Eighth Sunday after Trinity. Matthew 7:15-23. Beware of False Prophets

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity  2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Time

The Hymn # 39                    Praise to the Lord                              3:1  

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #260                O Lord Look Down                1.4  

Metaphor Ignored

The Communion Hymn # 307            Draw Nigh                3:72

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 309     O Jesus Blessed Lord             3:70  

KJV Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Eighth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast caused us to come to the knowledge of Thy word. We pray Thee: graciously keep us steadfast in this knowledge unto death, that we may obtain eternal life; send us now and ever pious pastors, who faithfully preach Thy word, without offense or false doctrine, and grant them long life. Defend us from all false teachings, and frustrate Thou the counsels of all such as pervert Thy word, who come to us in sheep's clothing, but are inwardly ravening wolves, that Thy true Church may evermore be established among us, and be defended and preserved from such false teachers, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Luther’s Three Sermons about Matthew 7:15-23

Metaphor Ignored

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Why are Luther’s sermons ignored so ferociously, especially among the “conservative” Lutherans? There are plenty of excuses for the non-Lutherans and the openly apostate Lutherans, but why is this so among those who claim to be “confessional” and even “orthodox”?

Lenker in print is my favorite reading material while waiting in doctor’s offices, so I am increasingly familiar with the scope and depth of his sermons. Recently I noticed how insightful he was about the norms of society now, even though he was writing about Medieval man.

One idea, still true today, is that people get better at their jobs as they progress through life and tend to earn more money. That is natural from having a well worked farm, additional skills and experience, or a business that has grown by gaining the trust of others.

Luther compared that to the ministry, where it often impoverishes someone, especially for doing a good job – that is, being faithful to the Word of God. We can see that with Luther’s wife, who managed several farms to support the family household. Chemnitz was the greatest genius of the age, after Luther died, but Chemnitz was driven from his position as bishop for questioning the ruler’s appeasement of the Romanists. Gerhardt the hymn-writer, likewise, wrote the greatest hymns of his age, but he barely managed. Teaching the Word invites a special scorn and hatred that others never experience or even imagine.

The corollary, so true today, is that many ministers avoid being faithful to the Word because the money is in false doctrine. They look at the fortunes of people in secular occupations and truly worship the golden calf, hoping to appease these men of business so they can have their share of the money and luxuries they covet.

If we look at “conservative” Lutherans today with a gimlet eye, we can see the synods and the congregations measuring everything with money and nothing with fidelity to the Word (except to execrate such an odd and dangerous position).

The wealthy clergy have only a portion of the rich man’s table, but they enjoy being a part of it, being associated with wealth, and giving pious sermons that offer homage to business philosophy. They nod with approval when their local guru says, “Every church should be run like a business,” although few argue that every business should be run like a church.

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

During the Reformation, the money was on the pope, and the selling of indulgences was a fantastic business for everyone. It was religious tourism and garnered a lot of money. A fake handkerchief from St. Peter was worth a fortune, simply because pilgrims would come to that town and parish to bow before it and earn credits against their time in Purgatory.

Luther:

1. Christ warns us of the teachings of Satan, who will come speaking lies in hypocrisy, 1 Timothy 4:2; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, 2 Timothy 3:5, who profess that they know God; but in works (which they ascribe to righteousness) they deny him. These St. Peter in 2 Peter 2:1 calls false teachers, who privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them: but there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, Matthew 10:26. Therefore the folly of these misleading teachers shall be manifest unto all men, 2 Timothy 3:9.

2. Therefore one should not apply this here in the Gospel to coarse public sins, whose fruits we see today clearly, when God opens our eyes; but the Lord is speaking of those who come in sheep’s clothing, and say: Lord, Lord, have we not cast out devils in thy name? Have we not in thy name done many wonderful works? These are the ones of whom Christ warns us, to whom he will say in the last day in terrible judgment: I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Why? Because they sought such works and through them they thought they were pleasing to God. and trusted in them to be saved.

The key to this lesson is Jesus’ warning against the greatest danger, the false teaching from wolves who appear as sheep. They dress themselves up as harmless and docile. They only want to help. But they take on this pose only to get close to the flock, to murder those they can and scatter the rest.

When animals are warned in advance of predators, they often drive them away by ganging up on them. Some surprisingly weak animals on their own are quite formidable when they team up against a lion or another predator. Satan roams about like a lion, seeking whomever he can – to devour. 1 Peter.

Simply by going on alert, a group of animals will warn the unwary. The doctrinal predator does not want that. He wants fat, docile sheep who do not fight back or warn others. That is why the “conservative” Lutherans spend so much time silencing anyone who questions the purity of their motives and the blessedness of their results.

Luther did not arouse opposition by teaching the Gospel for the first time ever – a common misunderstanding. He sparked the kindling of the Reformation by saying, “If this is the Gospel, then the pope’s teaching is wrong. Here is why…”

Pure Christian, Biblical teaching is marked first by the truth and then by a clear rejection of false teaching that obscures or opposes this truth. Jesus and St. Paul taught this way. So did Luther. The Book of Concord always has the truth of the Bible taught plus those positions that oppose it.

But false teachers only offer their own ideas as the truth and condemn the people (as horrible sinners) who question them. They do not say anything like this –

“They believe in justification by faith, but we teach justification without faith.”

That makes their false teaching all too clear. People who acquire a basic knowledge of the faith from the Word of God will go on the alert when they hear something so clear.

Luther:

2. We must boldly consider the two kinds of doctrine, the true and good, and the false and erroneous, and that they will always accompany each other, for thus it has been from the beginning, and thus it will continue to the end of the world. Hence it will not do for us to creep along in silence, and resort to a safe and secure manner of life. The evil teachings of men and the doctrines of devils, and all our enemies oppose us without ceasing, and hence we dare not think that the issue is settled. We are not yet across the river. Therefore the Lord diligently warns us and says: “Beware of false, prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

This is one of many Creation comparisons, so clear that no one can dispute it. Last night Chris plucked a sand burr (thistle) from Sassy’s face. No one would mistake it for a grape, and grape vines do not look like thistles.

As Luther teaches so clearly, this teaching is directed at every single individual, because faith is individual. So many want to claim, “I am loyal to the infallible pope,” or “I belong to a faithful synod,” but no one is justified by a pope or a synod. When we face the Day of Judgment, we will have no Advocate but the Holy Spirit and no Savior except Christ. What good will a plaster saint, marble altar, or the praise of a synod do at that time?

The CEO of IBM said yesterday, “We produce more information in one day than all the information produced since the beginning until 2003. That happens every single day.  The winners will be those who manage that information.”

In the Middle Ages, the great discovery was the Bible, the printed Bible and printed religious literature that everyone could enjoy. The Protestants said, “The Word of God is our truth – not the pope, not the organization.”

The pope still argues against that by saying, “You need Me for clarity.” Yes, they capitalize the personal pronouns of the pope, since He is Christ-on-earth, they imagine.

The papists rage against the Protestants for not accepting the pope, but they have taken great strides in changing that by encouraging church entities to sit down with them in talks. If the Protestant church popes sit down with the real pope, everyone will accept the notion of a pope deciding on the truth and legislating it.

All this information is available for free but ignored. The pope makes up dogma, and the Lutherans make up dogma just as shamelessly. UOU is true because an MDiv with no business teaching claims that truth on his own authority.

So the minder sheep, in cahoots with the wolves-as-sheep, tell the others, “At ease. You have nothing to fear. This is a good sheep, a wise sheep, one heaped with honors from Holy Mother Synod. Come very close and listen to him. Ah, we see you are warm in this weather. This good sheep will fleece you first, so you are more comfortable and lend your best wool for his comfort.”

All this is done and said so there are no comparisons between truth and falsehood, the Word of God and displacing falsehood of their Father Below.

Luther:

8. Then they began to say: Yes, but how can we know what is God’s Word, and what is right or wrong? This we must learn from the Pope and the councils. Very well then, let them conclude and say what they please, yet I will reply, you cannot put your confidence in that nor thus satisfy your conscience, for you must determine this matter yourself, for your very life depends upon it. Therefore God must speak to your heart: This is God’s Word; otherwise you are undecided.

9. But our bishops, Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod insist upon it and rage so terribly, that a person must think them insane. They bring forth St.
Augustine’s declaration: I would not believe the Gospel, if the honor of the church did not move me; and think they have already won. Then you answer: What does it concern us whether St. Augustine or Jerome, St.
Peter or St. Paul, or even the archangel Gabriel from heaven, who is still greater, said it; yet it will profit me nothing, for I must have God’s Word, I will only hear what God says.

I know that has been done many times recently. District President Jon Buchholz quoted Martin Luther in favor of UOJ, calling him “Uncle Marty” in front of a congregation. By their fruits – what kind of a smart aleck would show so much disrespect toward the Reformer respected by all Protestants and hated by all true Romanists?

I have collected all the Big Name claims for UOJ – they are few and far between, until the Age of Pietism and Ecumenism. Even if one were true, and even if the entire pile is huge (when adding Bishop Stephan, STD, Walther the kidnapper, and a host of synod stooges) – so what?

Walther will not hold your hand on the Day of Judgment. The DP may likely be in another place, even if he wrote a precious synod essay on the topic.

Paul wrote to the Galatians – “even if I or an angel from heaven teaches another doctrine…”

Notice what is NOT omitted – the Holy Spirit. That is because the Holy Spirit always works with the Word and the Word never lacks the Holy Spirit. Or, we could say, the Savior comes to us only through the Word and bestows His grace on us through the Spirit.

We cannot put anything between the Word and us, as if the truth must be verified by some human agent. But that is exactly what the false teachers want everyone to believe. Do not believe the Word of God by itself, they say. Believe in us and what we teach about the Word of God.

I knew something was foul when I associated with the Synodical Conference and found almost no interest in Luther, the Reformation, or the Book of Concord. In fact,  I found a loathing of Luther especially and a self-serving use of Luther or the Confessions to excuse the worst kind of false doctrine and anti-Christian behavior.

“We are not good on sanctification” means – We do not have to obey the Ten Commandments. By their fruits you will know them.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Sound teaching can be determined by asking a simple question – What makes a tree good?

The answer is – faith. Though faith the tree (the individual) is declared forgiven and saved. Good fruit comes from the power of the Gospel in that believer.

I see this with the enormous rose family of plants. Apple trees are more valuable when they produce the best fruit. Their apples sell for twice the normal price.

There are many types of roses but the best roses cost the most, and they produce exquisite flowers. Bad rose bushes produce bad roses, just as bad apple trees produce bad apples.

Every false teacher emphasizes the appearance not the source. They give themselves away by braying, “Look at our buildings, our parking lots, our endowments. We must be doing something right.”

False teachers direct people to the speakers themselves, first of all, and then to each individual – not to the Word.

Luther:

26. However, by the fruits of the Spirit true prophets are known, which fruits St. Paul mentions to the Galatians 5:20: “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Yet these fruits no one can see or know without the Holy Spirit. For this reason the decision and judgment of spiritual things should not be based on external things, as on the work and person, but on the inner condition of the heart.

One knows another indeed by his fruits, but only in the Spirit. The fruits and good works do not make any one good or pious; but he must first be good and pious at heart. As the apples do not make the tree, for the tree must first be there before the fruit.

27. If I understand this, then I notice there is no work so bad that it will necessarily condemn a man, nor none so good that it will save him. But faith alone saves us and unbelief alone condemns us. For one to commit adultery, the deed does not condemn him, for the adultery only shows that he has fallen from the faith, this condemns him, otherwise it could not be possible. Nor does anything make one good but faith, and nothing makes one wicked but unbelief. Therefore our Lord also says, that the tree shall be cut down. He does not say that the fruit shall be cut down. Thus the works of love do not make me good, but faith alone, in which I do these works and bear this fruit.

Summary:

This lesson should frighten those who participate in false doctrine by making excuses for their organization or leaders.

But it also comforts us to realize how unbelievers and Satan rage against faith. It must be so. The opposition is automatic and even helps us to realize the priceless value of the Gospel itself.

Spiritual people – Christian believers – can discern the fruits of the Spirit, but others cannot. The opponents see everything good as evil while promoting their evil a good, useful, and God-pleasing.

Trinity Eight

Matthew 7:15-23

"Just as true doctrine is the greatest gift we can enjoy, so false doctrine is the most baneful evil that can beset us. False doctrine is sin, it is the invention of Satan, and it imperils and destroys salvation. False doctrine is every teaching contrary to the Word of God. Scripture enjoins upon us to proclaim only the truth."

            W. A. Baepler, "Doctrine, True and False," The Abiding Word, ed., Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 501.         

"No false dogma has ever been spread in the church which was not put forth with some plausible show, for sheep's clothing is the show of false religion (says Chrysostom). Indeed, the weaker and more ruinous the cause is, the more arguments it needs, sought everywhere and in every way possible, as though to cover it over with paint or to swathe it with medicine. For Pindar [famous Greek lyric poet, 518-438 B.C.] says, 'For a just cause three words are sufficient.' Therefore the papalists have gathered very many and varied arguements in order to establish purgatory."

            Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1986, III, p. 325.      

"Paul calls all false spirits bold and proud. Yes, in their filth with their protectors they are proud and impudent, otherwise they are the most cowardly villains that can be found. When they are to appear and answer for their conduct, they produce a single answer. Among themselves they are bold, and venture to catch God in His own Word; but when it comes to the test, they simply despair."

             Sermons of Martin Luther, 1983, V, p. 204.      

"For every sect has always had one or more particular hobbies and articles which are manifestly wrong and can easily be discerned to be of the devil, who publicly teach, urge and defend them as right certain and necessary to believe or to keep For the spirit of lies cannot so conceal himself, but that he must at last put forth his claws, by which you can discern and observe the ravenous wolf."

               Sermons of Martin Luther,  IV, p. 282f.        

"For this reason one should not be too credulous when a preacher comes softly like an angel of God, recommends himself very highly, and swears that his sole aim is to save souls, and says: 'Pax vobis!' For those are the very fellows the devil employs to honey people's mouths. Through them he gains an entrance to preach and to teach, in order that he may afterward inflict his injuries, and that though he accomplish nothing more for the present, he may, at least, confound the people's consciences and finally lead them into misery and despair."

             Sermons of Martin Luther,  II, p. 322. 

"It is not enough that we preach correctly, which the hireling can also do; but we must watch over the sheep, that the wolves, false teachers, may not break in, and we must contend for the sheep against the wolves, with the Word of God, even to the sacrifice of our lives. Such are good shepherds, of whom few are found."

              Sermons of Martin Luthe,r  III, p. 34. 

"There are other wolves, however, who come to us in sheep's clothing. They are the false prophets, who under the form of pious and religious instruction feed pure poison to the sheep of Christ. Against these Christ warns us, that we may be constantly on our guard, lest with sugar-coated words and flattering religious expressions they mislead us, deceive us, by their cunning, and draw us to themselves, as He says in Matthew 7:15: 'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.'" 

            Sermons of Martin Luther,  III, p. 35.

"The world desires such wolf preaching, and is not worthy of anything better since it will not hear nor respect Christ. Hence it is that there are so few true Christians and faithful preachers, always outnumbered by the members of the false church."    

Sermons of Martin Luther, III, p. 385. 

"For nothing can feed or give life to the soul, which is not the doctrine of Christ. Although the hireling does not himself slay and destroy he does not restrain the wolf. Therefore, because you neither point out nor teach this shepherd, you shall not and ought not to be heard, but you shall be shunned as a wolf."                   

Sermons of Martin Luther, III, p. 58f.         

"Thus too, if our confidence is to begin, and we become strengthened and comforted, we must well learn the voice of our Shepherd, and let all other voices go, who only lead us astray, and chase and drive us hither and thither. We must hear and grasp only that article which presents Christ to us in the most friendly and comforting manner possible. So that we can say with all confidence: My Lord Jesus Christ is truly the only Shepherd, and I, alas, the lost sheep, which has strayed into the wilderness, and I am anxious and fearful, and would gladly be good, and have a gracious God and peace of conscience, but here I am told that He is as anxious for me as I am for Him."

Sermons of Martin Luther,   IV, p. 86. 

   

"No work is so evil that it can damn a man, and no work is so good that it can save a man; but faith alone saves us, and unbelief damns us. The fact that someone falls into adultery does not damn him. Rather the adultery indicates that he has fallen from faith. This damns him; otherwise adultery would be impossible for him. So, then, nothing makes a good tree except faith."  

What Luther Says, An Anthology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 475. Matthew 7:15-23.        

"They [the false teachers] fared like a man who looks through a colored glass. Put before such a man whatever color you please, he sees no other color than that of the glass. The fault is not that the right color is not put before him but that his glass is colored differently, as the word of Is. 6:9 puts it: You will see, he says, and yet you will not see it."

Martin Luther, What Luther Says, 1959, II, p. 644.      

    

"You cannot of a truth be for true doctrine without being unalterably opposed to false doctrine. There can be no 'positive theology' where the God-given negatives have been eliminated from the Decalog."

Norman A. Madson, Preaching to Preachers, Mankato: Lutheran Synod Book Company, 1952 Preface.  

"Every departure from God's Word, every error, is dangerous to the soul. There is a fearful, diabolical power in error; for every error is the devil's work, and through fellowship with error a person puts himself under the influence of the devil. Here human reason is helpless."

Francis Pieper, The Difference between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 42.

"Even the history of the world shows how great is the power of the devil's kingdom. The world is full of blasphemies against God and of wicked opinions, and the devil keeps entangled in these bands those who are wise and righteous [many hypocrites who appear holy] in the sight of the world. In other persons grosser vices manifest themselves. But since Christ was given to us to remove both these sins and these punishments, and to destroy the kingdom of the devil, sin and death,it will not be possible to recognize the benefits of Christ unless we understand our evils. For this reason our preachers have diligently taught concerning these subjects, and have delivered nothing that is new, but have set forth Holy Scriptures and the judgments of the holy Fathers."

Apology Augsburg Confession, Article II: Of Original Sin, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 119.  

       

When Were All the Unbelievers Forgiven and Saved, Period, End of Story?

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Ask a Storm-Brownie When Forgiveness Takes Place":

Daryl makes a good point. Buchholz and the rest of the apostate Lutherans who demand faithfulness to the rational man-made false gospel of UOJ teach that only Forgiveness without Faith provides the assurance and comfort that sins are truly forgiven - yet, they do not know whether that forgiveness took place when Christ declared, "It is finished", when He died, or when he rose again on the third day. Along with every other aspect and tenet of UOJ it contradicts the clarity of Scripture in its singular teaching of one Justification solely by faith alone.

Walmart Saturday Morning Meeting Today. Olympic Pitcher Almost Takes Out Ichabod

The Duck Commander described his humble beginnings,
Christian faith, and repentance with humor.
Their reality show is on the Discovery Channel.

This tall Amazon warrior, Jennie Finch,
almost beaned me when pitching into the audience.
The light, hollow ball bounced off my thumb.

Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor has been coming
to Saturday meetings for a long time, starting with his father's trips.

Ginni Rometti, the new CEO of IBM spoke about
computer developments in the 21st century.
For the first time ever, many major developments are happening at once -
social media, mobile devices, the cloud, and vast data mining.
LI is involved in all four areas.

Father Patrick Allen, married father of two, leaves Anglicanism to become Catholic priest – The Post and Courier

Father Patrick Allen, married father of two, leaves Anglicanism to become Catholic priest – The Post and Courier:

Allen smiles graciously, sometimes bringing his hand to his chest in a humble gesture, one that coincidentally shows his wedding band.

“This might begin a long conversation,” the James Island father says.

“I’m a Catholic priest.”

When his daughter, Lucy, goes to Charleston Catholic School next year, she will be the only student whose father comes not only for parent conferences and class parties, but also to celebrate Mass.

Ordained a Catholic priest July 7, Allen joins a small but growing group of former Episcopalians embarking on a new journey, one they hope marks a critical step down the long path to Christian unity.

They have embraced a new option in Catholicism that allows Anglicans to become fully Roman Catholic yet retain elements of their liturgical and theological traditions.

Allen is the second Episcopal priest in South Carolina to join the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, often dubbed the “Anglican ordinariate.”

Pope Benedict XVI created the ordinariate, a non-geographic diocese within the Catholic Church, for groups of American Anglicans who wanted to enter full communion with the Vatican.

The result: Two weeks ago, Allen lay prostrate before the Most Rev. Robert Guglielmone, bishop of Charleston.

Those on hand for his ordination included his closest Anglican mentor and friend, the priest who heads the ordinariate and the once-Episcopalian families joining him to create a new Catholic community.

None asked, What do you do?

'via Blog this'

In WELS - Extending the Left Foot of Fellowship. In Missouri - CRM Status. VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Episcopal Church's hit list against orthodox clergy tops 700 and counting

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Episcopal Church's hit list against orthodox clergy tops 700 and counting:

Episcopal Church's hit list against orthodox clergy tops 700 and counting 
List keeps growing includes bishops and deacons

By David W. Virtue and Mary Ann Mueller
www.virtueonline.org 
July 16, 2013

When Provisional Bishop Charles vonRosenberg of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECinSC) released his list of 103 Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina clergy who could be cut from the clerical rolls and sliced from their pensions and health insurance, The Episcopal Church passed an infamous number ... 700. 

VOL has documented more than 700 cases of Episcopal clergy - mostly priests, a few deacons and at least a dozen bishops - who have been uncanonically inhibited, deposed, and or released from their ordained ministries as they valiantly strive to remain faithful to the Gospel even as The Episcopal Church disintegrates into spiritual decay and temporal anarchy.

EARLY DEPOSITIONS

Little by little, the list of inhibited and deposed clergy grows - a list which first began in 1977 when two priests, a continent apart, were relieved of their Episcopal priesthood and ministry by their respective bishops.

In April 1977 the Episcopal News Service reported that the Rev. Robert S. Morse at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Oakland, California was inhibited and would be eventually deposed by California Bishop Kilmer Myers, claiming that the priest had voluntarily abandoned the ministry of The Episcopal Church. 

Bishop Myers is quoted as saying that he acted with "great personal pain and anguish" in inhibiting Fr. Morse and setting up the mechanism by which he would be deposed. The bishop also counseled the faithful not to receive any sacraments from the priest. 

"No loyal Episcopalian or Anglican may receive the sacraments from the Rev. Robert Morse," the bishop is quoted as saying in the ENS story. 

Robert Sherwood Morse would later become the Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK), a continuing Anglican Church body.

On the East Coast, the Rev. Canon Albert J. duBois found himself in the crosshairs of Long Island Bishop Jonathan Sherman. For 24 years, Canon duBois was executive director of the American Church Union. As such he stood up in the 1976 General Convention and challenged the passage of the resolution that allowed the ordination of women to the Episcopal priesthood, and noted that the unprecedented action "placed the Episcopal Church outside the traditional doctrine, discipline, and worship of Anglicanism."

The Canon charged that Convention "acted unconstitutionally in attempting to give permission for the ordination of women to the priesthood". For his clarion call to The Episcopal Church, duBois was rewarded with inhibition and later deposed by his bishop and charged with "forming a new church." 

Canon duBois became the international president of Anglicans United. He stated that the "threatened deposition was simply an effort to single him out in order to crush any organized opposition to the Minneapolis actions."

Canon duBois reported that there were "over one hundred separatist congregations" in the U.S. He predicted there would be "over two hundred and fifty such congregations by the end of 1977, with many more in 1978."

In August of 1977, five Episcopal priests in the Diocese of Los Angeles and one in the Diocese of Colorado were deposed as they opposed the approval of the ordination of women to the priesthood brought on by the 1976 General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

The priests -- supported by their congregations -- had renounced the authority of their bishops.

Earlier in June of that year, Bishop William C. Frey of Colorado deposed the Rev. James Mote of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Denver, the first of a number of parishes and missions to vote to sever relations with its Episcopal diocese in opposition to the ordination of women.

In August, Bishop Robert C. Rusack of Los Angeles deposed the Rev. John Barker and the Rev. Elwood Trigg of St. Mary of the Angels Church, Hollywood; the Rev. William T. St. John Brown of St. Matthias, Sun Valley; the Rev. Forrest Miller of Our Savior's, Los Angeles; and the Rev. George H. Clendenin of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Glendale.

Since those early Episcopal Church actions against traditionalist priests, many clergy have felt the ecclesiastical weight and animosity of their bishops and standing committees whenever their orthodox views clash with the revisionist theology of The Episcopal Church that has actively embraced liberal theology and aligned itself with contemporary culture and American society. Their loyalty to Christ and His Church and to the "faith once for all delivered to the saints" has been rewarded with their ministries being torn out from under them, or at least on paper. 

VIRGINIA

Virginia Bishop Peter James Lee removed 21 clergy from ordained ministry in 2007 claiming they had abandoned the Communion. 

The bishop explained that the former Episcopal clergy were "released from the obligations of priest or deacon and deprived of the right to exercise the gifts and spiritual authority conferred in ordination."

Of the 21 clergy deposed, one Virginia priest recanted and returned to TEC fold. A 2007 ENS report said the Rev. Nicholas Lubelfeld "has declared his loyalty to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church" as a result Bishop Lee lifted Fr. Lubelfeld's inhibition and returned him to full ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. 

FLORIDA

By 2008 Florida Bishop Samuel Johnson Howard had deposed 42 orthodox Episcopal priests.

When he first took office, Howard seemed the picture of sweet reasonableness, promising to work with everyone, his door open to all, announcing that he was orthodox as he followed in the footsteps of the late evangelical Bishop of Florida, Steve Jecko.

In January 2004, things looked promising when the Diocese of Florida decided to uninvite Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold for the much-anticipated consecration of Howard as the next Bishop Coadjutor of Florida. There was an air of euphoria, a general feeling then that the change from Bishop Jecko to Howard would be a transition that orthodox priests could live with. They soon became disillusioned.

Thus began his ecclesiastical reign of terror. He was not gospel driven, but showed himself to an institutionalist, a corporatist, obedient not to those who paid his bills in the diocese, but as the CEO of a diocese whose boss resided at 815 2nd Avenue, New York, a city with which he was all too familiar.

For the orthodox clergy of the diocese, the joy quickly turned into disillusionment when it became clear that Howard had adopted the party line and would not go against the liberal Episcopal House of Bishops or his uber boss, Frank Griswold and, later, Katharine Jefferts Schori.

When seven orthodox priests in his diocese requested alternative pastoral oversight, Howard bluntly said no, that he would only entertain Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO). The Rev. Kurt Dunkle, Canon to the Ordinary blasted their actions as political. The seven parishes appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury's Panel of Reference, but got nowhere.

The formation of the Anglican Alliance in November 2001, at the urging of Bishop Jecko, gave form and shape to orthodoxy in the diocese. At that time, most of the clergy and laity in the Diocese of Florida were supportive of the traditional orthodox beliefs of the church while watching as the leadership of the Episcopal Church USA turned its back on many of the doctrines that are central to that belief. Their mission was to try to turn the tide of theological revisionism back to the solid foundation of the traditional faith once delivered to the saints.

By the end of 2003, it became evident that the Episcopal Church would not heed the cries from within the American church, or from the worldwide leadership of the Anglican Communion, to turn back from its trajectory towards theological innovation.

SAN JOAQUIN

A few clergy from an entire departing diocese were deposed at once as the orthodox diocese realigned with another province within traditional Anglicanism. In May 2009, Provisional Bishop Jerry Lamb deposed a total of 61 active and retired clergy in the (TEC) Diocese of San Joaquin by charging the central California clergy with "Abandonment of the Communion."

The San Joaquin clergy were given six months to 12 months to recant their position, renounce their orders, or deny charges of abandonment.

"The fact is, they chose to abandon their relationship with The Episcopal Church," Bishop Lamb said. "They declined to ask for a release from their ordination vows, and I had no option but to bring the charges of Abandonment of the Communion ..."

FT. WORTH

In February 2010, just as the Anglican Church in North America was being established in Bedford, Texas, the remaining (TEC) Fort Worth diocese, loyal to The Episcopal Church handed down a letter deposing 57 clergy charging them with violating Canon IV.10.1, the Abandonment of Communion of The Episcopal Church. The letter was signed by the second Provisional Bishop of TEC Fort Worth, Wallis Ohl.

PITTSBURGH

Those remaining in the TEC Diocese of Pittsburgh were kinder to nearly 100 Anglican clergy who followed their Bishop Robert Duncan as he forged out in the deep seeking to remain loyal to Christ through realigning with the Southern Cone. Eventually, his herculean efforts resulted in the creation of the Anglican Church in North America, an emerging Anglican province. In October 2009, Pittsburgh's realigning clergy were simply released from "their ministerial ties to The Episcopal Church so that they can become licensed in any entity they choose."

The TEC Pittsburgh action was seen as a pastoral solution by the diocesan standing committee. At the time, Bishop Keith Price had not yet been made Pittsburgh's provisional bishop.

"We're doing this for pastoral reasons," said the Rev. Dr. James Simons, the TEC diocesan standing committee president. "We do not want to see our priestly brothers and sisters deposed."

QUINCY

A month earlier, in September 2009, the Provisional Bishop of TEC Quincy deposed 34 priests and deacons, claiming that they had renounced their ministries in The Episcopal Church and declaring that those clergy are now deprived of all the authority conveyed in ordination.

"We did leave The Episcopal Church. We did not renounce our ordination vows, or abandon our ministries," commented Fr. John Spencer, president of the Anglican Diocese of Quincy Standing Committee. "The supposed inhibitions and depositions of our clergy have no bearing on those clergy, or on their ministries, since our diocese is no longer under the authority of the Episcopal Church. The actions of Episcopal Bishop John Buchanan simply mean that The Episcopal Church no longer wants these clergy to be allowed to function in any of their churches."

WESTERN NEW YORK

In October 2009, The Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Western New York, J. Michael Garrison deposed four priests and two deacons from St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church, Tonawanda. A letter dated Sept. 19th said that the Revs. Arthur Ward, Jr., John E. Commins, Richard Molison as well as Deacons Edward Kaczmierek and John Reitz had abandoned the communion of The Episcopal Church and were now formally deposed. All three priests and two deacons deny they have abandoned the Communion of the church and are now under the authority of the Anglican Church in North America.

Sometimes Episcopal clergy were deposed one at a time or in clusters of two or three or in small groups. These inhibitions and depositions are scattered throughout several dioceses of The Episcopal Church including, but not limited to: Atlanta, Colorado, Connecticut, East Carolina, Florida, Indianapolis, Kansas, Kentucky, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Michigan, Milwaukee, Mississippi, New Jersey, Newark, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rio Grande, Rochester, San Diego, Southern Virginia, Tennessee and West Tennessee,

SOUTH CAROLINA

The most recent mass inhibitions of Episcopal clerics -- some 103 -- came at the hands of the Provisional Bishop of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. Bishop vonRosenberg and the TECinSC Standing Committee meted out the action on July 10.

"If there is no response from the restricted clergy in 60 days, the canons require the Bishop to remove them from the ordained ministry," a news release from The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECinSC) reported. To date, there are 88 clergy who are keeping their clerical ties with The Episcopal Church.

AMERICAN ANGLICAN COUNCIL

In February 2010, the American Anglican Council released a document in which it was able to track the clerical status of 404 Episcopal priests and deacons and 12 bishops who have been inhibited, deposed, or released by the Episcopal Church national headquarters at 815 Second Avenue in New York. 

However, those figures did not include the 100 or so Pittsburgh clergy, the 57 deposed from Fort Worth, another 27 clergy from Quincy and 10 more from San Joaquin who were not included in the original list, nor the 103 clerics pushed out in South Carolina inching the true figure to 700 or more. This may be a conservative figure when all the depositions are individually counted. 

AAC Chief Operating Officer Canon Phil Ashey explained that trying to get an exact figure on the number of Episcopal clergy who have been axed by The Episcopal Church is a hard thing to do.

"Well-it [the figure] is a moving target which changes weekly," he told VOL, "because we are compiling the numbers of those who are leaving by one's, two's and three's every week." 

Many of the deposed clergy are remembered on AAC's Wall of Honor. Canon Ashey was deposed by Virginia Bishop Lee in December 2005. 

"Yes, we do have our 'Wall of Honor,' on which we post the framed letters of Deposition," explained Canon Ashey, who proudly displays his own Letter of Deposition on the Wall of Honor. "You can imagine the names on that wall-- including most of the leaders of ACNA today. It is truly a Wall of Honor - TEC has been responsible in large part for creating ACNA." 


Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline

'via Blog this'

Yahoo News - Pope Tweets Indulgences

Pope OKs indulgences for the tweeting classes - Yahoo! News:

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is offering indulgences for Facebook fans, Twitter lovers and other "virtual" participants of the upcoming World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro — but there's a hitch.

The Holy See's social media guru, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, warned Friday that merely checking the pope's Twitter feed won't result in an indulgence, the ancient church tradition related to the forgiveness of sins that roughly amounts to a "get out of Purgatory free" card.

Rather, Celli told The Associated Press, a Catholic seeking an indulgence for participating in Rio — either physically or virtually— must truly be contrite and have a moment of deepening faith.

"When we are touching spirituality, the problem resides not in what I do but what is in my heart," Celli said. "It's not just watching TV and the ceremonies of the Holy Father that I get the indulgence, or because I'm going to Rio, or because I'm reading a tweet of the Holy Father. That's not the forgiveness of sins."

According to church teaching, Catholics who confess their sins are forgiven and therefore released from the eternal or spiritual punishment of damnation. An indulgence is designed to remove the "temporal" punishment of sin that may remain — the consequence of the wrongdoing that might have disrupted the sinner's relationships with others.

."

View gallery

Catholics carry the World Youth Day Cross also known as the Pilgrim Cross during a visit to the Roci …

Famously, Martin Luther's opposition to the church's practice of selling indulgences inspired him to launch the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. He was excommunicated, and the practice of buying and selling indulgences has been illegal since 1562 Council of Trent, but the granting of them has continued.

The Vatican earlier this month announced, as it does ahead of every World Youth Day, that participants in the July 22-28 Rio edition would be eligible for indulgences. The criteria are tough: Catholics in Rio must go to confession, receive Communion, pray and "be truly contrite."

But in a blending of new technology with old theology, the decree approved by Pope Francis specified that even people who couldn't make it to Rio could be eligible for a partial indulgence. The same conditions must be met, but sinners following the Rio event can score an indulgence by participating "spiritually" and following the events on "television, radio or, always with the necessary devotion, via new means of social communication."

During the last edition of World Youth Day in Madrid, in 2011, such partial indulgences were also available "to all those, wherever they may be," who followed the event from afar and met the same spiritual criteria. But the Rio 2013 decree spelled it out explicitly, evidence that the Vatican is continuing to appreciate the power of social media for its evangelizing mission.

To date, the pope's @Pontifex handle has more than 7 million followers in the nine languages in which Francis tweets. Most of the followers signed up when Benedict XVI inaugurated the handle last year.

."

View gallery

Catholics embrace the World Youth Day Cross also known as the Pilgrim Cross during a visit to the Ro …

The Rev. Robert Gahl, a moral theologian at Rome's Pontifical Holy Cross University, said the decree from the Vatican's Apostolic Penitentiary was believed to be the first time that indulgences have been offered for social media participation.

"Some might falsely think that 'Twitterized' indulgences cheapen access to God's grace. But they miss the point of the pope's unprecedented move to social media," he said. "He is challenging tweeters to return to the sacraments of confession and Holy Communion and to deeply examine their conscience to free themselves from attachment to venial sins.

"The Pope doesn't miss a beat or an opportunity to evangelize."

'via Blog this'