Informal UOJ Research

Church Growth Guru,
Reviewing His UOJ Stormtroopers

A layman interviewed some conservative Lutheran clergy and asked them about Universal Objective Justification, the notion that God absolved the world of sin the moment Christ died (or the moment He rose from the dead). UOJ standard bearers have trouble establishing the Moment of Absolution.

Several clergy replied, "UOJ is another word for the Atonement." The layman said, "Read the Brief Statement." They looked at the words or heard them repeated and said, "That's not right."

My point is that most people, hearing the plain words of Scripture, believe what is revealed - that Christ died for the sins of the world, that this forgiveness comes to them through the Word of the Gospel received in faith.

Only certain clergy cling to UOJ. They are closely associated with the Church Growth Movement in conservative circles, with a more honest Universalism in the ELCA.

Recently some clergy were organizing some kind of independent group, with some laity in attendance. They tried to foist their UOJ on the crowd, only to be clobbered by the clear, plain words of the Bible and the Book of Concord.
I think UOJ--which came recently from Pietism, via Walther--was the turning point for Lutherans in North America. Other fads contributed (evolution, imaginative text criticism, promiscuous translations appearing on a weekly basis) but UOJ has short circuited and undermined the Gospel itself.

Nota bene:

1. UOJ leaders are unionists who have no trouble studying at Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek, as long as their associates help them in denying the obvious.
   
2. UOJ favorite theologians are Waldo Werning, Kent Hunter, Leonard Sweet, Martin Marty, and David Valleskey.
   
3. UOJ leaders show contempt for the Book of Concord.
   
4. UOJ leaders have worked unashamedly with ELCA leaders on joint worship and evangelism programs.
   
5. UOJ leaders defend their position with hysterical attacks against those who prefer justification by faith.
   
6. UOJ leaders deceive the simple by calling the article on justification "the chief article..." just before attacking the central doctrine of the Book of Concord.
   
7. Conservative Lutherans have fallen into rapid decline with the steady rise of UOJ and its favorite malady, the Church Growth Movement, aka the Purpose-Driven Church, aka Becoming Missional.
   

History Channel - The First Thanksgiving

Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving

First Thanksgiving

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.


Food preparation
Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.

What Was Actually on the Menu?

What foods topped the table at the first harvest feast? Historians aren't completely certain about the full bounty, but it's safe to say the pilgrims weren't gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast. However, the only two items that historians know for sure were on the menu are venison and wild fowl, which are mentioned in primary sources. The most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakersof our plenty.

Did you know that lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu? Learn more...

Seventeenth Century Table Manners:
The pilgrims didn't use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. They wiped their hands on large cloth napkins which they also used to pick up hot morsels of food. Salt would have been on the table at the harvest feast, and people would have sprinkled it on their food. Pepper, however, was something that they used for cooking but wasn't available on the table.

In the seventeenth century, a person's social standing determined what he or she ate. The best food was placed next to the most important people. People didn't tend to sample everything that was on the table (as we do today), they just ate what was closest to them.

Serving in the seventeenth century was very different from serving today. People weren't served their meals individually. Foods were served onto the table and then people took the food from the table and ate it. All the servers had to do was move the food from the place where it was cooked onto the table.

Pilgrims didn't eat in courses as we do today. All of the different types of foods were placed on the table at the same time and people ate in any order they chose. Sometimes there were two courses, but each of them would contain both meat dishes, puddings, and sweets.

More Meat, Less Vegetables
Our modern Thanksgiving repast is centered around the turkey, but that certainly wasn't the case at the pilgrims's feasts. Their meals included many different meats. Vegetable dishes, one of the main components of our modern celebration, didn't really play a large part in the feast mentality of the seventeenth century. Depending on the time of year, many vegetables weren't available to the colonists.

The pilgrims probably didn't have pies or anything sweet at the harvest feast. They had brought some sugar with them on the Mayflower but by the time of the feast, the supply had dwindled. Also, they didn't have an oven so pies and cakes and breads were not possible at all. The food that was eaten at the harvest feast would have seemed fatty by 1990's standards, but it was probably more healthy for the pilgrims than it would be for people today. The colonists were more active and needed more protein. Heart attack was the least of their worries. They were more concerned about the plague and pox.

Surprisingly Spicy Cooking
People tend to think of English food at bland, but, in fact, the pilgrims used many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and dried fruit, in sauces for meats. In the seventeenth century, cooks did not use proportions or talk about teaspoons and tablespoons. Instead, they just improvised. The best way to cook things in the seventeenth century was to roast them. Among the pilgrims, someone was assigned to sit for hours at a time and turn the spit to make sure the meat was evenly done.

Since the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians had no refrigeration in the seventeenth century, they tended to dry a lot of their foods to preserve them. They dried Indian corn, hams, fish, and herbs.

Dinner for Breakfast: Pilgrim Meals:
The biggest meal of the day for the colonists was eaten at noon and it was called noonmeat or dinner. The housewives would spend part of their morning cooking that meal. Supper was a smaller meal that they had at the end of the day. Breakfast tended to be leftovers from the previous day's noonmeat.

In a pilgrim household, the adults sat down to eat and the children and servants waited on them. The foods that the colonists and Wampanoag Indians ate were very similar, but their eating patterns were different. While the colonists had set eating patterns--breakfast, dinner, and supper--the Wampanoags tended to eat when they were hungry and to have pots cooking throughout the day.

Source: Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimoth Plantation
All Photos Courtesy of Plimouth Plantation, Inc., Plymouth, Mass. USA.ca.

Lincon's Thanksgiving Address

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by his divine law, nations, like individuals, are subject to punishments and chastisements in this world May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins; to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole of the American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every pad of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.


-President Abraham Lincoln
16th president of the USA

The Episcopal News You Read Today... Is the Lutheran News You Will Read In a Few Years

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church,
Katharine Jefferts Schori

This satire was based upon a serious interview in the New York Times! - (Questions for Katharine Jefferts Schori, State of the Church: Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON, Published: November 19, 2006)

Sunday, November 26, 2006
ECUSA ranks thinning...

... because Episcopalians care about the environment and are far too educated to have children, unlike Catholics and Mormons. Brutally Honest.

So says Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

Really:

How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?

About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.

Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?

No. It’s probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.

Regular readers will know that I call myself an exiled Episcopalian. This'll be more reason why I'm likely to remain so.

***

GJ - Below is the actual interview from the New York Times. The writer took the image above from the interview and created the satirical ad. Years ago, The Episcopalian magazine ran companion articles on the resurrection of Christ. One priest said it did happen. The other said it did not. That illustrates the latitudinarianism of the Episcopals.

New York Times

Q: You just took office as the first woman to head the Episcopal Church, and curiously enough, you come from a science background, having worked as an oceanographer for years.

I worked on squids and octopuses.

As a scientist with a Ph.D., what do you make of the Christian fundamentalists who say the earth was created in six days and dismiss evolution as a lot of bunk?

I think it’s a horrendous misunderstanding of both science and active faith tradition. I understand the great creation story in the scientific sense — big bang and evolutionary theory — as the best understanding of how we have come to be what we are: not the meaning behind it, but the process behind it. Genesis is about the meaning behind that.

Your critics see you as an unrepentant liberal who supports the ordination of gay bishops. Are you trying to bolster the religious left?

No. We’re not about being either left or right. We’re about being comprehensive.

How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?

About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.

Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?

No. It’s probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.

You’re actually Catholic by birth; your parents joined the Episcopal Church when you were 9. What led them to convert?

It was before Vatican II had any influence in local parishes, and I think my parents were looking for a place where wrestling with questions was encouraged rather than discouraged.

Have you met Pope Benedict?

I have not. I think it would be really interesting.

He became embroiled in controversy this fall after suggesting that Muslims have a history of violence.

So do Christians! They have a terrible history. Look at history in the Dark Ages. Charlemagne converted whole tribes by the sword. I think Muslims are poorly understood by the West, and it is easy to latch onto that which we do not understand and demonize it.

What do you make of Ted Haggard, who just stepped down as the head of the National Association of Evangelicals, after he was accused of cavorting with a gay escort?

I think it’s very sad. We’re always surprised when we see people’s clay feet. Our culture seems to delight in exposing them. I think we have a prurient interest in other people’s failings.

You can’t blame the Haggard case on the culture or the media. It isn’t a story about sex so much as the disturbing hypocrisy of a church leader.

But we’re all hypocrites. All of us.

You’re very forgiving.

I like the word “shalom.” I use it in my correspondence, I use it in my sermons, and that’s how I sign my e-mails — “shalom.” To me it is a concrete reminder of what it is we’re all supposed to be about.

Because it means peace in Hebrew?

It means far more than peace. I think it’s a vision of the human community. Those great visions of Isaiah — every person fed, no more strife, the ill are healed, prisoners are released.

You were previously bishop of Nevada, but your new position requires you to live in New York City. Do you and your husband like it here?

He is actually in Nevada. He is a retired mathematician. He will be here in New York when it makes sense.

I hear you’re a pilot.

I got my license when I was 18.

You have many talents.

Many crazinesses, many passions.

***

GJ - The interviewer and interviewee are self-parodies, two Leftists dancing around the issues while trying to sound profound. The archbishop's husband is retired but staying in Nevada "until it makes sense" to live with his wife. I am sympathetic.

Some Can Part with Their Property

NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte Episcopalians Defect to Province of West Africa

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
11/19/2007

For the Rev. Canon Filmore Strunk, 55, it was a painful but strangely exhilarating moment in his life and ministry. For 19 years he had been a priest in the Episcopal Church. It had been his life's work and ambition - to bring the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ to the folks at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Waxhaw, a growing and thriving suburb on the outskirts of Charlotte, North Carolina.

On November 1 all that changed. The abandonment of the historic Christian faith, the sexuality mess and the Episcopal Church's embracing of Gnosticism finally proved too much for the evangelical pastor of his 600-member orthodox congregation. He walked away from a newly built, 22,000 sq. ft property valued in excess of $4 million taking half his congregation with him.

"It was a painful separation; we had a large number of folk who wanted to stay behind and did. The original church was 600 with some 300 including nine of the 11 vestry electing to move with me. We walked away from a valuable property barely three years old with new gothic stone worth millions. It was very painful for me personally, but I saw that the gospel could not be compromised any longer. Truth had to triumph over institutional loyalty. The sad truth is that many Episcopalians, have become Gnostics and think they are the center of revelation, not God, and feel perfectly easy about changing things as they see that move them. I could not."

Fr. Strunk sees the move as one of the great stories of how God has blessed him and his ministry. "I spent the best part of a decade moving campuses and then I walked away from it all. I could have been seriously depressed. It never happened."

When he made the announcement that he was leaving, he told his congregation he had no interest in spending thousands of dollars legally fighting for the property. "I wanted them to come freely or stay." The new church, now called All Saints Anglican Church, will be under the ecclesiastical authority of The Church of the Province of West Africa and the Most Rev. Justice Akrofi. Strunk has been licensed by the African Primate. Their visiting missionary bishop is the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey who was recently consecrated by the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi of Uganda.

Strunk, who is on the Pastor's Prayer Summit Leadership Team in Charlotte, faced a challenge: where he would go. Another pastor on the team, a Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor, the Rev. Bruce Powell immediately offered his church building for the Evangelical Anglican flock now under an overseas African Primate. "The Presbyterian session (vestry) deliberated for two minutes and then unanimously said yes. I was stunned and overwhelmed. God was clearly at work.

"We met for worship in the fellowship hall of the of the Presbyterian Church located in the town of Wesley Chapel just outside of Charlotte on November 1 at a late-afternoon service which included seven priests, nearly 30 musicians and more than 250 congregants. My joy at this brighter day was so profound, God has provided godly bishops for us, a place to worship, a committed congregation and a spirit of joy for this new church that belongs to Him."

Missionary Bishop John Guernsey, who is also Dean of the Mid-Atlantic Convocation of the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) and rector of All Saints Anglican Church of Dale City, VA, presided over the solemn and joy-filled service, during which nine people were confirmed and three received into the Anglican Church.

Other area and regional priests joined Guernsey in traveling to be with Strunk and the congregation on Sunday to witness the start of this new Anglican church. Among them was the Rev. Jim McCaslin of Jacksonville, FL, southeast Dean of the Anglican Communion Network; the Rev. Alan Hawkins, interim rector of King of Kings Anglican Church of Charlotte, NC; the Rev. Clayton Townsend, founder of Matthews Mission, an Anglican church plant in Matthews, NC; the Rev. Craig Welbaum, rector of Light of Christ Anglican Church in the university area of Charlotte, NC; and Fr. Norman Riebe, assisting priest of All Saints Anglican.

"We're not Presbyterians or Anglicans today, we're servants of the Living God," said Siler Presbyterian's pastor Bruce Powell in welcoming the new community of Anglicans to his church's fellowship hall. Strunk and Powell have served together on the servant leader team of the interdenominational Metrolina Pastors Prayer Summit for 11 years. "We were both orthodox pastors in liberal denominations, and we've developed a tremendous bond over the years," said Strunk of his colleague.

Forging a relationship that crosses traditional bishopric lines, Bishop Guernsey is being licensed by Akrofi, Primate of West Africa and Bishop of Accra -- and a longtime friend of Strunk -- to serve as a missionary bishop, helping provide bishopric oversight for All Saints Anglican in the United States.

"This is reflective of the spirit of radical cooperation that we see growing in the leadership of the Anglican realignment," Strunk said of Akrofi and Guernsey's willingness and commitment to work together in an uncharted partnership to support and advise the nascent All Saints Anglican Church.

Holding worship service in another church's home is both a provision and a challenge, says Strunk. "We no longer have a conspicuous church building of our own to attract visitors to our congregation. We will have to be more intentional in our outreach and evangelism as we continue our mission to be disciples making disciples.

"I thought we would hurt financially. It hasn't happened. Some 90 of the 300 who have come over have pledged more than half a million dollars already - that's $6,000 per family. These people are serious about the truth, the church and salvation. It is remarkable what God is doing."

Almost immediately, Fr. Strunk was inhibited by the liberal Bishop of North Carolina, Michael B. Curry for "abandonment of Communion."

"I expect to be deposed. Of course, I have abandoned neither the Anglican Communion nor the faith once delivered to the saints. This is the lie now being constantly perpetrated by liberal TEC bishops. I am not the slightest bit concerned."

Strunk said he got the call on his cell phone from Curry while he was attending an Anglican Relief and Development meeting in Charleston. He was immediately "ministered to" by Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan and the other bishops present. Primate Akrofi is on the board of ARDF and immediately offered his oversight. Fr. Strunk has visited the West African headquarters of the Anglican Province in Ghana over the years.

Strunk says that both Bishop Guernsey and Archbishop Akrofi are two of the godliest, wisest, most prayerful, humblest and strongest men he knows and is proud to be under their authority.

Fr. Strunk is not alone. The area is fast becoming a haven for orthodox Anglican parishes.

The Anglican Church plants in the greater Charlotte region are King of Kings (Southpark area), Light of Christ (university area), Matthews mission (Matthews/Mint hill area) All Saints (Wesley Chapel), Good Shepherd (Huntersville) and Southpointe (Rock Hill). These are all Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) church plants. There is also an APA parish, St. Michaels, in southeast Charlotte. In Raleigh, NC Holy Cross is under the Rev. John Gibson and Holy Trinity in Raleigh has thrived under the British evangelist, author and church planter Canon Michael Green. All Saints Anglican in Chapel Hill is also a new thriving congregation.

Weekly Sunday worship for All Saints Anglican will be held at 4 pm, Sunday School at 5:30 pm, and covered dish supper at 6:30 pm. Youth and children will meet at Siler Presbyterian Church, 6301 Weddington Monroe Rd. Wesley Chapel, NC 28104.

Looking back on his actions Fr. Strunk had this to say: "As the Episcopal Church is not going to repent, I knew I was going to have to leave this building I had worked in for so many years to build. I was in tremendous sorrow, but I was not prepared to trade a beautiful building against my eternal soul."

http://www.all-saints-anglican.org

***

GJ - Lutherans seem to be more attached to their property, with the ministers placing their complete trust in the pension system. "We should so fear, love, and trust in the synod above all things."

The Primacy of the Pope

Treatise Compiled by the Theologians Assembled at Smalcald

1537

1] The Roman Pontiff claims for himself [in the first place] that by divine right he is [supreme] above all bishops and pastors [in all Christendom].

2] Secondly, he adds also that by divine right he has both swords, i.e., the authority also of bestowing kingdoms [enthroning and deposing kings, regulating secular dominions etc.].

3] And thirdly, he says that to believe this is necessary for salvation. And for these reasons the Roman bishop calls himself [and boasts that he is] the vicar of Christ on earth.

4] These three articles we hold to be false, godless, tyrannical, and [quite] pernicious to the Church.

5] Now, in order that our proof [reason and opinion] may be [better] understood, we shall first define what they call being above all [what it means that he boasts of being supreme] by divine right. For they mean that he is universal [that the Pope is the general bishop over the entire Christian Church], or, as they say, ecumenical bishop, i.e., from whom all bishops and pastors throughout the entire world ought to seek ordination and [confirmation, who [alone] is to have the right of electing, ordaining, confirming, deposing all bishops [and pastors]. 6] Besides this, he arrogates to himself the authority to make [all kinds of] laws concerning acts of worship, concerning changing the Sacraments [and] concerning doctrine, and wishes his articles, his decrees, his laws [his statutes and ordinances] to be considered equal to the divine laws [to other articles of the Christian Creed and the Holy Scriptures], i.e., he holds that by the papal laws the consciences of men are so bound that those who neglect them, even without public offense, sin mortally [that they cannot be omitted without sin. For he wishes to found this power upon divine right and the Holy Scriptures; yea, he wishes to have it preferred to the Holy Scriptures and God's commands]. And what he adds is still more horrible, namely, that it is necessary to believe all these things in order to be saved [all these things shall and must be believed at the peril of forfeiting salvation].

7] In the first place, therefore, let us show from the [holy] Gospel that the Roman bishop is not by divine right above [cannot arrogate to himself any supremacy whatever over] other bishops and pastors.

8] I. Luke 22, 25. Christ expressly prohibits lordship among the apostles [that no apostle should have any supremacy over the rest]. For this was the very question, namely, that when Christ spake of His passion, they were disputing who should be at the head, and as it were the vicar of the absent Christ. There Christ reproves this error of the apostles and teaches that there shall not be lordship or superiority among them, but that the apostles should be sent forth as equals to the common ministry of the Gospel. Accordingly, He says: The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors, but ye shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. The antithesis here shows [By holding these matters against one another one sees] that lordship [among the apostles] is disapproved.

II. Matt. 18, 2. The same is taught by the parable when Christ in the same dispute concerning the kingdom places a little child in the midst, signifying that among ministers there is not to be sovereignty, just as a child neither takes nor seeks sovereignty for himself.

9] III. John 20, 21. Christ sends forth His disciples on an equality, without any distinction [so that no one of them was to have more or less power than any other], when He says: As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. [These words are clear and plain:] He says that He sends them individually in the same manner as He Himself was sent; hence He grants to no one a prerogative or lordship above the rest.

10] IV. Gal. 2, 7f St. Paul manifestly affirms that he was neither ordained nor confirmed [and endorsed] by Peter, nor does he acknowledge Peter to be one from whom confirmation should be sought. And he expressly contends concerning this point that his call does not depend upon the authority of Peter. But he ought to have acknowledged Peter as a superior if Peter was superior by divine right [if Peter, indeed, had received such supremacy from Christ]. Paul accordingly says that he had at once preached the Gospel [freely for a long time] without consulting Peter. Also: Of those who seemed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me; God accepteth no man's person). And: They who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me. Since Paul, then, clearly testifies that he did not even wish to seek for the confirmation of Peter [for permission to preach] even when he had come to him, he teaches that the authority of the ministry depends upon the Word of God, and that Peter was not superior to the other apostles, and that it was not from this one individual Peter that ordination or confirmation was to be sought [that the office of the ministry proceeds from the general call of the apostles, and that it is not necessary for all to have the call or confirmation of this one person, Peter, alone].

11] V. In 1 Cor. 3, 6, Paul makes ministers equal, and teaches that the Church is above the ministers. Hence superiority or lordship over the Church or the rest of the ministers is not ascribed to Peter [in preference to other apostles]. For he says thus: All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, i.e., let neither the other ministers nor Peter assume for themselves lordship or superiority over the Church; let them not burden the Church with traditions; let not the authority of any avail more than the Word [of God]; let not the authority of Cephas be opposed to the authority of the other apostles, as they reasoned at that time: "Cephas, who is an apostle of higher rank, observes this; therefore, both Paul and the rest ought to observe this." Paul removes this pretext from Peter, and denies [Not so, says Paul, and makes Peter doff his little hat, namely, the claim] that his authority is to be preferred to the rest or to the Church.

12] VI. The Council of Nice resolved that the bishop of Alexandria should administer the churches in the East, and the Roman bishop the suburban, i.e., those which were in the Roman provinces in the West. From this start by a human law, i.e. the resolution of the Council, the authority of the Roman bishop first arose. If the Roman bishop already had the superiority by divine law, it would not have been lawful for the Council to take any right from him and transfer it to the bishop of Alexandria; nay, all the bishops of the East ought perpetually to have sought ordination and confirmation from the bishop of Rome.

13] VII. Again the Council of Nice determined that bishops should be elected by their own churches, in the presence of some neighboring bishop or of several. 14] The same was observed [for a long time, not only in the East, but] also in the West and in the Latin churches, as Cyprian and Augustine testify. For Cyprian says in his fourth letter to Cornelius: Accordingly, as regards the divine observance and apostolic practice, you must diligently keep and practice what is also observed among us and in almost all the provinces, that for celebrating ordination properly, whatsoever bishops of the same province live nearest should come together with the people for whom a pastor is being appointed, and the bishop should be chosen in the presence of the people, who most fully know the life of each one, which we also have seen done among us at the ordination of our colleague Sabinus, that by the suffrage of the entire brotherhood, and by the judgment of the bishops who had assembled in their presence, the episcopate was conferred and hands laid on him.

15] Cyprian calls this custom a divine tradition and an apostolic observance, and affirms that it is observed in almost all the provinces.

Since, therefore, neither ordination nor confirmation was sought from a bishop of Rome in the greater part of the world in the Latin and Greek churches, it is sufficiently apparent that the churches did not then accord superiority and domination to the bishop of Rome.

16] Such superiority is impossible. For it is impossible for one bishop to be the overseer of the churches of the whole world, or for churches situated in the most distant lands to seek ordination [for all their ministers] from one. For it is manifest that the kingdom of Christ is scattered throughout the whole world; and to-day there are many churches in the East which do not seek ordination or confirmation from the Roman bishop [which have ministers ordained neither by the Pope nor his bishops]. Therefore, since such superiority [which the Pope, contrary to all Scripture, arrogates to himself] is impossible, and the churches in the greater part of the world have not acknowledged [nor made use of] it, it is sufficiently apparent that it was not instituted [by Christ, and does not spring from divine law].

17] VIII. Many ancient synods have been proclaimed and held in which the bishop of Rome did not preside; as that of Nice and most others. This, too, testifies that the Church did not then acknowledge the primacy or superiority of the bishop of Rome.

***

GJ - So why did Wisconsin Lutheran College (WELS) feature Archbishop Weakland, aptly surnamed, to give a special lecture at their college? Why did they advertise and promote this lecture, inviting the public? Why were a number of Roman Catholic priests featured in the same series?

Canary in the Coal Mine: The Episcopal Church

GJ - Canaries were once used in coal mines to warn the workers of methane and carbon monoxide. If the canary started to sway on its perch, or died, the miners left immediately. Today the Episcopal Church is serving as a similar warning to other denominations. All the Leftist, apostate political stunts described below are familiar to Lutherans - or should be. ELCA is already dissolving slowly, while apostate leaders cling to the ruinous doctrines, policies, and perverse disciplinary actions of the Episcopal leaders. The LCMS, WELS, and ELS are no different. See the commentary below on the worldwide situation of Episcopalians.

***

Mirage in the Diplomat's Mind: the Myth of the Vibrant Western Anglican Church

News Analysis

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
11/5/2007

The Rev. Frederick Quinn, an American diplomat and Episcopal priest, believes that the current fractious nature of the Anglican Communion can be blamed on a narrow group of Global South primates including Peter Akinola (Nigeria) and Drexel Gomez (West Indies) who do not represent the breadth and depth of religion in Africa. Scripturally and structurally, it mirrors the remnants of a colonial church tradition, one where African bishops rigidly follow in the footsteps of a departed generation of autocratic British mentors, he said.

Quinn said the current Anglican Communion food fight is symptomatic of wider tensions produced by religious globalization. He described the myth of the "Global South" as a mirage in the desert.

"Global South" implies a monolithic body when, in reality, the group's membership appears to be porous, driven by a small number of special interest advocates primarily in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and their American franchise holders. Membership and financial data about the group is as difficult to come by as that of a corporation registered in the Cayman Islands. . The organization projects a billboard slogan -- North-South divide. Northern churches are cold, dwindling in numbers, and ignore the Bible. In contrast, the growing South is energetic, biblically correct, and the home of judges ready to declare what is acceptable practice throughout the Anglican Communion.

This slick North-South divide is no more accurate than numerous other discredited religious clash-of-civilization comparisons that have appeared and disappeared during recent centuries. Amartya Sen, the Pakistani-born Nobel-Prize-winning author, has warned about the dangers of such distorted religious reductionism. "The hope of harmony in the contemporary world lies to a great extent in a clearer understanding of the pluralities of human identity, and in the appreciation that they cut across each other and work against a sharp separation along one single hardened line of impenetrable division." (Amartya Sen, Identity and Violence, The Illusion of Destiny (New York: Norton, 2006), xiv.)

The Rev. Quinn clearly understands neither the theology of the Global South nor what separates them from the West.

First of all, the gospel came to African through two groups - The Church Missionary Society (Evangelical) and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (Anglo-Catholic). These two groups divided up Africa and other areas of the world. Akinola (Nigeria) is a product of Evangelicalism, and Gomez (who is not African but Caribbean) is a product of the Anglo-Catholic movement. Both men are gospel driven. Theologically the Global South is monolithic. It is driven by the gospel which they will never compromise.

Four things drive them: The authority of Scripture, a gospel that changes peoples lives, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and cultural particularities embedded in worship that makes it distinctively African or Caribbean, but not necessarily Western.

The so called "rigid positions" of Akinola and Gomez are fictitious. First of all, these two men do not see eye to eye about the Anglican Communion itself. Akinola is ready to take his province out of the Anglican Communion while Gomez is not. In fact, Gomez made it clear to this writer that all the archbishops and bishops of the Anglican Communion should go to Lambeth next year so that the liberals could not try and reverse Resolution 1:10 passed in 1998. At this point in time, with an emerging ecclesial structure in North America that could lead to a full blown orthodox province, Akinola and his CAPA bishops just might blow off the present Anglican Communion altogether. A current Nigerian newspaper report says that Akinola and his province are seriously weighing whether or not they will boycott the Lambeth Conference next year. Akinola has called for a postponement of Lambeth to allow for a cooling off. Rowan Williams has rejected that option.

The possibility that the Province of Nigeria might leave the Anglican Communion was raised recently by Bishop Benjamin Kwashi of Jos (Nigeria), who told an Anglican audience in London that Nigeria must forget about Britain and the US. He pointedly referenced the fact that his primate, Peter Akinola, has the full backing of his Synod against gay unions and does not act alone. He then said, "If the Anglican Communion thought its problems would end with the demise of Akinola, they were wrong. We have looked to them in the past as the church from where the gospel came to us. But the evidence now suggests that they have turned the gospel upside down and that it is Britain that needs our help."

Perhaps the Rev. Quinn did not read that story.

Quinn said the Anglican Global South faction and their American supporters have missed an opportunity to draw on the rich contributions of the African American religious ethos, Pentecostal, liberation and other post-colonial theologies. Asian, Latin American and African Christians have been in the forefront of developing such forms of religious expression linking eternal truths with local settings and cultures.

Here again he is talking nonsense. Orthodox African Anglicans hold the same theology as African Americans (Baptists), Pentecostals and others, when it comes to their doctrine of salvation. Where they differ is that the Global South is distinctively Anglican, and being gospel driven is the fastest growing Protestant denomination in the Global South. Is Quinn asking them to give up their distinctively Anglican ethos for something else? In that case, they would not be Anglican.

Allow me to add a personal note here. More than 25 years ago, I worked as an associate pastor of a 1,000 member black church in NJ. I was the token white male. The service ran two hours each Sunday. The music was joyful and upbeat, the preaching biblical (and at least 40 minutes in length), the plate was passed around three times, and each service ended with an altar call. Fast forward to Eastern Nigeria. I am sitting in a church on Sunday morning. It is 9 am. The service lasts for six hours. There are three massed choirs. There are hour-long sermons from Scripture - biblical exegesis with practical application. The plate is not passed. You get up out of your seat and dance your way down the aisle and put your offering in a large basket. There are altar calls. This service is three times longer than an African-American service and six times longer than a regular white service.

The difference between Global South Anglicanism and Western Anglicanism is not primarily one of culture or worship styles. It is theological. It is the authority of Scripture from whence comes their views of sexuality, while it is Western Anglicanism, with its innovations, that has gone off the rails on faith and morals. Quinn has it all wrong. Cultural differences certainly, but the Book of Common Prayer and Scripture are at the heart of everything. To put it another way, Uganda Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi is just as home in my Episcopal parish in Paoli, PA,as my rector would be in the cathedral in Kampala. In fact, Archbishop Orombi taught us a couple of things about African worship that stick with me to this day.

"Nigeria's Akinola does not represent the rich, creative possibilities of African Christianity," writes Quinn. He cites one example: "In February 2006 Muslim-Christian riots broke out again in Nigeria. Akinola's widely circulated response said, 'May we at this stage remind our Muslim brothers that they do not have the monopoly on violence in this nation.' As then president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, he added, if intimidation by Islamic fundamentalists continued, "CAN may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue.

"On June 19, 2007, Nigerians voted him (72 to 33) out of the presidency of the umbrella group representing more than 50 million Nigerian Christians, the Nigerian press reported. Akinola's abrasive style had cost him support, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nigeria was drafted to replace him. In what was traditionally an automatic vote to make the outgoing leader vice president, the Association's 300-member general assembly similarly rejected Akinola. Nigerians cited his rigidity and intransigence toward Muslims as reasons why new leadership was needed."

Let us unscramble this. Akinola can be tough. His style is certainly "abrasive," but he is not stupid and he has the full backing of 18 million Nigerian Anglicans and his House of Bishops. His being voted out of CAN was as much a political act as say the transference of power in any American denomination, or changes of leadership within the NCC or WCC. This is not unique to Nigeria. Even presuming Akinola's style of leadership is tough, unyielding and arrogant, he is still far less arrogant than half the tyrannical revisionist bishops in the American House of Bishops, men and women who are doing their best to eviscerate the orthodox and wipe them out of the Episcopal Church! One has only to read endless VOL stories on how Charles E. Bennison ran the Diocese of PA for more than a decade. Quinn doesn't know the meaning of ecclesiastical white western Episcopal tyranny!

Being rejected by any body of persons is essentially a political act. It is not a reflection of their theology or the health of the church, which in Akinola's case is the healthiest province in the entire Anglican Communion and is growing at a fast clip. He already has 18 million plus members and plans to double that in three years. By contrast, the TEC, the CofE, the Anglican Church in Canada, the Anglican Church in Australia, and New Zealand put together might be the equivalent of three or four of his largest dioceses. And he has 18 archbishops!

Quinn talks about a conflict of interest over the drafting of an Anglican Covenant, and says Gomez should withdraw himself from the Design Group. Why? So Western Anglican liberals would have a clean sweep and write a Covenant to meet the pansexual needs of the US, Canada, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, leaving out the fastest growing segment of Anglican Christianity, namely the Global South! Quinn talks about "a balanced, even-handed document". My God! What sort of even-handed document do you think the Anglican Consultative Council would produce if they had their way! The Africans, the Global South, the Southern Cone, orthodox Anglicans in Australia, the US would be left totally out in the cold, their voices would never be heard. The liberals, whose provinces are slowly withering and dying, would rule the day and literally force schism on the whole Anglican Communion, a schism that has already begun with the election of the homoerotic Gene Robinson to Bishop of New Hampshire.

No, the truth of the matter is that Quinn has it all wrong. Dead wrong. It is the theological and moral innovations of western pan-Anglicanism that is driving the whole Anglican Communion to the brink of schism, not Akinola, Gomez, Venables, Jensen or Duncan.

Quinn can spin it all he wants, but population growth numbers do widely favor the South, and the "southern" countries so-called "diversity of religious expressions" is more in his mind than in reality. There are no theological and moral differences between Akinola and Robert Duncan Bishop of Pittsburgh. Their worship style might reflect different cultures, but they are exactly on the same Prayer Book and Biblical page .

Quinn should know this as he watches the Episcopal Church break up over the next few months. American Episcopal dioceses are seeking ecclesiastical shelter from the very African provinces he mocks.

Quinn's day is done. So long as the spiritually deadening effects of homosexual practice continues to haunt the Anglican Communion then it is finished, because underneath that moral issue lies the authority of Scripture, the redeeming power of the gospel. Now that is a sword worth falling on and dying for.

UOJ Stormtrooper Finds New Target

"I promise to believe that faith does not matter. Everyone is already forgiven. I got that. But why were you so stern with me before? Wasn't I already forgiven? Oh, twice? The first time counts but doesn't really count. Then I have to decide it does count. OK, but what about the Means of Grace?

Don't tase me, bro."

No Puns This Time - WELS Giving Is Up

For the fourth straight month, Congregation Mission Offerings—the offerings congregations submit for WELS’ collective ministry, known as CMO—exceeded offerings of the same month from the previous year.

CMO for the first 10 months of 2007 is up $900,000—or about six percent—over the same time period last year and is forecasted to be $500,000 greater than budget. Also, gifts from individuals are $700,000 greater than the prior year and $100,000 greater than budget.

Todd Poppe, WELS chief financial officer, urges caution in using the results to forecast support for the balance of the year and the future, but he acknowledges they are encouraging. “We need the continued financial growth to support the ministry plan approved by the convention and our prayer for ministry growth in the future.”

The revised budget forecast points to a surplus of $1 million which, in accordance with Synodical Council policy, would be used to re-establish a buffer fund. The buffer fund can be used to offset support shortfalls in the second year of the biennium or beyond.

Executive Summary

Operating Fund

As of September 30, 2007

The attached financial statements reflect the results for September and year-to-date. Although the results are encouraging, caution must be employed when using them to forecast support for the balance of the year and the future. Actual results are heavily dependant on Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) for the balance of 2007 and the first six months of 2008. CMO subscriptions for 2008 will not be known for several months.

Financial support for September of $1.8 million exceeded, on a comparable basis, the prior year by $200,000. Investment income accounted for $110,000 of the increase while CMO increased only $20,000. Expenses for September are in line with budget and reflect the reclassification of school subsidy to the $2.6 million special fund transfer to Ministerial Education by the Synodical Council.

Through September, support of $11.6 million exceeded the prior year by $4.4 million. The increase reflects the following:

• First installment of a five-year gift, plus foreign currency gain of $2.8 million
• Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) receipts are $650,000 greater than the prior
year. The increase reflects the Conference of President’s encouragement which
resulted in a reported increase of $550,000.
• Gifts from individuals of $950,000 are $650,000 greater than the prior year and
represent fifty percent of the forecast. The change was led by Walking Together with an increase of $300,000. Mission Partners and Other gifts increased $150,000 and
$200,000, respectively. Much of this increase was likely realized from the efforts of the COP leading up to the convention.

Expenses of $7.4 million are in line with budget and are $200,000 greater than the prior year.

The increase reflects:

• Internal borrowing debt repayment of $1.2 million incurred in July vs. $200,000 which
was not recorded until December the prior year
• Funding $1.8 million of school subsidy from the special funds transferred to Ministerial Education by the Synodical Council
• Inflationary pressures on wages, benefits and other expenses.

***

GJ - No surprise, now that Gurgel--the hastily retired SP with the spiritual gift of leadership--is living in a secure, undisclosed location in Asia.

The blurb on the Asia seminary is confirms the ongoing efforts to promote false doctrine. Al Sorum, of all people, is the NT professor at the Mequon Sausage Factory. He recently traveled to the Asian seminary to teach students there, for six weeks. Dreadfully expensive. Why not just mail them a box of Waldo Werning books? Or the latest from Paul Y. Cho?

Dr. E. Allen Sorum, New Testament professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, just returned from teaching a six-week course in Hong Kong on Oct. 27. Future courses will be taught by Prof. Ken Cherney and Dr. John Brug from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and Prof. Keith Wessel from Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn.

Missouri and WELS have a shared vision of promoting Fuller Seminary doctrine around the world. Why duplicate efforts? In fact, why bother at all? The Asians can get their Fuller Seminary doctrine directly from honest missionaries who admit where they have studied, bragging about being Fuller graduates. The chief characteristic of WELS Fuller alumni is they deny being Fuller alumni.

Others have predicted that WELS will face the music in a few more months, when all the bills come due. If the members and pastors show confidence in the new SP with their offerings, then perhaps they will trust in a new direction in doctrine. Only God's Word can accomplish that, but who who relies on that today?

Sex Scandal at Megachurch: Good for a Church Growth Consultant's Resume

His Beatitude, Archbishop Earl Paulk, And His Shrinking Church

Sex Scandal Rocks Famed Megachurch

AP

Posted: 2007-11-19 19:34:27

Filed Under: Nation News

DECATUR, Ga. (Nov. 19) - The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch is at the center of a sex scandal of biblical dimensions: He slept with his brother's wife and fathered a child by her.

Members of Archbishop Earl Paulk's family stood at the pulpit of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church a few Sundays ago and revealed the secret exposed by a recent court-ordered paternity test.


Photo Gallery: Son of a Preacher Man
John Amis, AP What ever happened to "lead us not into temptation"? The 80-year-old archbishop of The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church outside Atlanta is at the center of a sex scandal -- again.

In truth, this is not the first — or even the second — sex scandal to engulf Paulk and the independent, charismatic church. But this time, he could be in trouble with the law for lying under oath about the affair.

The living proof of that lie is 34-year-old D.E. Paulk, who for years was known publicly as Earl Paulk's nephew.

"I am so very sorry for the collateral damage it's caused our family and the families hurt by the removing of the veil that hid our humanity and our sinfulness," said D.E. Paulk, who received the mantle of head pastor a year and a half ago.

D.E. Paulk said he did not learn the secret of his parentage until the paternity test. "I was disappointed, and I was surprised," he said.

Earl Paulk, his brother, Don, and his sister-in-law, Clariece, did not return calls for comment.

A judge ordered the test at the request of the Cobb County district attorney's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which are investigating Earl Paulk for possible perjury and false-swearing charges stemming from a lawsuit.

The archbishop, his brother and the church are being sued by former church employee Mona Brewer, who says Earl Paulk manipulated her into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation. Earl Paulk admitted to the affair in front of the church last January.

In a 2006 deposition stemming from the lawsuit, the archbishop said under oath that the only woman he had ever had sex with outside of his marriage was Brewer. But the paternity test said otherwise.

So far no charges have been filed against Earl Paulk. District Attorney Pat Head and GBI spokesman John Bankhead would not comment.

The shocking results of the paternity test are speeding up a transformation already under way in the church after more than a decade of sex scandals and lawsuits involving the Paulks, D.E. Paulk said.

"It was a necessary evil to bring us back to a God-consciousness," said the younger Paulk, explaining that the church had become too personality-driven and prone to pastor worship.

The flashy megachurch began in 1960 with just a few dozen members in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta. Now, it is in the suburbs on a 100-acre expanse, a collection of buildings surrounding a neo-Gothic cathedral.

For years the church was at the forefront of many social movements — admitting black members in the 1960s, ordaining women and opening its doors to gays.

At its peak in the early 1990s, it claimed about 10,000 members and 24 pastors and was a media powerhouse. By soliciting tithes of 10 percent from each member's income, the church was able to build a Bible college, two schools, a worldwide TV ministry and a $12 million sanctuary the size of a fortress.

Today, though, membership is down to about 1,500, the church has 18 pastors, most of them volunteers, and the Bible college and TV ministry have shuttered — a downturn blamed largely on complaints about the alleged sexual transgressions of the elder Paulks.

In 1992, a church member claimed she was pressured into a sexual relationship with Don Paulk. Other women also claimed they had been coerced into sex with Earl Paulk and other members of the church's administration.

The church countered with a $24 million libel suit against seven former church members. The lawsuit was later dropped.

Jan Royston, who left the church in 1992, started an online support group for former members to discuss their crushed faith and hurt feelings.

"This is a cult. And you escape from a cult," she said. "We all escaped."

These days, Earl Paulk has a much-reduced role at the cathedral, giving 10-minute lectures as part of Sunday morning worship each week.

"My uncle is 100 percent guilty, but his accusers are guilty as well," D.E. Paulk said, declining to talk further about the lawsuits.

***

More information is posted here about Paulk, Dottie Rambo, and Crouch's Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Paulk rates an entry in Wikipedia, too.

***

Confidential to the Archbishop - Do not worry, Your Grace. I know a synod where you can be a highly paid consultant and youth advisor. The synod officials will lie for you, describe you as unbelievably talented, and slander anyone who opposes you. The synod officials will arrange a new call for you and provide letters of reference. You have already been declared innocent, so if you murder your wife, the same officials will testify at your trial, move you to a new call, and otherwise give you the support a spiritual guru deserves and needs in these litigious times.

***

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Sex Scandal at Megachurch: Good for a Church Growt...":

How the mighty fall! This is a good example of the true fruits of Pietism. Ye shall know them by their fruits.

What Does God Say of All These Commandments?

He says thus (Exod. 20, 5f ]: I the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

What does this mean?

God threatens to punish all that transgress these commandments. Therefore we should dread His wrath and not act contrary to these commandments. But He promises grace and every blessing to all that keep these commandments. Therefore we should also love and trust in Him, and gladly do [zealously and diligently order our whole life] according to His commandments.

Once again, Luther hit the nail on the head. Maybe it was just Earl Paulk's felt need to commit adultery with his brother's wife.

New WELS Hymn

I wish I could claim this parody, which appeared at Bailing Water, inspired by a bogus WELS hymn-writing contest:

A WELS Hymnwriter said...

Here's one entry for the contest. The tune is Dear Christians One and All Rejoice

We thank you Lord that we are WELS
And have all of our doctrines right.
For if we erred in just one point
That would become an awful blight
It would our saving faith destroy;
We would lose all our heav’nly joy
We’d be just like Missouri.

We thank you Lord we’re not Miss’ri
Who must plead for your mercy.
The unit concept they deny
And mess up public ministry.
But what else ought we to expect
From men who did not go to prep,
To New Ulm or to Mequon.

We thank you Lord for abstract truths
That we alone have perceiv-ed,
For function, gospel, ministry
Whose forms must be conceiv-ed
By your church as it deems it best,
So phys ed, science, and the rest
All count as public ministry.

Don’t get us wrong; we will not say
That we alone will be in heav’n.
For though our faith would be destroyed
By just the slightest leaven,
Yet some who are in churches wrong
Will join us in the heav’nly throng
In spite of their false teachings.

For these are they who do not know
That their beliefs are not quite true.
Their ignorance gives them a pass
God lets those in who have no clue.
But those who know Wisconsin’s creed
And think that it is wrong indeed
Are damned forever. Amen.

Episcopal Church in Open Revolt: Lutherans, Wake Up and Smell the De-Caf Mocha Raspberry Latte

COUNTDOWN FOR ROWAN WILLIAMS

Commentary

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
11/13/2007

It is show and tell time for Dr. Rowan Williams, the putative head of the Anglican Communion.

The Communion is coming unraveled and Dr. Williams faces his moment of truth. The days of prevarication and fudge are over. Pleas for unity have fallen on deaf ears. The lines have hardened and there is no going back for either orthodox or liberal Episcopalians. The days of polite "conversation" are over.

Any hope that a Covenant, drawn up will appease all parties, is a fantasy. The communion might just as well fall back on the Articles of Religion as to try and reinvent the wheel with a covenant that will placate neither side. Any notion that Hermeneutics will save the day is also a fiction. It will just mean that everyone can and will interpret Scripture to suit their own moral tastes.

Orthodox Episcopalians are no longer saying they are going to take action, they are taking action. Whole dioceses are preparing to break ranks with Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori and the Episcopal Church. The wheels are now in motion and cannot be reversed despite threats from the Presiding Bishop of legal and canonical action.

The dioceses of Pittsburgh, San Joaquin, Quincy and Ft. Worth have the commitment of the vast majority of their clergy and laity to leave. Documents are being drawn up to make that possible.

Bishops Bob Duncan (Pittsburgh) and Jack Iker (Ft. Worth) have received threatening letters from the female head of The Episcopal Church saying if they try to leave with their dioceses she will rain legal hell down on them. They are not budging and neither is she.

Bishop Duncan is getting support from a number of Church of England bishops as well, clearly an embarrassment to the Archbishop of Canterbury who is powerless to stop them.

The African Hammer of God, the Most Rev. Peter Akinola has come down with an iron fist declaring that he and his whole province, and probably most of Africa along with Southeast Asia and the Southern Cone, will not attend Lambeth next year unless the spiritually arthritic, sexually compromised American Episcopal Church does an about face on consecrating homosexual priests and bishops. We all know that won't happen.

(Mrs. Jefferts Schori was spared an embarrassing decision this past weekend when lesbian priest Tracy Lind failed to garner enough votes to buy a Bud Light in her run to be the next Bishop of Chicago. It went to a married Affirming Catholic who promises to continue the church's pansexual agenda).

In the meantime, cross boundary "violations" will continue apace. In fact they will only heat up. This week Southern Cone Primate Gregory Venables signaled his intention to provide full Primatial oversight to U.S. Episcopal dioceses that want to leave TEC. AMiA, CANA, Bolivia, Uganda and Kenya-ordained American bishops are ready in the wings to harvest unhappy Episcopal parishes that want to leave notwithstanding the lame, pathetic pleas by American liberal bishops to stop.

In December, a major show of Nigerian force will be seen in northern Virginia when they ordain clergy and bishops right under the nose of Virginia bishop Peter James Lee. This week Lee, the national church, and David Booth Beers went to court in Fairfax County for six days of legal wrangling over some dozen parishes. It is being called the biggest property fight in American religious history.

The parishes want out from under Lee and the national church and would like to keep their properties. No one is blinking. This is a fight for the soul of these parishes...right to the last church pew and bank dollar.

We all knew that it would boil down to this: money, (TEC's Trust Funds), sex (pansexual behavior) and power (ecclesiastical).

Archbishop Williams can no longer ignore the obvious. His repeated cries for tolerance, understanding, and obedience to the local bishop, regardless of where he or she stands on the issues, is dead on arrival.

It must be clear to him by now that the orthodox do care, and the sin of sodomy is the bunker-buster bomb in this war against morality in the Anglican Communion. It will not be defused however hard he tries. No one is prepared to give ground, that much at least must be obvious to him. The war for the soul of the church is reaching new levels. Orthodox Episcopalians are weekly being crushed while he wavers.

Williams can no longer play his Hegelian world-view looking for a synthesis where there is none. He can no longer nuance the situation. The situation is beyond that now. He now has to face the inevitable truth that he must choose sides in this war. If he does not do so, he will continue being shot at by both sides, but more particularly by liberals and homosexuals. To date liberals have been the most vociferous in their condemnation of his wavering on the issues. The orthodox have just gone politely about their business ending their association with their local dioceses and the national church. The Anglican ship is sinking.

Orthodox and liberals are pitted at each other. What is really sad and unforgivable in this ecclesiastical war is that battles are being waged pitching brother against brother. One has only to look at the agonizing situation in the Diocese of Central Florida. An Evangelical bishop is in a face off with evangelical rectors who want out from under the national church. They like their bishop, they believe he is a gospel driven man, but they cannot stay in a church that has no gospel of redemption to proclaim drawing people out of darkness into light. They will no longer live in the spiritual darkness of The Episcopal Church.

It is hard to imagine that Williams does not understand the depth of feeling and the theology behind their stance. His letter to the priests telling them to obey their ecclesiastical authority (Bishop John W. Howe) fell on deaf ears just as a letter to Mrs. Jefferts Schori, telling her to back off litigating against orthodox bishops, also went nowhere.

No one is listening to anybody now. Isn't that clear to the Grand Poobah in Lambeth Palace?

Archbishop Akinola said that he, Nigeria, and most of the rest of Africa are now saying they will not attend Lambeth in 2008 unless the Episcopal Church is disciplined. Based on recent events and statements in New Orleans by Williams, that is extremely unlikely. He has given no indication, either then or now, that he is willing to reverse the invitations to Lambeth, even if the TEC is not obedient to the demands of the Windsor Report. The Episcopal Church has been given a passing grade, while orthodox bishops like Robinson Cavilcanti, Chuck Murphy and his fellow bishops, Martyn Minns and David Bena, John Guernsey (Uganda) and William Murdoch (Kenya) are denied entrance passes into Lambeth.

A number of English bishops have also said they will not attend Lambeth, next year.

With Africa, Asia, and the Southern Cone now calling for a postponement to Lambeth next year, Williams has a wholesale revolt on his hands.

If he doesn't come down on the side of Duncan, Iker, and the other fleeing Episcopal bishops, he faces not just unrest in the US, but outright mutiny at home. He has ignored both the call to postpone Lambeth, and also rejected the call for a new Primates meeting before Lambeth convenes. This seems like the height of foolishness.

Williams is not only facing a revolt amongst his fellow primates, but he is also facing a highly vocal liberal, pansexual crowd who is screaming at him if he dares to upset Affirming Catholics and those bleating for an Inclusive Church.

It is naïve to think that waiting for events to sort themselves out will now work. It won't. Those of us who were in New Orleans saw and heard what happened to Williams when he bent even marginally towards the orthodox. He got ripped apart by Gene Robinson. As one blogger observed, does he know what happens to you if you sit and do nothing when a bull charges you?

Nashotah House President Dr. Robert S. Munday, in an op-ed piece at VOL's website http://tinyurl.com/38kxdd titled "A Church Out Of Control" said this, "The only way to save the Anglican Communion is to discipline the Episcopal Church for its departure from Anglican Communion norms. The Archbishop of Canterbury can accomplish this discipline through his prerogative of invitations to the Lambeth Conference. The Primates can accomplish this discipline by censuring the American Church and limiting TEC's participation in the instruments of unity. If this does not happen, not only the Episcopal Church, but the Anglican Communion will fly apart under the centrifugal forces of the orbit into which the anarchic deviations of the American Church have cast it-and it will happen sooner rather than later. Are you listening, Rowan?"

The end is fast approaching. It is Williams' last chance. Not to act is to see the Anglican Communion crumble with the vast majority of the Anglican Communion not represented by their bishops at Lambeth next year. There is a real possibility that the orthodox might form their own Lambeth Conference on English soil.

To act will mean that someone is going to feel pain, the real pain of exclusion. It is William's moment to decide. The hour is fast approaching with events now overtaking him. He must decide or face the consequences.

Choose ye this day...

END

Luther's Hymn for Fuller Graduates

I am a nice, friendly, cuddy sheep. No, those are not fangs. I am smiling at you. We need love and friendship. No more fighting about dogma. God wants His Church to grow. I can make purpose-driven disciples who are becoming missional, and every one is a minister.
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.


O Lord, look down from heaven, behold
And let Thy pity waken;
How few are we within Thy fold,
Thy saints by men forsaken!
True faith seems quenched on every hand,
Men suffer not Thy Word to stand;
Dark times have us overtaken.

(2) With fraud which they themselves invent
Thy truth they have confounded;
Their hearts are not with one consent
On Thy pure doctrine grounded.
While they parade with outward show,
They lead the people to and fro,
In error's maze astounded.

(3) May God root out all heresy
And of false teachers rid us
Who proudly say: "Now, where is he
That shall our speech forbid us?
By right or might we shall prevail;
What we determine cannot fail;
We own no lord and master."

(5) As silver tried by fire is pure
From all adulteration
So through God's Word shall men endure
Each trial and temptation.
Its light beams brighter through the cross,
And purified from human dross,
It shines thru every nation.
Martin Luther, 1523, "O Lord, Look Down from Heaven, Behold," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #260. Psalm 12.

Yea, As I Live, Jehovah Saith Not a Good UOJ Hymn

God the Father, by Michelangelo


(1) "Yea,as I live," Jehovah saith,
"I would not have the sinner's death,
But that he turn from error's ways,
Repent, and live through endless days."

(2) To us therefore Christ gave command:
"Go forth and preach in every land;
Bestow on all My pardoning grace
Who will repent and mend their ways."

(3) "All those whose sins ye thus remit
I truly pardon and acquit,
And those whose sins ye do retain
Condemned and guilty shall remain."

(4) "What ye shall bind, that bound shall be;
What ye shall loose, that shall be free;
Unto My Church the keys are given
To ope and close the gates of heaven."

(5) The words which absolution give
Are His who died that we might live;
The minister whom Christ has sent
Is but His humble instrument.

(6) When minister lay on their hands,
Absolved by Christ the sinner stands;
He who by grace the Word believes
The purchase of His blood receives."
Nicolaus Herman, 1560, "Yea, As I Live, Jehovah Saith," The Lutheran Hymnal, Trans. Matthias Loy, 1880, alt. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #331. Ezekiel 33:11.

Thy Strong Word Bespeaks Us Righteous

Lamb of God, Norma Boeckler


(1) Thy strong word did cleave the darkness:
At thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank thee,
While thine ordered seasons run.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia without end!

(v. 3) "Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous;
Bright with thine own holiness,
Glorious now, we press toward glory,
And our lives our hopes confess.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia without end!
Martin H. Franzmann, 1907‑76, "Thy Strong Word," Lutheran Worship, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1982, Hymn #328.

Preach You the Word

The Sower and the Seed, by Norma Boeckler

(1) Preach you the Word and plant it home
To men who like or like it not,
The Word that shall endure and stand
When flowers and men shall be forgot.

(2) We know how hard, O Lord, the task
Your servant bade us undertake:
To preach your Word and never ask
What prideful profit it may make.

(3) The sower sows; his reckless love
Scatters abroad the goodly seed,
Intent alone that men may have
The wholesome loaves that all men need.

(4) Though some be snatched and some be scorched
And some be chocked and matted flat,
The sower sow; his heart cries out,
"Oh, what of that, and what of that?"

(5) Preach you the Word and plant it home
And never faint; the Harvest Lord
Who gave the sower seed to sow
Will watch and tend his planted Word.

Martin H. Franzmann, 1907‑76, "Preach You the Word," Lutheran Worship, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1982, Hymn #259. Mark 4.

But Don't Expect a Position at The Love Shack, Or The Purple Palace

"Now it is the consolation of Christians, and especially of preachers, to be sure and ponder well that when they present and preach Christ, that they must suffer persecution, and nothing can prevent it; and that it is a very good sign of the preaching being truly Christian, when they are thus persecuted, especially by the great, the saintly, the learned and the wise."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 97. Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Matthew 8:23‑27.

Christ According to the Efficacious Word

By Norma Boeckler

"Hence everything here depends only upon this, that you rightly learn to look upon Christ according to the Word, and not according to your own thoughts and feelings, for human thoughts are frauds and lies, but His Word is true and cannot lie."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, IV, p. 92. Third Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon Luke 15:1‑10.

Trinity 24 Sermon

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Hummingbird, by Norma Boeckler

Colossians 1:16
For by him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity

KJV Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

KJV Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

331 – Yea, as I live (to the tune of the Doxology, #644
287 – That Man a Godly Life Might Live (Luther)
364 – How sweet the sound
47 – Savior Again

Fruitful in Every Good Work

Paul wrote a number of letters from Rome. One went to the Ephesians. Another went to the congregation in Colossae, because Epaphras (the founder) asked for some help.

KJV Colossians 1:7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

The letters were sent through Tychicus.

KJV Colossians 4:7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord

A third went to a prominent man in Colossae, Philemon, whose slave Onesimus ran away.

KJV Colossians 4:9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

A fourth letter, now lost, went to Laodicea.

KJV Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

Each letter had a different purpose and style. Paul wrote Colossians to deal with false doctrine that threatened the congregation. This letter was a preventive measure. We only know about the false doctrine by what the letter implies about it.

We should think about how closely tied together the New Testament history and the Pauline epistles are. There is nothing like it in world religions, nothing close. Compared to those religions we have an intensely close and personal look at the origin of the Christian Church. We have names, dates, Roman Empire history supporting the New Testament, archeological finds as well.

Scoffers pretend to be offended that Paul was a real person. Does anything indicate better that this is the Word of God and not a human public relations document? When people write their own church history, the founders walk six feet above the ground. They are venerated, if not worshiped. Yet in the New Testament we have frank revelations: Paul participating in the stoning of Stephan, congregational conflicts, doctrinal conflicts, and apostolic conflicts. We should be thankful to God that we have such realistic works as His revealed Word. We can study them endlessly and still learn from them. As Luther said, they are like a gold mine where the ore can be extracted our entire lives, without ever using up the precious metal. In fact, the more we delve into the Scriptures, the more treasure and comfort we open up through the efficacious work of the Holy Spirit.

People have said they want to be Spirit-filled and overflowing with the fruits of the Spirit. God has welded His Spirit to the Word and Sacraments, so the Means of Grace Christian is always Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and fruitful in good works, never doubting that God is at work through these instruments of forgiveness.

Small Letter – Big Message
Colossians is a small letter with a big message. Anyone can sit down and read it quickly. While we may think at first, “I don’t know this letter,” we will find many familiar phrases of the Christian faith in the epistle.

The doctrine of Creation through Christ is taught clearly.

KJV Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Creation is a message of great comfort for all believers, because God’s divine Creation also means that every single soul has a purpose. All the turmoil, disappointment, and pain of our lives is governed by God’s providence. We may not see the reason, but God does see ahead (providence = to see ahead) and works all things for the good for those who love Him.

Creation also teaches us that God created the entire universe through the Word, Christ. Every single item, plant, and creature is created from the eternal Son of God. “Nothing was made apart from Him.” (John 1)

Peace – golfers: this is hard for non-golfers to understand. People collect golf clubs once owned by famous people. Someone who collects these golf clubs can expect to have plenty of visitors stop by to check them out, perhaps to hold them and practice a shot. The clubs have great value, bought and sold for large amounts of money. Why? Because someone famous owned them. How much more impressive is it to realize that Christ has touched everything material around us, all of life but inanimate objects and materials as well.

KJV John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.


Philosophy and Vain Deceit
There is a familiar warning against philosophy and vain deceit in Colossians:

KJV Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

This is not a verse against taking a philosophy course in college, but a warning against man-centered religion that takes people away from Christ. There are many mental games played by modern philosophers, the vast majority of them atheists. They doubt truth, doubt reality, and denigrate anything divine.

Blotting Out
The image of nailing the ordinances to the cross is well known. But we also have the portrayal of the Roman Triumph, a march of victory (usually just once in a lifetime) displaying the spoils of war and the captured kings in chains. In overcoming the condemnation of the Law, Christ rose victorious as our Risen Savior, defeating all the forces of sin, death, and Satan.

Satan does not want a drop of blood from us. Instead he attacks us where we are weakest, through out emotions. So the principalities and powers were defeated by Christ, and we can use that confidence to thwart Satan’s attacks on our emotions.

KJV Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Eyes Upward
This is a well-known warning and encouragement, to focus on heavenly rather than earthly matters. The congregation in Sturgis was obsessed with its debt. The obsession had a way of spilling over. One pastor said, “It’s just money. Worrying about it will never change anything. I used to wake up in a sweat over one congregation’s debt. It actually grew each year. I left because of the debt. They are still there and doing fine. It’s just money.”

Times are going to be bad for millions of people in the next year. The financial fraud and real estate meltdown will affect more people directly than any other single trend. And yet, most of it is beyond man’s control. How we respond is directly related to our trust in God. Is money really a small thing and doctrine a big thing in God’s eyes? Or do we judge divine matters the way unbelievers do? The Book of Concord speaks little of money as a way of judging the Christian Church. However, the Gospel is frequently called the treasure. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also.”

KJV Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Christian Life of Hymns and Thanksgiving
The following is one of the most beautiful portrayals of the ideal Christian life, honoring the efficacy of the Word, encouraging us to teach with psalms and hymns, always glorifying Christ.

KJV Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Redeem the Time
Time management experts have nothing on the apostle Paul, who encouraged us to “redeem the time,” that is, to use our 168 hours each week wisely.

KJV Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

The traveling companion of Paul (see the “we” sections of Acts) is mentioned, with his famous title, the beloved physician.

KJV Colossians 4:14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Professor Lenski describes Colossians as a polemical work, and it is, compared with Ephesians, but Colossians is filled with the comfort and glory of the Gospel. As Paul’s life reached its end, the apostle became more emphatic in his message of the victory of Christ. His impending death reminds me of the men slaughtered in Cuba by Fidel Castro. Many of them shouted “Christ is King” just before being shot. This so rattled the hardened execution squad that many could no longer do the work. Some will say, “Words have no power. Guns have power.” But how powerful is the Word which disarms an execution squad?
(Taken from the book by Valladares, a Cuban poet imprisoned and repeatedly humiliated over the years. The prisoners were forced to work in sewage. Valladares was brought into a room naked, where his mother and future wife were waiting. And so forth. He lived and wrote about his experience, a book ignored by the Left.)

This particular lesson reveals, once again, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The danger of the false doctrine invading the area was that the Christians would fall into a Jewish Christianity with a false emphasis upon good works.

As Luther said, heresies fall into three main categories, attacking the humanity of Christ, the divinity of Christ, or justification by faith. In this case, we have the familiar problem of someone feeling better based upon holding onto a superior form of Christianity, so it belongs to the “justification by faith” category. This is a common problem today. While people do not admit it when they are asked, their words betray them. They speak of Christianity in terms of where they belong and what they do. This is the essence of the Pharisee who tithes mint and holds himself above those who cannot obey as many rules as he follows or pretends to follow.

Therefore, the apostle address the issue of good works as “fruit.” I am amazed that so many Lutherans fail to understand this agricultural concept. The president of one Lutheran seminary wrote about the “luscious fruits of the Spirit,” as if the Word of God was talking about a food group known for sugar. The fruiting of a plant is the process of turning the flower into seed.

KJV Matthew 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

KJV John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

KJV James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

(Polycarp was an early Christian leader. His name does not translate well, either as Fruity or Seedy.)

Before people made their income from bending metal, shipping cream, and routing packets, everyone was tied to the land, so the image of the Word as the seed and the fruit of the Spirit was quite vivid. No one thought of the fruit of the Spirit as oranges and apples, but the implanted Word yielding a crop.

As Luther often wrote, sound doctrine does produce good works in abundance, and this is a good thing. George Major, a Luther colleague, taught the error of good works being REQUIRED for salvation. Amsdorf, trying to refute this, went overboard, and said good works were INJURIOUS to salvation. Both positions were rebuked and repudiated by the Formula of Concord. The article on good works in an excellent section to study, because this issue is confused so often.

Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration: Good Works:

7] First, there is no controversy among our theologians concerning the following points in this article, namely: that it is God's will, order, and command that believers should walk in good works; and that truly good works are not those which every one contrives himself from a good intention, or which are done according to traditions of men, but those which God Himself has prescribed and commanded in His Word; also, that truly good works are done, not from our own natural powers, but in this way: when the person by faith is reconciled with God and renewed by the Holy Ghost, or, as Paul says, is created anew in Christ Jesus to good works, Eph. 2, 10.

8] Nor is there a controversy as to how and why the good works of believers, although in this flesh they are impure and incomplete, are pleasing and acceptable to God, namely, for the sake of the Lord Christ, by faith, because the person is acceptable to God. For the works which pertain to the maintenance of external discipline, which are also done by, and required of, the unbelieving and unconverted, although commendable before the world, and besides rewarded by God in this world with temporal blessings, are nevertheless, because they do not proceed from true faith, in God's sight sins, that is, stained with sin, and are regarded by God as sins and impure on account of the corrupt nature and because the person is not reconciled with God. For a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit, Matt. 7, 18, as it is also written Rom. 14, 23: Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. For the person must first be accepted of God, and that for the sake of Christ alone, if also the works of that person are to please Him.

9] Therefore, of works that are truly good and well-pleasing to God, which God will reward in this world and in the world to come, faith must be the mother and source; and on this account they are called by St. Paul true fruits of faith, as also of the Spirit. 10] For, as Dr. Luther writes in the Preface to St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans: Thus faith is a divine work in us, that changes us and regenerates us of God, and puts to death the old Adam, makes us entirely different men in heart, spirit, mind, and all powers, and brings with it [confers] the Holy Ghost. Oh, it is a living, busy, active, powerful thing that we have in faith, so that it is impossible for it not to do good without ceasing. 11] Nor does it ask whether good works are to be done; but before the question is asked, it has wrought them, and is always engaged in doing them. But he who does not do such works is void of faith, and gropes and looks about after faith and good works, and knows neither what faith nor what good works are, yet babbles and prates with many words concerning faith and good works. 12] [Justifying] faith is a living, bold [firm] trust in God's grace, so certain that a man would die a thousand times for it [rather than suffer this trust to be wrested from him]. And this trust and knowledge of divine grace renders joyful, fearless, and cheerful towards God and all creatures, which [joy and cheerfulness] the Holy Ghost works through faith; and on account of this, man becomes ready and cheerful, without coercion, to do good to every one, to serve every one, and to suffer everything for love and praise to God, who has conferred this grace on him, so that it is impossible to separate works from faith, yea, just as impossible as it is for heat and light to be separated from fire.