UOJ - God's Word contains concepts such as Universal Objective Justification that can only be wrung from the verses using human reason.

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Jesuit Jack Kilcrease Shows Signs of Stress from H...":

Rev. Bickel, from my experience all true UOJists (those cognizant of establishing another way to righteousness outside of faith alone in Christ) relish subjecting Scripture to their reason and philosophy. It always drove Dr. Kilcrease mad when I simply quoted Scripture in defense of One Justification Solely by Faith Alone. He would retort that I wasn't helping the discussion at all since I wasn't explaining the concept that the Scripures or I was supposed to be advancing or proving. Scripture to a UOJist is not God's pure Word with each word specifically and divinely chosen to combine with others to form direct and clear sentences and statements and thereby communicating what God wants us to know, believe and teach. To a UOJist God's Word contains concepts such as Universal Objective Justification that can only be wrung from the verses using human reason. That's why they always wind up making assumptive statements with "if...", "it must mean...", "God could only...", "He couldn't...", "He must have..." Which in their minds all come from Scripture because they've subjected Scripture to their reason and not their reason to Scripture.

Rejecting the Holy Spirit's faith they cannot understand Scripture correctly because God is not with them. Romans 10:2, "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."

***

GJ - Philosophy and rationalism are the key elements feeding UOJ dogmatism - thus - "If Christ paid for the sins of the world, the entire world is forgiven and saved...without faith."



Some of these thinkers must be too subtle for me, because that seems to be their only dogma, their One Great Truth, their Helen of Troy, the unfaith that launched a thousand books and toppled the topless towers of Ilium.

Luthererism is dead in Europe and America, thanks to these brave warriors of rationalism.

LPC has left a new comment on your post "UOJ - God's Word contains concepts such as Univers...":

Brett,

UOJists (those cognizant of establishing another way to righteousness outside of faith alone in Christ) relish subjecting Scripture to their reason and philosophy. It always drove Dr. Kilcrease mad when I simply quoted Scripture in defense of One Justification Solely by Faith Alone.

Indeed, Kilcrease never studied Calvin and so he does not know if he is being Calvinian in his theological method.

Rationalism or reason is quite an important and predominant feature in Calvinism. Even the Westminister Confession of Faith (Presbyterian) has a section on the use of reason as a method.

UOJers are funny and just like Huber their father, these people accuse anti-UOJers of Calvinism when in fact they are the ones who are true to Calvin's methods.

Notice how the stupidity goes, when you deny that all men have been justified or forgiven already, they then claim you must believe in Limited Atonement.
This is False Dichotomy fallacy. There believe there is no third middle ground.

There should be a disclaimer first when someone is using reason in his theological method, a warning - before you use reason, first be knowledgeable of fallacies. Unfortunately no UOJist I have encountered shows no clue of what a fallacy is.

LPC

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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "UOJ - God's Word contains concepts such as Univers...":

Brett Meyer -

You spot on, say:

>>>>>>> ....To a UOJist God's Word contains concepts such as Universal Objective Justification that can only be wrung from the verses using human reason. That's why they always wind up making assumptive statements with "if...", "it must mean...", "God could only...", "He couldn't...", "He must have..." Which in their minds all come from Scripture because they've subjected Scripture to their reason and not their reason to Scripture...... <<<<<<<<

I can only conclude that these universalists are like the evolutionists who speak in such non definite terms. If these universal objective justification enthusiasts would actually believe and teach according to the Word, they would be able to say: "Thus saith the Lord" - without all the ifs, ands, and buts.......

Secondly, you say:

>>>>>> ......Rejecting the Holy Spirit's faith they cannot understand Scripture correctly because God is not with them. Romans 10:2, "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." <<<<<<<<

Sadly, I would have to conclude that you are correct. How can one who claims to be a Christian, reject the Holy Spirit? If one rejects the faith He bestows; he is rejecting the giver.

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org

WELS Conference To Set Up an Excuse for Driving More People Away from Their Abusive Sect

Some goons hired with Thrivent money should have
entered the conference and pelted the participants with dog manure,
according to Luther.
I would never say anything like that.

bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Report to WELS - Two Headquarters. Two Felony Arre...":

WELS reviews its disciplinary procedures to stamp out UOJ-skepticism:
http://www.wls.wels.net/feature/symposium-brotherly-admonition

***

Kelm spent his entire career promoting Fuller Seminary.
WELS continues to reward everyone who follows his example.

GJ - Corporations call it push-back. If someone has a valid criticism, the corporation neutralizes it with push-back:
1. You used the wrong procedure.
2. You need to file this in triplicate and wait for the right people to respond.
3. You upset someone (with the truth) so you are a bad person.

No one ever challenged the false doctrine of Paul Kelm or any other WELS heretic in exactly the right way. Some minor detail, perhaps an arching of the brow at the wrong moment, turned a valid criticism of Kelm into self-condemnation for the odious legalist who dared point a finger at The Profit of Fuller. (Prophet is a bit of hyperbole for someone with xerox skills.)

This conference was a great idea, because it serves two purposes.

I. If anyone objects to anything done to drive them from the ministry or from the sect itself, the leaders can say, "We followed the procedure we all agreed upon at Mequon in 2012." Either "You were there and approved" or "You weren't there so you cannot complain" will work.

II. If anyone dares to touch the Anointed (Church and Change leaders), the apostates will say, "You did not follow the right procedure which we all agreed was correct and Biblical," adding "You were there and agreed" or "You were not there and cannot complain."

Pastors and congregations in all synods need to stand up to synodical bullies, no matter what the cost. The bullies always stutter, back-pedal, and contradict themselves when they see their game is being exposed.

No clergy-person should contact church members behind the pastor's back. The self-appointed do not have a right to interfere with the divine call of the pastor. If they have a valid point to make, they can do so first with the pastor and then through the council as a whole.

DPs and their finger-puppets, in all synods, are known for their sneak attacks, done with stealth and guile. Do they want to show up for a meeting? They should ask for a formal invitation from the congregation as a whole.

Why would a DP or CP contact a church member on his own and start working against the pastor? The member should ask himself that question and take the information to the pastor and council.

Sudden and surprise contacts mean something. I had one pastor contact me about a situation involving another pastor, but the other one was not copied. I wrote to the pastor who was left out of the loop, "Why is he writing me?" I wrote to the first one, "You should be copying the other pastor on this." Although this was a vague membership matter, the goal was to excuse taking in a member who was anti-Lutheran in doctrine. In other words, the whole gambit was dishonest from the start.

If a member tries to do an end-run behind the pastor's back, contacting another clergyman, the person contacted should tell the pastor, "Your member contacted me about this."

We had a rule at NML that we should contact the original agent if we accidentally contacted one of his clients, which often happened when sending out mailings and getting responses. I even visited one client in a plush suburb and found out the family had another agent. I told this ideal client, "I will contact your agent, and he will help you out." When I phoned the agent the next day, and filled him in on the details (new home, baby on the way), he was shocked that I was helping him and his business rather than sneaking a client away.

It is strange how something in the Small Catechism is routinely ignored by Synodocats even though ethical businesses try to observe the basic rules against conveting.

The UOJ Stormtroopers are energized by hatred of the Gospel. They frantically abuse the most basic rules of human behavior, lying without shame, seeking to deprive a fellow pastor of his livelihood for being faithful while simulataneously protecting adulterers, embezzlers, and heresiarchs.

The UOJ Enthusiasts would burn pastors and laity at the stake if they could, but that is frowned upon today. Therefore, they use the tactics of their Father Below - slandering while crying "Slander!"

---

solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "WELS Conference To Set Up an Excuse for Driving Mo...":

I thought of the same thing when I saw the news of this conference come through in the e-mail. The timing of it alone seems suspect.

Also, got my October Forward in Christ the other day... might wanna check out Prof. Paul Koelpin's article in it.

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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "WELS Conference To Set Up an Excuse for Driving Mo...":

Another conference; another symposium for synod to remind those under its "care" that there are certain church hierarchy rules to be beholden [to]; so, is my impression of this celebrated back slapping gathering. There will, no doubt be more of these get-togethers to remind all in the WELS fold to myopically think in denominational harmony according to the non shepherding higher-ups.

Such gatherings as this, it seems, blurs the clear distinctions of pastors and their perspective parishes and offers the rationalization and excuse to intrude upon congregational autonomy. It is common knowledge that synodical higher-ups cannot sleep right at night unless they feel they have meddled enough in congregational affairs not peculiar to their non Scriptural ecclesiastical position charge.

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org

The Good Shepherd, by Norma Boeckler

Bethany Altar by Norma Boeckler

The Great Commission, by Norma Boeckler
http://www.normaboecklerart.com

Jesuit Jack Kilcrease Shows Signs of Stress from His Flailing of UOJ

Norma Boeckler posted this beautiful graphic,
which set off Jack Kilcrease, part-time tutor at a Catholic girls school.
Norma had to re-post the graphic, kilcreasing Kilcrease.

GJ - Jack Kilcrease is following the example of his mentor, Paul McCain. Both of them start rants against me, at random location, for no apparent reason. This is Jack's second meltdown on a FB thread where I was not even a participant. My wife is a participant on this one, so she reported Jack's comments as abusive hate-speech.

To show how sleazy Jack is, he blocks me on FB so I cannot see a thing he is writing when I am using my own account. So he cranks out the methane and I only see responses tp jo,, if I even know what  is happening.

However, many of us have various accounts, so Jack's puerile antics can be addressed as they richly deserve.

To end bullying, stand up to them. Show them for what they are. If I were his spouse I would be ashamed to be pictured beside a string of unsupported, dishonest accusations.

For the record, Jack knows nothing about me and has never met me. He knows even less than McCain, whose hair-trigger temper and Freudian posts have earned him the nickname Pistolero Paul.

• 

  Jack Kilcrease It's nice that you're sharing your art work with us. If you don't mind me asking: why have you decided to associate with the heretic and false teacher Gregory L. Jackson? He is busy leading many people away from God's grace. This deeply concerns me and I think it might deeply concern people on this facebook group.

  about an hour ago
• 

  Norma Boeckler I have not found him to be a false teacher! I have illustrated many books for him and the written content is orthodox! He uses the KJV Bible, Book of Concord, Luther's writings, Lenski, Jacobs, and other writings of the old church fathers. So where do you find him a false teacher?

  52 minutes ago
• 

  Jack Kilcrease He denies that God's grace is objectively real. He believes that God's grace is conditional only on us having faith. This is false. God's grace is real, and this creates our faith- not the other way around. This is the reason that he has been defrocked in multiple Lutheran denominations.

  37 minutes ago
• 

  Norma Boeckler Where do you get your information about him being defrocked?

• Jack Kilcrease Bear in mind, he's also a liar. I would encourage you to look at his current post which is apparently meant to mock me. It's description of me is about 60% false- for example, I am not a part time tutor at a girls convent school.

  9 minutes ago · Like
• 

  Jack Kilcrease No, he distorts the Scriptures and tells falsehoods about other people. He is a liar.

  8 minutes ago · Like
• 

  Norma Boeckler Untrue!!!

  5 minutes ago · Like

http://www.facebook.com/groups/300380506075/


[GJ - Jack is hiding his comments from me. He cannot tell satire when it's right in front of him. No really, I am sure he must be a full-time tutor by now. Those Jesuits are so serious.]
***

GJ - Jack constantly amuses Lutherans by emerging from the tall grass to post more evidence of his troubled mind, only to retreat and erase everything he posted. We started calling it "kilcreasing," when someone posts obnoxious material, then erases all the posts - even the entire blog. He sent a long, nasty email to Mrs. Ichabod, then blocked her so she could not reply. Her original message to him was quite polite.

Tim Glende and Joe Krohn have kilcreased their blogs several times. They share Jack's Enthusiasm for UOJ.

Jack applied for LCMS colloquy and was turned down. He has never been a Lutheran pastor, but is busy kissing up to the UOJ crowd in the Missouri Synod. Jack is Pistolero Paul's expert in theology. No, I am not joking.

Roman Catholics teach grace too, but what a mixed bag that is. God's grace must be accompanied by works, or faith formed by obligation. As Luther taught so clearly in his Galatians commentary, that subverts grace entirely.

Kilcrease was trained by ELCA and the Jesuits, even though his father was a WELS pastor, so he knows how to slither in and out of various arguments, without ever approaching the truth. He probably dazzles the adolescent girls at the Little Flower Convent School.

Grace without the Means of Grace is called Enthusiasm, which is repudiated in the Book of Concord, by Luther himself.

---

Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Jesuit Jack Kilcrease Shows Signs of Stress from H...":

Ichabod -

I gain the feeling that this Kilcrease fellow is an unstable slippery type eel. Not only do I get the feeling that he is somewhat unstable and unsavory; but, I have to conclude that he is familiar with twisting the Scripture.

He says about you:

>>>>>> "He denies that God's grace is objectively real. He believes that God's grace is conditional only on us having faith. This is false. God's grace is real, and this creates our faith- not the other way around. This is the reason that he has been defrocked in multiple Lutheran denominations." [Kilcrease's far-fetched description] <<<<<<

Nowhere have I ever read on this website that you diminish God's grace. In fact you readily acknowledge Ephesians 2:1-9. Kilcrease's own words illustrate how he denies the Third Person of the Trinity by not attributing to Him the creation of personal faith. Kilcrease's own words are indicative of the falsity of universal objective justification, which his fellow enthusiasts, worship.

Also, I find that Kilcrease's reasoning lacks much to be desired. He makes wild claims about you which he does not substantiate and evidence. It appears to me that he has the same type of mentality as the McCaininites; which leads me to ask:

"Has he gotten into McCain's private storehouse of Mother Mary's lactation? Or, has McCain been teaching him the St. Bernard art of kneeling and sucking it all in?"

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2012/08/serious-laughter-from-paul-mccain.html

Ichabod - Don't waste your time even considering what Kilcrease stated. Perhaps, McCain spiked the milk and Kilcrease was talking out of his head (again)......

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org

***

GJ - Kilcrease is a nominal Missouri Synod member, so the unaware think he is loyal to the SynCon Racket.

On the other hand, he is a rent-a-prof with this Lutheran Theology Institute, which is selling unaccredited seminary degrees. All the faculty seem to be ELCA. That is no problem, because he knows many of them, after going to an ELCA college and an ELCA seminary. Left unsaid is why he left WELS for ELCA, especially since his father was a WELS pastor.

But on the other hand, as Tevyev said in Fiddler, he is teaching at a Roman Catholic school, the same religious order that performed so well during the Inquisition.

http://ilt.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=58

MISSION & VISION

The Institute of Lutheran Theology is an independent, pan-Lutheran theological project, holding that God in Jesus Christ brings sinners to repentance and new life. Because of its commitment to Scripture, to the Lutheran Confessions, and to deep dialogue with the contemporary intellectual horizon, the Institute works with supporting congregations to educate the next generation of faithful Lutheran preachers and teachers.

The faculty seem to be pan-ELCA, although that seems to be hidden fairly well.

Like McCain, Kilcrease works under three different operating systems: Roman Catholic (yea Neuhaus, Weedon, and Holy Father Antichrist); ELCA (buddies from countless Thrivent conferences and programs); and LCMS (one Dogma, UOJ, to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them).

VirtueOnline - News. Episcopal Diaprax.Parallels to WELS NNIV Study? No. Yes. No. Yes.

VirtueOnline - News:

Upper South Carolina Bishop sets up task force to consider blessing same sex unions 
Bishop Waldo is liberal, so are most of his priests, but the people of the state are conservative and voted against same-sex unions

NEWS ANALYSIS

By David W. Virtue 
www.virtueonline.org 
September 25, 2012

The Rt. Rev. W. Andrew Waldo, bishop of Upper South Carolina has a problem. Big problem. Following General Convention's vote in favor of a provisional liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions, he promised to follow up on his own "no" vote on that resolution (A049) with a process to articulate the boundaries within which he and they can live in unity within this Diocese, even in disagreements on this issue. In late July, through a communication with diocesan clergy - active, licensed and retired - he sought applications for membership in a task force to work with him in doing that work.

VOL: Waldo's "no" is a provisional no. It is not the last word. Who does he think he is kidding? It will be no until it is yes. That will be only a matter of time, somewhere between 6 and 18 months. The Law of Non-Contradiction, however, means he cannot have it both ways. It will have to be a clear cut decision. In the end, we know which way this will go.

WALDO: As I chose members of the task force from a healthy number of applications, I sought to balance theological acumen, perspective, congregational representation, passion and availability for the work, and other, in some cases quite specific, gifts for this work. Required of all, and indeed present in all the applications I received, was a devotion to the good news of God in Christ Jesus and to articulating a way forward in the church that holds us together. Such a way forward will, by definition, ask all of us to remember our servant ministry towards one another and ask us to live graciously in a tension we are unlikely to resolve. 

VOL: There is not a single orthodox voice in the diocese that would dare stand up and say, "Scripture, tradition and reason utterly and totally oppose such 'blessings'. In fact, Scripture is clear that sodomy itself is a non-starter, and having openly avowed homosexual and lesbian priests and bishops is also a non-starter and all of this violates the very law of God at every level." No such voice will be raised. There is not a clergyperson in the diocese who would say that. If he/she did, someone would need to call 911 to pick Waldo off the floor and apply mouth to mouth resuscitation waiting for the EMT wagon to check him for a stroke.

WALDO: The way forward must be deeply rooted in the evangelical imperative, and it must engage scripture, tradition and reason-both in the very pastoral and human dimensions that have challenged the church to address same-sex relationships and, more rigorously, in the theological dimensions that have given a moral grounding for the church over many centuries through the received tradition. 

VOL: I'm an evangelical. Waldo is not. If he really believed in the "evangelical imperative", he would have done what his next door neighbor did at General Convention, the honorable Mark Lawrence, who marched out of the HOB saying the church's action was a bridge too far and he would have nothing more to do with TEC. The use of the word "pastoral" has become a fudge word in TEC to mean, "you can be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered" but stay with us, sooner or later your sexuality will be recognized by these dumbass Carolinians and all will be well. Don't leave us, we are in transition and we need your money to keep it all going.'

Waldo cited "the theological dimensions that have given a moral grounding for the church over many centuries through the received tradition." If that is true, and it is, then what is there to discuss or talk about? The "received tradition" requires no further explication. It's a done deal. Scripture cannot be twisted to accommodate a handful of pansexualists at the beginning of the 21st Century. Furthermore, what does Waldo not get about a denomination in decline precisely because of these sexual innovations. 

WALDO: Our task will be to help me articulate the boundaries within which we might live together that includes same-sex relationships and those who struggle with the church's decisions with clarity and substance.

VOL: There are no (new) boundaries to articulate. They have already been articulated. God has articulated them, Scripture has defined them. Does Waldo think 20 million evangelical Nigerian Anglicans with all their bishops and archbishops wake up each morning and agonize before the cross over same sex unions or gay marriage? They know what Scripture says; they don't need a Task Force to tell them. They also know what Muslim extremists think and DO as they are watching their churches being torched and their people murdered in part because Western liberal bishops in the US and Canada have nosedived into a sexual cesspool that is driving Islamist mullahs mad with hatred at us.

WALDO: This will be hard work. But it will also be work with unexpected blessings for the members of the task force and for our entire diocesan community. I have asked each member to be ready to listen, to pray, to work, to write, to present and, above all, to love one another.

VOL: Waldo has a problem. He is liberal, most if not all his clergy are liberal, but his constituency is not. They are mostly conservative. In 2006, South Carolina voters adopted South Carolina Amendment 1 by 78%, that amended the constitution to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state. An August 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 21% of South Carolina voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 69% thought it should be illegal and 10% were not sure. Waldo knows this so he is walking on cut glass hoping his feet won't bleed too much if his constituency decides to walk out on him if he and his Task Force decide that A049 must be obeyed. The faithful will leave the diocese and their parishes en masse. The ACNA is ready to receive them. He also knows that Katharine Jefferts Schori will be all over his case if he dares violate a resolution passed by General Convention. So it won't happen. Waldo has a ringside chair at the upcoming Diocese of South Carolina boxing match. We all know there is going to be blood on the floor when that is all over. He doesn't fancy that happening to him.

WALDO: We will need each of you to pray for us, not for us to fully resolve our differences, because that would be more than we could deliver. We will need for you to pray that we listen deeply for and to God and to each other, that we might have wisdom and clarity, and that we devote ourselves fully to work that might faithfully, truthfully and authentically unify us in our diversity.

VOL: This is episcobabble. Prayer won't change a thing. Prayer is used as a mantra to do whatever the Task Force and Waldo decides. Does anybody think for a moment that a priest will stand up and say, "God told me in prayer today that we must not violate His Holy Word, and we should not bless such unions, they are offensive to a Holy God and to the blessed Trinity, the church's received teaching and 6,000 years of history." It won't happen. Furthermore, we know what "listening" means. It means you will listen and listen and listen till we wear you down and you agree with us. The whole "listening process" coming out of London over homosexuality is a one-sided affair designed to broker sodomy into the Anglican Communion as a whole. If Waldo and his Task Force do not resolve the issue, and they won't, then this is what will happen. The diocese will deliver the line, "All May, None Must, Some Should". And everybody will go home happy that they have not exactly compromised God's word written but they haven't endorsed it either.

Waldo says he is working with a 6-18-month framework. "We cannot rush, and yet we will be deliberate in moving forward in our work."

VOL: James 1:8 states it so clearly, "He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." Or as the New Living Translation puts it, "Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do." These are the words that will ring in the Task Force's ears as they leave the cathedral. It's what God really thinks.

END

'via Blog this'

***

Anyone can look at the Episcopalian Diaprax above and see the parallels to the WELS Process (Diaprax) being used on the clergy and members for the NNIV.

WELS has been "studying" the issue for a long time, with the same goal in mind, to vent all the emotions against the New NIV so everyone will passively approve it, go away, or accept their excommunication. WELS did the same with the "classic" NIV, replacing the KJV through Sausage Factory propaganda, studies, a wee bit of mea culpa from Jester John Jeske, and driving out the anti-NIV pastors.

Elderly WELS members recall the days when their sect mocked the other groups for accepting the modern translations when they had their faithful KJVs.

Delusional Pope Buchholz used Diaprax to ease Jeff Gunn's Rick Warren style parish into WELS. It took four years and two hand-picked commissions to realize that his congregation had to be welcomed into the sect. Buchholz did not want to rush to judgment, he told me, because he was concerned about all those souls.

Why be concerned? Everyone is already forgiven and saved, according to Buchholz.

Buchie could not grasp why I called him an Enthusiast.
Therefore, he is not "apt to teach," and cannot serve as a pastor.

That 2012 campaign slogan and the history behind it « Churchmouse Campanologist

That 2012 campaign slogan and the history behind it « Churchmouse Campanologist:



The incumbent for the US presidency has a new campaign slogan this election cycle.

Forward.

If that doesn’t raise alarm bells, it should.
'via Blog this'

The Stalinistic Prison Camp, Called the WELS Educational System

solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Gracepoints - The Fruit of Church and Change. The ...":

I agree Pastor Bickel, getting back to the basics is exactly what we need. The possibility of this happening, however, is unlikely because for far too long we've all been more interested in churning out "scholar pastors" instead of good pastors, some of which may be scholars.

The WELS is especially guilty of this, even going so far to "forget" that MLC and Seminary Professors are still sinful human beings. These people are to be revered, honored, and obeyed unconditionally, because of their years of service to the Church (Growth Movement) and their experience and training, which may include advanced degrees. To question a professor, even in private, is a fast track to getting your name on a list of people to be kicked out at the next faculty review. Questioning the faculty is viewed as heresy, so much so that at MLC, they took away the power of the President, an outside party, to grant student appeals and instead placed them all in the same staff that made the decisions in the first place.

***

GJ - WELS probably has the most abusive system among the SynCons (Synodical Confidence Racket). They consider any departure from the Fuller Seminary orthodoxy to be a terrifying threat to their easy money and soft life.

ELCA began the process of getting rid of all threats to their system, starting at the student entry level. WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect remove students for thought crimes. Some tell qualified students, "We will not let you apply for seminary. Just because."

Missouri is so decadent now that a man can invest a fortune in getting through seminary without getting a call. The school has his money from cash, scholarships, and student loans. He has a worthless but Yale-expensive degree.

Corrupt apostates will make sure they are backed up by additional corrupt apostates.

"Nothing personal, KJV. It's a business decision.
I always liked you myself."

Contingency versus Imputation.Absolution without Faith versus Justification by Faith

We have to know our Christian teaching so well that nothing can move us from the truth. That is valid for clergy and laity alike, but a special obligation for clergy, even more for those who would be leaders. Some people are offended that I am a Doctor of Theology. Doctor is Latin for teacher - no harm in that. I had the chance to pursue a scholarly study of theology and Biblical studies. Training in adult education did not hurt either.

I used to complain that I spent too much time studying modern theology, since that was the program at Notre Dame. Now I realize how valuable that was in identifying the flaws of UOJ, which is modern, much later than the Reformation and the Lutheran Orthodoxy era that followed the Book of Concord in 1580.

UOJ arrived when Pietism was dying at Halle University. Old Professor Knapp published his lectures as the last of the Pietists at Halle, which was becoming rationalistic to a man, especially in the Biblical department. When the Calvinist Woods translated Knapp's wooden prose into English, he explained Knapp thus (see the graphic below):

All of modern Protestant theology looks to Schleiermacher as the turning point for them. Co-inky-dink: F. Scheiermacher studied at Halle and taught at Halle.

Schleiermacher taught the justification of the entire world, like Knapp, but pushed the boundaries farther along. This Universal Justification or world absolution is the common theme of modern Protestant theology. The modernists condemn faith as a contingency.

Grace means no contingency, the modernists say. It is not grace when faith is a contingency, a requirement - they claim.

Gather round, friends. Do you see how liberating this is? No one needs to believe anything at any time, because every single person has been forgiven by God's grace. That is the Gospel of modern Protestant Theology.

Even better. When someone brings up the importance of faith, the modernists respond, "But you are making faith a contingency. That destroys the whole concept of God's grace. There can be no contingency."

That is liberating, because the Bible becomes a convenient source for narratives, for new theology books, for careers where one can be an atheist tranny and still be paid for teaching about the Christian faith. Naturally, an atheist cannot really teach the Christian faith in any form but only about Christianity, a bad approximation that is bound to be anti-Christian.

UOJ came from Halle University and has the same DNA as modern Protestant theology. The same allergy to faith is constant. The same warnings are issued about making faith a contingency.

We have to part with all human philosophies and teachings, trusting only in God's Word.


KJV Romans 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

I am a complete sentence and paragraph and chapter teacher. I cannot put a few words under the magnifying glass and ignore all the words around it.

Forgiveness of sin is contingent upon faith in the Gospel. In fact, there is no forgiveness without faith.

No one can merge UOJ with justification by faith. When they attempt this strange union, faith is the target and victim.

One should take note of these circumstances. The SynCon (short for Synodical Confidence Racket) has promoted a false view of Romans 4 ever since 1932, when F. Pieper departed, leaving a foul stench behind, the Brief Confession.

Generations of LCMS-ELS-WELS leaders have failed to identify the exegetical pratfall found in the Brief Confession listing Romans 4:25 in support of their lame world absolution.

Every time a SynCon pastor says "Raised for our justification!" to support world absolution, he is admitting to everyone that he is a false teacher, an inept false prophet, too ignorant to read all of Romans 4 and 5.

The same is true of other key Biblical passages.

Should I mention...am I being cruel? - Luther never taught justification except for justification by faith alone. He is so consistent and redundant that I am shocked the SynCons do not let that fact register.

What's that?

Mrs. Ichabod, "Sassy Sue knows more Luther than they do. She hears Luther read aloud."

I will concede that. Their error is one of ignorance. They know nothing of Luther.

The Word is enough. I do not need anyone to agree with me. Their titles do not impress me. I have known better teachers and scholars - honest ones at that.

I have to wonder about men who say one thing on the phone and another in person. I remember the Michigan District liars playing that game, learned during their secret initiation rituals (GA) at Mequon. Double-talk is not a skill but a sign of cowardice and unfaith.

This quotation, above, from Luther suffices. Faith alone justifies. Paul did not back down because of Peter's seniority.

Peter was a charter member of the apostles. Paul was a johnny-come-lately. All he had was his divine call and the Word.

Lamb of God symbol by Norma Boeckler

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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Contingency versus Imputation.Absolution without F...":

McCain and his theological luminaries attack Dr. Jackson saying that Dr. Jackson never had a "proper" Lutheran theological training, as if he and his gang had one.

I doubt if McCain had a proper theological training even though he has an MDiv. I mean it all depends on what you are being taught and who your teachers are. I do a lot of observation and the kind of calibre McCain exudes does not impress me nor the people I know .

For example, McCain as an MDiv can not argue. He can do ad hominem but that is arguing fallaciously and that is all that can be seen in McCain. He can not sustain an argument without resorting to name calling and prodding people to avoid anti-UOJ folks.

Really, McCain should blog about his Glock and be a full time pistolero instructor. He is cut out for that. For example, he can, I am sure, easily spot the safety lock of a pistol. That is visual activity, no brains are needed for that.

The case is not the same in doing safe theology. In theology you need to apply critical thinking a lot of times and it clearly shows McCain had no such training when he was doing his seminary degree.

Just my humble opinion.

LPC

The Voyage of Life, by Thomas Cole

Detail from The Voyage of Life, Old Age, by Thomas Cole.
The apostate leaders of the SynCon are missing the boat.

This is my timeline cover, using the detail from the painting

One of my graduate students can see the four paintings of The Voyage of Life at the museum near her house. Although Thomas Cole died young, he left behind many large landscapes and thematic paintings. He is justifiably famous for The Voyage of Life series and The Course of Empire. Mrs. Ichabod and I saw The Course of Empire set about eight times before it went back to the NY Historical Institute.

Reducing a large landscape painting to a small graphic on a website is really a desecration. On the other hand, everyone can tour the museums of the world by viewing great art from the Internet. Not everyone can live in Northwest Arkansas, where one of the best American art museums has been built. Crystal Bridges just settled an estate deal with a university to share a large collection of art for two years at a time. The widow, Georgia O'Keefe, wanted the collection kept intact, which meant that the recipient school had no cash advantages from selling some works to pay for upkeep. CB gets the collection for 2013-2014.

I like to dazzle my education technology class with the virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel.

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Art and philosophy convey the culture of the time. Those who identify with the Biblical message, after being converted by the Word, cannot agree with the philosophy of this age. One theologian, Stan Hauerwas, made a reference to Abraham in his memoir, adding, "We don't know if he even existed."

That aside was perfect example of the rationalism of Halle University, the direct result of its weak foundation of Pietism. Although many heirs of Walther realize this, they do not acknowledge that their own synod was founded as a Pietistic sex cult, which was fun until the syphilis spread to the single young women in the Perryville group.

Pietism's main tenet was love over doctrine, unionism over orthodoxy, cooperation in everything. Pietism won that battle a long time ago in American Lutheran groups. They are scandalized by Luther and the Book of Concord, but not by working with Unitarians and the Salvation Army, let alone the ELCA they pretend to despise.

Titles have great significance. Cole could have called his paintings The Stages of Life, but used the term Voyages instead. We are always moving, but not very aware until we look back.

Cole was explicitly Christian in many of his paintings. His last effort showed a sheep with a cross on its fleece being led to the flock in the distance by the Good Shepherd.

William Rehnquist, an ELCA Lutheran, said once, "You look around and suddenly you are old." I wonder about the Lutheran leaders who are so busy getting and spending.

THE world is too much with us; late and soon, 

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: 

Little we see in Nature that is ours; 

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! - Wordsworth

They are so intoxicated with their political agendas that they dare not name or quote Luther, except to wedge their little philosophies into words they cannot understand or teach. The extent of the apostasy continues to impress me, because the claims are directly opposed to the attitude.

When clergy devote their lives to eliminating Luther, the time has come to stop financing the destruction of the Christian faith.

Thomas Cole, The Voyage of Life, Old Age, 1842.
I enjoy walking up close to the paintings to see the detail.

Thomas Cole's last painting, The Good Shepherd.

Detail from The Good Shepherd.