Luther on High Titles and Human Wisdom

“For God is a great enemy to high titles and human wisdom, hence he allows them at times to be handled roughly, and puts them to shame in their speculations, that the truth of the proverb may appear: The learned are the most perverted.”

-Luther Eight Sunday After Trinity

http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/Matthew7_15_23.html

Mark Jeske's Church Growth Disciple Lost Two (2) Congregational Buildings in Illinois. A New Record for Church Growth?Change Locations or Die!

This building on the university campus in Urbana, was not good enough for the newly ordained Tim Glende, of WELS fame. Where was the coffee bar? He ordered the synod to redevelop the congregation, sell the building, and go looking for something suitable for a Brug nephew and a Mark Jeske alumnus.

WELS sold the paid-for building to the Eastern Orthodox for a song. The Eastern Orthodox named it St. Nicholas, perhaps because the Lutherans gave them a gift ideal for EO campus ministry. The EO minister invited me to join their denomination instead of the WELS practice of extending the Left Foot of Fellowship and offering the stink-eye.

The attractive interior had room for an icon wall. How un-trendy and old fashioned.

But the Boy Wonder was not done yet. He had another church building to abandon.

Glende left town - not for the last time - and dug a hole by the cornfields. He and his wife needed a building as large as his ego. He cajoled the diminishing congregation into a pile of debt, but lo - Team Glende escaped to Appleton before it was built. The remaining members could not keep up, so the synod sold the building to Cornerstone Baptist and pocketed the equity for themselves.

Remember that, synod members. You can pay on a building for 20 years and have the synod grab the equity for themselves as they continue to say, "Lord, Lord, have we not done many miracles in Thy Name?"

Cornerstone rejoiced in their bargain building and enlarged it.

Glende should star in a synodical movie,
"Honey, I Shrunk the Congregation."

Ever wandering, the Booze Brothers bought a failed bar with a synod grant and loan,
after renting a movie theater and a former WELS church  building.
Ski and Glende are living allegories.

Cornerstone baptized a new member and inscribed this verse on the cake.
Is this in the Bible - I mean Murdoch's New NIV?
The fake blog from Fox Valley specifically condemned justification by faith.
Maybe WELS should return to Gausewitz
instead of disgracing a Gausewitz congregation with a Ski sermon.

Reviewing the July 18, 2016 Christian News Reading CN Learning about WELS Discipline HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!

Nothing is new in this issue. Kloha is the star again - and why not?

When most of the Lutheran leaders in America - ELCA or the rest of them - reject Justification by Faith and and teach universal absolution without faith, nothing else is an issue.

WELS Pastor Jonathan Rupprecht, now retired, wrote a little report about Kloha, with stereotypical WELS ending -

"For me, going to one of these events, where everything is so outwardly similar to our WELS, softens a person to LCMS. I just wish I could talk with LCMS leaders and ask: why so little - if any - doctrinal discipline? Why so many guest speakers, lecturers, etc, who are so heterodox? Why are you offering an alternate, second-rate system for training your pastors? What role does sound doctrine and its application really play in your priorities these days?"

That comes from a synod where WELS Pastor Mark Jeske is backing another Change or Die! conference led by ELCA women pastors and other Church Shrinkers. SP Mark Schroeder really clamped down in that sect. Harrison should look at Schroeder's work in awe and wonder.

Or - how about WELS taking in an all-gay congregation headed by an ELCA pastor. That did not happen by stealth, which is their favorite method. With stealth tactics they can get people to object and extend them the Left Foot of Fellowship. But no, the proper district voted on the issue and took St. John Lutheran Church, 8th and Vliet, back into the synod and district.

WELS, LCMS, and the rest

Pastor John Brenner (Sparky) plans to preach there. The Odd Couple is probably booking a speech there, and a book signing.

Or how about the latest Change or DIE!!! Conference?

Our 2016 Planning Commitee consists of:

Rev. Walter Baires, Ascension, Milwaukee Rev. Lisa Bates-Froiland, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Milwaukee Michelle Burmeister, Siebert Lutheran Foundation Diane Dalhoe, Siebert Lutheran Foundation Deborah Engel, Siebert Lutheran Foundation Gretchen Jameson, Concordia University Rev. Mark Jeske, Time of Grace Ministry and St. Marcus Lutheran Church, Milwaukee Bill Meier, Kingdom Workers Rev. Randy Raasch, First Immanuel Lutheran Church, Cedarburg Rev. Matthew Short, St. Luke Lutheran Church, Slinger Brenda Skelton, Siebert Lutheran Foundation

Rev. Alexia Salvatierra - ELCA pastor speaking for Jeske's conference.

Rev. Sherrie Lorbeck - Another ELCA pastor.

Before and After - The Long-Awaited Photos of the Front Yard.

Google Maps photos. Note the early clean-up attempts - tree trash.
The Crepe Myrtle near the mailbox is weak and not blooming.
The maple tree has lots of suckering and weeds.
No roses have been planted.

July 13, 2016. Roses fill the yard.

The KnockOuts on the right were planted years ago.
The next rows down are new roses.

The straggly Crepe Myrtle of the past is in full bloom.
Mulch and recent weeds are on the right.
Below the bush is a layer of manure and mulch.

Who has bigger Crepe Myrtle blooms?
The bright flowers of the yard make everyone happy.

Consider the Teaching of Melanchthon and Chemnitz. Thoughtful Comments from 2012

A. Berean has left a new comment on your post "Imputation Is the Foundational Issue - Says A. Ber...":

Justification - the Chief Article of Christian Doctrine as Expounded in Loci Theologici, by Martin Chemnitz. Translated by J.A.O. Preus. Published by Concordia Publishing House. Page 149.

Also in his Examination of the Council of Trent vol. 1, pg. 532, paragraph 17. Published by Concordia Publishing House. Translated by Fred Kramer.

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solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Imputation Is the Foundational Issue - Says A. Ber...":

Here it is to be noted that these three things are joined together: faith, Christ, and acceptance or imputation. Faith takes hold of Christ and has Him present, enclosing Him as the ring encloses the gem. And whoever is found having this faith in the Christ who is grasped in the heart, him God accounts as righteous. This is the means and the merit by which we obtain the forgiveness of sins and righteousness. “Because you believe in Me,” God says, “and your faith takes hold of Christ, whom I have freely given to you as your Justifier and Savior, therefore be righteous.” Thus God accepts you or accounts you righteous only on account of Christ, in whom you believe.

Now acceptance or imputation is extremely necessary, first, because we are not yet purely righteous, but sin is still clinging to our flesh during this life. God cleanses this remnant of sin in our flesh. In addition, we are sometimes forsaken by the Holy Spirit, and we fall into sins, as did Peter, David, and other saints. Nevertheless, we always have recourse to this doctrine, that our sins are covered and that God does not want to hold us accountable for them (Rom. 4). This does not mean that there is no sin in us, as the sophists have taught when they said that we must go on doing good until we are no longer conscious of any sin; but sin is always present, and the godly feel it. But it is ignored and hidden in the sight of God, because Christ the Mediator stands between; because we take hold of Him by faith, all our sins are sins no longer. But where Christ and faith are not present, here there is no forgiveness of sins or hiding of sins. On the contrary, here there is the sheer imputation and condemnation of sins. Thus God wants to glorify His Son, and He Himself wants to be glorified in us through Him.

Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, Luther's Works (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1963). 26:132-133.

SolaFide: Pretty clear, I think.

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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Imputation Is the Foundational Issue - Says A. Ber...":

Ichabod - Thank you for highlighting, A Berean's excellent comment. Yes! The word "Imputation," is at the forefront of this universal objective justification controversy and discussion.

Luther correctly said: "Where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation."

But it is here where the universal objective justification enthusiasts [UOJE] get tripped up, and never do get to first base:

UOJE [Universal objective justification enthusiasts] become hung up on the Atonement as a "be all" and "end all." They would rather just view Christ's universal sacrifice for sin as the one time imputation to the human soul. Their basic view of imputation is that when Christ died and rose; - that is what Luther talked about - "Where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation." To them, that is the sum and substance of imputation. Hence, this is why UOJE often don't highlight the Holy Spirit's work in the salvation process. [John 3:8 in context] They essentially diss (ignore) faith. They bypass faith and actually believe that with the forgiveness of sins brought about by the Atonement, - that has brought [as Luther put it] "life and salvation" to all. So, then, their understanding is all based around the Atonement; that Christ's sacrifice was imputed, - not, faith.

On the other hand, those of us who believe Scripture, (and, the Confessions, concur); we believe that we, (by God's grace) are justified by faith. [Ephesians 2:8-9] We believe that the faith the Holy Spirit creates in us is imputed to us. We could almost use the words "infused" and "continually dispensed." Luther put it this way in his explanation of the 3rd Article of the Apostles Creed:

"In which Christian church He daily and richly forgive sins to me and all believers......"

Finally, I will point to an illustration, using an analogy. [And, I realize that no analogy is perfect]:

The universal objective justification crowds are stuck on the Atonement. To them that is their priceless "auto body."

But, the car doesn't travel (anywhere) without wheels and fuel. Hence, the Atonement without its (Holy Spirit) "imputation wheels & fuel" is useless. Without the Spirit's wheels and fuel, the human soul cannot personally partake of and benefit from Christ's all encompassing Atonement. Nor, (without Holy Spirit wheels and fuel) will that human soul travel to heaven. All that, though, does not matter for the universal objective justification enthusiasts still stuck in their Atonement auto. To them a car without wheels and fuel is a perfect and complete auto.

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org

www.moralmatters.org

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GJ - The readers and I are grateful for the thoughtful contributions that arrive as comments.

The Buckwheat of Evangelism - Teaching Faith in Christ

I needed buckwheat. Many farm and seed stores are around town, but would I ever go by one and get some buckwheat? Not likely. How does one introduce the need for buckwheat in the shopping discussions?

Mrs. Ichabod - "I need some bananas and brats."
GJ - :Farm and Fleet. I need a pound of buckwheat."
Mrs. Ichabod - "We can get some at Walmart. Don't be silly."

Bee all that you can bee - on buckwheat.

I decided to seize the moment and order some from Amazon. That is either where I start or end up with odd agricultural requests.

Some are already wondering - why buckwheat? The grain has several distinct advantages. One is its appeal to pollinators. The plant flowers quickly.

But an unusual feature is buckwheat's ability to displace weeds. I am going to try it in the calladium patch around the maple tree. I have had trouble with grassy weeds taking over there.

Buckwheat
Buckwheat is the speedy short-season cover crop. It establishes, blooms and reaches maturity in just 70 to 90 days and its residue breaks down quickly. Buckwheat suppresses weeds and attracts beneficial insects and pollinators with its abundant blossoms. It is easy to kill, and reportedly extracts soil phosphorus from soil better than most grain-type cover crops.

Buckwheat thrives in cool, moist conditions but it is not frost tolerant. Even in the South, it is not grown as a winter annual. Buckwheat is not particularly drought tolerant, and readily wilts under hot, dry conditions. Its short growing season may allow it to avoid droughts, however.

Anything drastic would mean killing or pulling up calladiums that are just starting to pop up and show their colors. Calladiums emerge late from the soil and look like flagpoles. Next they unfurl their colorful leaves and wave them back and forth in the wind - great contrast - and they love shade.

I will sow buckwheat around the maple tree, knowing the plant will do its job without introducing another round of  "Why did I ever plant that?" At the worst some will bloom and feed some butterflies and bees. At the best it will displace some of those grassy weeds.

Later in the season, when the Calladiums are almost done, I can cover the area with cardboard and newspaper for the fall and winter, holding it down with mulch and leaves.

The Buckwheat of Evangelism

Lutheran church bodies are shrinking because they obsess about conformity, enforce their man-made laws, neglect doctrine, and fail to teach faith in Christ.

The main work of every congregation should be to teach faith in Christ and all its benefits. If people only read Chapter 3 of Luther's Galatians Commentary, they would know exactly what to do. Or - they could read a Luther sermon each week.

Teaching the Gospel and emphasizing the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace will not rid the world of weeds, but it begin to displace the opportunistic weeds of triumphalism, legalism, and clericalism.

1. Triumphalism - We are the best, the purest, the only true saving church - all Lutheran sects today.
2. Legalism - In order to remain with us in good standing, you must obey these 10,000 rules, even if we do not know what they are until we tell you how you violated them.
3. Clericalism - How dare you disagree with me? God put me in this position to rule over you.

Don't look around - oh oh -
the Commisar's in town.

Shunning Contests and Legalism Do Not a Church Body Grow

Does a dentist live here - is he building up his practice?

The Synodical Conference sects are so much like the Fuddlementalist Babtists. If they only knew, they would throw down their Canon Law and start teaching the Gospel.

The Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) never stops talking about the error of WELS breaking with the LCMS too late, marking but not avoiding. Apart from UOJ and Church Growth, that is all there is to CLC (sic) dogma. Their debates consist of demanding Unconditional Surrender from WELS. They even brag about being the mark and avoid synod, which is hilarious considering their love for Fuller and their ignorance of the Means of Grace.

I got President Dan Fleischer to write a good comment against Church Growth, which he published. But he still backed the Fools Gold Twins, Koenig and Tiefel, and everything they did. When someone was assigned a paper on the Means of Grace - which I also urged on them - he wrote me, "They never taught this at the CLC seminary." I gave him an outline to follow and quotes, and he wrote a good paper.

WELS? - The same thing. They spend their time complaining about the looseness of the LCMS, but Missouri has never voted in an all-gay congregation with an ELCA pastor, as WELS did with St. John Lutheran Church, 8th and Vliet, Milwaukee.  Nor does Missouri have an Odd Couple publishing about sodomy all the time - and asking for names/emails of males troubled about their sexuality.

The ELS brags about not being WELS.

ELCA, on the LCA side, said towns lacked the Gospel when only Missouri and WELS had congregations there. That was the LCA mission, to teaching the Gospel of Everyone Saved to those towns burdened only with the Synodical Conference. And yet, the LCMS and WELS and ELS and CLC(sic) teach the same UOJ as ELCA does.

Their Canon Law varies. WELS used to be all Geneva-gown-with-a-stole, a hilarious costume often featured in photos. But now the alb has become 100% in WELS with only a few exceptions.

ELCA and ELDONA favor the bishop title, the elegant robes, and the same clenched fist approach to their willing subordinates - fellowship based their Law, not on the Gospel.

So what happens when sects slight the Means of Grace in favor of their Canon Law? Their unbalanced state leaves them obsessed with one or another fetish and the need to feel superior to everyone else.

Bad thoughts will be reported to the bishop, District President,
 and circuit pastor. Their hands already hover above the
shun button.

Volume 27, ELDONA Canon Law

http://eldona.org/ELDoNA/Papers_files/Malone%20Theses%202006-1.pdf

1)      We seek to achieve a high degree of uniformity in the liturgical expression of our theological agreement among the parishes of our signators.  Significant deviation in liturgical practice between parishes is confusing to the members of the Church.  Therefore, we commit ourselves to endeavor over time, by common consensus, to minimize local deviations from common practice.

Images

It has become sadly evident that there is a need to make a clear distinction between the doctrine and practices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the churches of Eastern Orthodoxy .  Our fellowship eschews any appearance of “Easternizing.”  Yeah right

http://eldona.org/ELDoNA/Papers_files/Niles%20Theses-1.pdf

The Lord’s Supper

10) The use of grape juice or any other element but natural wine for the blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper is a violation

ELDONUT Eric Stefanski Unfriends the Entire LCMS Ministerium, Quotes Hard Rock Group Lyrics. Leaves a Foul Smell Behind

ELDONUT Pastor Eric Stefanski

The LCMS is worse than I am!
And why? Because they do not listen to the minister who
was promoting UOJ for years on his website.

The ELDONUTS have a strange obsession with rock music,
given their veneer of old-fshioned popery.

As the Spartans said to Philip of Macedonia, "IF."
I missed the fireworks too, Richard, but heard the whining.
Your review of Thy Strong Word gained us a member, so thanks.

As I wrote before, Martin Luther described the factious Synodical Conference sects with great discernment here, in his Galatians Commentary.

I snipped the timeless tosh of Rev. Stefanski from his Facebook page, lest he erase his words and charge me with misquoting him. So in the midst of excommunicating all of the LCMS clergy, he has to heave a digression full of unwarranted accusations, an ad hominem sputter, to avoid dealing with the facts of their nasty two-faced attitudes.

I would be wary of dealing with them in any fashion. They let their drama queen emotional state get in the way of the truth. They are currently in a status confessionis with me - or more accurately - status epilepticus. In other words, they do not talk to me, although my email is clearly posted. But they loudly complain about me on their Facebook pages, and "like" one another's little witticisms, so precious in the sight of the Lord. They they prove they aim to be what Luther described about Paul's opponents.

Luther:
When he says, “to his face,” this is aimed especially against those poisonous spirits who slander those who are absent but do not dare open their mouths in the presence of these people. That is what the false apostles did; he touches them obliquely here, because they did not dare slander him in his presence; they did so only in his absence. “I did not,” he says, “speak evil of Peter in the way; but I opposed him candidly and openly, not because of any pretense, ambition, or other human affection or mental disease, but because he himself was deserving of attack.” Page 108 of LW Lectures on Galatians

They imagine their little fulminations are hidden away, since I have blocked the ELDONUT Enthusiasts on Facebook, but I can still read and copy their posts. The kids these days are so naive.

The Word of God is a better weapon - better upgrade, ELDONA.

Strange Accusations That Impugn Their Character
One ELDONUT claimed that their Pastor X "worked with people" but I do not.

That moved me to tears - tears of laughter. I was working with Pastor James Heiser around 20 years ago, when he was selling books with Lutheran Confessional Synod Bishop-for-Life Randy DeJaynes.

That situation blew up and I was again in contact with Heiser when he received a call to Malone and began working to get out of the LCMS. I promoted his books, sold his books, and he sold Thy Strong Word. He liked to play both sides of the fence, so he was working with Paul McCain to sell his Repristination Books through Concordia Publishing House.

As an AAL agent once said to me, "If a man has two stories, he does not believe either one."

This went on for a long time while I was in Phoenix and we had many long phone calls, mostly from Heiser calling me, all the way through taking the congregation out of the LCMS. He wanted to be at the independent Lutheran conferences I helped organize, and he was welcomed, but he seemed to have a hidden agenda.

When Stefanski joined his group, I figured that Heiser would have to face the Justification by Faith issue, but that did not happen. Anyway, Heiser wanted subordinates who bought his bishop-for-life status, so he went silent.

When WELS Pastor Paul Rydecki showed up at the Emmaus Conference, he got a free copy of a justification book from Brett Meyer. ELS Pastor Jay Webber hid behind a column, motioning to get Paul to go to lunch with him. Rydecki and I discussed publishing at great length, and I encouraged him to publish with ELDONA, not with me, because so many faux-Lutherans boycotted me and would hold any association. And I thought ELDONA was better than solo, which I stated clearly enough. I mostly help people think through options, instead of bossing them around.

It became clear that Rydecki was associating with ELDONA, as Doug Lindee of the Intrepid Lutherans did. I had many friendly exchanges with Lindee over the years, when he was Freddy Finkelstein. Funny how people associate with ELDONA and stop being friendly. That is no longer surprising, based on the raging of their bishop-for-life.

I have concluded a few things:

• Concordia Seminary in Ft. Wayne really damaged a lot of pastors they produced, not only with UOJ fanaticism from Preus and Scaer, but also in their abusive, dishonest, and opportunistic behavior. ELDONA is largely a product of Ft. Wayne, where Jay Webber and Paul McCain graduated during the same time.
• ELDONA is not really a Justification by Faith group. They went through the motions, but they are like the other mini-micro sects in being not-LCMS, not-WELS, not-something, and really obessesed with leaving Bablylon for their Paradise.
• ELDONA is another sect-worshiping sect, glorying in how perfect they are. Just listen to them. Mercy! 

Someone Asked

Yes, I work with people all the time, various people from all over the world, at many different levels. A typical day involves communicating with three or four different people, not the same ones each day. 

Many abused people contact people because their synod ignore and shun them. I keep their secrets and share their sorrow. In fact, Heiser used to have pastors contact me after they were kicked out of the LCMS. I knew the process and tried to help in the recovery.

Intrepid Lutherans: When the Government Forbids Orthodox Pastors to Christian Congregations: The Sad Story of America’s First Lutheran Colonists

Intrepid Lutherans: When the Government Forbids Orthodox Pastors to Christian Congregations: The Sad Story of America’s First Lutheran Colonists:



Last year, our Fourth of July post, The Lutheran Conception of a Christian Commonwealth according to King Gustavus Adolphus, and its Mighty Impact on the Formation of our Great Republic, and on the State of Pennsylvania in particular, recounted the happy history of Swedish Lutheran colonists who originally settled New Sweden – an area that is now Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware – under a Charter devised by the beloved Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus, prior to his grizzly death at theBattle of Lützen in 1632, and later carried out by his successor, Axel Ostenstiern. A pious Lutheran aggrieved by the plight of Christians in the face of State sponsored religious persecution, who fought gallantly in the name of Religious Liberty, and died as a victorious leader in its cause, his plan for a colony in the New World, which would guarantee and protect the Fundamental Rights of the people, was defended by him for almost a decade as

“a Free State, where the laborer should reap the fruit of his toil, where the Rights of Conscience should be inviolate, and which should be open to the whole Protestant world... [where] all should be secure in their persons, their property, and their Rights of Conscience... [and] should be an asylum for the persecuted of all nations.”

Under the plan of the Lutheran King, Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedes of New Sweden paved the way for the Quaker,William Penn, who would receive credit for most of the work they had accomplished under the plan of Gustavus Adolphus, prior to Penn’s arrival.

'via Blog this'

So Much To Do!

Coffee is the great motivator.

I awoke to the second of two job candidates messaging me at 4 AM -  that dream job came through, the chief benefit in each case being the right place and the right job.

As I drink morning coffee and read the news, the desire to write something increases. I am happy to have my own dream job. We love living in Springdale, in this neighborhood, and not far from our son's family. Team Jackson will grill again this weekend.

Jesus' first miracle created a miraculous abundance
of perfect wine, through the power of the Word.

I get to work from home where my hobbies are

1. Gardening, 
2. Writing, and 
3. Writing about gardening. 

Pastors late to the party are starting to explore what our little congregation has done for years - broadcasting to everyone via the Net. That means various people write to me about doctrinal issues. I enjoy responding to them. At least I can offer educational and synodical perspective, from the grim and grimy to the hilarious.

The Feeding of the Multitude is another example
of miraculous abundance through the Word.

Luther called the pastoral ministry Predigtamt - the preaching ministry. His view of the ministry is the opposite of what we see today, where the emphasis is on management, keeping the operation running smoothly, achieving critical mass, and getting good, measurable results.

Luther's perspective, borrowed from the Scriptures rather than Peter Drucker's Management by Objectives is rather simple - sow the living seed of the Word and trust God for the results. I do that in the garden by not trying very hard.

I sow various seeds and many of them come up, flower, and bring their fruit to perfection. With roses I get ugly little thorny and dormant sticks, soak them, and plant them. This involves effort, but nothing compared to what God accomplishes through His Creation, engineering, and management.

Today I will have the before and after photos of the front yard.

Broadcasting the Word is exactly the same. The Word goes out the same way as the snow and rain come down from heaven, bringing seed to the sower and bread to the eater. The Word is never without an effect, both positive and negative - it is always effective.

The Word

1. Is never void.
2. Always accomplishes God's will.
3. Always prospers God's will.

The trouble with man's manipulations is that they reveal so little trust in the Gospel Word. 

Many of these posts make ministers hopping mad. Why? The Word condemns their unbelief, because they do not utterly trust in the Savior. Otherwise, why would a blog "that no one reads" have any effect at all? Perhaps if we owned a shining, marble temple endowed by a famous adulterer, we could have some real impact. But here we are, broadcasting and blogging from rented rooms, so we should be dismissed rather than fried, scattered, and chunked like Waffle House hash browns.

Last NIght's Beer Party - Neighbor Invites Himself

What Would Mequon Say?

Last night I walked outside to invite a select few to a beer party. I noticed a shiny mucous trail of  s slug where I had some definite damage to my Elephant Ears.

I would love to have that statement overheard during a phone conversation. Not carrying a cell phone probably protects my reputation for sober reflection.

My neighbors were outside and noticed me carrying the beer to the Elephant Ears. I told them, "I am having a beer party for the slugs. They will drink this and drown by tomorrow morning." Wesleyan Methodists should note that this was the end of a six-pack I opened a year ago for this purpose.

The boys heard this about my beer party, and were intrigued. The father said, "I may come over myself," which presented an amusing image for the kids as I poured the beer into a bowl, which was kept outside for that purpose.

The problem with pests in the garden is attempting mass killing to aim at a few. If the slugs are not thirsty or have acquired sentience, the brew may go untouched unless neighborhood pets and wildlife taste it. Various slug baits are toxic and may entice the wrong animal while leaching the poison into the ground, killing the significant but overlooked soil creatures.

A Hymn from the Past



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The quartet above illustrates what can be done with a hymn. A reader sent this because I quote James Russell Lowell from time to time - Truth on the Scafffold, Wrong on the Throne. His poem morphed into a hymn.

Ironically, Lowell, the son of a Congregational minister, did not write hymns as such, but spiritual poems. Therefore, a version of his poem became a hymn. Parts of that hymn appeal to liberals activists, but the key expression of the poem is within the graphic above.

The First Synodical Conference Lie - "We Didn't Know Stephan Took His Mistress Along and Left His Dying Wife and Children at Home!"

Bremen, Germany to New Orleans
21 January 1839

DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI - PORT OF NEW ORLEANS

I, H. W. Exter master of the Ship Olbers do solemnly sincerely & truly swear that the within list signed by me & now delivered to the Collector of this district contains the names of all the Passengers taken on board of the Said Ship at the Port of Bremen or at any time since and that all matters therein set forth are according to the best of my Knowledge & Belief just & true & I do further swear that Two of the Said Passengers died on the voyage.

Sworn before me this 21st Jany 1839 ~~ [signed] J. W. Exter-Master

List of Passengers on board of the bremer Ship Olbers H. W. Exter My bound from Bremen to New Orleans

Columns represent: Passenger number, Name, Relationship to the head of the family, Last dwelling place, Occupation, Age, Died on the voyage.

Cabin

  1  Martin Stephan                          Dresden         Preacher         61
  2  Martin Stephan                his son   Dresden                          16
  3  Theodore Julius Brohm                   Dresden         Candidate        30
  4  H. S. Fischer                           Dresden         Merchant         40
  5  Julie Fischer                 his wife  Dresden                          32
  6* Louise Gunther   (#1 Mistress)          Dresden                          32

  7  Gustav Jaeckel                          Dresden         Cashier          32
  8  Francis Adolph Marbach                  Dresden         Attornay (sic)   40
  9  Louise Marbach                his wife  Dresden                          34
 10  Gustav Marbach                his child Dresden                          11
 11  Clara Marbach                 his child Dresden                           6
 12  Victor Marbach                his child Dresden                           5
 13* Martin Marbach                his child Dresden                           2
 14  Eduard Vehse                            Dresden         Recorder         35
 15* Mathilde Vehse                his child Dresden                           9
 16  Hermann Walther                         Dresden         Preacher         29
 17  M. Emil Julius Moritz Wege              Dresden         Candidate        38
 18  Sophie Schneiderin                      Dresden                          40
 19* Fred Loeschner                          *Konigsbruck    Painter          44

LutherQuest Outlines Some of the Many Lies about LCMS History. Helpful Notes Added in Red

Rick Strickert (Carlvehse) Senior Member Username: Carlvehse Post Number: 6499 Registered: 10-2003

Posted on Monday, July 04, 2016 - 3:05 pm:       The LHM website contains several videos, including "WTC - History of LCMS." This video is a yet another sad example of the SPIN-DOCTORING, HISTORICAL-REVISIONIST (and DISHONEST) FAIRY TALE told about the Missouri Saxon immigration: The picture of the ship shown at the beginning of the video is not any of the five Stephanite-carrying ships, which were mostly barques (or barks), characterized by square-rigging on the foremast and mainmast and fore-and-aft rigging on the mizzenmast. The (ill-fated) Amalia was a smaller schooner. However, the Olbers, on its maiden voyage, was a ship with square rigging on all masts. Full-rigged ships (as the one shown in the video) had all square-rigged masts with a gaff sail on the mizzen mast. Also the Saxon ships were German and did not fly the American flag as shown in the painting. In fact, the ship shown in the video is the Oneco, an American ship built in 1839, with its maiden voyage on March 15, well after the Saxon had reached St. Louis. (The Oneco sank in 1855.) Martin Stephan was NOT a pastor when he sailed from Bremen with 700 Stephanites. Stephan had been suspended as pastor on November (Walter Forster, Zion on the Mississippi, p. 102). He took his mistress and one son along - but not his dying wife and children. Stephan had not made an enormous impact in Germany, but more in the Dresden area by sheepstealing, Already in 1831, Stephan and his disciples were becoming known as a sect (Zion, p. 75). In October, 1838, Stephan had been charged with improper conduct with a servant girl, and formal complaints by his congregation for immoral personal life, neglect of duties, and embezzlement (Zion, p. 183). Stephan favored young, single girls and had syphillis. The reason that the 700 Stephanites (100 of which were on the Amalia lost at sea) left Germany for America was not to seek religious freedom, but the basic reason was Stephan himself (Zion, p. 112). While persecution and arrests were carried out in Prussia (which resulted in a group led by Rev. Grabau immigrating to New York), few, if any, such persecution had occurred in Saxony. Later Walther admitted in a letter that there was no religious reason for the Saxons to have left Germany, except for the edict of Stephan. Walther sometimes told the truth. The only Stephanite arrested and put under house-arrest (Zion, p. 184) in Germany was Stephan. However warrants for the arrest of C.F.W. Walther and his brother, Otto Hermann, were issued in November, 1838, for the kidnapping of their niece and nephew just prior to leaving Bremen. Both men escaped on ships before they could be arrested. They let an innocent woman go to jail for their crime while the brothers Walther vamoosed. Several pastors in Germany became disciples of Stephan. However, before emigrating they had submitted their resignations or had abandoned their congregations. These Stephanites were not pastors when they left Germany. But CFW still called himself the pastor of his parish, even though he had resigned. While the Stephanites blindly followed Martin's orders, among the Saxon group were people wanting to leave the poverty of Germany, or for the opportunity to move to America (one of the Saxon physicians, Dr. Schnabel, and his family left the Saxon group when the Olbers arrived in New Orleans), and Stephan's women had been listed as "maids." (Zion, pp. 220, 355) The picture of debarking emigrants (@ 2m10s in the video) appear to be from the early 1900s not from the early or mid 1800s. The Saxon laymen did not make Stephan a bishop. It was a select group of his former-pastors and lay disciples aboard the Olberswho, at Stephan's request, declared him a bishop with broad powers (Zion, p. 215) on November 14, 1838, the day after entering the Gulf of Mexico. CFW Walther signed the document. Yes, he did. "A bishop and a pope disembarked from that ship." - WELS layman The question of whether the people went along willingly or otherwise with giving Stephan complete spiritual and temporal authority was NOT "probably a little bit of both." In fact, the people, who had given the bulk of their money to Stephan's control were told while traveling up the Mississippi River that they would be kicked out of the group if they did not sign the Pledge of Subjection to Stephan. Only Heinrich Ferdinand Fischer, one of the three who later published the Protestationschrift, refused to sign. Stephan was not "excommunicated" by the Missouri Saxon congregations, but rather he was deposed (excommunicated) and exiled by a Council of Stephan's former-pastors and lay disciples on May 30, 1839. No, he was threatened, robbed of everything, and kidnapped - forced to go to Illinois at gunpoint. The claim that deposing Stephan "caused a great crisis" about whether the Missouri Saxon immigrants were still a church is stretched. Such a claim was only valid for a few of the leaders, like Adolph Marbach, and some of the former-pastors. The "great crisis" was initially one recognized by those former-pastors, who realized they had no legitimate call and immediately ask for calls from the Saxon congregations. Another "great crisis" faced by the immigrants was the realization that the Gesellshaft was essentially broke, leaving them on their own to combat disease and obtain food and shelter. Stealing the bishop's gold, land, books, and personal belongings helped - a lot. The third "great crisis" (COMPLETELY IGNORED BY THE VIDEO) was when the pastors tried to continue their bishopric rule in the absence of Stephan. That resulted in the opposition of three people, Dr. Carl Eduard Vehse, Heinrich Ferdinand Fischer, and Gustav Jaeckel. Following an earlier draft, the three men issued a Protestationschrift, in November 1839, with some fifty theses objecting to practices of the pastors and pointing out the correct Lutheran doctrine (COMPLETELY IGNORED BY THE VIDEO). While recouperating in 1840, Walther read the Protestationschrift from Vehse, Fischer and Jaeckel, which led him to reexamined the Scriptures and Confessions. From these readings Walther came up with the propositions presented at the Altenburg Debate that were based on the theses in theProtestationschrift (Zion, pp. 520, 522) (COMPLETELY IGNORED BY THE VIDEO). As Forster noted, "Later writers with a less meticulous sense of fairness, however, have given Vehse [and the Protestationschrift] little credit." Those people include the video speakers: CTS President Rast, Dr. Schumacher, Rev. Mike Newman, Rev. Dr. (hon.) Gregory Seltz, and Rev. Rick Marrs. While the Altenburg Debate may be claimed as the "most important debate in American Lutheranism," COMPLETELY IGNORED BY THE VIDEO was the historical fact that, at the Altenburg Debate Walther himself acknowledged his debt to the Protestationschrift, which he referred to as "a precious gift of God." Later, Keyl and Burger also joined in this acknowledgment. Official LCMS history is a pack of lies. Walther and his bros followed an syphilitic sex monster, knowing all about his girlfriends. The outbreak caused by Stephan's STD was probably the excuse for the riot that ended his rule. This historical revisionism has gone on for over a century now within the Missouri Synod (except with a few isolated exceptions). I regret to say that I regard the following people as being completely untrustworthy in communicating anything about the history of the Missouri Saxon immigrants (1838-1841): CTS President Larry Rast, Dr. William Schumacher, Rev. Mike Neuman, Rev. Dr. (hon.) Gregory Seltz, and Rev. Rick Marrs.

Rick Strickert (Carlvehse) Senior Member Username: Carlvehse Post Number: 6500 Registered: 10-2003

Posted on Monday, July 04, 2016 - 3:37 pm:       BTW, this is the same Lutheran Hour Ministries under the same International Lutheran Laymen's League that has yet to apologize for the ILLL/LHM behavior in firing Rev. Wallace Schulz because he carried out his synodical responsibilities, which the ILLL had promised as an auxiliary (for what that's worth) to aid and coordinate with the Synod. The ILLL/LHM leadership has yet to show any.