The New Rome

 Biblical leaders - they are as wise as doves, as innocent as serpents.

This week, I was reading Clyde Manshrek's Melanchthon: The Quiet Reformer. I began on this topic in college and read his book then. Manshrek was a student of Roland Bainton at Yale, a school known for producing classics in church history. Many have read Eric Metaxas books - Luther or Wilberforce. Metaxas went to Yale.

Manshrek's point about the Imperial Diet at Augsburg was

• The papal party won on non-biblical sources;
• The Lutherans won on the Scriptural arguments.

Following the Yale tradition, I gathered material for years - on the topics of Justification, the Means of Grace, and the efficacy of the Word.

These are the arguments for Objective Justification, the uncharted but highly promoted dogma that God declared the entire world righteous, forgiven of all sins, absolved, and therefore saved.

1. CFW Walther and his acolytes taught OJ. (Never mention Stephan or Huber.)
2. Rambach and Quistorp taught OJ. (Do not mention Halle Pietism!)
3. JP Meyer and subsequent WELS professors taught OJ. Mark Zarling and Frosty Bivens - OJ is the Chief Article. Oh really? Check out what the Holy Spirit teaches.
4. Dr. Robert Preus taught OJ, but he did not write Justification and Rome (wink - it disappeared down the memory hole).
5. The LCMS, WELS, ELS, and CLC (sic) joyously agree in teaching OJ.
6. The new NIV Bible teaches OJ and even says in Romans 3 - "all are justified. All, ALL, ALL!" (Do not quote the Greek words, please. Never mention all the Left-wing denominations that contributed to this paraphrase or use it gladly. It's not unionism if they all agree.)

The "Satanic argument, the wrong path!" according to Ft. Wayne graduate Pastor Phil Hale. The Scriptures are the wrong path to understanding Justification?

Genesis 15:6 King James Version (KJV)

6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Romans 1:16-17 King James Version (KJV)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Romans 3:22 King James Version (KJV)

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Romans 4:23-25 King James Version (KJV)

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 5:1-2 King James Version (KJV)

5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Galatians 3:22 King James Version (KJV)

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Philippians 3:8-9 King James Version (KJV)

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Luther and Aristotle, Aquinas - The Radical Leftists in Lutherdom Today

 Eric Metaxas was Greek Orthodox and is now Episcopalian; he graduated from Yale,
His book on Wilberforce made quite a splash. He is a prolific conservative writer.

Someone sent me an Eric Metaxas book - Martin Luther, The Man Who Discovered God and Changed the World. I have started to read this excellent book and recommend it to those who want a good biography of Luther.

Metaxas reminds me of Roland Bainton, also of Yale, who was a phenomenal story teller.

One early point in the book was Luther's objection to Aristotle being considered harmonious with the Church. The future Reformer could not see how that could be. Staupitz, his superior, valued Luther appreciation for the Scriptures as the very Word of God.

The Medieval scholastics had their Aristotle, Aquinas, and Lombard's Sentences. Those were heavy duty filters that allowed almost any interpretation of Rome in the Middle Ages.

 We often saw Jaroslav Pelikan at church on Sunday.

That necessarily reminded me of Walter being the Lombard, the Aquinas, the Aristotle of Lutherdom.
Q - Is this true?
A - Let's see what Walther said about it. Then we will know.

If readers will keep an open mind, they will see how the current leadership of Lutherdom in America is completely radical Left-wing. That began with the Calvinistic influence in Pietism, which distilled into increasing powerful drafts of rationalism. This is how Pietism degenerates in stages:

1. Pietism wants to be Biblical but not argumentative or credal.
2. Pietists work together on good works, promote do-it-yourself cell groups, and reject creeds.
3. Bible colleges and universities are started to promote the study of the Bible, most famously at Halle University.
4. Rationalism takes over in stages, as it did at Halle, until the Biblical professors reject anything divine about the Bible. Rationalistic Pietism gave us UOJ and the historical-critical method (HCM) of studying the Bible as a mere book. Modern Biblical "scholarship" began at Halle.

In America:

• The General Synod began as an anti-credal Pietistic Lutheran group. This Muhlenberg tradition morphed into the ELCA, which is utterly rationalistic. The good works of Pietism have turned into redeeming society through a series of rainbow reforms.
• The Swedes and Norwegians were drawn into this Pietistic revolution because they were Pietists too. They became part of ELCA.
• The LCMS and WELS came over as Pietists, Missouri having their cell groups, WELS with their Reformed-Lutheran union churches.
• All of these synods repudiate Justification by Faith, the Chief Article, and teach against it, substituting their beloved UOJ for the Gospel. Evolution is popping up all over, already canonical in ELCA. Pan-sexuality is just as rad and promoted outside of ELCA as it is within ELCA.

That means -

1. ELCA is radical Leftist.
2. LCMS is radical Leftist.
3. WELS is radical Leftist.
4. Christian News is radical Leftist.
5. Herman Otten is a radical Leftist.
6. LutherQuest (sic) is radical Leftist.
7. Dead Last Lutherans is radical Leftist.

Roland Bainton was still lecturing at Yale when Mrs. Ichabod and LI joined the Big I for a chance to hear the great historian speak about Luther. LI let out a squeak when Bainton mentioned the birth of Martin Luther Junior. Everyone laughed, because they knew baby Martin was acknowledging his own name.