Luther Drafted Again To Endorse UOJ

Unknown has left a new comment on your post "Luther versus the UOJ Pietists":

I am reading through Luther on the basis of the schedule George Kraus provides in his booklet: "A Guide to a Year's Readings in Luther." (This is an excellent schedule for those who can find it and also have the American edition of Luther's Works.)

In my reading, I came across two sections where Luther clearly states that all people are forgiven "before" repentance. Here are the two quotes:

The first one from his comments on Hebrews 1:4 found in Volume 29, page 112-113:

‎When He made purification for sins, [He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high].

‎"With this brief word he makes useless absolutely all the righteousnesses and deeds of penitence of men. But he praises the exceedingly great mercy of God, namely, that “He made purification for sins,” not through us but through Himself, not for the sins of others but for our sins. Therefore we should despair of our penitence, of our purification from sins; for before we repent, our sins have already been forgiven. Indeed, first His very purification, on the contrary, also produces penitence in us, just as His righteousness produces our righteousness. This is what Is. 53:6 says: “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

The second is from his comments on Genesis 3:15 found in volume 1 on page 190:

‎Adam and Eve not only do not hear themselves cursed like the serpent; but they even hear themselves drawn up, as it were, in battle line against their condemned enemy, and this with the hope of help from the Son of God, the Seed of the woman. Forgiveness of sins and full reception into grace are here pointed out to Adam and Eve. Their guilt has been forgiven; they have been won back from death and have already been set free from hell and from those fears by which they were all but slain when God appeared.

I understand Luther meaning that, in Christ, all people are forgiven, saved and righteous, but that this forgiveness, salvation and righteousness is only apprehended through faith.

Am I misunderstanding Luther? And if not, how does this differ from General justification?

Michael

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GJ - Michael, when you use the term General Justification, you are translating words from German that mean - literally - every single person in the world has been declared forgiven. I am sure you can find quotations that seem to fit what you have been taught, but that can be credited to those UOJ implants installed in your Church Growth eyes.

There is always an issue of the original German or Latin text being translated precisely, more importantly - the context. I have read thousands of pages of Luther. Throughout his works individual forgiveness comes through faith in that forgiveness. There are many ways to express the Atonement. Read your passages over again and substitute "Christ has already atoned for their sins, paid the entire price for them." That still makes sense.

Next try this. "Adam and Eve and the serpent were forgiven, without faith."

Or, "before we repent, Christ has already paid for our sins."

Compare that to - "We are forgiven all our sins, even if we do not repent and have no faith."

You sound like a seminary student. Please read the Large Catechism straight through. Luther wrote it. He wrote the sermons and the sermons became the Catechism. Read about the efficacy of the Word and the Means of Grace. Look up the passages in the Book of Concord about Enthusiasm.

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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Luther versus the UOJ Pietists":

Michael, what Luther describes in your quotes is the atonement. Justification is that special New Testament word that is always used in the context of "by faith." The Lutheran Confessions affirm this. Justification is the divine declaration of "not guilty" only of the believer, which declaration means that the believer is now righteous and having the status of saint.

Forgiveness of sin is part of what it means to be righteous, but it is not the only or essential thing because the "saint" is still a "sinner" and therefore in daily need of forgiveness. As Luther coined the phrase: simul iustus et peccator "at the same time saint and sinner." The means of grace, Word and Sacraments, are the instruments that convey the forgiveness of sin won on the cross to the sinner in need of forgiveness.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Luther Drafted Again To Endorse UOJ":

In the false gospel of General Justification the whole unbelieving world has been forgiven of all sin, declared righteous in Christ, guiltless before God and saved (this is includes all Antichrists).

Michael states it this way, "I understand Luther meaning that, in Christ, all people are forgiven, saved and righteous,..."

This is pure Universalism. To defend against this appropriate charge the UOJists will confess that not everyone is "heaven" saved. That Unbelief is the unforgivable sin which men go to Hell for eternity.

Yet, God declared the whole unbelieving world righteous and guiltless while they were living in the unforgivable sin of unbelief. What?! Then when they die in unbelief they are condemned to Hell. Except we were all born guilty of the sin of unbelief - no one was conceived a believer in Christ. Therefore, according to the false doctrine of General Justification (UOJ) no one will ever be saved and everyone is going to Hell - guilty of their unforgivable sin of unbelief.

Some will continue to defend UOJ by declaring that men only receive the benefit (salvation) of God's declaration of their forgiveness, righteousness and guiltless condition through faith. YET - they also teach that faith doesn't do anything, falsely teaching that if man is only forgiven by faith then it makes faith a work of man and such synergism is condemned by God. So by their teaching all men, including the Antichrist is truly forgiven, righteous and guiltless all before faith in Christ, all while guilty of the damning unforgivable sin of unbelief.

They love to claim how they are all saved by confessing they were justified, forgiven and righteous in Christ before they believed yet they were all born guilty of the sin of the unforgivable sin of unbelief. They are all damned to Hell by their own false doctrine regardless of what they now believe.

UOJists declare God a liar by their false gospel. For when God states in John 8:24, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." they teach that all sins were already forgiven the whole unbelieving world.

UOJ is the pinnacle of blasphemy as all manner of loathsome and putrid contradictions and lies flow forth from it.

The Walther Chapter, Rough Draft of Part One

Cell group leader, adulterer, syphilitic - Martin Stephan.

Chapter 4 – Stephan’s Halle Pietism Became Walther’s UOJ

            The official history of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is full of deliberate, bald-faced lies about its origin. Central to the deception is the C. F. W. Walther mythology, tales and claims that portray him as the American Luther, when he was really the American Pope, a treacherous and criminal usurper, a divisive figure who forced his imprint upon the Synodical Conference. The often-told story is familiar to most conservative Lutherans. The Saxon immigrants came over to America with Bishop Stephan leading them. They suddenly discovered he was an adulterer and forced him out, with the brave and noble Walther taking over and leading them until his death. Although Stephan is always called a false teacher and Walther a champion of Lutheran orthodoxy, with details too murky to decipher, the truth is unsettling.

            Many will portray the facts about Walther as a personal attack, but the truth needs to come out, to set the so-called conservative Lutherans free from the yoke of synod worship and Walther mythology. For too long the statements of Walther have been used to define Scriptural interpretation. His writings have usurped the Book of Concord in the same way that he usurped the position of the bishop he swore to support, the documents he swore to follow in case of a dispute. Walther also set up minions who would repeat his opinions post-mortem until they were established as canon law, best exemplified in the position of UOJ in the Synodical Conference today.[1]

Martin Stephan Saga, Pietism and Syphilis

            Martin Stephan had a difficult early life, which prepared him for future hardships and the leadership of a Pietistic congregation. He was born in Moravia in 1777, and Moravia was a center of Pietism. His pastoral sponsor was a Pietist, and so were his parents. He had to get by on his own for years, but he enrolled at Halle University for two years, 1802-04 and finished at Leipzig in 1809. The disruption was caused by the Napoleonic wars. He served one congregation for a year and began his ministry at St. John’s in Dresden in 1810.

            St. John’s was a Pietistic congregation with a special charter to continue cell groups or conventicles when they had become suspect. The land for the church came from Count Zinzendorf, one of the superstars of Lutheran Pietism.[2] Stephan gloried in his cell groups, which are the essence of Pietism.[3]

Stephan was not a rationist. At the time, the two major parties were the rationalists and Pietists. Since the Pietists emphasized Bible study and prayer, they attracted those who found no solace in human reason. Thus anyone who mentioned faith was accused of being a Pietist or a mystic.

Unfortunately, cell group leaders often become bewitched by their power over others. Stephan was unusually successful and well known. In court, testimony from his main mistress, Louis Guenther, a daughter of his friend, stated that he felt he had control over the souls of the people in his charge - and also over their bodies. Although some of his troubles came from his position as a successful Pietist, his other trials came from his immoral behavior. Accusations came at an early date in his ministry.

The book about Martin Stephan is honest about his problems with adultery, providing a considerable amount of evidence, which was known long before Stephan led 700 people to America “in pursuit of religious freedom.” He obviously wanted more than religious freedom, because he took his mistress, Louise Guenther,  and his healthy son to America and left his wife at home – with all the sick children.

Even in this age of hedonism, Stephan’s liberties were outrageous and well known. He was often caught taking evening walks with various women. He was investigated by the justice system numerous times. He installed a young woman in the parsonage attic and told his long-suffering wife it was none of her business – he was the master of the house.[4] When he took the cure at the spa, his mistress Louise lived with him. When his wife came to help, she was sent away and walked 20 miles home. The spa and the walks were excused because of his health, but why did he suffer so many chronic complaints?

Martin Stephan suffered from syphilis. He gave it to his wife, and passed it on to some of his children. Syphilis is the great pretender, mimicking one disorder and then another. A sore may appear at the first outbreak, but it goes away, giving false hopes of a cure. The carrier is still contagious even if his symptoms are difficult to discern at any given moment. Anyone with questions about this disorder should consult a physician and read the extensive information (with photos) on the Net. Reading the Stephan book and the Web sources will lead readers to an obvious conclusion.

Previous researchers have come to the same conclusion, but no one wants to admit that Walther and the other pioneers of Missouri Synod followed an obvious adulterer and covert syphilitic to America. The evidence demands this conclusion:

• Primary syphilis erupts with a single lesion, painless and non-itchy, which goes away in about three months. Stephan could have contracted the disorder and passed it to his wife while thinking (or hoping) it was nothing.
• Secondary syphilis shows itself with rashes, a major problem for Stephan. The rashes made him go for long evening walks and visit the spa for its comforting waters. Syphilitic rashes are very ugly indeed.  The disease may become latent, with the rashes going away.
• Tertiary syphilis means obvious neurological and cardiac problems, possible open sores in various parts of the body and on the skin. These lesions are hideous.
• Congenital syphilis is passed from the pregnant mother to the unborn child. Stephan’s wife was sickly and died before he did. Three of their daughters were deaf and had to be institutionalized. Deafness is one symptom of congenital syphilis. Newborns have many obvious symptoms, perhaps another reason for Stephan to leave his innocent children behind – their deformed bodies were a tragic testimony to his misdeeds.[5]
• The violence of the upheaval against Stephan is not explained by a sudden revelation of adultery by two women, one of them his long-standing mistress, Louise. Historians concede that the colonists did not need to violate the confessional. Instead, it was likely the spread of syphilis in the colony that enraged the men and justified everyone in their violence and criminal actions. [6]
• Stephan’s subsequent decline after sleeping outside one night is another indication of his STD. Exposure would have lowered his fragile immune system and brought on the symptoms with new force. Louise Guenther, moved to Illinois to live with him and help him recover. He did not live much longer.

C. F. W. Walther the Pietist

The spooky, kitschy Walther shrine needs more cowbell.

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[1] The Synodical Conference officially broke up, but the three synods work together with the ELCA through Thrivent. Their dramatic loss of members and the decline of their schools will soon force some type of merger, although it may be dressed up in different clothes.

[2] Zinzendorf’s furtive trip to America (under a false name) caused Lutherans to send Henry M. Muhlenberg to America (from Halle) to serve them. Zinzendorf, who gave us the “Come Lord Jesus” table grace and two hymns, was controversial but also extremely influential. He was the bridge to Wesley and Methodism, a major influence on the pioneers of the Swedish Augustana Synod.

[3] Cell groups are Pietism, just as yoga exercises are Hinduism. The cell group is the real church, according to Pietists, a rejection of the Means of Grace. “There is also a family oral tradition about the hat drawn in the seal. It was believed that the hat represented the hat that Martin used when he preached. This preaching hat may have represented Herrnhut, which translated into English means ‘the hat of the Lord.’ Herrnhut was always an important place in the Pietist tradition. It was in Herrnhut where two families of Moravian Brethren came to live on the estate of Nicholas Ludwig, called Count von Zinzendorf. The count donated the land for their community that grew and then they built a church on the donated property that was near Dresden…Zinzendorf was born in 1790 only seventy miles from Dresden. He had a profound influence on the ‘awakening’ movement, on Pastor Stephan, and on the Bohemian founds of St. John’s Church in Dresden.”

#31, IPRF. p. 64.

[4] His wife kicked the girl out and locked the attic, keeping the key. Stephan broke the lock and re-installed the girl. Sad to say, many church officials imagine they also have the same rights and duties today, and their clergy pals look the other way.

[5] Hutchinson's triad

Hutchinson's triad is a common pattern of presentation for congenital syphilis. It consists of:

1. Interstitial keratitis, 2. Hutchinson incisors, 3. Eighth nerve deafness. Hutchinson's triad is named after Sir Jonathan Hutchinson (1828-1913). http://classictriads.com/hutchinsons-triad

[6] The neurological damage might have made Stephan less capable of dealing with the incredible tensions around him. At least one writer seemed puzzled that someone once so aware found himself uninformed and unaware.

Unwed Father! - Bishop begat two children, resigned from the L.A. church - NY Daily News. At Least He Is Straight!

REED SAXON/AP

Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, pictured in 2005, has resigned from the church after revealing he has two teenage offspring. Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced the news Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/bishop-fathered-children-resigned-a-church-article-1.1000804#ixzz1iXfVxRRr

Bishop fathered two children, resigned from the L.A. church - NY Daily News:

A prominent Catholic bishop in Los Angeles has resigned after confessing he broke his vow of celibacy — and is the father of two teens.

Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, was granted early resignation Wednesday under a church law that allows bishops to step down before the normal retirement age of 75 due to sickness or other serious reasons.

“I’m shocked. I can’t believe it,” Arcelia Encinas, a relative by marriage who watched Zavala grow up, told the Daily News.

“He’s a really playful, nice person,” the 68-year-old woman from Chino, Calif., said. “He was mischievous as a young boy, but he grew up in the Catholic Church and was very dedicated.”

Officials said Zavala admitted in early December that he had two kids living with their mother outside California.

“I have some sad and difficult information to share with you,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a letter breaking the news to church members Wednesday.

He said Zavala stepped down from active ministry last month and subsequently asked Pope Benedict XVI to accept his resignation.

Archbishop Gomez asked members of the archdiocese to pray for “all those impacted” by the revelation, especially the minor children.

“The archdiocese has reached out to the mother and children to provide spiritual care as well as funding to assist the children with college costs,” he wrote in the letter posted on the blog of the Catholic News Service of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“The family’s identity is not known to the public, and I wish to respect their right to privacy,” he said.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/bishop-fathered-children-resigned-a-church-article-1.1000804#ixzz1iXfLimAX


'via Blog this'

Luther versus the UOJ Pietists

Why didn't Chemnitz mention UOJ or Martians?

This week most of my posting will be the new chapter on the Walther mythology, which will be included in the latest versus of Luther versus the UOJ Pietists: Justification by Faith.

The next week will aimed at a section on Huberism, which is now taught so enthusiastically by ELCA, WELS, Missouri, the Little Sect on the Prairie, and the micro-mini sects.

The whole book will be revised in time for the Emmaus Conference in early February.

P. Leyser was an editor of the Book of Concord, an expert on justification, and the biographer of Martin Chemnitz.

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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Luther versus the UOJ Pietists":

In the Spirit of Christmas and Epiphany, a quote from Luther would be an appropriate response to this post:

Thus here, too, the evangelist did not intend that John or any other human being or any creature should be the light, but that there is only one light which illumines all men and that not a single human being could come upon the earth who could be illumined by anybody else. I do not know how to disagree with this interpretation; for in the same manner also St. Paul writes in Romans 5[:18]: “As through one man’s sin condemnation has come over all men, so through one man’s righteousness justification has come over all men.” Yet not all men are justified through Christ, nevertheless he is the man through whom all justification comes. It is the same here. Even if not all men are illumined, yet this is the light from which alone all illumination comes. The evangelist has freely used this manner of speaking; he did not avoid it even though some would stumble over the fact that he speaks of all men. He thought he would take care of such offense by explaining before and after and by saying that “the darkness has not comprehended it,” and that the world has never recognized him and his own have never accepted him. Such passages should have been strong enough so that nobody could say he had intended to say that all men are enlightened, but that he alone is the light which enlightens everybody and that, without him, nobody is enlightened.

Luther, M. (1999). Vol. 52: Luther's works, vol. 52 : Sermons II (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (71). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Luther versus the UOJ Pietists":

Outstanding Luther quote in opposition to the false gospel of Universal Objective Justification.

I'm looking forward to the new chapters in the book. The timing of the conference last year was difficult for me, along with not a little apprehention regarding the kind of reception I might receive - I've seldom been coy about my opinions regarding religious issues. It turned out to be a very rewarding experience for me and to see the conference first hand was enlightening. Lord willing, they will allow me to host a table again this year.

Why Inerrancy Is Inadequate

By Norma Boeckler
The Efficacy Quotations

Efficacy of the Word
KJV Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but

watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the

eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall

accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received

the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Inerrancy

David Scaer said this about a pan-denominational inerrancy conference, "The only thing they agree about is inerrancy."

That was a witty observation on the surface, but off the mark. Most of them were Enthusiasts, divorcing the Holy Spirit from the Word. One can read various inerrancy books, stacks of them, and never get closer to the truth of the Scriptures.

The foundational concept is the efficacy of God's Word. There is a vast abyss between all the inerrancy advocates and the efficacy of the Word. My geometry teacher would say it this way, "All those who teach efficacy are also on the side of inerrancy, but very few who teach inerrancy also teach the efficacy of the Word."

Inerrancy also has this problem - arguing the point is bound to draw one into rationalistic thinking, which quickly leads into Unitarianism. Someone posted on the Net that the reality of the Star of Bethlehem, proven from astronomy, convinced him of the inerrancy of the Scriptures. What happens when he reads a convincing article against the Star of Bethlehem?

The Scriptures are completely coherent and harmonious, which means that one error infects everything - not because the Word is faulty. I see the inerrancy specialists treating the Biblical documents as true because they have found historical artifacts which support the details of the Scriptures. At the next stage of thinking they fall into rationalistic philosophy. Jesus said, "This is My Body, given for you for the forgiveness of sin." That cannot be, they claim. He spoke Aramaic, and there is no is in Aramaic, so bread remains bread. But the text is Greek, quite fond of 700 variations on "to be." He really meant - "This symbolizes My Body," so the inerrantists jump the tracks early, teaching against the plain meaning of the Word they claim to defend.

Man is also consistent in his teaching. If someone is rationalistic about the Real Presence, he is also rationalistic about the Two Natures of Christ. Thus Calvin makes fun of the Real Presence in his Institutes, and also explains Jesus appearing in the locked room as coming in through a secret passage. If Jesus cannot be present in Holy Communion, a locked door also bars His way. That means His human nature hinders His divine nature.

One person posted on Christmas Day that Jesus lay in the manger "helpless." But this is what Luther wrote in his superb Christmas program-hymn:


"To you this night is born a child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all the earth.

3. "This is the Christ, our God and Lord,
Who in all need shall aid afford;
He will Himself your Savior be
From all your sins to set you free.

4. "He will on you the gifts bestow
Prepared by God for all below,
That in His kingdom, bright and fair,
You may with us His glory share.

5. "These are the tokens ye shall mark:
The swaddling-clothes and manger dark;
There ye shall find the Infant laid
By whom the heavens and earth were made."
The Lutheran Hymnal, #85.


Jesus was never helpless, even if He appeared weak and small in the stable.

When the efficacy of the Word is neglected or rejected, alien philosophies will rush in to replace the teaching of the Holy Spirit. That is not a minor problem, a trivial matter. A common philosophy means a convivial spirit and fellowship. As I mentioned when writing about Hauerwas, modern theology floats on a cloud of philosophy.

Someone can be an inerrancy star in early life and turn teach against it, only a few years later. That is the corrosive effect of rationalism. I have seen it happen in some famous people and in religious leaders not so well known.

The mysteries of God are taught in the Word by the Holy Spirit. The Trinity, the Two Natures of Christ, the Sacraments, and the Atonement are revealed rather than proven.

6. Human reason, though it ponder,
Cannot fathom this great wonder
That Christ's body e'er remaineth
Though it countless souls sustaineth,
And that He His blood is giving
With the wine we are receiving.
These great mysteries unsounded
Are by God alone expounded.
The Lutheran Hymnal, #305.

The efficacy of the Word encourages ministers and laity to be faithful to the Word. Rejection of efficacy terrifies congregations into mad, sad entertainment festivals. They imagine they will draw the Old Adam into their church with munchies and cola during the Seeker Service, then feed them with more junk food during the sermon.

Rejection of the efficacy of the Word is behind the flight to Rome and Constantinople. Trained in denomination-worship, the lemmings are running into the ocean of love offered by Holy Mother Rome or Holy Mother Eastern Orthodoxy. Holy Father Antichrist says, "You are not a real Christian until you join with Me." Run. Run.

The Receptionists of the Olde Synodical Conference are examples of rejecting the efficacy of the Word. Some leadership from headquarters would have precluded years of debate this way: "The Word of God consecrates, not the hand or mouth of the communicant."

Rejection of the efficacy of the Word allows the faux-Lutherans to pixelate the Scriptures. They focus on a few pixels from the Scriptures, ignoring the obvious contrary passages which repudiate their false exegesis. Romans 4:25 as proof of UOJ should have been laughed out of the convention, but there it is - enshrined in the 1932 Brief Confusion of the LCMS, the last gasp of F. Pieper.


KJV Romans 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

The Olde Synodical Conference cannot discuss the Means of Grace because they do not teach the efficacy of the Word. Jeff Gunn reduce MOG to "Me or the Group." He is the WELS pastoral genius who revealed in the fulness of time, "Jesus is my rice."

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - PB Jefferts Schori's Violent Images for God: The Son of God is a Hell's Angel

Episcopal - The future of the Emergent Church.

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - PB Jefferts Schori's Violent Images for God: The Son of God is a Hell's Angel: "PB Jefferts Schori's Violent Images for God: She Describes the Son of God as a Hell's Angel "Gang Leader" and "Party Animal"

Her lack of concern for all American Anglicans as well as for the wider Anglican Communion comes from her own deformed image of God. Everyone in the Episcopal Church and indeed the Anglican Communion has suffered because of her confused thinking."


As I have written in recent articles, Katharine Jefferts Schori has exposed her non-Christian theology in her recent book The Heartbeat of God (Skylight Paths Publishing, 2011). Throughout her disorganized writing, she attacks most of Western society while offering bizarre Biblical interpretations. Her endless criticism of others includes attacks on the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as well as other unnamed bishops and archbishops.

Also in this book, Jefferts Schori criticizes most of American society, including irrational attacks on both the United States military and all sports teams. Shockingly, she says that participation in the military and sports teams is just like prostitution, the selling of the physical act of sexual intercourse. She writes, "Many young people are being raised in a system that says they have value only for the ways in which they can be used-by tricks on the corner or by athletic teams or by the military." (33)

Both our honored military life and athletic teams build on a sense of respect and honor that Jefferts Schori denies in her attacks.

The military's code of honor instills in the United States service men and women a sense of selflessness which many times is realized when they make the ultimate sacrifice.

Athletic teams teach all of its members to strive for excellence and learn to work in close cooperation with others for a common goal, while respecting the other team that might win.

Yet Jefferts Schori believes that the Army private serving his or her country in Afghanistan is like a prostitute standing on a street corner looking for illegal and inappropriate sexual behavior with a stranger.

Acts of prostitution, or the slang word "tricks" as Jefferts Schori uses, are for her similar to a Michael Phelps' relay team at the Olympics.

Men and women involved in the violent and illegal sex trade need Christian deliverance and can find this through the mercy of our Lord. Jefferts Schori, though, never says this and complacently accepts this sad and utterly corrupt way of life.

Throughout The Heartbeat of God, Jefferts Schori makes other sweeping negative pronouncements about American society and Western life. By the sixth paragraph of the introduction, Schori has denied the validity of capitalism as she brushes past economic advisors and judged herself about Wall Street and economics. No need here of rational thought, study and research: she has all the answers up her sleeve.

She superficially judges about who is causing economic problems in Western life, writing that problems are caused by "the wealthiest-money managers, bankers, and investors." (pg. xiv)

If the wealthy continue to make profits, according to Schori, then "violence and bloodshed, and ensuing global insecurity, can be the expected result."

Has Jefferts Schori never taken a basic economics class? Does she not understand that through capitalism many of the problems of poverty are solved? In capitalistic societies, hope exists for struggling human beings to be raised out of subsistence into abundance.

Indeed, Jefferts Schori expresses great contempt for the United States. She writes about "our nation's addiction to oil, uninhibited growth, and consumerism, as well as old-fashioned greed and what the Christian tradition calls hubris and idolatry." (95-96)

The question becomes by the end of the book what part of Western society has Jefferts Schori not attacked. Wall Street, money managers, bankers, the military, athletic teams, Anglo-Catholics, Anglican bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Anglican Communion are only some on the list of her victims.

Now that she has taunted most of American society, who are left to join the empty Episcopal parishes? Her disdainful scorn would make most reluctant to even approach an Episcopal Church.

Her vicious attack on the United States destroys her ability to serve as the primary leader in the Episcopal Church. Her verbal attacks on Western society raises questions about what kind of god she is worshipping.

Jefferts Schori's Biblical Interpretations

In her book The Heartbeat of God, Jefferts Schori also taunts Jesus many times, calling him both a Hell's Angel gang leader (115) as well as a "party animal" (4).

Jefferts Schori believes this: Jesus is one of the prophets who pointed out a few things and is not the only begotten Son. The Quran also states this, saying directly that Jesus is a prophet and that no human being has ever been begotten (part of God without a beginning or end.) In contradistinction to this, Christians believe that Jesus came bringing the very power of God the Father within his soul and because of that, evil and death were conquered. Christ changed the status of humanity forever and Christ will come again.

Indeed, Jefferts Schori uses the inappropriate sexual image of seduction to describe the relationship of God with humanity. She writes that people are "lured into relationship with love." (117)

Also, Jefferts Schori describes the Jewish Naomi as a criminal sexual predator working as a pimp stalking Boaz and Ruth as the prostitute. Jefferts Schori writes that Naomi told Ruth "to hightail it over there and 'uncover his feet'-another euphemism-and to lie down beside him." (30) Jefferts Schori writes a violent description of these highly esteemed Biblical characters, saying that "today's equivalents of Ruth and Naomi . . . [are] your women who are being trafficked or groomed for exploitation." (33) For Jefferts Schori, God pushed Ruth and Naomi into the sexual trade without hope of a different life. That surely sounds like a vicious, cruel god.

Jefferts Schori laughs at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah during which Lot and his entire family were threatened with violence in order to save the visiting angels. Jefferts Schori writes about the annihilation of Lot's wife as she was "being entombed in salt" "who hesitates as they flee from Sodom, which God aims to destroy for its abysmal lack of hospitality (Genesis 19:20-26)" (60) To use Jefferts Schori's words, "its abysmal lack of hospitality"? Jefferts Schori obliterates the traditional interpretation here of the destruction of Sodom because of its sexual and violent sins.

Eugen Drewermann on Violent Imagery for God

Because of the Episcopal power granted to her, we need to analyze her theology underlying these vicious attacks and bizarre Biblical interpretations.

Jefferts Schori has expressed corrupt images for the divine throughout her time as presiding bishop. Indeed, she began her ministry as presiding bishop with odd statements about a god who attacks human beings. On November 5, 2006 at the Washington National Cathedral during the formal seating of the new presiding bishop, Jefferts Schori began her sermon talking about the rich, young Frenchman Jacques Fesch. In 1954 Fesch killed a policeman during the course of a robbery in Paris. For this cold-blooded murder, Fesch was beheaded in 1957.

While in prison, he wrote about his experience of God saying, "I was in bed, eyes open, really suffering for the first time in my life. . . . It was then a cry burst from my breast, an appeal for help-My God-and instantly, like a violent wind which passes over without anyone knowing where it comes from, the spirit of the Lord seized me by the throat."

Jefferts Schori interpreted his experience of God writing, "And sometimes the encounter is very much like being seized by the throat . . . Some of us have to be seized by the throat or thrown into the tomb before we can begin to find that depth of compassion." (See both her sermon and Jefferts Schori's A Wing and A Prayer: A Message of Faith and Hope, Morehouse Publishing, 2007, pg. 167).

Jefferts Schori's choice of Fesch's experience of God shows possible Islamic influence. In traditional Muslim understanding, when the Angel Gabriel encountered Muhammad, the angel "choked and threatened him into submission" to make him begin the recitation of the Quran. (Anthology of World Scriptures, Robert E. Van Voorst, Fifth Edition, Thomson Wadsworth, 2006, pg. 288) That image of God attacking a person and forcing submission is indeed accepted in Islam but not in the Christian faith.

In her first sermon as presiding bishop Jefferts Schori says people are (in her own words) "seized" and "thrown" by god.

In The Heartbeat of God, Jefferts Schori intensified her vision of an attacking god. Her image in her most recent book is that god jolts us like the electrical stimulation of a heart pacemaker.

She writes, "God offers a pacemaker jolt to tweak our heart's rhythm." (xiv and 91) She repeats this image multiple times.

Jefferts Schori believes that God grabs people by the throat, throws them into a tomb, and jolts them with an electronic stimulator. This sounds like the definition of torture, not the redemptive love of Jesus Christ.

Instead of the Christian faith, Jefferts Schori believes that god works like an impersonal machine jolting and stunning people. This "stun gun" god would destroy all human freedom and leave terror in its wake.

Jefferts Schori's images of a violent god jerking, shaking and jolting people are images that need to be rejected as non-Christian.

The work of the academic German author, Eugen Drewermann, helps us understand what she is doing. He states that some clergy actually talk about a forgiving Jesus and yet in their hearts believe in a violent god who wants human destruction. Drewermann's example is that Christian priests may actually believe in a god more like a vampire, a "castrative" mother-goddess Cybele, or the God Tonatiuh of the Aztecs "who could maintain the world only if humans were sacrificed to him." (For more about these ideas, see A Violent God-image: an introduction to the work of Eugen Drewermann by Matthias Beier, published in 2004 by Continuum International Publishing group, pages 290-293.) Beier writes that Drewermann found "a violent God-image which turned the God of Jesus effectively into the blood-thirsty image of God." (329)

Drewermann states that some clergy have a violent image for God because of inner conflicts. The priests might not even be aware that they don't believe in a forgiving Savior. Others, though, around them can hear these confused priests' violent images of God and see their twisted faith lived out in their lives. If a priest believes that a violent god needs human suffering, then the more human destruction caused, the better. If god is violent, then the priestly representatives of god must also be violent also (maybe physically but also spiritually violent.)

Jefferts Schori's violent images for god seems a perfect example of Drewermann's theory of a conflicted priest who has decided that god will be pleased with human pain.

Jefferts Schori's own words speak of a god who seizes, throws and jolts people. Sadly we see her living out these images in her interactions with the Episcopal Church.

She has helped seize many church buildings away from worshipping Anglican communities with whom she disagrees.

She has helped throw many decent and eloquent priests out of the ordained ministry.

She has jolted many with her heretical interpretations of the Bible, including her Islamic theology that we are all beloved with the same ontological status of Jesus. Her image of Jesus as a violent gang member and party animal has done damage to the entire Anglican Communion through her new humiliating spin on the Savior of the human race.

Her appalling description of Jesus as the gang leader turns the all of the disciples into violent gang members.

Her vicious attacks on the American society have destroyed the path into the Episcopal Church and her cavalier understanding that those that disagree with her can leave has created a crowded highway of displaced refugees seeking a Christian Church.

Her vision now for new interfaith communities muddies together violent and bizarre images of god that rightfully create fear into the Anglican Communion.

Jefferts Schori has a heart-felt belief in a violent god that has no respect for human freedom; she has lived this out in her ministry and describes a god who throws and jolts human beings against their will. Indeed, she wants all freedom in capitalistic Western society limited so "a more just societal structure would slow the economic advantaging of the wealthiest." (xiv)

A machine-like divinity has nothing to do with the personal Son of God who approaches us without violence with total respect of our freedom. Nowhere in the gospel does Jesus grab, throw and jolt people.

If we apply Drewermann's theory to Jefferts Schori's theology, we understand also why she makes such bizarre Biblical interpretations. Indeed, she declares Jesus is a violent gang member when she writes, "This is Hell's Angel Jesus on a Harley . . . This is gang leader Jesus pushing his homeys." (115) Being a gang member makes Jesus by definition involved with violent crimes against people and property. This image for the second person of the Trinity fulfills precisely what Drewermann writes: Jefferts Schori writes that the Son of God comes to harm humanity. Because her image of god is violent, the thinking will also conform to trying to appease the interior violent god.

More examples of a violent god abound in The Heartbeat of God. Jefferts Schori describes the seventy disciples as roadies, those who work for the musicians from rock n' roll bands. In folklore, the musicians would be involved with promiscuous and inappropriate sexual behavior. So these disciples would be serving abusive gods who harm their sexual partners by their lack of faithfulness.

Jefferts Schori's reference to a suffering leper as "whiny" also comes from her interior violent understanding of a god who scorns a man under the domination of this dread disease. (22)

Jefferts Schori clearly has an interior, violent image for God that she uses in her Biblical interpretations and sadly, also for her decisions made as the Episcopal Church presiding bishop. Her lack of concern for all American Anglicans as well as for the wider Anglican Communion comes from her own deformed image of God. Everyone in the Episcopal Church and indeed the Anglican Communion has suffered because of her confused thinking.

There have always been and always will be people who decide to approach God directly without the loving mediation of God the Son. Without the help of our loving Savior, people fall into idolatrous polytheism, elaborate rituals or unhealthy legal systems, or even worse, into believing that a god wants human destruction or sacrifice.

Jefferts Schori now presides over the destruction of many suffering Anglican churches. She destroys these parishes because she sees them as a competitor and she accomplishes this destruction without any public acknowledgement of the intense pain for which she is responsible. Only a violent god would want what she offers: intense troubles for fellow Christians. Grab the churches away from these Anglicans and they will feel like she has applied electrical prods against their tender souls, their praise-filled love for Jesus.

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori image of a grabbing, throwing and jolting God has nothing to do with the divine, gracious gift of the Incarnation.

Jefferts Schori harbors heretical and false images of god. Because of this, she should be removed from this position of trust as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Under her leadership, Christian truths are disappearing. The Episcopal Church is being rapidly destroyed.

Her whole psyche seems focused on supporting those involved with aberrant sexual behavior while leveling bizarre criticism at most of American society.

Everyone interested in protecting children from sexual abuse should rise up in outrage and call for Jefferts Schori's resignation because she knowingly ordained Rev. Bede Parry, a man who was known to have sexually abused a minor. (For more about this see David Virtue's articles at www.virtueonline.org)

Every prostitute should rise up and call for Jefferts Schori's removal because she has told them that they have no choice in this profession and taken away any hope for sexual redemption. (See virtueonline's Mario Bergner "Is Sexual Redemption Optional?")

Jefferts Schori's acceptance of a destructive god can awaken a primal fear in people because that would be the ultimate horror: a god who takes pleasure in the sexual abuse of a minor would be the complete human disaster leaving humanity without hope for redemption and salvation.

With her stunning and outrageous attacks on most of American life, how could the Episcopal Church ever recover from its precipitous decline? Episcopal military leaders, all military service men and women, bankers, Wall Street executives, all athletic teams, all the Anglican leaders she taunted: the list goes on and on. All of these should be petitioning the House of Bishops to get Jefferts Schori out of this position.

Jefferts Schori has little interest in anyone but people involved in "inappropriate sexual behavior" and then she declares that God works through this.

For Jefferts Schori, God does not work through military personnel living on limited salaries and moving their families every two years for the service of the United States. For Jefferts Schori, God does not work through the college student funding an education through a basketball scholarship.

Jefferts Schori writes, "God works through 'inappropriate sexual behavior.'" (31)

Her fascination with inappropriate sexual behavior runs through The Heartbeat of God. That coupled with her violent image for god explains her ordination of a man she knew had had at least one illegal sexual experience with a minor.

Under Jefferts Schori's direction, Bede Parry who illegally groped a minor later placed his hands on the body and bread of Christ in an Episcopal Church. What could be crueler to his many victims than to know that this man who horrifically abused them walked into a church and became ordained by Jefferts Schori? Yet she apparently delighted in the violent Bede Parry's ministry for she writes, "God calls each and everyone of us beloved." (205) In her writing and in her actions, Jefferts Schori's images of a violent god are being forced on everyone in the Anglican Communion.

Under Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal Church is turning into a small, niche church specializing in violent images of god. Her unorthodox reign of terror with its violent imagery for god has attacked and harmed many.

Sarah Frances Ives is a regular contributor to Virtueonline. She lives in Washington DC with her husband and two children


'via Blog this'

Abused and Neglected Children Become Church Leaders

The Shrinkers claim that they want to help their church,
but they are really getting even with authority figures:
their parents, teachers, and God.

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Adolph Hoenecke has left a new comment on your post "Abused and Neglected Children Become Church Leader...":

One of the saddest things ever said to me was by a co-worker whose father was a WELS synod official, "My dad was never home."

***

GJ - I heard DP Free say he was never home, and he was boasting, as WELS leaders do, about all the work they do. In contrast, Sam Walton was known for the time he spent hunting with his dawgs, and trips with his family when he also checked on his stores.

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grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Abused and Neglected Children Become Church Leader...":

I am not sure how much sympathy to have for PK's (Pastor's Kids)...

First, there are a LOT of peoples whose fathers (non Pastors) did NOT simply work a 9 to 5 job, with weekends off.

Second, many pastors I have known spend a great deal of time at home during the week. True, they are in the pulpit on Sundays and Holidays when it seems like everyone else gets to spend some time with their families, but this is simply the exact opposite of their parishioners men who are gone during much of the week.

Third, true, pastors are on call, but they have a lot of down time...they can seek their kids during the day when most other fathers can't.

A lot of people can say "my dad was never home", but can add "because he was making a decent life for his loved ones".

Grumps

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GJ - Grumpy - Adolph said "a WELS synod official." They are not pastors.

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grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Abused and Neglected Children Become Church Leader...":

Oops, sorry...although most synodical officials in the WELS have MDIV degrees....

***

GJ - They probably do, but that does not make them pastors. They consider themselves executives and make sure they make even more money than seminary professors.

Traditional Families Are No Longer the Norm

This photo shows my father, the baker,
Ichabod (another baker), LI, and Mrs. Ichabod.
Our grandson looks very much like LI in this photo.

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Fertility rate plummets in Brazil - The Washington...":

It seems that in this present time, many of the younger folks do not want to do what was so easy one or two generations ago. Getting married and being blessed with children seemed so normal and most aspired to do so. The responsibility of raising a family was a natural outgrowth of proper upbringing. Marriage rates are much lower today. The live-in partner almost seems to be the new norm. The commitment in marriage is what God has ordained for us. But, we have been told by experts that every family is dysfunctional. But, there is no drop-in replacement for a so-called traditional family.

***

GJ - Bruce Church has published a lot of good information on this. Pastors have seen the reality, and many of them were pioneers in the new morality. Virtually all couples who marry today have been living together for years, often with an illegitimate child or two, sometimes three.

Natural law means - God commands what is good for us. He created the institution of marriage. To live in sin, as we geezers used to say, is to defy the Word of God. But living in faith with a spouse and children glorifies God and generates the fruits of the Spirit.

Marriage protects men, women, and children. When children grow up with both of their parents under the same roof, they learn to model behavior after their fathers and mothers. They look for a spouse who is similar to the opposite sex parent.

My high school class celebrated our 45th reunion this year. A small group of us (out of 730 graduates) noted our 40+ marriage anniversaries and laughed about all the antics of our grandchildren. We have a lot of achievers - from the Medal of Honor to a distinguished law career.

Some classmates spoke about their travels, but I could say, "I am on vacation 12 months a year. I live 10 minutes from our son's family." In the last 28 months we have raked leaves, fed geese, watched movies, gone to church, grilled chicken, laughed about funny YouTube productions,  played Uno, and celebrated Christmas three times."

I have attended over 25 of the famous Walmart Saturday Morning Meetings, which are required for their executives. The CEO of Walmart, Mike Duke, probably knows my face better than any other visitor's. Best of all, I know as much about our son's work as he knows about mine. When we come back from the meeting, he fills in Mrs. I. about his work.

What is more enjoyable - having a laugh with our grandson, enjoying a delicious meal from our daughter-in-law, sharing an old joke with Danielle, or buying a Bible in Mandarin for Josie? We heard she squealed with happiness.

I warn my students that they will never say, "That was a great meeting 20 years ago!" but they will go over all their pleasant memories of their families growing up. That is God's plan, natural law, as Jesus said, "That your joy may be complete."

Epistler Plays Whac-a-Mole. No Scandal Too Big To Finesse

The Epistler has left a new comment on your post "Anonymous Mind-Reader Is Not Happy with Posts and ...":

While the child porn scandal at the WELS headquarters is tragic and disturbing at so many levels, I have no clue as to how it is relevant in this case. Unless, of course, it's just a way to shoulder the failings of one man onto a group of people.

You say that it took the FBI to shut it down. I'm not surprised. That's their job. It is so, so, so easy to hide illicit activity in everyday internet traffic. Is it fair to paint the tech support and administration at the WELS headquarters as incompetent or in denial? Maybe a simpler reason exists. He wasn't caught because, well, he simply wasn't caught. By your arguement, the wife of every cheating husband is stupid or in denial.

My guess is, it doesn't matter to you that the decisions of one man devestated a number of lives. It's just a very convenient way to deface your enemies in one fell stroke.

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G-NoMoney has left a new comment on your post "Wisconsin Synod Facing Another Lawsuit":

I was raised in a WELS church/school - St John's, Tosa. When I was eight, I told my third-grade teacher that my daddy came in my bed with no pajamas. The teacher, (who was the pastor's mom), slapped me across the face. Then she started shaking me while screaming, "You Horrible, Horrible girl. How dare you say such a filthy thing. You are going to Hell!" --- I never told anyone again. I was assaulted, then raped for another six years before quitting the ninth grade and running away from home. WELS is an unsafe environment for many children. I am just one example.

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GJ - I believe the report by G-NoMoney is genuine. I can add another from a different denomination. A man raped a young girl. The girl and her mother went to their pastor. He said, "If you go to the police, you will go to Hell." The girl is grown, but still suffers from the trauma. She is no longer a Christian. The pastor of that church knew all about the previous minister being an adulterer. In fact, the members knew about the pastor's mistress, because she was a member of the parish.

Within WELS there are many examples of church workers preying upon children and being caught. However, Holy Mother Synod never admits to these crimes, so most people remain innocent and gullible when the spin-doctors go to work. They tend to repeat the crime, as several workers have shown.

The anonymous critic is overlooking a previous crime in the Hochmuth scandal. According to the Criminal Report, Hochmuth was caught before and went into counseling with his wife. Supposedly she caught him. That means the counselor did not report the crime, which is required by law. The others who knew did not report the crime. I know the facts were never communicated to the authorities because Hochmuth has never been charged with any crime. Not even charged! Yet he was the main representative for WELS to the world at large, even when denouncing ELCA for its homosexual advocacy.

Although I have probed, I have not learned whether the WELS agency was involved in this counseling. Others have asked as well. Silence. I take that as an admission, but that is because I assume the worst when dealing with pathological liars.

The Wisconsin Sect was eager to make a known adulterer and false teacher into one of their own. I said then, as I repeat now, that these sins are piling up for the Day of Judgment. Public relations, Hochmuth's strong suit, will not be enough to fool God.

All the leaders have a responsibility to send the predators to prisons, instead of providing a cover story for them, as they did with DP Ed Werner.

DP Ed Werner was born forgiven,
but the state sent him to the Big House for his crimes against
minor girls in his congregation.
Pastors knew but never talked - GA works.

The feigned compassion of the anonymous critic is meaningless as long as the predators run loose, knowing with smug certainty that many will jump up to assail anyone who points out the truth.

Missouri and the Little Sect on the Prairie are no better.

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The Epistler has left a new comment on your post "Epistler Plays Whac-a-Mole. No Scandal Too Big To ...":

I believe that you mistake my intentions. I have no interest in trying to defend the WELS. Why should I? I left the church long ago. Today I'm agnostic. But religion came so close to utterly destroying my life and that of my family that I feel obligated to try to limit the damage that the faithful perpetrate, even if it's simply by calling people out on the potential destructiveness their words carry.

I carry no sympathy for Mr. Hochmuth. As far as I am concerned, there is no forgiveness for someone like him, and he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. How anyone can stand beside him is beyond me. But the callous way in which the responsibility has been spread by Ichabod to include multiple people and to suggest that they are also responsible for the exploitation of children is a facile and dangerous arguement. There are only two people who know for certain what Hochmuth was doing. His wife - and himself. Just because he claimed he was in counseling does NOT mean that he revealed the full extent of his crimes. Couples go to counseling for porn addiction all the time. There is nothing to suggest that the counselor wasn't lied to. In fact, since no crime was reported, it seems likely. And pouring guilt by association onto the WELS tech staff and administration does just as much damage to people who are (lesser) victims of this scandal. They were betrayed by a trusted employee. Why are you trying to crucify them with the traitor?

The rabid tendencies of religious individuals to place a blanket of blame on victims is near universal. It's ironic that the example of a young woman who was molested and then told she was going to hell is a perfect example of why religion is the primary source of evil in the world today.

One more example. Perhaps you've heard of  [deleted example].

***

GJ - I deleted the example because I have no first-hand knowledge of that situation in an infamous circuit, although one source told me he knew some of the basics.

I wonder how the Epistler can be so ignorant of the secular concept of supervision, not to mention the admonitions of the pastoral epistles. Supervisors (Greek, episcopon, overseer, bishop) are responsible for the people under them. Denominations play innocent, but the justice system comes down hard on religious franchises that tolerate and transfer known child abusers.

Liability is shared by the supervisors and the organization. WELS was so tolerant of abusive church workers that the insurance companies finally began requiring some kind of clearance for each worker. I recall DP Robert Mueller being very unhappy about that requirement. That would have ended Lutheran Parish Resources, one of Mueller's little gifts to Columbus, Ohio.

Paul McCain told me that Missouri began clamping down because "it was costing them so much money."

ELCA lost a $40 million lawsuit from one incident. Fred Adrian's congregation and WELS lost a $400,000 lawsuit, both involving abuse of minors. Good ol' Fred is back in the ministry, thanks to John Seifert. The denominations do not report the annual total of these costs, not to mention the synodical lawyers who work hard at squashing and settling cases on the QT.

I am addressing the human cost of this failure to supervise. I made many different direct attempts to stop what was happening in Columbus. I did not send anonymous comments or make wry little jokes at meetings (the accepted WELS approach). I spoke face-to-face with the Circuit Pastor, the DP, and the First VP - all of them liars. They were stunned that I learned the truth when I pressed them about their responsibility, then began getting even with me.

I also spoke to the future DP, John Seifert, who did the typical WELS flip, jumping to the other side of the issue when it suited him. And SP Naumann's son? He knew all about it, too. So did dozens in the Michigan District, WELS; the future president of the Little Seminary on the Prairie; and Floyd Stolzenburg's future co-worker, Jay Webber.

I told Mueller on the phone, "Every girl that is raped, every woman seduced, I hold you responsible for that."

He was startled and said, "Why?" I responded, "Because you are doing nothing about this now."

In conclusion, the decades of greed, immorality, and corruption are coming home, with a gigantic bill to be paid - not only in dollars, but also in lives destroyed and souls murdered.

http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.pdf

http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=13460

More Lies - But From ELCA This Time. The Good News - No Gay ELCA College Videos So Far

The next bishop of the Minneapolis Area:

My prediction is that the Rev. Mary Albing will become bishop.  The Minneapolis Area Synod likes to be innovative and this is their chance to elect a non-celibate member of the GLBT community.  It is my opinion that this will also play into the political scene as Minnesota will vote on a marriage amendment in 2012.  Many in the ELCA synod are eager to enshrine the 2009 CWA decision with a bishop who was not even allowed to be a called pastor in the ELCA a couple years ago because of "who she loved."  It is important to complete the revolution as soon as possible.

So are there any ELCA pastors left in the Minneapolis Synod whose bound conscience will be offended when their bishop has a lifestyle they strongly disagree with?  If there are what will they do?  There is this ongoing idiotic statement that gets made, "Your congregation does not have to call a GLBT pastor."  Well for those congregations who disagree with the 2009 innovation--if there are any left in the Minneapolis Synod--they will be forced to accept a GLBT bishop.

Perhaps my prediction is premature but I will stand by it.  It helps that she is at the top of the list due to her name.  Then again perhaps she is the most qualified of the 18 to be bishop and her election will have nothing to do with her affectional preference.

At the last ELCA congregation I was a member of, I predicted that their next pastor would be a member of the GLBT community several years before the current pastors resigned.  When they retired, the congregation fulfilled my prediction.  The members at the time declared that the new pastor was a perfect fit, the best person that they could find for the job.  Yet given the small number of non-celibate ELCA pastors at the time, the odds were fairly small.    It was obvious to some former members that "affectional preference" did influence the congregation's action.

Brian J. Bergs,
Minneapolis, MN

***

GJ - I second the prediction, which will also apply to the next ELCA Presiding Bishop. The current Episcopal PB is married, but she said her husband would move to her Episcopal palace in NYC when "it made sense." No, I am not saying she is or is not. Given her hyper-aggressive policy, there is no doubt about   her original platform when she ran for office.

The agenda means that they must place their open activists in the highest offices.

More lies - they just buried the most influential woman at LCA and ELCA headquarters - Marple. She ran the important activities for decades and was always in The Lutheran magazine. At least two former PBs preached her into heaven after she died. "She is survived by a sister, Virginia Reynolds and nine nieces. She is also survided by a long time friend, Dr. Lois Leffler."

Normally only family members are listed as survivors. Naming a long time friend with blood relatives is the equivalent of announcing a Boston marriage.

To say that Mary Albing will be the first open LGTB leader is deceiving. The message about Dorothy Marple was there for everyone in the know in the LCA/ELCA, and certainly broadcast in her obituary. Everything is done is stages, so dissenters can be excluded.

That is why I am scornful about pastors who spent 25 years in ELCA and decided there was this shocking gay agenda, so they had to leave with their long-established congregations. But they would leave only if they could keep women's ordination and their money in the ELCA pension fund.

WELS and Missouri follow their ministry partner's previous policy in doing nothing about known homosexual pastors. They move them around a bit, deny knowledge, and most of all say - "I am helpless to do anything."

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-back-the-MLC-version-of-party-in-the-USA/246627466671?sk=wall

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KC has left a new comment on your post "More Lies - But From ELCA This Time. The Good News...":

How about these videos from Gustavus Adolphus' freshmen orientation, sponsored / required by the college?

http://gustavus.campusreform.org/group/blog/video-inside-freshman-orientation 

***

GJ - Good point, KC, but ELCA is supposed to be ee-vul and pansexual. WELS is supposed to be straighter than the road to heaven. WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect pretend to be so different from ELCA but work with them and emulate them.

Two-Timing Tyndale: WELS Ditching Biblical Scholarship for UOJ. January Diaprax

The Little Sect on the Prairie also likes to turn a
Gospel admonition into law - "Go manufacture disciples!"
rather than "Go, teach all nations."

The New NIV has already been approved by WELS. The franchise is simply waiting a bit to squash all opposition.

The next step is the January exercise in process (diaprax). Victims from all over WELS - two from each district, I believe - will gather at The Sausage Factory for some GA nostalgia.

Hold back the tears of laughter now. This is not a post from The WELS Potato. The participants will have an open discussion of the translations being considered (really only one).

This process will identify the boot-licking and ignorant friends of the NNIV while setting apart those who actually understand Biblical translation. Those who go along with the program will be rewarded while those who resist will be vilified behind their backs and punished in various ways.

Lying is basic to WELS management.
GA is based on lies, and still exists,
but they lie about that too.

The look on Paul Wendland's face during the convention discussion said it all - "How dare they question my authority and the majesty of my office?"

After this farce is over, the Dishonest Presidents will manipulate the upcoming meetings to approve the NNIV. They may even pull a Gurgle and say, "The presses are running at NPH already. We can't stop now!" (Feign a look of alarm and concern, for effect.)

The Gang of Four (Wisconsin plus Minnesota) will deliver roughly 75% of the WELS population to the NNIV. They are not alone in their doctrinal lassitude. If a district comes down against the NNIV, the minority will be condemned as extremists and Ichabodians. Even the ultra-polite Intrepids are dismissed as radicals.

The discussions and votes do not matter, except they serve as justification for the final decision. Only the feminist Shrinkers wanted Northwestern College merged into Dr. Martin Luther College, but amalgamation turned into a fact from all the fake participation and faux-votes. The ultimate vote failed, so amalgamation buddies turned the results around and reported a victory. It pays to have the power to appoint the ballot committee.

The only question is - will anyone fight this battle?

PS - Don't expect Synod President Mark Schroeder to show any leadership. He is utterly silent.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Two-Timing Tyndale: WELS Ditching Biblical Scholar...":

The attempted steamroll by Committee 19 can be watched here (Note: most of these men have been teaching the (W)ELS called workers - Clergy, teachers etc)

http://vimeo.com/channels/wels#27483517 

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Two-Timing Tyndale: WELS Ditching Biblical Scholar...":

Wendland begins his manipulation of the Convention attendees at 1:30:30