Not Solely an Academic Pursuit - But Something Far More Powerful - Faith in Jesus Christ

 

Not everyone in the LCMS is an idiot. Fuerbringer's uncle was none other than CFW Walther, who served as Bishop Stephan's pimp. Can anyone today imagine the LCMS' Fuller-stoked leadership tolerating this declaration of the Biblical Means of Grace, as taught by Luther and the Book of Concord? 

A person named Bob told me long ago that he looked for Ichabod posts three times a day - morning, afternoon, and evening. Many times I resisted writing an evening post, but Bob's pledge kept me adding just one more item for the day.

Others email and phone me. The abusive ones stopped writing when they found their tantrums were posted for eternity, not just loitering in the comment section until they erased their own words (a process called Kilcreasing, named after the OJ fanatic who erased his comments hours after posting. One regular said he missed the old polemics and the fun many of us had with them. 

The ecclesiastical smoke-screen used in the last 50 years, begun 100 years ago in earnest, is treating the Gospel of Jesus Christ as an interesting topic, as long as it is "scientific." The dissertation approach can be used on any topic, regardless of faith.

Ministers, professors, and synod drones have delighted in talking "about" topics which they do not believe. They often have substitutes offered in the name of being up-to-date, or fad-motivated, or opening the back door to the wolves, sharks, Universalists, and Church of Rome.

A prime, almost classical example is the magazine article by Paul Tillich about Christmas, gliding into the fact that everyone loves babies. It fills the gullible readers with warmth as they recall the Christmas tree, the presents, the gifts, and babies in general. Missing is faith in the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth, and the ministry of the Son of God. 

The same process has washed through the Calvinists, the Episcopalians (with some exceptions), and the liberal Baptists. 

Here is a simple litmus test for apostate clergy - "Do you believe in the actual Virgin Birth and the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ?" 

When Walmart announced a few years ago that they were upgrading their meat department, I bought some, mostly out of curiosity. It was the same old road-kill quality. 

That is what we see today among the Lutherans, who are no more invested in Biblical doctrine than the obvious mainline, pro-abortion, Leftist-loving, Bible-shredding apostates. In short, they are the National Council of Churches, unwed parents of the RSV, ESV, and NIV, supported by the absurd NIV and equally bogus Beck Bible. See the snip and clip Bible below - used by WELS, LCMS, ELS, ELDONUTs, CLC, and others.

Every new "edition" of the Bible is another sample of road kill. The majority know better than to abandon the King James Version.

Francis Pieper - Good and Bad. From 2010

Francis Pieper was chosen by Walther to carry the mantle of the Great Prophet, the One Who Explains All.

I bought my set of Pieper around 1987 and studied all three volumes. Pieper was a good introduction to the Two Natures in Christ, although nothing quite like Chemnitz. I also studied Calvinism through the eyes of Pieper, after spending some time on the topic at Notre Dame in the PhD program, where my advisor was a Remonstrant, or Dutch Arminian.

One of the oddities of Upper Midwest Lutheran sects is their eagerness to jump on Luther citations as "worshiping Luther," while they clearly view any criticism of Pieper as blasphemy. No one subscribes to the Weimar edition of Luther, and no one subscribes to anything by Pieper. However, by default the old Syn Conference does have a quia subscription to the Brief Statement and what little they remember of the Dogmatics.

This nonsense cannot be reconciled with the Bible,
Luther, or the Book of Concord.
Jar Jar Webber eats it up and serves it raw.

Pieper Paradox
I struggled to understand how Lutherans could embrace the pox-riddled Church Growth Movement, so I turned to Pieper for more perspective. Here is the great paradox, which unfolds in the quotations below. Pieper could be very good in describing the Means of Grace in Lutheran doctrine and in showing how Calvinism is wrong. However, his advocacy of two justifications contradicts everything said on the the topic of the Holy Spirit working exclusively through the Means of Grace. To put it another way, he contradicts the topic of grace coming to us only through the Means of Grace.

The Pieper quotations address the schizophrenia of the Syn Conference. The ELS, LCMS, and WELS may say the right words about the Means of Grace (although muted and rare these days) but they promote the opposite view, a butchered version of Calvin, in their precious Universal Objective Justification.

Francis Pieper Quotations
"The starting point in presenting the doctrine of the means of grace must be the universal objective reconciliation or justification. This is the procedure of Scripture."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 105.

"We saw before that Scripture ascribes the forgiveness of sins without reservation to the Word of the Gospel, to Baptism, and to the Lord's Supper. Therefore all means of grace have the vis effectiva, the power to work and to strengthen faith." [Note: Augsburg Confession, V, XIII]
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 108f.

"Also the objection that there is no need of offering and confirming to Christians one and the same forgiveness of sins in several ways betrays an astonishing ignorance. Both Scripture and experience teach that men who feel the weight of their sins find nothing harder to believe than the forgiveness of their sins. Hence repetition of the assurance of the forgiveness of sins in various ways through the means of grace meets a practical need of Christians."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 114.

"Because saving grace is particular, according to the teaching of the Calvinists, there are no means of grace for that part of mankind to which the grace of God and the merit of Christ do not extend. On the contrary, for these people the means of grace are intended as means of condemnation. Calvin teaches expressly: 'For there is a universal call, through which, by the external preaching of the Word, God invites all, indiscriminately, to come to Him, even those for whom He intends it as a savor of death and an occasion of heavier condemnation' (Institutes, III, 24, 8)."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 118f.

"But according to the teaching of Calvinism this 'inner illumination' is not brought about through the means of grace; it is worked immediately by the Holy Ghost. Modern Reformed, too, teach this very emphatically. Hodge, for example, says: 'In the work of regeneration all second causes are excluded....Nothing intervenes between the volition of the Spirit and the regeneration of the soul....The infusion of a new life into the soul is the immediate work of the Spirit....The truth (in the case of adults)[that is, the setting forth of the truth of the Gospel through the external Word] attends the work of regeneration, but is not the means by which it is effected." [Hodge, Systematic Theology, II, 634f.]
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 120.

Those who read Fuerbring will find he breathes the spirit of Luther.
He studied and used Luther all the time, and also focused on
Hebrew and Greek Biblical passages.
And - shhh - he was Walther's nephew and knew him well.

Books Lutherans Should Read - Must Read. Later This Will Become a Booklet

I am going to list a selection that really ought to be read in these times, highlighting a few things that must be studied.

Luther
His sermons. I like the Lenker collection, found on this blog and various other places, on Kindle, and in print.

Luther's Galatians Commentary. The short version is on the Net. The final printed version is from Kregel. The Book of Concord commends this work twice, so read it, mark it, remember it. You will be ahead of 99.9% of all Lutheran leaders and teachers.

Luther in the Book of Concord.
1. The Large Catechism comes from his sermons.
2. The Smalcald Articles, especially on Enthusiasm. See the graphic above.

Melanchthon
1. The Augsburg Confession, especially Articles 1-6.
2. The Apology, especially the section on justification by faith.

Chemnitz
1. The Formula of Concord.
2. The Righteousness of Faith, III in the Formula.
3. Examination of the Council of Trent and Two Natures - must be read by pastors.

Chytraeus
1. His doctrinal book is quite good, concise. He was a best-seller long ago, for about 100 years or so.

Gerhard
1. Baptism and the Lord's Supper - excellent book and very good on justification by faith.

Pastor Paul Rydecki Books
Where to start? Hunnius would be a good place. The post-Concord era is especially useful to know because Pietism gave us UOJ. The post-Concord theologians were death on UOJ and always taught justification by faith.

Pastor Paul Rydecki has uncovered a wealth of
post-Concord material worth owning and studying.

Theses Opposed to Huberianism: A Defense of the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification

Apr 17, 2012

by Aegidius Hunnius and Paul A. Rydecki

Paperback

$9.99Prime

Get it by Thursday, Mar 24

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Synodical Conference
1. Stephan book on the real story to be read with Zion on the Mississippi, which is extremely detailed, especially the early years. So much to learn between the two books.
2. Walther Servant of the Word - funniest hagiography ever.
3. Fuerbringer's two books on the LCMS. Eighty Eventful Years and the sequel. Although he was CFW's nephew and did not deal with the criminal beginning of Missouri, Fuerbringer offers many insights about Missouri's first leaders and mentions the personal gift of the jeweled chalice to Bishop Stephan, which the Walther mob stole and used for Holy Communion ever since. Thieves, kidnappers, liars, and cover-up artists - the Synodical Conference tradition.

Muhlenberg Tradition
1. Krauth, Henry E. Jacobs, and Schmauk are very good, verbose at times but great evidence of the doctrinal struggle that took place as revivalistic General Synod leaders became truly Confessional.
2. Passavant's Life and Letters. Anyone who studies the Muhlenberg tradition without knowing Passavant's life is missing the story of this era, now mostly lost and forgotten.

Missouri and the Muhlenberg tradition struggled with Pietism versus the Confessions, but both have surrendered to rationalistic Pietism, universal forgiveness without faith.

How To Learn Theology - The Grammar of Faith

Turner - Tintern Abbey

FIVE years have past; five summers, with the length
      Of five long winters! and again I hear
      These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
      With a soft inland murmur.--Once again
      Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
      That on a wild secluded scene impress
      Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
      The landscape with the quiet of the sky.

Wordsworth, Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey

I attended a faculty meeting last night, enduring 230 minutes of tedium. The faculty at the same table were super-bright and great company. I kept wishing they were doing the talking up front. We discussed children's literature at the table.

Grammar was on the agenda, so the leader kept referring to grammar rules (which are derived from literature). When the question was asked, "How do we teach these rules?" I responded, "Rules do not teach grammar. The students need to read good literature, which will teach them grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills. Children's lit is great for that."

The children's lit teacher beamed while others recoiled in horror. "You can't make students read." I responded, "No one responds to reading or hearing grammar rules. I bring books to class and give them away. I have turned students into readers." Later, the children's lit teacher said to me, "There are are lots of studies showing the importance of reading, especially reading to children, in learning all those language skills." My mother read to us Jackson kids, and we earned 12 degrees among the four of us.

I went home from the meeting, thinking, "No wonder students are slack on reading. We have given up by default."

Theology - The Grammar of Faith
Paul L. Holmer, the sainted professor of philosophical theology at Yale, wrote, Theology, the Grammar of Faith.

He had a great story about a relative who knew all the grammar rules but was inept in grammar herself.

As readers know, grammar is derived from literature, not literature from grammar books. Every English, Latin, Greek, or Hebrew grammar textbook has been composed from studying the literature.

Most of the professional theologians, whether they are the MDivs of Mequon, or the PhD apostates of Harvard, are grammar textbook fanatics. They know all the rules, and they enforce them rigorously. Within their little circles, the rules must be followed.

Genuine Christian theology comes from reading the Scriptures, where the professor is the Holy Spirit, not a political appointee or a candidate for the Twelve Steps. That is why the Luther quotation from a few months ago has been read almost 8,000 times.

Rev. A. Nony Mouse Hates These Sayings. But Loves ... Oct 3, 2007	9602
The Holy Spirit Teaches Man Better Than Books May 23, 2012	7930

The over-paid theologians do not determine the grammar of faith, no matter how many rule-books they cite. The Holy Spirit trumps them all.

And we should not be ashamed that we are continuously learning. The Holy Spirit, through the Word and afflictions, opens our eyes to the treasures of the Gospel.

Several readers have written about the density of thought in Luther's Galatians Commentary. It is easy to mark every line. I can open the book at random, even though I have read it out loud before (every page to Mrs. I) and think - "That is so good. I have to remember that!"

The reasons for this phenomenon are:
Luther lived in the Word, dwelling on a verse or two, night and day.
Luther continuously learned, because he had to battle for every insight.
Luther saw the Scriptures as a whole, connecting all the truth of that one united Truth.
Luther never abandoned the principle of the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace.

Two facts emerge from Fuerbringer's books:
1. He constantly referred to Luther's works.
2. He never stopped his study of the Scriptures.