The Sermons of Martin Luther, III, IV, and V

Volume III is starting to arrive - I got mine today.

Volume IV is 99% done. The next step is the finishing editor. The art by Norma Boeckler has been placed. I expect to DropBox it to Janie Sullivan tomorrow.

I had a lot of fun editing part of Volume V today. It will not take that long to finish, I believe. This is one goal  met, God willing - to have all the Gospel volumes done (1-5) before the Reformation.

That makes it possible to finish 1-8 for Christmas. The last volume will be the Gems, some of the best sections from all 8 volumes.

This is like a dissertation, where the author/victim is pretty good at it by the time the effort is finished, but that is a bit late. I have heard of professors getting a second doctorate to protect their position. That would be boring - this is really exciting.

Some things we eliminate - with the help of various readers:

• Strange and random punctuation marks.
• Wrong citations for Biblical passages.
• Outbursts of odd words - like "Renee" - in the middle of a passage.
• Odd spellings, odd hyphenations, unsolved mysteries.
• Some irritations are found in large amounts, like Strong's numbers, which were quite an achievement in his time. <123382> Like that.
• Also - can not, some one, any one - trivial, but trying to be consistent.

Woods, Oren Paris III, others claim innocence in alleged kickback scheme | NWADG

Woods, others claim innocence in alleged kickback scheme | NWADG:

"The Justice Department alleges Paris paid Woods and former state Rep. Micah Neal of Springdale kickbacks in return for a total of $550,000 in grants from those two legislators to his college from 2013 through 2014.

Woods is also accused of using his office to pass legislation in 2015 that would have created a special General Improvement Fund account in the state Department of Higher Education of up to $2.5 million. The fund would benefit only work-learning colleges that are "part of the Works College Consortium." The only college in Arkansas that is a member of that consortium is Ecclesia, according to the consortium's website. The law is still on the books, but no money was ever appropriated to the account, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.

Shelton is accused of using a consulting firm he owned as a way to pass along the kickbacks to Neal and Woods through consulting fees approved by Paris.

Ecclesia, a private, Christian college, also received improvement fund grants from other lawmakers who are not implicated in the indictments, grant records show. In all, the college received $717,500 in improvement fund grants from 2013 through 2014.

Neal, a Republican, pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, admitting that he took two kickbacks totaling $38,000 in exchange for directing improvement fund grants to two nonprofits. He has not been sentenced.

All three defendants are set for trial in Fayetteville on Dec. 4"

'via Blog this'

When God Appears Farthest Away, He Is Nearest

37. Therefore observe that when God appears to be farthest away, he is nearest. This word of Christ reads as though we cannot know what he will do, he does not refuse nor promise anything, so that the lepers, who previously certainly relied on his kindness for all things, might have become offended at it, and begun to doubt, and taken quite a different sense of it than Christ meant. Christ speaks it out of an overflowing kindness that he thinks it unnecessary to tell them that they have already obtained what they want. But as the sense was not clear to them they might have thought he was entirely of a different opinion, and farther from them than before.

Sermons of Martin Luther, Volume 5
The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, Healing Ten Lepers
Lenker Edition

Hymn: Lord Jesus Christ With Us Abide - Selnecker - Comfort for Christians

Hymn: Lord Jesus Christ With Us Abide - Selnecker - Comfort for Christians:




"
Hymn: Lord Jesus Christ With Us Abide - Selnecker

And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. Luke 24:28-29

It’s recommended you follow the lyrics below and listen - rather than watch - the video of this Reformation hymn. The photographer’s camera angle is a little odd. But the singing is heartfelt, and the words as valid now as they were five centuries ago.

Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide, today and always. Amen.

Lyrics Lord Jesus Christ, With Us Abide

by Nikolaus Selnecker, 1532-1592

1. Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide,
For round us falls the eventide;
Nor let Thy Word, that heavenly light,
For us be ever veiled in night.

2. In these last days of sore distress
Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness
That pure we keep, till life is spent,
Thy holy Word and Sacrament.

3. Lord Jesus, help, Thy Church uphold,
For we are sluggish, thoughtless, cold.
Oh, prosper well Thy Word of grace
And spread its truth in every place!

4. Oh, keep us in Thy Word, we pray;
The guile and rage of Satan stay!
Oh, may Thy mercy never cease!
Give concord, patience, courage, peace.

5. O God, how sin’s dread works abound!
Throughout the earth no rest is found,
And falsehood’s spirit wide has spread,
And error boldly rears its head.

6. The haughty spirits, Lord, restrain
Who o’er Thy Church with might would reign
And always set forth something new,
Devised to change Thy doctrine true.

7. And since the cause and glory, Lord,
Are Thine, not ours, to us afford
Thy help and strength and constancy.
With all our heart we trust in Thee.

8. A trusty weapon is Thy Word,
Thy Church’s buckler, shield and sword.
Oh, let us in its power confide
That we may seek no other guide!

9. Oh, grant that in Thy holy Word
We here may live and die, dear Lord;
And when our journey endeth here,
Receive us into glory there.
The Lutheran Hymnal Hymn #292 Text: Luke 24:29 Author: Nikolaus Selnecker et al., 1611 Translated by: composite Titled: “Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ” Tune: “Ach bleib bei uns” 1st Published in: Geistliche Lieder Town: Leipzig,1589

Originally published at: Comfort for Christians"

 Chemnitz admonished a wobbly Selnecker to be faithful
to the Reformation, and Selnecker became an editor of the
Book of Concord.

'via Blog this'

From Alec Satin's Research

Ann Geddes' photographs came from
her own painful past. 

84 – Transplanted Trees and Flowers

As Gotthold was examining, with delight, some double pinks, which at the time were in full blossom, he was told by the gardener that the same plants had in former years borne only single flowers, but that they had been improved and beautified by repeated transplantations, and that in the same manner a change of soil increases the growth, and accelerates the bearing of a young tree.

This reminded Gotthold that the same happens to men. Many a man, who at home would scarcely have borne even single flowers, when transplanted by Divine Providence abroad, bears double ones; another, who, if rooted in his native soil, would never have been more than a puny twig, is removed to a foreign clime, and there spreads far and wide his luxuriant boughs, and bears fruit to the delight of all. In his native place, a man is seldom judged of by his real qualities, but much oftener by the opinion of his friends or adversaries. If of high and noble lineage, the luster of his family may easily brighten his darkness, and not seldom empty bladders swim upon the surface. If, on the contrary, he be of humble parentage, and the first or second, perhaps, who has shed the light of honors or arts upon the family, all the rest, from dislike or fear, do their utmost to obscure it, imagining that the more one rises, the more must the others fall. At home, accordingly, a man is esteemed only as much as love or hatred, friendship or enmity, favor or dislike, permit him to be. Abroad it is the man himself who is considered, and not the coat he wears. Often, too, strangers are like the gardeners, or flower fanciers, who prefer beautiful exotics for the ornaments of their beds.

My God, I thank Thee for having, so far above all my expectations, transplanted me from the place of my nativity to a foreign soil, where, until this hour, Thou hast shaded me by Thy grace, and shed on me the dew of Thy blessing! Enable me to bear much fruit unto Thee and my neighbor, and, with Jacob, daily to say:

“I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which Thou hast showed unto thy servant.”

Babying the Fall Plants with Stored Rainwater

Cat Mint is not aggressive, but Catnip is.
Cats also love Cat Mint.

Our weed-eater crew chopped mature Buckwheat at the perfect time. Buckwheat re-seeded the entire rose garden, which subsequently enjoyed three inches of rain and hot, sunny days. Buckwheat has reclaimed the garden, for a second laugh at me. I trust it will not grow taller than the Mr. Lincoln roses this time - Buckwheat will keel over at the first frost.

The rain gave me barrels of rainwater, and some buckets too, for pouring on favorite plants. I saw again how established bushes have the capacity to swallow gallons of water - like pouring it down a drain. The difference is that established roots take the water down and keep the soil open for the infiltration of the water. The USDA has shown that the less we plow and stir the soil, the better it absorbs rain and snowmelt.

i like planting in Peat Compost, which they could call Stinky Pete, a combination of fresh manure and peat, not all steamed and sterile like mushroom compost and other garden center compounds. The bags are $1.67 at Lowes - almost free. When I dig out a hole for a new plant, the Peat Compost bedding provides a bed of absorbent organic soil for the roots and for water absorption.

I learned early in gardening that frequent watering is essential for new seeds and plants. Last year's Crepe Myrtle, planted by the kitchen window, always got bonus rainwater and out-distanced its two siblings.

 Hostas come in many color variations,
and their flowers are Hummingbird favorites.

Sleep Grow Leap
The rule for raising Hostas is -

• Year One - sleep. They do not seem to thrive, because the root systems are starting to grow. 
• Year Two - grow. They gain in size and bloom for Hummingbirds to eat from.
• Year Three - leap. They begin to divide for free new plants.

I remember the tiny slips that Direct Gardening sent, Hostas for almost nothing. I wanted to try some without a big investment. End of year clearance! They survived, began growing this summer, and will definitely do some leaping in 2018.

The same has been true of Mountain Mint and Bee Balm/Monarda - another mint. Cat Mint is the same - a third mint I bought from Direct Gardening.

Those mints look like candidates for Intensive Care, and I dote on them as much as I can - without result the first year. They have all grown well the second year and will be divided in 2018.

 Comfrey belongs to the Borage family.
Both grow quickly the first year.

Why the Leap Year?

Everyone wants established plants, so they should ask why so many plants take time before they enjoy their Leap Year. We reason - but of course, the roots have to be established.

But soil scientists found there was much more to this story. Fungal colonies build up and create elaborate networks to bring plant food and water to roots. In exchange, the roots give up carbon needed by fungus to grow. 

Say whatever you want, this fungal network and interface - with almost all root systems - can only come from God's creation and engineering through the Word.

While we are on the topic - this had to be instantaneous rather than over billions of years, because everything works together on is own. 

I deal with - and suffer from - three different learning systems, delivering academic material to a total of 200,000 students or more. Community colleges rely on them too. Even with constant monitoring and fixing, these elaborate and skillfully designed networks breakdown as regularly as a philanderer's alibis. If Blackboard does not work - a given - two other systems cannot report to it, and Blackboard is responsible for reporting to the officials in the school. In class I have been unable to record attendance (logging on problem), unable to read and grade essays, unable to assemble the statistics.

In the garden, in the wilds, and in farming, the fungal networks not only keep the plants watered and fed, they also protect against disease. Soil, sterilized by heat in the lab, is less productive than soil left alone to grow fungus, bacteria, protozoa, and soil creatures. We can identify the useful work done by each form of animal life in the soil, even if we loath some of them - like moles, who expertly stir soil and eat harmful insect larvae.

If moles stash large groups of earthworms in their own food banks, they are helping the earthworm population. Only so many worms will grow in a given amount of soil, so removing them to the food banks allows more to grow. The earthworm safety deposit boxes either become mole food or soil food, so everyone is happy.

The same is true of bacterial versus protozoa. One battles the other and benefits the other.

I was discussing beneficial creatures with one reader. If one beneficial animal does not stop an insect pest, another one helps out. Between beneficial insects and hungry birds, massive invasions are stalled at the beginning. 

All Spiritual Food Comes from the Gospel Word

Many claim some loyalty to the Scriptures, freely borrowing what helps them, but rejecting the rest.

The Son of God - the Creating Word in Genesis 1 and John 1 - is connected to all sincere believers by the Means of Grace. Wherever pagans are converted to the Christian Faith, the Word has been preached and taught. 

When man is satisfied with his own wisdom and intolerant of the Word, programs multiply to improve upon what God has done and will always do through the Word. 

• Y'all need self-esteem.
• Y'all need time management.
• Y'all need to get rid of musty old hymns, ancient liturgies, and creeds.
• Y'all need a praise band singing songs about man's wisdom.

Barren wastelands are not caused by God's neglect, since He renews the soil in more ways than we can measure. Where the plants no longer grow and the wind drives sand and grit into the faces of the impoverished and hungry - that is where man did his best to rob Creation and build an empire, an oblation to Mammon.

When I emphasize Justification by Faith, which is the Gospel, clergy of the ELS, WELS, and LCMS mock every word and empty the vaults of their packaged insults. No matter - they are mocking the Scriptures, not me. First they emptied their seminaries of faithful teachers. Now the ELS-WELS-LCMS frauds have emptied the seminaries of students. Their graduates have destroyed more churches than the Chicago Fire, but they need more money to leverage their brilliance.

Clergy were already backing away from Creation and the Genesis Flood in the 19th century. As I have often written, Fuller Seminary rejected the inerrancy of the Scriptures from the beginning - because they only meant "inerrant in doctrine" not in matters of history or geography. So it only took one generation to go commando on the Scriptures, inspired by the vapid and plagiarized scribblings of Karl Barth and his hawt Commie mistress, Charlotte Kirschbaum. 

The apostate leaders of today worship Mammon to feed their swollen bellies and diseased livers. Because of that, they hate the Word and despise the Means of Grace.

Waterloo Lutheran Seminary to be renamed Martin Luther University College | TheRecord.com

 The old building? That's the new one!
Wait, it was new when I went there 48 years ago.

Waterloo Lutheran seminary to be renamed Martin Luther University College | TheRecord.com:



"A new logo for the renamed seminary is being designed to go along with the new name.

"The name Waterloo Lutheran Seminary — which once accurately described who we were when we were primarily a denominational school — no longer reflects who we have become," Harris said.

"We continue to have a (Master of Divinity) program training Lutheran clergy and clergy from a number of other Christian denominations as well. But, in fact, the M-Div is now the smallest program in the school. Our largest program, the one we feel very strongly about, is the Masters in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy.""

 I feel strongly about the doggy dropin
at the seminary chapel.

'via Blog this'

 The chapel then - 1970.

 The chapel now, viewed from the chancel.

Lutheran seminary to be renamed Martin Luther University College | TheRecord.com

Lutheran seminary to be renamed Martin Luther University College | TheRecord.com:



"A new logo for the renamed seminary is being designed to go along with the new name.

"The name Waterloo Lutheran Seminary — which once accurately described who we were when we were primarily a denominational school — no longer reflects who we have become," Harris said.

"We continue to have a (Master of Divinity) program training Lutheran clergy and clergy from a number of other Christian denominations as well. But, in fact, the M-Div is now the smallest program in the school. Our largest program, the one we feel very strongly about, is the Masters in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy.""



'via Blog this'

Twin Stone Warden: Objective & Subjective Justification -- Pastors Todd Wilken & Rolf Preus

 Sure - we heard the terms Objective Justification
and Subjective Justification from the Calvinist Woods
who translated the rationalistic Pietist Knapp into English:
best seller ever since, still in print.

Twin Stone Warden: Objective & Subjective Justification -- Pastors Todd Wilken & Rolf Preus:


"Have you heard the terms "objective justification" and "subjective justification"? Have you had questions about them? Have you been confounded by them?

Be of good cheer!

Pastor Todd Wilken interviews Pastor Rolf Preus on Issues, Etc., on "Objective & Subjective Justification." Listen to this clarifying and faith-strengthening broadcast on demand."

'via Blog this'

 Quistorp the Pietist also agrees.
Could it be the Calvinistic influence?

UOJists used to cite Romans 4:25!!!
until I began quoting the verse that goes with Romans 4:25!!!

Mark Jeske Unites ELCA-WELS-ELS-LCMS with UOJ and Church Growth. The Fulleroids Win Amid the Crumbling Synods

ELCA Pastor Chick Lane

Pastor Charles (Chick) Lane serves as the Director of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary - ELCA, St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from Luther College - ELCA, Decorah, Iowa, and Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. He served St. Mark Lutheran Church, Butler, PA; St. Phillip’s Lutheran Church, Fridley, MN; and Immanuel Lutheran Church, Wadena, MN. He served as Assistant to the Bishop in the Northwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA, from 1996-2005, and as Director for Stewardship Key Leader, ELCA, from 2005-2010. Pastor Lane is the author of Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation, published by Augsburg Fortress - ELCA - in 2006, and the annual stewardship program Walk with Jesus, published by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2006. He is also the author of several articles on stewardship.

First Presbyterian Church Brighton - Stewardship Presentation - Grace Duddy Pomroy

This Stewardship weekend is offered by: Brighton First Presbyterian Church in partnership with The Presbyterian Foundation. First Presbyterian Church is located at 510 S. 27th Avenue in Brighton

Grace Duddy Pomroy
Embracing Stewardship, LLC and Portico Benefit Services

Grace Duddy Pomroy is a millennial stewardship ministry leader. She graduated from Luther Seminary in 2012 with a Master’s of Arts degree in Congregational Mission and Leadership. She served as the Assistant Director of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary and the Executive Director of Operations for Kairos and Associates and the Joshua Group. She is the co-author of the recently published stewardship book, Embracing Stewardship: How to Put Stewardship at the Heart of Your Congregation’s Life, as well as author of the 2013 ELCA stewardship resource, “Stewards of God’s Love.” She lives in Apple Valley with her husband, Tyler. She is currently the Financial Education Specialist at Portico Benefit Services.

ELCA Pastor Jodi Houge -
Luther Seminary, ELCA, graduate. "A missional church at its core, outreach is part of everything Humble Walk does, 'often as if we’re on the edge of disaster,' laughs Jodi."

Biography

Pastor at Humble Walk Lutheran Chuch, St. Paul, MN

Jodi Houge was raised by North Dakota potato growers. Incidentally, she likes watching things grow. In 2008, Jodi started Humble Walk Lutheran Church in a coffee shop during her last year of seminary and has been running to catch up with where this community leads her ever since. Humble Walk is filled with people on the last train out of Christianity-who have decided to give it one more go. Being the pastor of this new church plant provides stories of hope every single day. She spends a good deal of time drinking coffee and observing life in the West End of St Paul, MN--where she lives with her husband and 2 offspring. Her friends would describe her as a good eater.

Why Church Hymns Are Best Sung in Bars

Jodi Houge, a pastor in Minnesota, talks about the shifting church culture in the U.S. and what it’s like to hold services in coffee shops and bars.

 At least we're not ELCA!

 "Not yet!"

Football Follies. They Have Doomed Themselves - A Middle - Not a Passive

The passive voice would be - are doomed by...
but the middle voice means - they have doomed themselves.
Mark Jeske has proven that with Change or Die!

I am football free already until January each year. I used to make an exception for Notre Dame, but I really do have other things to do in 2017.

Disrespect has been the theme of the Lutheran synods for decades now. The LCMS, WELS, ELS, CLC, and ELDONUTs are just as bad as ELCA, but the smaller sects still try out their superior act on the innocent and uninformed.

The LCMS-WELS-ELS show disrespect for:

• Faithful translations - they endorse the feminist UOJist NIV or the feminist revision of the RSV - the ESV. The ESV advocates consider themselves superior to the NIV fan club.
• Christian doctrine - they have joined the Gadarene stampede for Barth, Tillich, and C. Peter Wagner, holding their collective snouts whenever Luther is mentioned.
• Church music - they have disrespected musicians and pipe organs for decades, replacing them with tinny little praise bands and non-musicians.
• Church workers - The synod presidents support adulterous drunken workers while undermining the faithful. 
• Stewardship - They fraudulently plead for "mission" money when enormous sums are spent feeding their fat bellies and contributing to their alcoholism. 
• The Truth - They gloat about their ability to spin the facts and fool people. For decades, LCMS-WELS-ELS pretended to have problems with Fuller and Church Growth, while spending millions with "free" tuition (your money) and expensive, worthless programs. Every DP got his title by pretending, so he is not going to change after being enthroned.

 "Don't say the synod.
ALL OF US - we are the synod."
I heard that claim in the LCA and WELS.
And of course - "the synod says..."

Many of the Stephanites and ELDONUTs hold themselves superior to the rest, because they use the ESV and not the NIV, but they will not mention any version of the KJV. Big money is made from the NIV and ESV, but not from the KJV.

 Donut disturb ELDONUTs with the facts.

verbatim quoting from -

http://www.av1611.org/kjv/ESV_Fruit.html

THE FRUIT OF THE ESV

The beginning of the ESV was May 1997 with a meeting headed by James Dobson. Dobson was deeply troubled with the gender-inclusive issues within the NIV and TNIV. The results of the meeting was the "proposed" creation of a new version without the new-age, homosexual, gender-incusive agenda. Surprisingly, the “troubled” group united around the liberal and apostate Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible. Thus the dubious birth of the ESV was conceived. In September 1998, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School professor Wayne Grudem and Crossway President Lane Dennis received the blessing of the ecumenical National Council of Churches to build the ESV upon their 1971 revision of the Revised Standard Version. And thus the ESV came to life. . .

World Magazine documents the secretive conception of the ESV:

“The version [ESV] had its roots in discussions that took place before the May 1997 meeting called by James Dobson at Focus on the Family headquarters to resolve the inclusive NIV issue. . . The group discussed the merits of the Revised Standard Version, first published in 1952 by the National Council of Churches and recently replaced by the New Revised Standard Version, a regendered update. Some months later, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School professor Wayne Grudem and Crossway President Lane Dennis entered into negotiations with the National Council of Churches to use the 1971 revision of the Revised Standard Version as the basis for a new translation.”

(David Bayly, “Decline of the NIV?”, World Magazine, 5 June 1999)

Wikipedia states concerning the motive for the ESV:

“Work on this translation began with discontent (largely amongst Evangelical Christians) over the perceived looseness of style and content of recently published English Bible translations, as well as the apparent trend toward gender-neutral language in translations such as the Today's New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version, among others.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Standard_Version)

The primary premise for the ESV was to combat the gender-neutral changes infiltrating many other popular versions. The term “gender-neutral” refers to removing the masculine references such as “he, him, man, father, brother, brethren” and replace them with gender-neutral words such as “they, people, person, human” etc. These changes occur to support the homosexual-equal-rights-unisexual-new-age agenda and totally ignore the masculine gender within the Greek text (of any manuscript).  (See our detailed review of the TNIV at www.av1611.org/kjv/tniv_intro.html)

And how did the ESV perform in combating the gender-neutral language?

Dr. Mark L. Strauss, author of Distorting Scripture?: The Challenge of Bible Translation & Gender Accuracy, writes concerning the “gender-neutral language” of the ESV:

“The recently published English Standard Version (ESV; Crossway Bibles, 2001) is a revision of the Revised Standard Version (RSV, 1952).  One of the major areas of revision in the ESV is the introduction of gender-inclusive language (sometimes called gender-neutral language).  In hundreds of cases the ESV introduces terms like ‘one’ or ‘person’ or ‘others’ for the RSV’s masculine generic terms ‘man’ and ‘men.’ . . .

In this way, the ESV is very much like the recently published Today’s New International Version (TNIV), which revises the New International Version (NIV) in a similar manner. . .”

(Strauss, Mark L. Strauss. The Gender-Neutral Language of the English Standard Version (ESV))

Remember, the primary reason Dobson and crew devised the ESV was to counter the introduction of gender-neutral language in the new versions.And yet, the ESV did the same thing!

Dr. Strauss relates the “odd and ironic” infiltration of gender-neutral changes in the ESV because the ESV publishers and promoters were “some of the strongest attacks against the gender language of the TNIV”. Remember, that was the supposed “purpose” of the ESV – to counter the gender-neutral agenda. . .

“What is odd and ironic is that the some of the strongest attacks against the gender language of the TNIV are coming from those who produced similar gender changes in the ESV.  One has to wonder therefore whether these attacks are motivated as much from ideological and marketing concerns related to the ESV as from a concern for fidelity in translation.”

(Strauss, Mark L. Strauss. The Gender-Neutral Language of the English Standard Version (ESV))

Can you spell “H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E”?

And this is no small change. For instance, the word “man, men” is “neutered” in the ESV 968 times. The masculine pronoun, “he, him, his” is neutered 1832 times! And the new-age, evolutionist, neuter buzz-word “human” is employed 63 times.

How can key Christian leaders assemble, conceive and design a counter-attack against the “gender-neutral” Bible version invasion and yet when the plan is actually implemented the exact opposite occurs? Did they deceive themselves? What happened to their original convictions? It’s almost as if someone else took over and changed their course of action? Who could have done such a subtle and sinister deed? [Hint” He tempted Eve (and damned mankind) with the simple, subtle question “Yea, hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1)] While some may scoff at that allegation, there is no doubt in this author’s mind that the subtle serpent of Genesis 3 was at work. What other explanation can rationalize such a total change of course?

The following are a few examples (from the thousands) of gender-neutral changes flooding the ESV. Notice, replacing “man” with the generic term “person, human, peoples, one” etc. significantly deflects the direct application of the verse.

Mathew 5:13

KJB

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

ESV

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

---

Mathew 19:23-24

KJB

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

ESV

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

---

Romans 3:4

KJB

God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

ESV

By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."

---

Romans 3:28

KJB

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

ESV

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

---

Romans 5:7

KJB

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

ESV

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--

---

Romans 10:10

KJB

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

ESV

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

---

1 Corinthians 2:11

KJB

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

ESV

For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Notice in the following verses that “man” is replaced with “human, human being”. Now honestly, is there anybody that really believes “human” is easier to read or clearer than “man”? Does any “human” on the planet really believe that “man” is archaic or outdated and that a new Bible version is required to replace “man” with “human”? Apparently, Dobson, Crossway, and the ESV “boys” do. . .

1 Corinthians 2:13-14

KJB

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

ESV

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

---

1 Corinthians 4:3

KJB

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.

ESV

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

---

Act 17:25 (notice “worship” is dulled to “served”)

KJB

Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

ESV

nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

---

Romans 2:9

KJB

Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

ESV

There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,

---

Romans 3:5

KJB

But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)

ESV

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)

---

Romans 6:19

KJB

I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

ESV

I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

---

1 Corinthians 2:13

KJB

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

ESV

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

---

1 Corinthians 3:3

KJB

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

ESV

for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

---

1 Corinthians 9:8

KJB

Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?

ESV

Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same?

---

Galatians 3:15

KJB

Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

ESV

To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.

---

Ephesians 4:14

KJB

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, andcunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

ESV

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

---

Philippians 2:8

KJB

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

ESV

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

---

Colossians 2:8

KJB

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.

ESV

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

---

James 3:8

KJB

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

ESV

but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

---

1 Peter 2:13

KJB

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

ESV

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,

---

1 Peter 4:2

KJB

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

ESV

so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

***

GJ - Note that the National Council of Churches was simply a rebranding of the Federal Council of Churches, a group so Communist that they had to change the name. The NCC's RSV was the first translation ever to remove the Virgin Birth from Isaiah 7. They back-tracked but put in a footnote to thumb their snouts at the Fundies who objected.