ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the National Council of Churches.
The question often arises, "Why are the LCMS gurus on the Net so far away from the Scriptures and the Book of Concord?"
The Lutheran seminaries teach the Roman Catholic view of the Church and priesthood. That is also why the LCMS pastors decided to join The Real Thing after a few years. If one believes the malarky taught at the seminaries, one might as well join the biggest and best version rather than a Midwest imitation.
Some emphasize Eastern Orthodoxy instead, but Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy are sister churches, even if Rome looks at EO as "defective." One Ft. Wayne graduate told me Easter Orthodoxy was "just another polity," - in other words, no different in doctrine.
So they have such an exalted view of Holy Mother Church and the priesthood that doctrine is an adiaphoron, a matter of indifference.
Clearly, no one is teaching the efficacy of the Word, or the LutherQuashers would not be so upset that someone is working outside of their franchise.
First, one must be certified by false teachers who know as much about Justification by Faith as a donkey does about nuclear physics.
Secondly, one must have a franchise from the synod. Note how well this works for WELS, the micro-sects, and the mini-micro sects.
The micro-minis want the synodical properties and grieve for decades of someone was unable or unwilling to grab some property for them.
The seminary graduates are devoted to their titles and privileges, not to their study of the Scriptures. Their hopes and dreams, goals and schemes are based upon synodical politics, so many of them play Judas goat with "friends" to enhance their reputation as synod guys.
In the LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic), everyone is born forgiven, except for those who deny this great insight from Halle and Calvin. Those Justification by Faith cads are never forgiven, always shunned and hated.
I am again grateful for Thy Strong Word, and while reading the section on the 8th commandment (pp 300-301) I felt compelled to comment. I could not find the best example from the section to cite. It would be beneficial to repost all 7 paragraphs in your blog because each and every one were so edifying. But, if I must, I really appreciated:
"The youngest child can and should ask questions, using the Word as the ruling norm (norma normans). Women have just as much right to as about doctrine and practice as men do...Unfortunately, in many cases, the men have abrogated their responsibility and left the questioning to the women. The the men and the pastor cannot hide behind the headship principle and refuse to deal with the scriptural questions because a woman asks."
or simply:
"Christians can deal with the doctrine itself and measure whether it harmonize with the Scriptures and the Confessions. Having a doctrinal discussion is edifying for everyone"
Now there's a fresh idea! Test doctrine against the Scriptures and the Confessions! Maybe one might start with simply reading the Small Catechism ( the small one), and maybe familiarizing every family with the Large Catechism. Sadly this shouldn't be a "fresh idea" amongst Lutherans.
I have two more thoughts myself on the topic:
1. Another misuse of the 8th commandment comes in it's application as a pseudo-gospel. A person commits a sin. Another observes this to be wrong, and says "I should rebuke my brother." Yet another says, "No" and suggests reasons to justify why the sin was committed. "You don't know what's in their heart; don't judge." The sin persists and remains unchallenged.
Instead of calling the person to repentance, we simply give them a pass with the 8th commandment. This is very similar to examples you've cited. It takes real guts to confront a brother with their sin, and this abuse of the 8th such a shame because of the next point (the opposite view).
2. A congregant comes to his pastor with a grievance against his brother. "Pastor, rebuke my brother!" The pastor responds, "No, this is your christian duty." The congregant responds, "Nah.., I can live with this offense. I'll let it alone." The pastor's response, "If your brother has indeed sinned, should you not correct him? Would you jeopardize his soul because of your discomfort."
This is diametrically opposed to pseudo-gospel twisted version of the 8th commandment, and it's easy because using the 8th rightly it hard (like all the law, it mitigates against our fallen nature). It takes guts, courage....and, uh, faith.
In today's world of political correctness, it is especially hard because we have been conditioned by our culture to not offend others. But what did Jesus say about this?
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire
-Mark 9:47, KJV
If your eye causes you to fall into sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,
-Mark 9:47, EHV
...how much more if we should love our neighbor as the 2nd table of the law says would we then not help our brother do the same?
Ironically, as the LutherQueasy thugs were debating whether you are a real pastor or preacher or whatever, the same day I read this in Gems:
34. The precedent of Stephen holds good. His example gives all men authority to preach wherever they can find hearers, whether it be in a building or at the market-place. He does not confine the preaching of God’s Word to bald pates and long gowns. At the same time he does not interfere with the preaching of the apostles. He attends to the duties of his own office and is readily silent where it is the place of the apostles to preach.
St. Stephen’s Day. Jackson Lenker, Luther’s Sermons, Volume 6, page 198.
Jackson, Gregory. Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons: Lenker Edition (Kindle Locations 1503-1508). Kindle Edition.
The drought was so bad that I wondered if I could do more than keep the plants alive this year. We did not have much rain in the spring, and that was followed by heat, humidity, and almost no precipitation at all.
I did a survey of the front yard and saw that most of the Joe Pye was ready to dry up, the same plant that came back after being cut down by the weed-eater. Roses were ready to die, even with fairly regular watering. We had a chance to put down some mulch, and I watered the entire front yard, the rose and butterfly gardens.
Next came the rain, six inches over three or four days. That was welcome, but not much began to happen. Then the effects of mulching, watering, pruning, and the rain revealed itself. The second bloom of the Crepe Myrtle has become. New and old roses began to bloom. The senior Joe Pye looked like O'Hare during rush hour, every large bloom a mass of insects feeding and hovering.
At various times we reach that state where we think, as the country music song says, "I've been down so long, everything looks like up." And even the best news does not seem to change the damage of the past. But that is usually a signal that everything is changing for the best.
If we believe in Creation - and the mercy, love, and peace promised in John's Gospel - then the dark times are just a slow prelude before new realities begin. Our congregation prays for many people facing an array of difficulties, knowing that God will see them through. Afflictions and the cross come to each believer and God shows us that He can turn the greatest evil into the greatest good, as He did with the crucifixion of Christ, when all powers of darkness seemed to be winning and yet were defeated by the cross the empty grave.
Isaiah 65They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of theLord, and their offspring with them.
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
World News
I see two major news fronts opening up, which will connect many different narratives, recent and in the distant past.
One story is the arrest of a Bronfman daughter, heir to the Seagram Whiskey fortune. The sisters got behind the NXIUM cult and its founder Keith Raniere. Nancy Salzman is another character involved in this story. More information is found in Q discussion groups. The importance of this group of felons comes from their political contacts (Clintons), Hollywood contacts (India Oxenberg, etc), and their depravity.
A even bigger story involves the British, Obama, and various spooks in meddling with the 2016 election, blaming the Russians.
Some wonder if Julian Assange (Wikileaks) is still in Britain, in the Ecuador embassy, or perhaps somewhere else. He would be an important witness in the Seth Rich murder, since Seth is considered his source for the DNC materials downloaded on a thumbdrive.
Cults Damage People - Another Cult Is Not the Answer
The NXIUM cult story got me thinking about people who have been betrayed by various dishonest Lutheran organizations. One person was involved in a mind control cult and honest about it. I could see how it affected him in looking for something honest, healthy, and Scriptural. However, the UOJ cult, once they discovered his doubts about the soundness of their doctrine, turned on him.
What might have been healing and comforting through the Means of Grace ended up being alienating in the name of a fake "Lutheran orthodoxy." That so-called Lutheran orthodoxy was really adherence to the dogma of a sex cult from Germany - the Saxon Migration - first under the dictatorial direction of Bishop Martin Stephan and later under Pope CFW Walther, finally under Cardinal Francis Pieper.
The UOJ Magicians are not conservative. They are radical Leftists who have burrowed into the fabric of Lutheran doctrine in America and taken over. We know they by their fruits. They mention Luther and their hides bristles. They know not Luther, and they know not that they know not. They are in perfect harmony with ELCA, only a few steps behind them, but always aping the ELCA dogma - grace means everyone is forgiven and saved.
"How did we get here?" The rogues gallery tells part of the story.
Some forget that I know mainline dogma from the inside, not only from being in the LCA, but also from studying modern Protestant theology and comparative dogma at Notre Dame. The affinity between ELCA, LCMS, and WELS is striking and disgusting.
America has well-heeled traitors. The Lutheran Church has round-heeled traitors. They populate the colleges and seminaries of the LCMS, WELS, ELS, and micro-minis. They gorge themselves on the offerings of members and the profits of Thrivent in the executive suites - the DPs and SPs.
I no longer have to prove the apostasy of the LCMS-WELS-ELS combine. They publish the evidence in their atrocious "translations," (ESV, NIV), in their dogmatic materials (Confessing the Gospel, new improved catechisms by morons), and their prostrate position before their abortion-loving god, Thrivent-Mammon.
The "conservatives" are serving big helpings of Pietism and Barth/Kirschbaum. Sassy is more reliable.
The Enthusiasts at SpenerQuest imagine themselves to be rough, tough, orthodox Lutherans. Paul Rodham McCain, former publisher at Concordia Publishing House, kept linking his blog when it was still alive. He would post something like this on SpenerQuest:
We pray was linked to his blogCyberbrethren, which was taken over by a company when he bailed out of blogging.
Each time I looked up his link, it was clearly plagiarized, almost verbatim from The Catholic Encyclopedia. He conveniently omitted the obvious references to the Church of Rome, like nilhil obstat, Bishop Patrick O'Brian. Haha. I provided proof, time after time.
And Paul the CPH editor stole from his friends' blogs too, without a clear citation and without quotation marks!
That genius group of Junkyard Dogs never got it. They kept letting McCain promote his plagiarized blog's Roman Catholic garbage. No problem.
After I published enough posts on McCain's unethical, dishonest behavior, the SpenerQuest links stopped. Did they apologize for going along with McCain, for serving up the Antichrist's propaganda as his work?
Did Paul Rodham McCain apologize for his plagiarism - as a pastor, as an editor, as a campaign manager for Barry and Matt the Fatt? Never.
UOJ Antinomians are legalists, to be sure, but they are also lawless. They were born forgiven and saved, according to the great lights of the Reformation - Samuel Huber, J. J. Rambach, the Calvinist Woods, Knapp, Edward Preuss, and Walther.
Magic acts are a lot of fun. We all know that the magician distracts our eyes so that he can quickly do the trick where we are not looking.
The UOJ Magicians work the same way, but they are nasty and vindictive, not entertaining. Their energy comes from their hatred of the Word, which they cloak with fine words and sanctimony.
LCMS and WELS - Same History - Same Tricks
Missouri and WELS came from Pietism, which has a way of asserting itself again. The clergy who would rather be unionistic, because they love every doctrine but their own, bitterly resent the chains and shackles - as they see them - of the Book of Concord so they throw off those horrid Confessions.
Missouri and WELS both taught Justification by Faith for many decades.
JFBA Examples in WELS:
Gausewitz was the catechism and no one talked of UOJ. The instigator of Kokomo never heard of UOJ before seminary.
Some oldsters in WELS remember that they were taught Justification by Faith in the olden days, because they were.
JP Meyer and other false teachers worked to supplant the Confessions and the Chief Article, so WELS clergy ignore and loathe the Book of Concord.
JFBA Examples in the LCMS:
The 1905 German catechism of the synod taught Justification by Faith, not UOJ.
They also used the Gausewitz Catechism, because he was the president of the Synodical Conference.
The KJV catechism, lately in the CPH catalogue, teaches Justification by Faith - not UOJ.
Dr. Walter A. Maier preached Justification by Faith and taught it as the foundational doctrine of Christianity, named before inerrancy in one quotation. See the graphic. He was praised by sister synods, not denounced as a false teacher.
The Magic Wand of Verbal Abuse
The UOJMagicians have only one trick. They verbally abuse anyone who threatens their position, and they scare easily. They mask their fear with fake ferocity, always using their buddies to back them up, like shills in an audience helping with a mind-reading trick.
Robert believed in due process. He repeatedly said that he would not be used to deny due process to Walter A. Maier. He also expressed his opinion that his efforts to bring Maier to an orthodox formulation (sic) of this doctrine with the help of such eminent theologians as Dr. Harry Huth, the great Missouri Synod Confessions scholar, would bear more fruit than his brother’s approach.
WAM II, left, got the Preus "due process" treatment. I do not have his academic achievements at this time. He is with a bunch of Maiers. When I met WAM II, he was jolly and friendly.
Imagine yourself as a professor at the synod's seminary, the son of the world-famous preacher and Biblical scholar, Walter A. Maier, PhD, Harvard, who taught Justification by Faith and inerrancy.
Jack Preus, the LCMS president, sends a letter to every congregation, denouncing you as a false teacher - for teaching what built The Lutheran Hour, your father preaching on the radio. But the accusation is dishonest, because it does not say, "You teach the Chief Article and we reject that, agreeing with the rationalistic Pietists." No, it is "YOU deny our precious dogma doctrine of Justification without FaithObjective Justification."
Robert Preus, Jack's brother, as president of the Ft. Wayne seminary, denounces you to the entire LCMS, using the most ridiculous arguments for UOJ, even citing the UOJist who left teaching in the LCMS to be a Roman Catholic editor! That was Edward Preuss of precious memory, still quoted with a school-girl's sigh.
Instead of being the leading candidate for LCMS synod president, a big effort is mounted to deny you any votes because (wave the magic wands) both Preus brothers have unethically and illegally denounced you as a false teacher. And yes, that is indeed slander.
Ralph Bohlmann becomes the LCMS president, promotes Church Growth, and sees his daughter ordained as a UCC pastor and married to another woman.
Herman Otten, a supposed Maier friend, backs UOJ to the hilt, essentially agreeing with the Preus brothers. It took another magician, Paul Rodham McCain, to equal this level of hypocrisy and back-stabbing. Otten sells books against Luther, praises a Roman Catholic author for publishing the obvious, and specializes in promoting the thralls of UOJ.
The irony of this Preus team is that neither Preus brother earned an Ivy league degree or engaged in Biblical scholarship, as Walter A. Maier, WAM II, and WAM III did. Jack and Bob both studied Latin scholasticism at the University of Minnesota - the Icey League. Academic achievement in the Preus family stopped there. As The Right Reverend Bishop James Heiser said to me, "The Preus children are not known for their theological acumen."
The Preus brothers used the weakness of CFW Walther's education to their advantage, calling up the ghost of Stephan's thrall to pound WAM II into the ground. The weakness of LCMS clergy and laity always comes through when they line up like iron filings around the magnetic personality of their first pope, professor, publisher, and political expert, CFW Walther, BA.
The answer does not come from inane theses that beg the question, like Valleskey on Fuller and Church Growth. The answer comes from careful study of the Biblical text. Anyone can do that, but few take the trouble.
I am happy to say that the younger generations of men are willing to address what the Boomer men ignored.
According to this former editor of Steadfast Lutherans, Dr. Maier was "a moron" for teaching Justification by Faith.
Dr. Walter A. Maier became the first speaker of "The Lutheran Hour" in 1930. He had been teaching Old Testament Interpretation at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis for eight years when he took a leave of absence to be full-time Lutheran Hour speaker. Maier was dedicated to his work, having decided to become a pastor after hearing a mission sermon at the age of twelve. He attended undergraduate school at Concordia College in Bronxville, New York, washing dishes and selling typewriters to pay expenses.
When Maier passed away suddenly, just after midnight on January 11, 1950, tributes poured in from around the globe. Reverend Billy Graham sent a telegram: "We join with friends who mourn the passing of Dr. Walter A. Maier, whose Lutheran Hour was a constant benediction and source of strength."
Dr. William Arndt, a close associate of Dr. Maier, wrote: "It was his continual aim to preach the great truths of the Scriptures: Law and Gospel, sin and grace, Christ and His redemption. Throughout the English-speaking world he was considered one of the chief spokesmen of conservative Christianity. His memory will be cherished by millions of people."
During the twenty years that Maier served as speaker for "The Lutheran Hour," the United States - and the world - went through remarkable upheaval. The Great Depression caused the temporary suspension of "The Lutheran Hour" broadcast, World War II and the devastation of the atomic bomb rocked the world. Maier's words speak to the particular events of the world in which he lived, but he admonished his listeners with the Law of God, and comforted them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in a tone that still rings true at the beginning of the 21st century.
This sermon by Walter Maier is a clear example of teaching the Atonement as completely and forcefully as anyone could, and also stressing the importance of faith in our Savior.
The Fort Wayniacs do not know what the Gospel is, and yet they want to teach the entire world. Maier earned a doctorate, that is, a license to teach. But the bachelors of divinity want to teach the entire world, though no one is asking, and they would likely lecture Dr. Maier too, if they had the chance.
The UOJ Stormtroopers were clever in their takeover of the LCMS and WELS. The Little Sect on the Prairie was midwifed by loyalty to UOJ, so there was nothing to corrupt.
This UOJ cleverness is wonderfully devious, because they never deny Justification by Faith outright (though they loathe the Chief Article). They let people think their precious Objective Justification is the Atonement, though it clearly is not. They even make a point of saying OJ is not the Atonement - as Dr. Robert Preus did in his little essay that Jack Cascione ordered him to write (as Jack brags, but then, Jack is always bragging).
Next - they let people think Subjective Justification is Justification by Faith, but once again - that is a deception. SJ is agreeing with or making a decision for world absolution without faith.
'Tis comforting for false teachers to know they will be declared righteous in Hell and have so many companions from Sodom.
However, the UOJ Salesmen show their hand a few ways:
They say - "Don't make faith a work!" and really make the word faith a bad one, as if it were the opposite of grace.
They sell their position by saying, "We are justified BY GRACE through faith," which may not be wrong as such, but they are intending it as OJ and then SJ: they mean faith is faith in OJ, not faith in Christ Jesus.
They even proclaim that their Justification without Faith is the Chief Article of Christianity, which is either a blatant lie or total stupidity. Yet Mark Zarling published that nonsense and F. Bivens copied the same argument in his paper - the same reference too.
They deny their constant discussion of double justification, but I see the J both in OJ and SJ. For Mequon students unfamiliar with the English language, the J means a declaration. Two Justifications mean two declarations of Not Guilty! They love that term. Not Guilty! even if you never believe in Christ. Not Guilty! even if you are roasting in Hell.
Seventy years after Dr. Maier died, the LCMS made UOJ their official dogma in a textbook
Denying the Gospel Today and the
Bloated Anti-Luther Catechism.
Both over-priced books are published by Concordia Publishing House in honor of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation.
May God give us the same courage, for we in the United States also face a trying future! What I say now will find little applause, but the Church dare not cater to the popularity that blindly sets divine truth aside.
Every minister of Jesus Christ is to be a watchman who, studying the trends of his times, warns and comforts his people. Therefore, when disturbed Christians, repeating the ancient Bible question, ask, "Watchman, what of the night?" we must be guided by complete honesty and absolute indifference to public acclaim.
Under this conviction I tell you that in the deliberate opinion of many sober-minded investigators, within the Church as without, the United States faces the possibility of more numerous, more subtle, more imminent disasters than in our entire previous history.
The most dangerous perils arise not from without but from within. Small countries may be overrun by military machines, but rich, powerful peoples succumb to internal treachery, the consequences of their own sins, the disregard of God's Word.
As Christians we must whole-heartedly do our share in building and strengthening the nation's defenses; but we dare not overlook the truth that the contempt of divine will in American life can become a hundred times more destructive than any foreign invasion.
Six inches of rain brought Joe Pye into bloom and seed production. The largest one, at 7 feet, bent over with the weight of the rain. However, it is a a marvel of beneficial insect life - from butterflies to bees and wasps, lightning bugs, hover flies, and more.
The Mother of All Crepe Myrtles was completely pruned before the rain, so the buds are opening for the second show. Now it has a pink glow of bursting buds.
One doctor said his KnockOut roses are not blooming. I said, "Trim them back 30%." He said, "Someone did that and the roses did not grow back for a long time." I asked, "Did you mulch and water them?" He hung his head a bit, "No." I admonished him, "You have to dote on roses." He brightened, "You dote on them? I suppose I should too."
If he had pruned back his KnockOut roses before the rain, they would be in full bloom now, with 50 roses per bush, lots of color, plenty of roses for vases and then some. The challenge with doted-upon KnockOuts is keeping up with their production.
Readers who took notes remember that I added mulch and watered everything before the big rain. That meant six inches of rain went into the clay soil to linger, the mulch keeping the rain from evaporating too fast. Another benefit, besides holding down weeds and improving the soil, is keeping the soil cool. Plants do not like sun-baked soil around their base. Nothing is more pathetic than a lonesome rose growing out of sun-baked clay, going to seed from lack of pruning. One distant neighbor specialized in this - I am glad he put up a privacy fence to hide his gardening skills.
Tiny flowers invite tiny beneficial insects - and butterflies: Clethra.
Garden Expansion
I have a lot of plants that can be divided and spread around in the fall, which means free expansion without cost:
Hostas
Wild Ginger Hidden Lily
Joe Pye
Cat Mint
Mountain Mint
Daisies.
I am sharing some plants with our dentist's mother, who had all hers stolen just before a big more. I may move some bushes into the rose garden too, depending on their root systems.
Chaste Tree is more of a woody shrub. Bees love it. Mrs. Gardener asked about it, because the flowers are long-lasting and very attractive to humans as well.
Easy Plants To Grow
Once I branched out from roses, I found a lot of plants that really take off in the third year. The plants above are also easy to grow, and they contribute to the Balance of Creation in the yard.
Do you remember all those mentions of "The Balance of Nature" in the 1960s? Who is doing the balancing?
Some experiments should be done by any gardener, just to see how powerful the management of Creation is. Our latest is the senior Joe Pye Weed. We always have plenty of beneficial insects because of the varied flowering of plants and the selection to attract the helpers (Mountain Mint, Shasta Daisy, Pokeweed, Butterfly Bush, Chaste Tree). But the insects really go crazy on the Joe Pye blooms.
The right flower is the correct invitation for a particular beneficial insect. My Poison Hemlock was crawling with baby Ladybugs, very impressive - but not enough to keep it growing in the yard. That was the only time I saw Ladybugs in the infant stage, looking like little alligators. Chaste Tree is a magnet for bees.
More importantly, this previous post shows how an entire synod can be lost through a doctrinal error. Or, as Luther said, an entire nation.
The attack against WAM II's Justification by Faith, conducted by Jack and Robert Preus, set the stage for Ralph Rodham Bohlmann to steer the LCMS straight into mainline apostasy. That was almost 40 years ago, and it took that long to make UOJ official both in the synod's Dogmatanic and also in their Babylonian Talmud edition of the no-longer Small Catechsim.
The original Gausewitz Small Catechism was nothing more than Luther's Small Catechism and a list of the Scriptures that went with each point. Gausewitz taught Justification by Faith. That is significant, because Gausewitz was president of the Synodical Conference and therefore respected in those synods at that time. To duplicate that feat today one would need a DMin from Fuller Seminary.
Calov and Quenstedt seem to be arguing against the UOJ of the Pietists. Norwegian Pietists like Jack and Robert Preus stuck to UOJ like lint to velcro, but the Augustana leaders were influenced by W. Passavant - a Book of Concord advocate. And - Augustana had the Apostolic Succession!
Do not be shocked, Lutherans, that this has happened. People live with contradictions all the time.
Picture a discussion website, not just any website, but a very special one.
They routinely teach Justification without Faith.
They never discuss Luther's doctrine.
They attack anyone who questions their rationalistic Pietism.
They are meaner than junkyard dogs with each other, but even worse toward anyone who questions their brilliance and orthodoxy.
They love to quote a man who kidnapped his niece, nephew, and bishop, who adopted Halle Pietism, and stole millions from the leader of their cult.
And get this - They call their group LUTHERQUEST (sic)!
Older Lutherans recall that Walter A. Maier was not only a superstar among Lutherans, for his speaking on The Lutheran Hour, but also honored among Evangelicals, with special recognition at Billy Graham's Center Museum.
Mrs. Ichabod and I visited the display about Maier, attended events at the Billy Graham Center, and I taught there once.
The Story of Walter A. Maier (Tobias Communications, The extraordinary father of Paul Maier, Dr. Walter A. Maier, was the founding speaker of The Lutheran Hour radio broadcast. He was also a seminary professor who wrote 31 books, edited a popular journal, and filled a dozen other roles. Billy Graham called him "the greatest combination of preacher and scholar that America has produced." "Rich, fascinating reading ... this book surely will have an impact on peoples of all faiths and nationalities." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Thorough ... of great interest, inspiring. Walter A. Maier was a Sunday institution in the lives of millions of Americans." - The Pittsburgh Press Walter Maier and Wheaton College Walter A. Maier II was the most likely president of the synod when the Preus brothers, Jack and Robert, launched a vicious attack on him for not teaching Objective Justification. The winner was Ralph Bohlmann, who became the LCMS president. The seminary took away WAM II's ability to teach Romans. Some ELDONA details are here. Here is some exculpatory posted by Rolf Preus.
Many of our readers know that our seminary, and one professor in particular, has been recently criticized for undermining this comforting and clear teaching of objective justification. The criticism and garbled accounts of the situation have become so widespread lately that I must now comment on the matter in this issue of the "Newsletter.
For over 15 years now Professor Walter A. Maier, Jr., has been teaching a course in the book of Romans, and, although he states he has always presented the doctrine of objective justification as taught in our synod (e.g. in the "Brief Statement"), he has taught in class that some of the key passages used in our church to support the doctrine actually do not speak to the subject at all. As a result some within the seminary community and some outside concluded that Dr. Maier did not in fact believe, teach, and confess the article of objective justification. A few – very few – complaints were brought against Dr. Maier and against the seminary for letting this go on.
The Preus mob pounded WAM II into the ground like a tent stake. I may not get all the dates and crimes in perfect order, because I was not in the LCMS at that time.
Notice how ominous the charge appears in red. There is no effort to address what WAM II taught, only to claim that he has departed from the political document called the Brief Statement 1932. The Brief Statement of 1932 never had canonical status but here it is raised above the Scriptures to have super-canonical status, supplanting the clear message of the Scriptures and the Book of Concord.
Observe how Robert Preus' description of Objective Justification is a confused mess of garbage, highlighted by one of the most absurd statements ever - from Edward Preuss, who left the St. Louis Seminary to became a major Roman Catholic leader and editor. But the Stormtroopers still love Edward Preuss'
Justification of a Sinner essay/booklet. The phrase - justification of a sinner - is one of those clues that a Stormtrooper is clearing his throat.
"We were justified before we were even born." What?
UOJ Gave the LCMS a Headstart on Women's Ordination and Church Growth,
With a Side Helping of Pentecostalism and Union with the Future ELCA -
Thank You, Preus Brothers and Buddy Ralph Bohlmann
Some background is worth considering. CFW Walther was not a Biblical theologian. He started with theses and simply stated them as the truth, citing Scripture passages whether they were fitting or not.
Jack and Robert Preus were better educated than Walther, but they were not Biblical scholars. Robert did his work on the late Lutheran scholastic period, which was influenced by Pietism.
Walter A. Maier and WAM II were both Biblical scholars.
We met WAM II (left) at the Rutz funeral. He is a jolly guy with a lot of genius relatives. WAM III earned a doctorate from Harvard, like his grandfather did.
Ralph Bohlmann earned his PhD in church history at Yale and was part of the conservative minority when the Seminex crisis saw most of the faculty and students leave Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. When he became LCMS president in 1981, after the Preus attack against WAM II, he began leading the synod toward women's ordination, working with the LCA/ALC. Church Growth itself grew by leaps and bounds, and Pentecostalism continued.
Did Robert Preus Repent of the Mob Attack on WAMII?
Rolf Preus gives the impression that Justification by Faith is the false doctrine warned against in Matthew 7:15-23. If so, he should be more explicit. His father, Robert Preus, provided the best quotations against Objective Justification:
The LCMS - under Matt the Fatt - Has Made UOJ Official Doctrine:
Time To Unite with ELCA and Certify Herman Otten
"Do you disagree with our dogmatics book?" jowls shaking in rage, eyes blazing with blood-lust.
So you see, doctrine is always developing and making progress. This is the first LCMS Small Catechism - and the biggest - with UOJ taught.
