My Favorite Overlooked Great Lutheran - Theodore Schmauk

 

The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

In This Issue

The Life and Teachings of Theodore Emanuel Schmauk by George W. Sandt The New Theology: Samuel Schmucker and Its Other Defenders by James Allen Brown Sermons on the Gospels by Matthias Loy My Experiences In The Mission Field Of South Dakota by Frank Albert Kiess The Forgiveness of Sin: And the Possibility of Attaining a Personal Assurance of it by Timothy East

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The Life and Teachings of Theodore Emanuel Schmauk by George W. Sandt “Lutheranism clings to God’s Written Word. Her motto is the Word of God, the whole Word of God, and nothing but the Word of God, not as a prescriptive letter, but as the power of God unto salvation.” – Theodore Schmauk “[Dr Schmauk] ranks as one of the ablest and most consistent defenders of the Lutheran faith. His catholicity of spirit enabled him to put himself in the place of his opponent and see things from the latter’s point of view… And yet he never swerved from the strong conservative position he always took by making weak or compromising concessions. Level of Difficulty: Intermediate: Some subject matter knowledge helpful. There is no man in our Church whose Christian consecration has been more evident, whose deep loyalty to the Church has been stronger, whose full participation in her thought and activity has been wider, whose counsel has been more constantly sought and given, whose influence has been more powerful and helpful than that of Dr. Schmauk.” –Dr. Knubel, The Lutheran Book Contents Preface Part 1. Dr. Schmauk On Live Questions And Issues 1 On The Person Of Christ 2 On The Doctrine Of The Trinity 3 On The Freedom Of Will 4 On Negative Theology 5 The Lutheran Conception Of Salvation 6 On Confessionalism 7 Luther And The New Theology 8 On Progressive Conservatism 9 On Lutheran Union 10 On Lutheran Pulpits For Lutheran Ministers 11 On Lutheran Disunity 12 On The Lodge And Pulpit-Fellowship 13 On Un-Christian Societies 14 On Co-Operation 15 Dangers To The Lutheran Church In Cooperating With Revival Movements 16 The Lutheran Church And External Relationships 17 Two Great Lessons Of Providence 18 The Church And Social Problems 19 On Christmas 20 The Tricky Controversialist 21 On Possibilities Of Union Part 2. A Biographical Sketch 1 - The Schmauk Antecedents 2 - Birth and Boyhood (1860 to 1876) 3 - A Student at College (1876 to 1880) 4 - Student at Seminary (1880 to 1883) 5 - His Early Pastorate as Associate of his Father (1883-1898) 6 - Literary Activities Begin 7 - As Educator - The Pennsylvania Chautauqua 8 - As Historian - No Traitor To His Blood 9 - Editor and Sunday School Leader 10 - Citizen, Patriot and Public Speaker 11 - Death of his Father (1898-1903) 12 - President of the General Council (1903 to 1905) “The One Conservative Lutheran Body” The General Council’s Attitude Toward Modern Evangelism 13 - The Confessional High-Water Mark (1907) 14 - Administrative Problems 15 - A Trying Convention (1909) Dr. Schmauk and the Swedes 16 - “The Confessional Principle” (1907-1911) 17 - The QuadriCentennial Celebration of the Reformation (1917-1920) 18 - The Closing of a Strenuous Life Positions Held in the Church Author of Following Books A review “I have just finished a rapid examination of your book… It has held me fast all day, except when in church, and for two brief breathing spells. I have read enough to lead me without waiting longer to express my intense delight and most sincere gratitude. You have produced an epoch-making book… You have not left the least shred of an argument against the Confessional position unanswered.” – Henry Eyster Jacobs Download the eBook PDF Apple/Kobo EPUB Kindle AZW3 Legacy MOBI (If EPUB or AZW3 won’t work on your device) You can expect your book to arrive within a few hours. If you don't find it, check your spam or junk mail folder. You can also request a copy of this or any Lutheran Library e-book by sending an email with the book's title and format. Enjoy the book! Publication Information Lutheran Library edition first published: 2018-01-25 Updated: v6.2021-04-07 Copyright: CC BY 4.0 Read more

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The Life and Teachings of Theodore Emanuel Schmauk by George W. Sandt “Lutheranism clings to God’s Written Word. Her motto is the Word of God, the whole Word of God, and nothing but the Word of God, not as a prescriptive letter, but as the power of God unto salvation.” – Theodore Schmauk “[Dr Schmauk] ranks as one of the ablest and most consistent defenders of the Lutheran faith. His catholicity of spirit enabled him to put himself in the place of his opponent and see things from the latter’s point of view… And yet he never swerved from the ... Read more The New Theology: Samuel Schmucker and Its Other Defenders by James Allen Brown “Suffice it to say that faith is faith, and not obedience, or love or delight in God, or any other distinct grace or virtue. Nor does the Bible say being justified by obedience, or love, or delight, or good works, but ‘being justified by faith, we have peace with God.'” Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed. Justification by Faith versus Schmucker’s “New Theology” “The substance of this fundamental doctrine may be ... Read more Sermons on the Gospels by Matthias Loy “When you feel your burden of sin weighing heavily upon you, only go to Him… Only those who will not acknowledge their sin and feel no need of a Savior — only these are rejected. And these are not rejected because the Lord has no pity on them and no desire to deliver them from their wretchedness, but only because they will not come to Him that they might have life. They reject Him, and therefore stand rejected. But those who come to Him, poor and needy and helpless, but trusting in His ... Read more My Experiences In The Mission Field Of South Dakota by Frank Albert Kiess “I received my first call into the largest mission field of the Northwest, in the State of South Dakota, far away from good old home. In September, 1892, I left home for my long journey. My good mother and a brother-in-law, Joseph Koby accompanied me as far as Chicago, where I kissed mother goodbye, but my brother-in-law went with me as far as Milwaukee. There we stayed one week, he returned and I went on to the icy North…” Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter ... Read more The Forgiveness of Sin: And the Possibility of Attaining a Personal Assurance of it by Timothy East Timothy East’s practical book is intended to, “disturb the false peace of the criminally indifferent… impart consolation to the conscientiously fearful, (and to) excite to higher degrees of gratitude the comparatively few, who know that they are safe for eternity.” Timothy East (1817-1892) was the writer of the famous “Evangelical Rambler”, later republished under the title “The Sheepfold and the Common.” Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter ... Read more Scripture Selections for Daily Reading by Rev. Jesse Hurlbut “…A good selection of Scripture passages well suited for reading at family worship…chosen to furnish a reading for every day and to complete the bible in a year. Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed. Rev. Jesse Hurlbut writes, “It has seemed to me that there is need of a good selection of Scripture passages, of nearly uniform length, fitted for reading at family worship, so chosen as to furnish a reading for every day in the year and to ... Read more Kanamori's Life-Story Told by Himself; How the Higher Criticism Wrecked a Japanese Christian: And How He Came Back by Paul Michitomo Kanamori “Why did I leave the ministry when I left the Congregational church? Because, in the first place, my New Theology and Higher Criticism had destroyed my faith in the perfect, divine authority of the Bible; and in the second place, they had destroyed my faith in the perfect deity of Christ. When I had lost these two things I had lost everything… I could preach all the practical side of Christianity, but not the central fundamental truths of Christianity, Christ and his salvation ... Read more May God cause his face to shine upon you and bring you peace. From Your Lutheran Librarian editor@lutheranlibrary.org

The Lutherans Repudiated Luther, the Reformation, and the Bible.Paradoxical Pietist Dogma Reigns Supreme in Calvinist Compromise

 

 WELS is delighted to embrace Objective Justification with the LCMS, ELS, and ELCA - instead of the Chief Article, Justification by Faith.

J. P. Meyer taught OJ infallibly for 50 years at Mordor, aka Mequon.

 Walther taught "making a decision for Christ," just as J. P. Meyer did. He shattered the Synodical Conference by insisting on Stephan's Halle Pietistic (and rationalistic) dogma of OJ.

The Lutherans will be avoiding the Reformation this Sunday - not just ELCA alone or Missouri alone - but all of them alone. Those are the three solas hauled out of the closet for the end of October.

Pietists sent pastors over who had the perfect combination of Luther and Calvin. Bishop Martin Stephan was a leader in Pietism, and all of the Walther circle were ardent Pietists following Stephan and loving their cell groups. Stephan loved his cell groupies, young women who caught the fever, the fever of syphilis. That is how the Stephan migration took place, organized carefully in advance. Once he was placed under house arrest for his crimes, which his inner circle knew well, they packed up and left for New Orleans. 

The LCMS likes to date their beginning date as 1847. But they landed in 1839, swearing obedience to Stephan as their bishop. CFW Walther cleverly bided his time until he could take over the sect, robbing his bishop of the man's gold, land, house, books, and personal possessions. Walther also embraced the Objective Justification of Stephan, who studied at Halle University, where OJ and rationalism reigned supreme.

The Wisconsin Synod, like Missouri, fakes its own history and talks about how orthodox they were from the beginning. No, they were Calvinist-Lutheran from the beginning, and the dogma of Calvinism took over a long time ago. 

The Little Norwegians, aka the ELS, are a bit more honest. They left the 1917 pending merger of Norwegian sects to have their own sect based on Objective Justification, which they teach with a passion unknown since the invention of lutefisk.

ELCA is made up of many different Pietistic sects, finally merged into one swell foop, 1987. They also teach that God has forgiven everyone in the world - that is their definition of grace. 

Like the others, ELCA is allergic to the concept of faith in Jesus Christ. Like the others, the synod leaders and professors loathe the King James Version but adore the NIV, RSV, ESV, NRSV, and a smattering of other transient paraphrases. 

 WELS' Bivens and Zarling baldfacedly declared Objective Justification to be the Chief Article of Christianity. No, OJ is the final belch of Calvinism, loud enough to silence the tepid, timorous Lutherans of today. When Jay Webber and Jon-Boy Buchholz showed up to promote OJ at Emmaus, they were like the disciples -

KJV Luke 24:16 But their eyes were holden* that they should not know him.

* Arrested, held back in Greek.

Where Did They Go Wrong?

Calvinism clings to Lutheran doctrine the way mercury clings to silver and gold. As a group, Calvinists teach:

1. The Scriptures are a dead letter, because the Spirit roams the world apart from the Word.
2. The Sacraments are merely symbolic, ordinances (yes - laws) to obey.
3. Human reason judges the Word, making it reasonable, appealing, and germane. 
4. The entire world is predestined in advance to salvation or damnation, the majority being damned. This double-predestination was in every edition of Calvin's doctrinal book.

How else do you explain ELCA, WELS, ELS, and Missouri rushing to get their DMins at Fuller Seminary? The pigs "believe" but their hides bristle.

Reason instead of Faith - From Lenski, More Than a Century Ago

If I have a friend who thinks he is a Christian, and yet believes in this latter kind of (delusional) faith, do you think going over the following passage with him would do any good?

Any suggestions welcome.

quote:

"The adepts of faith-cure look upon disease as something subject to “faith,” namely to what they call faith. This faith simply appears to be a conviction that what they want shall and will take place. This is not the faith of which the Scriptures speak, it is not Christian faith. It is a man-made thing, and when mistaken for Christian faith a terrible delusion. Disease is not subject to this man-made faith of faith-curists any more than to strong mental impressions generally. Christianity has nothing to do with it, for pagans may have this faith. Disease is not subject even to Christian faith, so that when a faithful Christian prays to be healed, healing will certainly take place. St. Paul had faith, and prayed in faith to be healed of a thorn in the flesh, yet God answered him by allowing the affliction to remain, declaring: “My grace is sufficient for thee.” 2 Cor. 12:7-9. The great function of Christian faith is not to shake off disease, but to trust in Christ, to embrace forgiveness and salvation, and to submit to His will, which is often that we shall be sick and suffer. The plea of faith-curists, when they fail, that the patient had not faith, is an empty excuse to explain away failure. Some have the “faith” of the faith-curists, and yet remain sick and die; others get well without it."

From: Lenski. “Faith Cure and Christian Science” in Loy, ed. The Columbus Theological Magazine. Vol. 18, 1898. LutheranLibrary.org

***

GJ - Lenski was ahead of the rationalists, who were plentiful back then as well. The essence of curing by faith in the Bible is the idea that believing - or having positive thoughts - is curing. 

I have often heard people write on Facebook, "I am sending positive thoughts to you," which sounds like a new and emission-free power source. I am not the target, so I have not had the chance to test it.

The original New Testament, in Greek, is mostly comprised of common words from the time, so it is called Koine Greek, common Greek. Most of the time, the Greek word in use at the time is what we read in the Scriptures. People will focus on one word and use the word out of context. The extremists of this style are said to suffer from studying Kittel, an alphabetical set of volumes practicing this magic.

The meaning comes from the context and familiarity with it. That is why so few pastors know the New Testament. They look at a Greek word they do not know and fly away with the claims of some source. There are also entire verses removed for the sake of clarity! - typical ESV and NIV, plus RSV and NRSV, and Beck.

I follow Luther's approach of knowing the entire Bible serves as a unified truth, the Book of the Holy Spirit. That is God's intention, in contrast to those who pick a verse - or just a phrase - and run off in every direction without anchoring the claim with various Scriptures. 

The vacuous Objective Justification parsons and their Church Growth allies are prisoners of rationalistic nonsense. It is not surprise that some of the loudest advocates of both have become atheists.

What a Wonderful Day!

 

The Carbon Cowboys emphasize the organic side of growing food and flowers. Everything that has grown will end up as soil, so the Creation Garden gathers leaves when others are bagging them up to be hauled away.

We had heavy rain for two days, just what we needed, and then cold, followed by a perfect fall day with trees golden from the frost.

The roses show signs for another bouquet on Sunday, especially Veterans Honor.

The curtain for sound dampening in the chapel arrived at the parsonage - or rather, the renterage. Ranger Bob came by for pour-over coffee, and chicken. Sassy was overjoyed and repaid us for sound advice.

Everything came today, from a white computer mouse to the curtain and rod to absorb sound behind the computer and webcam. I also have small metal shelves for speakers and for future flower displays - Christmas, Easter, and Ascension Day. Bob and I went to work and Sassy observed with grins and sharp barks. Most of it was done today with a little more to be adjusted tomorrow.

When we were done, Sassy went to the bed for her lovey time, so I could tell her how much everyone loves her, especially Bob. When I clapped for her to jump up, she pivoted 180 degrees and marched off to the front door to go outside, grinning. She enjoyed sitting on the driveway and observing everything on the cul de sac. The weather was perfect for her, cool, dry, with only a slight breeze.

In Lord of the Rings, Frodo dreamed about the pleasure of the "garden at twilight." 

 Norma A. Boeckler, our artist-in-residence, has a garden very much like this.

Book Review of The I AM Sermons in the Gospel of John - The Name of God in Exodus 3

The I AM Sermons in the Gospel of John -  The Name of God in Exodus 3

Christine G. Shrader

5.0 out of 5 starsChristian: Connect the dots from Exodus 3 and the Gospel of John

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2022

Pastor Jackson has written a wonderful book, that can be read in one day. This book is filled with Scripture and connects the dots from the Exodus 3 Name of God to Jesus' I AM statements in John. A certain TV preacher once stated that Jesus never claimed to be God. 

Dr Jackson shows us that God's word says differently. "Not only does Jesus identify himself as God, but He also taught Martha that this meant life everlasting for those who believe in Him." p. 63. From a fourth grader down to the more mature Christian, Dr. Jackson makes this topic most accessible.

Every time a Biblical book is reviewed, an angel earns his wings, but Christian News, WELS, ELDONA, LCMS, ELS, and ELCA continue to hold out.

Anything Interesting This Week?

The Objective Justification gurus should admit that this is why they hate Luther and envy the corporate wealth and pomp of the Vatican. Their Father Below praises and rewards their labors.

My doctor was stunned by my weight loss. We traded jokes about the endless cash flow of trademark diets and their appealing products - Keto Bread, South Beach Candy. "They will never run out of profits!" I stick to vegetables, fruits, and exercise.

He sent a nurse in to draw my blood. She asked, "Doing anything interesting this week?" I said, "I finished one book and I am starting a new one."

She asked how many, so I told her, "Thirty-seven in print, so the next one is thirty-eight."

I have started the Parables, and the art is already done by Norma A. Boeckler! She finished the art of The I AM Sermons in John's Gospel. I will have to get a subtitle ready. 

Liberalism, Its Cause and Cure was published by Northwestern Publishing House, and those involved were punished and fired for it. Nevertheless, the book sold rapidly. NPH scheduled Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant for printing and then reversed direction and said, "Not until you change your attitude about WELS."

I have to thank NPH for moving me into independent publishing. They sold CLP for years, and promoted it - the same NPH that refused to print what they had already approved. Otten's family got CLP into print, but my family financed it. The cub editor, Phil Hale, ordered 10 copies of CLP but never paid for them. That is very frugal!

I am going to take more time with The Parables of Jesus. After that, I am going to work on Jesus, Titles of Majesty, about the meaning of His many titles - Son of Man, Son of God, Messiah, Lamb of God, King of Kings, and so forth.

Gateway Pundit - Great News for the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution

 

New York – A Judge for the Richmond County Supreme Court, Judge Ralph Porzio, has ruled that the vaccine mandates issued by the New York City Health Commissioner are unconstitutional and violate the separation of powers. 

The ruling permits city employees to return to work effective immediately and orders backpay.

According to attorney Chad Laveglia, the judge ruled “the commissioner’s order mandating private and public employees get vaccinated was arbitrary and capricious.”

LCMS

From Tom Fisher - Justification by Faith

 

Charlton Heston, Planet of the Apes, shouted this when he realized that he landed on Earth, after the great war. I believe this is the Concordia, St. Louis statue, which I Photoshopped into the scene.

Luther warned us about sects that would insist on adding teachings not found in our Bible (KJV) or Catechism (1941 CPH, Gausewitz, 1905, 1902). They say to us, "You have the basics but you must make a decision to accept objective justification. You must make a decision to accept that God has already forgiven and justified the whole world without faith in Christ, without God's Word, without God the Holy Ghost, without Baptism into Christ." 

To this we reply, "That's not in my Bible (KJV) or catechism (1941 CPH, 1905, 1902, Gausewitz). You are a works salesman insisting I make a decision to accept Objective Justification." 

Dr. Gregory Jackson, PhD said in his new book, "Using Walther as the gold standard, there is only universal forgiveness without faith (Objective Justification) and making a decision to accept this dogma (Subjective Justification)." (The Path To Understanding Justification, ISBN 9781072530428, pg 70) 

The 2011 NIV teaches Objective Justification by adding the word 'all' to Romans 3:23 Dr Gregory Jackson, PhD, said in his new book, "This new paraphrase teaches that every single person is justified, forgiven, saved without faith. That dogma is also called Objective Justification, Universal Justification, the Justification of the entire World, General Justification, Universal Objective Justification, and Universalism." (The King James Version: Apostolic Texts, Precise Translations verses Fraudulent Texts and Heretical Translations, ISBN 97978429093451, pg 169. [GJ - Not one of these versions of OJ is in the Bible, any Bible. Justification by Faith, even Justification by Faith of Jesus - is found easily and often in the KJV.]

Throw away your corrupt modern Bibles (NIV, ESV, NKJV, RSV) and buy a King James Bible right now!!! You will also notice that your modern catechisms teach Objective Justification and use corrupted Bible verses. Throw them away and buy the 1941 from CPH or the 1902, 1905 catechisms from LutheranLibrary.org or find your grandma's old catechism or the 1956 Gausewitz. 

[GJ - There are still original Gausewitz catechisms around, but they have been hidden from the secondary market. I gave one away to Pastor Paul Rydecki.]

"And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheh you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Dear Pastor Jackson please publish and add your comments and thoughts as you wish.

In Christ

Tom Fisher

Just remember that Wayne Mueller published in the WELS rag - There is no Church Growth in WELS. Didn't he work on the same floor of The Love Shack with Robert Hartman, Paul Kelm, and other scoundrels who hated Lutheran doctrine as much as he did?

Promised Post on WELS Abuse

They hauled the Sprinter statue from Northwestern to MLC, they missed him so much.

The Wisconsin Sect statistically is 50% in Wisconsin, 25% in Michigan, 25% in Minnesota. It did not begin as an orthodox church body but as a Lutheran-Calvinist union, very German and very Pietistic. The trouble with German Pietists is they never banned alcohol.

WELS today is best described by two factors. 

• One is the culture of bullies and victims, thanks to its parochial and prep schools. 
• The other is the culture of lying all the time and smirking about those fooled by the lies.
• These characteristics taint WELS, even among those who did not attend their precious schools.

They start right away with forced crossed dressing for boys and zechsing, the overall bullying of young students by older students. When John Laurenz was head of Michigan Lutheran Seminary (just a private high school), a student was held out an upper storey window by his legs. The bullies let go and the boy broke a bone or two. Lawrenz laughed in the middle of his sentence about this - another common WELS trait - starting, laughing, and then finishing the sentence.

The serious bullying begins at the two remaining prep schools and worsens in college and seminary. I know two men who were knocked or beaten unconscious during hazing. An ELS leader was whipped on his bare buttocks with a wire hanger. 

The students are punished for telling their parents, and often no one believes their saintly WELS brethren could be nasty, cruel, crude, violent, and degenerate.

 The GA Pope, dressed somewhat like this, became a district president.

The promotion of cross-dressing and their fun of sodomizing the Sprinter statue is well known. They not only dress as women, but photograph and videotape their celebrations. 

The WELS college guys copied the Fire Island Pines video almost frame-by-frame, except that the WELS version added a gratuitous grabbing scene taped in a public part. Antinomians have no Law and no sense.

Criticizing the secretive, double-talking, and abusive tactics at the WELS schools is a lifetime sin, considered the mark of Cain. When one pastor backed up his cousin about the abuse at the late Northwestern College in Watertown, the college president said, "_____ criticized GA!" Now we know who the felons are - people who complain about degenerate and criminal behavior.

One Northwestern student quit after his fellow students locked him in the men's bathroom all night. He was labeled bad for "not getting along with the others." He dropped out.

Alcoholism is rampant in WELS, so a stewed DP is not going to be hard on a pickled pastor or teacher. The mutual encouragement of alcohol abuse sets the stage for a life of addiction and denial. Boys will be boys, they say.

Lying is promoted so much that members and clergy know that the latest whopper is intended to tell everyone, "Be quiet or else. That is the way we are doing things." 

Two Examples - 

1. When Wayne Mueller published the lie that WELS had no Church Growth program, cuz he would know, that meant - "I will get you and your little dog too!" Wayne once threatened a whole group of WELS clergy for giving me a copy of his false interpretation of Luther. Touchy, eh? Physical threats are the fruit of hazing - they mean it.
   
2. When the Synod President told all the districts that WELS would "pull the plug" if the Martin Luther College enlargement bill got higher than $8 million," he was saying - and he did say - "The bulldozers have started, we can't stop now." Did it matter that the vote to merge the colleges failed? No, they switched the vote count and threatened the counting committee if they told. 

Ancestor Worship

Certain families have automatic get-out-of-jail-free cards, no matter what they do. Others will say in a hushed voice, "He is a Name!"  When people were questioning Mark Jeske, he responded, "I am fifth generation WELS. I am never leaving." The unfolding merits of paternity and maternity are awesome. Blood is thicker than doctrine in WELS.

One pastor was protected as a falling-down drunk because his wife "is a Name."

All this creates and sustains a secretive cult - so insecure, the scandals and felonies must be denied. The laity repeat the lies of the clergy and synod officials. 

Star published two books at Northwestern Publishing House on his favorite topic. He and young Scott Barefoot also started a gay ministry, not too far behind ELCA.

If questioning laity or clergy force a meeting over the issues, they find out how quickly everyone can become the enemy, especially the kindly person who offered to help and speak on that person's behalf. That is GA double-talk, pretending to be sympathetic (the Softs) and laughing at those newbies who take them seriously.

If someone objects to clergy adultery and alcoholism, the response is about the complainer - repeated all over the WELS Grapevine - "He is bitter."

WELS is especially obsessed about Justification without Faith, so that makes Antinomianism their religion. There is no Law and therefore no Gospel. But legalism triumphs.