Intrepids Answer Legalism Question

Martin Luther College parents and the faculty
are drinking at the New Ulm Country Club, while

the kids are speed-dating on the campus.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151659493446723&set=a.379496591722.170643.10141541722&type=1&theater

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013

Flat or Folded?

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Thoughts from Thunder Mountain
["Huachuca" - A Chiricahua Apache word meaning "thunder."]

Flat or Folded?   

When I was home last week, I was happy to be able to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant one more time before they closed their doors for good, after 53 years. While I was sitting there waiting for my meal in the same room I had sat when I was 8 years old, I was contemplating an interesting change in the nomenclature of Mexican food, at least here in Yuma, AZ, over those years. What we used to call a "flat taco," was now being labeled a "folded taco." I wondered why the change. Was folded more accurate than flat? Did it sell more tacos? Was the change mandated by some politically correct food critic? Or was it just change for change sake? Turns out it was because of the tourists. You see in Phoenix and California and other places, this item was always referred to as folded, so our little corner of the world had to change so we'd be on the same page so to speak. But really, it all depends on one's viewpoint. If you're talking about what is done with the tortilla, yes, it is folded in order to hold the filling. But if you're comparing it to the round, rolled variety, then it is indeed flatter. You say tom-A-to, and I say tom-AH-to, eh?! 

So, as I enjoyed my tacos and green enchiladas, it occurred to me that this is much like the argument over liturgy in the confessional Lutheran church. Is liturgy "adiaphora" or not?

Well, yes and no. If you mean is the liturgy necessary for salvation; that is, you can't get to heaven unless you sing or chant the Gloria Patri, Gloria in Excelsis, Sanctus, etc.... then yes, liturgy is a matter neither forbidden nor commanded by God. It must be adiaphora since salvation is not dependent upon it. So, believers who want to worship in what might be termed a "freestyle" manner, can most certainly do so. And while doing so may involve some bad theology or even false teaching, as it very often does, their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior can and will still save them. However they may abuse their Christian freedom, they are, in the end, still Christians. We should never proclaim them anything else.

But, if you want to claim to be a truly confessional Lutheran church, in the sense of a proper historic, orthodox, and evangelical church in a direct line of succession with Dr. Martin Luther, and the Reformers around him and Confessors and Formulators who followed, then the liturgy, again, as in what we know as the Western Rite, is most certainly not adiaphora. Therefore, believers in Christ, who claim to adhere to the Bible as their only rule and norm for faith and life, AND also claim to follow the Lutheran Confessions contained in the 1580 Book of Concord, as their guide in things ecclesiastical, will make regular, good, and proper use of the Lutheran Liturgy whenever they gather for worship. This puts into visible practice the faith we have by God's grace, and the understanding of God's will for worship that we glean from our Confessions. This is not a matter of law, or something we have to do, but a matter of our true confession, and something that by faith we want to do, and will do, whether it is a rule in our churches or not. In fact, it is something we will allow no one to take from us - not now, not ever!  

This is also a matter of simple honesty. If you call yourself a "confessional" Lutheran church, then you should have and use the liturgy in your worship, and it should be easily comparable to the basics of the Western Rite. If you don't want to use the liturgy, or you want to make up your own, and change it so much that it barely even resembles anything the Reformers would even recognize, then you should not call yourself a confessional church. Let the shoe fit where it may. Of course, whether you should even call yourself Lutheran is another matter for another time.

But the point is one of truth in advertising. The Apology says it best, "At the outset we must again make the preliminary statement that we do not abolish the Mass, but religiously maintain and defend it. For among us masses are celebrated every Lord's Day and on the other festivals, in which the Sacrament is offered to those who wish to use it, after they have been examined and absolved. And the usual public ceremonies are observed, the series of lessons, of prayers, vestments, and other like things." (Article XXIV: Of the Mass) Certainly the Mass includes the liturgy, as does the term "other like things." This is what WE do. Others may do as they will. And if they will, let them do so somewhere else! We will still call them Christian believers, but, let's be honest, they are simply not confessional Lutherans. And that's the name of that tune!

Deo Vindice!

Stingy News Release about the New Boss at ELCA.Elizabeth Eaton to be installed as ELCA presiding bishop Oct. 5 - News Releases - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Elizabeth Eaton embraced Mark Hanson,
the man she defeated for the title of Presiding Bishop,
aka Captain of the ELCA-tanic.

Elizabeth Eaton to be installed as ELCA presiding bishop Oct. 5 - News Releases - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 23, 2013

Elizabeth Eaton to be installed as ELCA presiding bishop Oct. 5
13-66-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton will be installed as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Oct. 5 at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel in Chicago. The installation is open to the public; tickets are not required. Worship begins at 2:00 p.m. (Central); doors open at 1:00 p.m. A free public reception will follow.
     Eaton is bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod and is the ELCA’s first woman presiding bishop-elect. She was elected Aug. 14 at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly held Aug. 12-17 in Pittsburgh.
     Prior to becoming synod bishop in 2006, Eaton served as pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Ashtabula, Ohio; interim pastor of Good Hope Lutheran Church in Boardman, Ohio; and assistant pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Worthington, Ohio. She earned a Master’s of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., and a Bachelor’s degree in music education from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. She currently serves on a number of boards and committees.
- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 4 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God's work. Our hands,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.

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Mission Roots or Sky-High Overhead Costs for LCMS

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Crippling Costs Related to Sky-High LCMS Seminary Tuition Loans:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/08/crippling-costs-related-to-sky-high.html

LCMS President Harrison on the eternal importance of our mission roots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BmKLCSVL2I

District President Doug Engelbrecht's Email Supporting James Skorzewski's (Ski's) Return to the Ministry

Brothers,

The perpetual adolescence of WELS pastors is
captured well by their Facebook photos
of Glende and Ski with a scantily dressed Katy Perry.

          A number of weeks ago you received a set of documents from two laypeople in the district who were involved in a situation that ultimately led to the resignation of one of our pastors.   This situation was handled by the Northern Wisconsin District Presidium and the congregation(s) involved according to synod protocols, and reasonable and appropriate action was taken.  A number of you have expressed deep concerns about the content and purpose of the mailing that you received, including the fact that it came out under the aegis of two pastors in the district from whom the couple was receiving counsel.  Your Presidium decided that, since the information the pastors in the district received raised a number of questions, and since it obviously presented only the viewpoint of the couple that sent the information out, it would be good to call a meeting of our circuit pastors to give them a report of the situation from the viewpoint of the Presidium, to answer any questions they might have,  and to help them answer any questions the men in their circuit might bring to them.  That meeting was held on June 18^th at Maribel.  A good share of our circuit pastors were able to be in attendance.  Others, who were not there, already had some involvement in the situation and previously had the information that was shared at that meeting.  President Engelbrecht presented a fairly detailed account of the events that led to the eventual resignation of the pastor involved and of the protocols that were followed.   He explained the plan of discipline and restoration that was developed, which included a suspension of ministry and periodic reviews to determine whether or not a return to the public ministry would be possible at some time in the future.

 It became clear that the use of the term “suspension” in connection with that plan of discipline/restoration was a poor choice of words on the Presidium’s part, since the action that was taken was not consistent with the use of that term in our circles and may have given some the impression that what had taken place was not serious or that the action taken by the Presidium amounted to merely a slap on the wrist.  The circuit pastors came to the understanding that such was not the case, but that the Presidium considered what had taken place to be serious and something that needed serious action.  While the suspension of ministry that was called for did remove the pastor from all ministry, not only in his congregation, but throughout the WELS as well “until further notice”, (as is basically  the case with any resignation) it was misunderstood by those who did not have all the information relative to the case.   As a result, and after consultation with WELS President Mark Schroeder and President Engelbrecht, the pastor made his suspension from ministry more clear by tending a letter of resignation.  That was then reported via the weekly call report.  Although President Schroeder expressed his approval of the plan that was developed for the pastor by the District Presidium that could lead to possible return to pastoral ministry, he felt that the term “suspension” caused both confusion and questions that could be avoided by a standard “resignation”.    The pastor, who thereupon  willfully submitted his resignation, has continued to follow the original plan of discipline/restoration developed for him by the Presidium, recognizing it as a beneficial program for his physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being.   Since all too often when a called worker in our synod resigns there is no program put in place that helps him or her to be restored spiritually, emotionally, and physically, it is hoped that the program developed by the Presidium in this case might serve as a model for dealing with such situations that arise in our synod in the future.

 

The circuit pastors expressed their appreciation for the more detailed explanation of the situation and asked if, in the future, there might be better communication with them in such situations to avoid any misunderstandings or misinformation.

The circuit pastors in attendance at the meeting in Maribel then expressed their concern over the documents that were sent out to all of the pastors in district by the couple, as well as the involvement of the two pastors mentioned in those documents.  The consensus was that the sending out of those documents was inappropriate, since it served only to do further damage to the reputation of the pastor involved, following his resignation.   It was also the consensus of the circuit pastors present that, apart from the initial involvement of the one pastor in bringing the allegations to the attention of the proper individuals, the two pastors had overstepped their bounds in continuing to be involved, since neither of them at the time served as the pastor of the couple nor as a circuit pastor, and neither of them served in any official capacity in the district that would justify their further involvement.    The circuit pastors asked that the Presidium meet with the two pastors mentioned in the mailing to convey that message to them and to ask to what extent they knew about the mailing that was sent out.    Such a meeting was held the following day on June 19^th and the concern of the circuit pastors about their involvement was conveyed to them.   The two pastors did state that, as far as the mailing was concerned, they were not aware of it being sent out and did not encourage or OK it.   The Presidium thanked them for their willingness to meet with us and to listen to our concerns, and also thanked them for their obvious concern for the spiritual and emotional well-being of the couple who were involved.   We encouraged further meetings of the couple and the Presidium to help them in their healing process. 

          It needs to be stated at this point that at no time did the leadership and pastoral staff of St. Peter/The CORE take lightly the incidents and events that took place which led to the resignation of their pastor or try to cover them up in any way.   They stated that sin is sin and it was acknowledged as such by those involved where sin occurred, and where poor decisions and lapses in judgment occurred they were also acknowledged and addressed.    The moment these incidents were brought to the attention of the responsible officials, the proper procedures, as laid out by our synod policies for situations like this, were followed both by the District Presidium and by the leadership of St. Peter/The CORE.     While the general nature of the incidents that led to the resignation of their pastor were shared with the members of St. Peter/the CORE, specific details of the incidents (including names) were not shared in order to protect primarily the couple involved and also the pastor, as well as others mentioned in statements that were made during the investigation.    Since the couple, however, chose to disclose the specific details through the mailing they sent out, the matter of protecting the reputations of those involved from further damage became a moot point.  A special meeting was held recently with the members of St. Peter/The CORE and a summary of all that has taken place in the past 11 months, including specific details, was presented to them. 

         

 Should you wish to have a fuller explanation of what occurred, how it was handled by the district, and specific details, you are encouraged to contact President Engelbrecht.  

          We also hope and pray that all those who have been involved in this situation will soon find peace in the forgiveness of sins through our Lord Jesus Christ and strength in Word and Sacrament to live in harmony with one another and serve their Savior to the glory of God.

NOTICE OF REQUESTS FOR CRM STATUS

          One of the reasons for the special meeting with the members of St. Peter/The CORE and for this letter to you is to give everyone more specific and accurate information on what has transpired in the past 11 months, especially in the light of a formal request that has been made by the pastor who resigned from the CORE for CRM status.    Our Wisconsin Synod does have a process for re-entry into the public ministry after a resignation/suspension/termination.   It involves:

·      a period of time away from the ministry (often a year, although in some cases it may be less), for the specific purpose of addressing the things that led to the resignation/suspension/termination

·      a formal written application for CRM status submitted to the District Presidium in the district in which the resignation took place,

·      notice being sent out to the district of the request and a solicitation for responses, either positive or negative

·      letters of recommendation from individuals designated by the District Presidium who could give an evaluation of the progress made by the applicant in resolving the issues that led to resignation/suspension/termination

·      a meeting with the District Presidium to discuss the request

·      a possible period of supervised service or internship as outlined by the District Presidium

·      a decision on granting CRM status by the District Presidium, after the interview and a review of all the material that has been submitted

According to the synod constitution the District Presidium has the sole responsibility for making a determination on granting CRM status.   In order to make that decision comments from those who wish to make them are taken into consideration.   

There are two such requests before our Presidium at this time.  James Skorzewski and Paul Fanning have requested consideration for CRM status.  Paul Fanning has been out of ministry for approximately a year and resigned from his call at St. John – Kaukauna, WI  when he remarried and moved to Nebraska.     James Skorzewski has been out of ministry since January 2013, (his resignation was requested and accepted by the District President at the end of December of 2012),  but has been addressing issues that led to his resignation for almost three years through Crosstrain Ministries.   

           

Comments on the two men seeking CRM status at this time may be sent to the District Office:

          welsnwpd@aol.com  or 249 E. Franklin Ave – Neenah, WI 54956

         

Doug [Engelbrecht]

***

Doug’s email: nwdp@wels.net

 

home phone: 920-722-3218

 

cell phone: 920-841-2809

  

Oh, and the newsdesk of the local newspaper:

 

pcnews@postcrescent.com 

GJ - This email shows what a joke the Anything Goes District has become under Deputy Doug Engelbrecht.

Ski resigned last December? Strange, it did not really happen until the April following -

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/ski-has-resigned-effective-4-12-2013.html

Ski has been working on his problems through Crosstrain Ministries? That is another cancerous tumor from Church and Change, the WELS Fuller Seminary lobby that pretends to disappear when convenient, only to emerge again: larger, worser, meaner. 

These are the Jelly-Tele-Tubbies, apparently waving bye-bye,
but really smirking over their capture of WELS.

DP Patterson is one their coaches and charges a fee to coach people. I want to know how to organize parish spiritual retreats where the ladies bet on who is going to puke her guts out from alcohol first. Could I hire one of them coaches? Kudu Don Patterson is probably booked until the Second Coming, given his skills.

Ski was on the board of Church and Change until I published the names and photos of everyone on the board. It just happened that three Mark Jeske staffers were on the board - a co-inky-dink.

The letter identifies only one sin committed - the sin of dealing with the issues of pastoral alcoholism and repeated sexual harassment. Some have expressed wonder that I knew the facts involved in Ski's situation. DP Jon Buchholz knew all about it and laughed it off, back in 2009, when I brought it up to him.

Many realize this is a safe outlet to deal with matters, while the Mark Schroeder prescription of writing a letter is just another step toward being kicked out for the sin of writing a letter or trying to meet with the furtive Deputy Doug Engelbrecht. Therefore, I often receive information about the false doctrine and disgusting behavior of WELS pastors and teachers.

Those new to the situation should recall that Glende and Ski excommunicated a member, Rich Techlin, for correctly identifying both pastors as dishonest plagiarists. Naturally, Deputy Doug supported Glende and Ski 100%.

WELS endorsement of plagiarism:

http://vdma.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/dp-engelbrecht-on-plagiarism/ 

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WELS Bethany in Appleton caught plagiarizing Swindoll:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2010/08/bethany-appleton-wels-caught.html

Ski and Glende are disciples of Babtist Andy Stanley,
but if anyone is identified as reading this blog - Anathema sit!

St. Peter in Freedom, WELS - Distributing Pink Sheets on Their Fabulous Progress. I Intercepted One

Many are reading this factual post about St. Peter staffers - led by Time Glende - suing the sexual harassment victim's husband.

ELCA Budget To Decrease Three Years in a Row.ELCA Membership and Congregational Losses for 2012 - Exposing the ELCA

ELCA Membership and Congregational Losses for 2012 - Exposing the ELCA:

ELCA Membership and Congregational Losses for 2012

08/20/2013

0 Comments

The numbers are in and they are not good for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Yet they do show that a faithful remnant have placed God's Word over their affinity for the ELCA. 

The 2012 numbers show that there are now 9,533 ELCA congregations. (this includes “155 congregations under development”) In 2011, the ELCA had 9,638 congregations.  That means there has been a loss of 105 ELCA congregations (happening for a variety of reasons) in one year.

The total number of baptized members in the ELCA as of 2012 is 3,950,924. This is significant in that the ELCA is no longer a denomination of 4 million members. 

In 2011, the membership total was 4,059,785. That equals a loss of 108,861 members or -2.68% in one year. 

Only 2,515,205 ELCA members are classified as “Active Participants.”

The total ELCA church attendance at worship each week for 2012 is 1,092,279, compared to 2011 which was 1,123,071. That is a year's loss of 30,792.

Analyzing this further, when we look at the years 2009 (the year of the ELCA's homosexuality decisions) through 2012, the ELCA has lost 682,963 members (14.7%) and 863 congregations.

Consider also that when the ELCA was formed in 1987 they had: 5,288,048 members and 11,133 congregations.

The figures show that the ELCA is a dying denomination. Here are some more figures:

“The statistics below are through the end of 2012 and reflect disaffiliations since the Churchwide Assembly in 2009. 

• 947 congregations have taken a total of 1026 first votes to disaffiliate 

• 713 first votes passed 

• 313 first votes failed (33 percent) 

• 689 second votes have been taken 

• 654 second votes passed 

• 35 second votes failed (5 percent) 

• 643 congregations have been officially removed from the roster of congregations in the ELCA” 

“The settings of disaffiliating congregations also vary widely. More than 67 percent are in rural settings or communities of less than 10,000. At the same time, the ELCA has lost 21 percent of its congregations worshipping 800 or more.”

Sources for the information and quotes in this blog originate from 

http://www.elca.org/~/media/Files/CWA13/02c_Report_of_the_Secretary_20130806e.pdf

and 

http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Resources/Stats.aspx

It should also be noted that the ELCA budget continues to reflect the exodus of Bible-believing Christians from the denomination: 

“Voting members of the 2013 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)...

Approved the ELCA churchwide organization budget for fiscal years 2014-2016. The budget includes current fund spending of $70,541,740 for 2014, $68,552,280 for 2015, and $67,920,675 for 2016.” (see here) 

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Confessional Lutheran Memes on Facebook Land another Knockout BlowAgainst Emergent WELS-LCMS Churcheshttps://www.facebook.com/ConfessionalLutheranMemes

https://www.facebook.com/ConfessionalLutheranMemes

Happy birthday to the Formula of Concord! Signed today in 1577.

These graphics seemed to be fashioned by younger Lutherans, proving that original thought can survive years of parochial Lutheran education.

Classic Ichabod - The Lactating Mary Is Featured by CPH's Paul McCain - Again!

Someone generously volunteered to add
Paul McCain to the original painting
of Mary breast-feeding Bernard from a safe distance.

Mary breast-feeding Bernard is back on Paul McCain's blog. Once again, he has a cropped and Photoshopped version, so the Romanizing, sinuflecting Lutherans know what he is doing but the rest do not. One difference is a little more honesty about getting most of the information from the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia. However, he did not link the article, which is a typical convenience for discerning readers who want to compare.

I have brought this up to Bruce Kintz, the bookkeeper/publisher of Concordia Publishing House, who was hired to replace McCain after the botched editing job on the Book of Concord. Kintz has unfriended me twice for bringing up the plagiarism he overlooks and their gigantic salaries.

Now that so many are reading about WELS pastors Tim Glende and Ski suing the husband of their sexual harassment victim, it is useful to recall that McCain posted on Glende's fake blog, using his own name. Dishonest UOJ bullies stick together, like rotting carrion.

Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed: McCain Denounces Luther's Doctrine on Steadfast.Look at What He Promotes on His Plagiarism Blog:

Thursday, August 23, 2012

McCain Denounces Luther's Doctrine on Steadfast.
Look at What He Promotes on His Plagiarism Blog

Paul McCain used this painting for his plagiarized article on St. Bernard.
He isolated Bernard and erased the breastmilk, or used a sanitized graphic.

http://cyberbrethren.com/2012/08/19/commemoration-of-bernard-of-clairvoux-hymnwriter-and-theologian/#more-7920

Most of the article comes from here:

http://www.nndb.com/people/681/000094399/

The URL is hidden, giving the false impression of McCain writing another detailed post.

McCain, the editor, did omit the information about when Bernard was canonized as a saint. Perhaps that was too obviously from another source.

Notice the bad cropping from McCain's graphic.
The stream of breastmilk is only partially removed.
The background was darkened to mask the alterations.
I copied this graphic from Cyberbrethren as is -
no changes were made by me.

I did a reverse-Photoshop on McCain's graphic, to see what he attempted.
I can see that he (or someone else) darkened it quite a bit. I changed that.
The breast milk was somewhat erased, but not very well, just by darkening the photo.
The crop did not cut out the red of the altar, so I would call the McCain graphic
a sloppy, amateurish edit - like that Book of Concord that he botched, the one they had to recall.

I am trying to figure out why Paul McCain presents himself as the guardian of Lutheran orthodoxy while constantly faking his blog posts and promoting Roman Catholic falsehoods.

I cannot imagine anything more ridiculous and mawkish as the Virgin Mary breast-feeding a theologian, even from a distance. Below, Bernard gets his eye treatment, which cured his eye problem.

Here is more about Bernard and the Lactation of Mary.

Maybe CPH will publish The Glories of Mary.

McCain could figure out in advance how the real painting would look, so he used a doctored version. This gives the impression of a coded message - My circle knows what I am really doing.

Romanism is a major drive at both seminaries, Ft. Wayne and St. Louis. Marian devotion is a way of turning people from Christ and drawing them into other Roman falsehoods.

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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "McCain Denounces Luther's Doctrine on Steadfast.Lo...":

Ichabod -

Now, I can understand why McCain can have time to continually post comments on Steadfast Lutherans. Apparently, when copy and paste from the computer is available to him; his time is freed up. But, how in the world does he have all that time to comment while "earning" that six figure CPH salary? Perhaps, he has the leisure of sucking on his small finger while mini me McCains do all this work?

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LCMS Pastor Richard Futrell, who also favors infant communion:

Wow, I was shown this gem from the Lutheran Magdeburg Book of 1613. The Responsory below is for the second day of Christmas from Matins after the reading from Isaiah 40:9.

My how Lutheranism changed (and not for the better!).

Beata Dei genitrix Maria, cuijus viscera intacta permanent. Hodie genuit Salvatorem seculi.
Beata et venerabilis virgo, quae sine tactu pudoris inventa es mater Salvatoris. Hodie genuit Salvatorem seculi.

Blessed Mother of God, whose virginity remains unsullied, today has given birth to the Savior of the world.
Blessed and venerable Virgin, who without damage to her virginity, became the Mother of the Savior, today has given birth to the Savior of the world.

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There is a new comment on the post "I Did Not Know That".
http://www.geneveith.com/2012/08/24/i-did-not-know-that/

Author: Paul T. McCain
Comment:
I learned a year or so ago that Highway Exit numbers were also mile numbers on the highway. So, if you know you have to get off at Exit 29 and you are at exit 19, you have ten miles to go.

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Ex-pope Benedict says God told him to resign during 'mystical experience' | World news | theguardian.com

Ex-pope Benedict says God told him to resign during 'mystical experience' | World news | 
theguardian.com:

Benedict greets Pope Francis in May and tells him, "Your rent is due" as the former pope returned to the Vatican, where he is living in seclusion. Photograph: Osservatore Romano/Reuters

The former pope Benedict has claimed that his resignation in February was prompted by God, who told him to do it during a "mystical experience".

Breaking his silence for the first time since he became the first pope to step down in 600 years, the 86-year-old reportedly said: "God told me to" when asked what had pushed him to retire to a secluded residence in the Vatican gardens.

Benedict denied he had been visited by an apparition or had heard God's voice, but said he had undergone a "mystical experience" during which God had inspired in him an "absolute desire" to dedicate his life to prayer rather than push on as pope.

The German ex-pontiff's comments, which are said to have been made a few weeks ago, were reported by the Catholic news agency Zenit, which did not name the person Benedict had spoken to.

A senior Vatican source said the report was reliable. "The report seems credible. It accurately explains the spiritual process that brought Benedict to resign," he said.

Benedict said his mystical experience had lasted months, building his desire to create a direct and exclusive relationship with God. Now, after witnessing the "charisma" of his successor, Pope Francis, Benedict said he understood to a greater extent how his stepping aside was the "will of God".

Benedict's reported remarks contrast with the explanation he gave to cardinals when he announced his resignation on 11 February. "My strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," he said then.

At the time, a German journalist who had recently met Benedict reported he was going deaf, appeared to be blind in one eye, and was emaciated and "exhausted-looking".

Speculation also grew that he was depressed after his trusted butler, Paolo Gabriele, was caught leaking his personal correspondence. Italian press reports have recently claimed he was frustrated by a network of influence built up at the Vatican by a pro-gay lobby of prelates.

Zenit reported that Benedict has stuck to his plan to live a life of secluded prayer, receiving very few visitors at his house in the Vatican's gardens, which enjoys views across Rome to the Apennine mountains beyond.

"During these meetings, the ex-pontiff does not comment, does not reveal secrets, does not make statements that could be understood as 'the words of the other pope', but is as reserved as he has always been," wrote Zenit.

After concerns were raised that Benedict would exert undue influence at the Vatican as his successor struggled to find his feet, Francis's popular approach and his shakeup of Vatican protocols have relegated Benedict to the sidelines.

Francis has even joked about the situation, saying in July: "The last time there were two or three popes, they didn't talk among themselves and they fought over who was the true pope!"

Having Benedict living in the Vatican, he added, "is like having a grandfather – a wise grandfather – living at home".

Francis's first encyclical, issued in July, was started by Benedict while he was in office and finished by his successor.

Benedict took his first day trip out of the Vatican on 18 August, walking in the gardens at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, where he stayed after his retirement while his new house was being refurbished. Benedict did not risk running into Francis, who has preferred to stay at his desk at the Vatican during the summer.

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ELCA Stumbles into Its Next 25 Years

Spong is Episcopal, and this was posted on the ELCA meme page
and represents ELCA dogma.
ELCA and the apostate Episcopal Church are one in the spirit,
they are one in the experience.

News Releases

ELCA NEWS SERVICE August 20, 2013 ELCA assembly makes decisions to move church forward      CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members of the 2013 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) made a number of key decisions to further the mission and ministry of this church. The assembly, the chief legislative authority of the church, gathered Aug. 12-17 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.       The rainbow Network scored a double win for 2013 and beyond. The 952 voting members: + Elected the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod, as ELCA presiding bishop. She will be installed Oct. 5 in Chicago and will begin her six-year term Nov. 1. Boerger, Seminex, is the second beard from the far Left.   + Elected the Rev. Wm Chris Boerger as ELCA secretary. Boerger, currently on leave from call, was installed during the assembly’s closing worship Aug. 16 and will begin his six-year term Nov. 1.   + Adopted “The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries” -- a social statement on criminal justice -- and its supporting implementing resolutions. The statement calls ELCA members to ministry and compassion through practices including: hearing the cries of those affected, accompaniment, hospitality and advocacy. It asks members of this church to recommit themselves to visiting the prisoner; correct the flawed criminal justice system and participate in God's work with hands and hearts. + Approved a proposal for the ELCA’s first major fundraising campaign. The five-year campaign, to begin in 2014, is designed to increase this church’s capacity to renew and start new congregations, educate and develop its leaders, bolster its global mission efforts and expand the impact of its relief and development work. Voting members approved two more campaign initiatives -- encouraging and forming lay youth and young adult leaders and support for disability ministry. + Approved the ELCA churchwide organization budget for fiscal years 2014-2016. The budget includes current fund spending of $70,541,740 for 2014, $68,552,280 for 2015, and $67,920,675 for 2016. It also approved ELCA World Hunger income proposals of $19,000,000 for each year 2014-2016, and authorized the ELCA Church Council to establish a spending authorization after periodic review of revised income estimates.   + Elected ELCA members to serve on the following: Church Council, Portico Benefit Services, Mission Investment Fund, Augsburg Fortress, Committee on Appeals, Committee on Discipline, Nominating Committee.   + Adopted a series of amendments to the ELCA Constitutions, Bylaws and Continuing Resolutions.   + Moved to continue the Book of Faith ironic humor initiative that invites the 4-million-member ELCA to become fluent in the first language of our unfaith -- the ever-evolving language of Scripture -- and to be renewed for lives of witness and service to Moscow, Beijing, and Mecca.        + Considered memorials - resolution from the ELCA’s 65 shrinking synods -- on topics including Holy Communion, immigration reform amnesty, the Middle East, pastoral ministry among to (sic) same-gender couples and their families, the Uniting American Families Act, community violence, gender identity, immigration detention, hydraulic fracturing, fossil fuels and ending all hopes of energy independence in America.      The assembly will transition from a biennial to a triennial schedule with the next assembly meeting August 2016 in New Orleans, cuz we are broke, busted, wiped out.

Timothy Dwight the Elder - Parish Pastor, President of Yale, Hymn-Writer

Roland Bainton lectured about Jonathan Edwards
and Timothy Dwight when we lived at Yale Divinity School.
He heard Timothy Dwight the Younger lecture,
and we heard Bainton.

Timothy Dwight - kelmed from the Cyber Hymnal Website:

Timothy Dwight the Elder-

1752-1817

Born: May 14, 1752, North­amp­ton, Mass­a­chu­setts. Died: Jan­u­a­ry 11, 1817, New Ha­ven, Con­nec­ti­cut. Buried: Grove Street Cem­e­te­ry, New Ha­ven, Con­nec­ti­cut.

Dwight was a man for all sea­sons: an or­dained Con­gre­ga­tion­al min­is­ter, grand­son of preach­er Jon­a­than Ed­wards, per­son­al friend of Amer­i­can Pres­i­dent George Wash­ing­ton, and Ar­my chap­lain. He be­gan read­ing the Bi­ble at age four, and se­cret­ly learned La­tin de­spite his fa­ther’s pro­hi­bi­tion. In 1785, he pub­lished the 11-vol­ume Con­quest of Ca­naan. In 1787, he rec­eived a Doc­tor of Di­vin­i­ty de­gree from Prince­ton Un­i­ver­si­ty. In 1795, he be­came pres­i­dent of Yale Un­i­ver­si­ty (where, like his grand­fa­ther Jon­a­than Ed­wards, he ma­tric­u­lat­ed at age 13). He helped found the An­do­ver The­o­lo­gic­al Sem­in­ary—the first sem­in­ary in New En­gland—in 1809. Dwight died of canc­er af­ter serv­ing as pres­i­dent of Yale Un­i­ver­si­ty for 22 years.

Sources

• Bailey, pp. 478-82
• Hughes, p. 378
• Nutter, p. 406
• Robinson, p. 38

Hymns

1. As Down a Lone Valley
2. I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
3. In Zion’s Sacred Gates
4. Shall Man, O God of Love and Light
5. While Life Prolongs Its Precious Light

'via Blog this'

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http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume34/GOT034245.html

Singing With Understanding: "I Love Thy Kingdom Lord"

Dennis C. Abernathy
White Oak, Texas

Stonewall Jackson held prayer meetings in his classrooms at Virginia Military Institute, so Timothy Dwight held revivals in the chapel of Yale. Dwight was the head of the institution from 1795 to 1817. There was also a second Timothy Dwight who became President of Yale and he is noted for changing from a college to a university. During the tenure of the first Timothy Dwight at Yale College, Tom Paine's infamous book The Age of Reason was sweeping the country. Yale, like other colleges, had become infected with the "free thought" of Paine, Rousseau, and the French Revolution. It is estimated that there were no more than five who professed to be Christians on the entire Yale campus. Dwight took to the chapel pulpit with his Bible in hand and his dynamic leadership ignited a spiritual revival which soon spread to other New England campuses as well. Timothy Dwight was truly one of the illustrious names in early American history. He served for a time as chaplain with George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. He could do a good job with almost anything he undertook. He was a farmer, preacher, editor, poet, legislator, orator, businessman, and educator. One of his pupils summed him up as "interested in everything" and his knowledge was "boundless." But Timothy Dwight's main interest was in the furtherance of learning and the advancement of Christianity. While teaching oratory, literature, and theology, preaching to his students, and managing business affairs at Yale, Dwight also undertook the editing of a collection of Isaac Watt's hymns. He also wrote thirty-three original hymns. All but one have practically been forgotten, but this one stands out today as the only hymn written in America during the two centuries after the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, that is still in common use. All of Timothy Dwight's accomplishments seem more amazing when it is realized that for the last forty years of his life he was unable to read consecutively for more than fifteen minutes a day. His defective eyesight had been caused by a case of small-pox, and the pain in his eyes is said to have been agonizing and constant. Roland Bainton wrote Here I Stand - A Life of Martin Luther - and posed twice with LI for photos.