become an able-bodied man who could work and earn a living of sorts. Mike was retarded but he could offer observations that were on target, very wise and considerate. He called Chris "Mama" and loved to talk to her. He believed in Jesus.

Mike and Bob did all the nursing care for their bed-ridden mother and step-dad, never sorry they had to do all that work. They were glad to, and certainly were models for others to follow. They loved the poverty food their mother fixed them, like wieners and beans with cornbread.

Our congregation helped pay for the funeral and burial. Bob found he could haul the casket himself (Arkansas law) and dig the grave down in their hometown cemetery - so he did.

He said, smiling recently, "There is one verse I really like from the Bible."

Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

He lives it, himself.

Interesting Week and Day

Vanity Fair in Pilgrim's Progress - before VF was a novel and a Left-wing magazine.

This week began with four medical appointments set, then five, then fourteen. I took one schedule to the nearby doctor's office to coordinate that appointment with the paper in my hand (10 appointments). I was standing there with Christina, facing the office clerk, who said, "You should phone us to get it coordinated." I thought to myself, "Your staff is here. We are here. Does this require a phone?" Comparing notes, the set appointment jived with the new one.

Going down from the fourth floor, we stood looking at the elevator, which another couple had summoned - so they thought. That elevator had a mysterious, prominent button that did nothing, no matter how hard anyone pushed. They found the actual button and pushed it. I said, "That is a neurological test. We failed it last time. They wait to see how long it takes for each person to realize the big button does nothing." They thought it was funny. Perhaps the builders installed the wrong kind of interface with the elevator and simply left it there as a dud.

I am invaluable as the med nurse. I keep track of medicines and refills. Each medical staff goes over them and asks what is current or new. I enjoy pronouncing some meds that trip up staff, but that took some practice. I also serve as the voice of the diabetic expert. I check out various options and solutions with her, to allay fears and encourage a good balance in blood sugar. Chris and I go over grocery lists to emphasize nutrition. I enjoy doing all the cooking, but we look up nutrition ideas concerning our favorite foods or new ones. We love Brussels sprouts, spinach, and broccoli, and I add combinations, like mixed vegetables and onions/peppers. The first three are shockingly loaded with ingredients which help with blood sugar, blood pressure, and other issues.

I remember my mother's favorite cousin visiting us and telling us how much each meal cost when they fixed them for workers on the farm. I do that analysis with ours. This really came from my comparison of modest fast-food meal costs and home-cooked food. The figures are cause for contrition. Two of us at McDonalds - easily totals $15, plus a cone for Sassy. I can cook two large portions of chicken and some fresh frozen vegetables for a total of $5 or so. Delivered pizza versus cooked pizza (frozen) - soggy old for $15, fresh hot for $5.

Christina enjoys the grocery discussions and the infinitely varying meals.

Sixth Lesson - Understanding Pilgrim's Progress

SIXTH LESSON

The Gate Beyond the Dark River

After many discussions between the believers and fellow travelers like Atheist and Ignorance, Pilgrim and Hopeful discovered they could not reach the Celestial City until they crossed the Dark River, which had no bridge. P. 171

They entered the Dark River with fearfulness and difficulties, but they were helped in cross from life into eternal life.

Then I saw in my dream, that Christian was as in a muse a while. To whom also Hopeful added this word, Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole; and with that Christian brake out with a loud voice, Oh, I see him again! and he tells me, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.” [Isa. 43:2] Then they both took courage, and the enemy was after that as still as a stone, until they were gone over. Christian therefore presently found ground to stand upon, and so it followed that the rest of the river was but shallow. Thus they got over. Now, upon the bank of the river, on the other side, they saw the two shining men again, who there waited for them; wherefore, being come out of the river, they saluted them, saying, We are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for those that shall be heirs of salvation. Thus they went along towards the gate. P. 173

The descriptions of Heaven which follow are full of glorious citations from  the Scriptures. Here is one passage –

Now while they were thus drawing towards the gate, behold a company of the heavenly host came out to meet them; to whom it was said, by the other two Shining Ones, These are the men that have loved our Lord when they were in the world, and that have left all for his holy name; and he hath sent us to fetch them, and we have brought them thus far on their desired journey, that they may go in and look their Redeemer in the face with joy. Then the heavenly host gave a great shout, saying, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” [Rev. 19:9] There came out also at this time to meet them, several of the King’s trumpeters, clothed in white and shining raiment, who, with melodious noises, and loud, made even the heavens to echo with their sound. These trumpeters saluted Christian and his fellow with ten thousand welcomes from the world; and this they did with shouting, and sound of trumpet. P. 177

Ignorant Removed – Wedding Feast Garment Lacking

Ignorance did not have his certificate, so he was not greeted and not allowed into Heaven. Instead he was carried out and placed into a shute that led to Perdition, illustrating the wedding feast parable where one guess came without a proper garment and was thrown out to Hell, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Now while I was gazing upon all these things, I turned my head to look back, and saw Ignorance come up to the river side; but he soon got over, and that without half that difficulty which the other two men met with. For it happened that there was then in that place, one Vain-hope, a ferryman, that with his boat helped him over; so he, as the other I saw, did ascend the hill, to come up to the gate, only he came alone; neither did any man meet him with the least encouragement. P. 179

So they told the King, but he would not come down to see him, but commanded the two Shining Ones that conducted Christian and Hopeful to the City, to go out and take Ignorance, and bind him hand and foot, and have him away. Then they took him up, and carried him through the air to the door that I saw in the side of the hill, and put him in there. Then I saw that there was a way to hell, even from the gates of heaven, as well as from the City of Destruction. Matthew 22:1-14

What of my dross thou findest there, be bold

To throw away, but yet preserve the gold;

What if my gold be wrapped up in ore?—

None throws away the apple for the core.

But if thou shalt cast all away as vain,

I know not but ’twill make me dream again.

Part Two Christiana’s Story

After the overwhelming success of The Pilgrim’s Progress, with a phenomenal number of books sold for that time – 100,000 – Bunyan wrote Part Two, Christiana’s Story, not as a second book, but as a continuation of the original. However, many editions only include the first part, which make those works more portable, but leave the readers to imagine the family enduring the sorrows of the City of Destruction. The Lutheran Librarian’s printed and online versions contain both parts. The third part did not come from Bunyan, but from someone who hitched a ride on his fame, like the publisher who wrote a Lutheran blog filled with verbatim (but uncited) biographies from The Catholic Encyclopedia – and even linked them shamelessly on LutherQuest.

Part Two has a lengthy opening in poetry, compared to the first part getting involved in the urgency of leaving the City of Destruction and trying to include Christian’s wife. The narrative in this part starts with Christiana realizing she should have gone with her husband, repenting of that error, and telling their four sons about the need to take the same pilgrimage.

The family passed through the Slough of Despond and entered through the Wicket Gate.

Interpreter’s House, P. 220

Christiana was shown new lessons at the Interpreter’s House. After the muck-rake is the spider.

INTERPRETER. That prayer, Said the Interpreter, has lain by till it is almost rusty. ‘Give me not riches,’ is scarce the prayer of one of ten thousand (Prov. 30:8). Straws, and sticks, and dust, with most, are the great things now looked after. With that Mercy and Christiana wept, and said, It is, alas! too true. When the Interpreter had shown them this, He has them into the very best room in the house; a very brave room it was. So He bid them look round about, and see if they could find anything profitable there. Then they looked round and round; for there was nothing there to be seen but a very great spider on the wall: and that they overlooked.

MERCY. Then said Mercy, Sir, I see nothing; but Christiana held her peace.

INTERPRETER. But, said the Interpreter, look again, and she therefore looked again, and said, Here is not anything but an ugly spider, who hangs by her hands upon the wall. Then said He, Is there but one spider in all this spacious room? Then the water stood in Christiana’s eyes, for she was a woman quick of apprehension; and she said, Yea, Lord, there is here more than one. Yea, and spiders whose venom is far more destructive than that which is in her. The Interpreter then looked pleasantly upon her, and said, Thou hast said the truth. This made Mercy blush, and the boys to cover their faces, for they all began now to understand the riddle. Then said the Interpreter again, ‘The spider taketh hold with their hands (as you see), and is in kings’ palaces’ (Prov. 30:28). And wherefore is this recorded, but to show you, that how full of the venom of sin soever you be, yet you may, by the hand of faith, lay hold of, and dwell in the best room that belongs to the King’s house above!

CHRISTIANA. I thought, said Christiana, of something of this; but I could not imagine it all. I thought that we were like spiders, and that we looked like ugly creatures, in what fine room soever we were; but that by this spider, this venomous and ill-favored creature, we were to learn how to act faith, that came not into my mind. And yet she has taken hold with her hands, as I see, and dwells in the best room in the house. God has made nothing in vain. Then they seemed all to be glad; but the water stood in their eyes; yet they looked one upon another, and also bowed before the Interpreter.

Lenski Should Know - His Own Denomination Silenced Him on Inerrancy and Replaced Him at Cap Seminary with a Dedicated Liberal

In researching a small book by Lenski on the Christian Ministry called Kings and Priests, I discovered a little known book from Lenksi called New Gospel Sermons. It’s really a tome, 1400 pages long. This is from the first sermon I read, for Septuagesima. Matt. 5:1-12, and is excellent. See if you agree:

Alec Satin

---

"Yet let no false expectation mislead God’s children while in this wicked world. Though they be merciful, sincere, lovers and makers of peace, and preach and live the Gospel of peace, for this very reason they will be hateful to the world and meet its persecution in countless ways. As the wicked world crucified Christ, because he wanted to turn it from its wickedness, so it has no use for the Gospel of Christ and its followers when they try to do the same thing. This hostility slumbers at times, but it is always there, and who knows how much of it we are to bear? The more we stand for the Gospel of the kingdom in its fulness and truth, the more will we have to suffer for it. Let no man think the days of the martyrs are past, they always return. But is this not sad and deplorable? Jesus answers with a double blessedness, and adds: “Rejoice and be exceeding glad!” How can he? Because this very suffering places us correspondingly higher in the kingdom, along with the martyr prophets of God in the olden times. “Great is your reward in heaven,” in fact, greater than we can now conceive. All God’s children shall enter heaven and shine there as the very stars now, shine in the sky, but some shall shine with a greater glory, even as one star now surpasses another in glory. So shall they who suffer innocently, for righteousness’ sake, for Christ and the Gospel’s sake, shine above with greater glory. Again it is a most wonderful returning. We who ought to be glad to suffer everything for him who suffered so much for us, shall have this undeserved and abounding reward for the little we may be counted worthy to endure for him."

The Final Result of Worshiping CFW Walther

Good evening Pastor Jackson,

This excerpt is from the Concordia Theological Quarterly, Volume 77:1-2, January/April 2013.

This essay from Mark Braun is entitled "The Reception of Walther's Theology in the Wisconsin Synod"

[Beginning of Quotation]

" (August) Pieper criticized Walther for an overdependence on “the secondary sources of theology―Luther and lesser fathers,” and for his willingness to take over “dozens of proof passages from Luther and the dogmaticians,” even though they “do not prove what they are supposed to prove.” Pieper considered Walther a “brilliant dogmatician” but “an inferior exegete.” However justified Walther’s method may have been at the beginning of his teaching, it was “in principle and in practice wrong” because “it did not rest directly on Scripture and did not lead one directly into it.” Though his method “did no harm to the correct doctrine of Walther and his students,” it nonetheless “stressed too strongly the importance of Luther and the Lutheran Confessions and the Lutheran fathers in comparison with Scripture.” At its worst, “it even led to this, that later one did not stop with quoting Luther and the old fathers, but now one also quoted Walther” for proof of correct doctrine. Pieper was reported as having remarked, perhaps only partly tongue-in-cheek, “We could not persuade Missourians with the Bible, but when we quoted Walther to them, then they believed us.” Recalling his own student days, Pieper charged that “the average student in Walther’s time made out poorly” in “everything except dogmatics and pastoral theology.” New Testament exegesis “consisted mainly of dictated quotations from the Lutheran exegetes of the 16th and 17th centuries.” In isagogics “the Bible itself was seldom used in class,” and so “students came out of the seminary without having the slightest ability in exegesis” and “had not ever studied a single book of Holy Scripture some
what thoroughly.” 

Pieper did not reject the legitimate role of systematic theology; in a review of Schaller’s Biblical Christology in 1919, Pieper wrote that underestimating the value of doctrinal theology was “one of the gravest mistakes the Church could make.” History and exegesis provide the necessary foundation and “a full knowledge [of the] Gospel,” but “systematic theology must shape its form, and give it the proper finish.” Dogmatics fostered “accuracy of thought and the precision of logical expression peculiar,” making it “an indispensable study and a most potent factor in the training of masterly minds.”  Yet Pieper repeatedly voiced warnings against the dangers inherent in dogmatic theology. “The systemizing tendency of Lutheran dogmatics emphasized” the importance of Scripture “in principle but in the application often failed. And the more they systematized, the greater was the damage. Ever since Calixtus, everything had to fit into the logical straightjacket.” The dogmaticians “learned the disinguendam est [‘a distinction must be made’] to the minutest detail and―without any evil intention―damaged Scripture here and there.” 

While dogmatics is “altogether indispensable” for keeping the gospel pure, it is also “is in constant danger of losing the spirit of the gospel and becoming a dead skeleton as a result of processes that involve the intellect alone.” Dogma becomes “the word crystallized into an inflexible form” that “does not express the full content of Scripture.”  Koehler likewise warned that “dogmatic training” and “the dogmatism it produces will establish an array of doctrinal theses and make an outward rule of them, without probing their deep content and inner connection.” Worse, “it will seek, by means of a supposed logical reasoning, to achieve a connected system of thought, whereby in fact Biblical truth is emptied of it content and the resulting Christian knowledge and life is left superficial. This overemphasis on dogmatic theology and a corresponding neglect of exegetical theology helped to create what many outsiders referred to as                                                          
the “Missouri spirit,” evident “in hundreds of concrete cases, in raising suspicions about doctrine, in dead silence about the boycotting of nonsynodical literature, in competition in the area of foreign mission work, in a smug tone of criticism of non-synodical church institutions and theological accomplishments and in all kinds of scornful talk and remarks.” Most likely referring to his own synod, August Pieper charged that “this attitude is taken not only toward the synods that have remained hostile, but also toward those that in the course of time were recognized as sufficiently Lutheran.” This attitude “confronts even the friends of the Missouri Synod again and again to the present day.” 

[End of Quotation]

I apologize for the length of the quote. I wanted to keep it all within context. Koehler, August Pieper and John Schaller went to the seminary in St. Louis. They all had Walther as an instructor there. I will continue to keep you and Mrs. Jackson in my prayers.

In Christ

 I adjusted the title because Stephan left as a criminal, not because he was searching for religious freedom in America.

LCMS myth-minders are not happy that this book is so frank, yet the real story of Stephan's STD and Walther's cover-up has not been told.