ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the National Council of Churches.
Robert Schuller plagiarized one occultist and was honored for promoting Napoleon Hill, a lying, criminal, self-styled "business genius". Schuller insisted on dropping denominational names so Saddleback went one step more - nothing about "church"! WELS and LCMS went for the apostasy package like a hungry fish for the worm.
Christina and I spotted Saddleback on our California tour. We saw "Purpose Driven Drive" and concluded the church was there. I did not know Warren was a Babtist until I saw the immersion pool outside.
The "confessional, conservative, orthodox, quia" WELS-ELS-LCMS-CLC sects are very fond of Warren's programs and approaches. Other idiots have provided their own spin on Warren's spin on Schuller's spin on Norman Vincent Peale's plagiarism of another book.
A former Peale protege and a Unitarian minister think so.
In the current issue of the journal Lutheran Quarterly, the Rev. John Gregory Tweed of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the Rev. George D. Exoo of Pittsburgh write that many of Peale’s uplifting affirmations originated with an “obscure teacher of occult science” named Florence Scovel Shinn. Lutheran Quarterly is a juried academic journal of theology and history, with a national circulation of 1,000.
After comparing his books to hers, the authors cite scores of specific instances in which Peale and Shinn not only think alike but use similar or identical phrases.
Tweed began investigating the Shinn-Peale link in 1990. Friends who credited Shinn for their success had given Tweed her book, “The Game of Life and How to Play It.”
“I came across the phrase, ‘When one door shuts, another door opens’ - one of the great Peale battle cries,” said Tweed.
Shinn, who died in 1940, drew on mystical sources dating to the ancient Egyptian philosopher Hermes Trismegistus and the secrets of Freemasonry, as delineated in “The Kybalion,” published in 1908 at a Masonic lodge."
Warren is on the Matt Harrison diet and doing well.
Like his hero Robert Schuller, Warren made his church stance as vague and faith-neutral as possible, much like the WELS-ELS-LCMS today. He published the fact that a conference at Schuller's church (now a Catholic cathedral) changed his life.
I enjoy seeing colorful costumes, but once a year is enough - on Halloween. Some children eat way too much candy.
The same Matt Harrison who put the fake Luther's Large Catechism on hold is now vilifying those who question its merit. His recent tirade suggests Matt is condemning Matt and using his staff to pile on. "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8
Attacking people in vague but menacing terms is common in the Synodical Conference hierarchy. Every target of venom is supposedly causing the ruin of the sect, even though the leaders have done a dandy job of wasting money, indulging their appetites, and destroying congregations by playing politics with the pastor.
His Holiness, the Synod President, is in an awkward place. He did not complete graduate work, not even from the notorious diploma mill called Concordia Seminary St. Louis, where a PhD has worth only in the LCMS. He was mostly a fund-raiser for his non-profit corporation, which he shut down once he was SP.
This new Large Catechism is a fake because it is only 15% Luther's Catechism. That should remind potential buyers of the so-called CPH Small Catechism, weighed down by 400 pages! of fluff, including sly efforts to promote Objective (Faithless) Justification.
CPH also created the windy dogmatics volumes, easily a match for the Braaten-Jenson fiasco, which ELCA disavowed while selling it. That may have been the model for Luther's Large Catechism.
Ye victims of Harrison's twisting in the wind, get a Large Catechism which is 100% Luther - or just open up the Book of Concord. Luther is the best Biblical teacher of all time.
And remember - this Synod President was a nobody who visited Herman Otten and sang a flattering ballad dedicated to Herman Otten. However, when Otten was close to dying, Matt the Fatt sang a vitriolic song in public, calling the kingmaker "a liar" and "crazy."
Pink roses and garden daffodils are there for our congregation's little girls.
Medical care - Callie, Doc Lito, Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Pastor K; Dr. Kermit Way - hospitalized.
We also pray for various people who have special medical needs.
KJV Joel 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
KJV Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Treasures in Heaven
KJV Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
First of all, we have this warning from Christ, not to be sourpuss cranks - telegraphing how much we do, how pure we are, so everyone can say, "That person is righteous for his works." The reward they get is the awe expressed by others. One pastor liked to tell everyone how successful he was, gloating and grinning from ear to ear. Obviously, he did it and everyone should admire him. Then it evaporated almost overnight, and he treasures on earth were immediately taken away, along with the prestige and the glory.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
But if someone is going to fast, he should be happy and not suffering. The rewards should come from God, not the approval of neighbors and colleagues. The pastor I mentioned above was very keen about rubbing it in, as they say, looking down on us who had to put up with his politicking and showing off. Many of my college students have gone through tough times, so I tell them - "You may feel crushed now, but you will be much stronger and abler because of what you have gone through, and God will help you. Miracles happen through faith, and faith often recognizes them long afterwards.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Luther emphasized this, and the terms often appear in the Book of Concord - the treasures on earth versus the treasures in heaven. Every time they dig up silver and gold and rare artifacts, I think, "Nobody missed them, and now they are going to be locked up in museum." Rare paintings are stolen from museums, I read, because they are guarantees for enormous criminal deals. They are less bulky than money, bonds, and precious metals. Whatever we have for a time passes on.
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Three kinds of destruction are listed. Moths destroy clothing. Rust destroys iron and steel. Thieves break in and take away everything else.
God gives us infinite space in our intelligence to glory in all the wonderful things associated with our lives -
Joyful hearts because of the Spirit guiding us, reminding us, teaching us through the Gospel Word, applying Jesus to every part of our life on this earth.
Forgiveness of sin and everlasting life.
Friendships among people locally and across the world.
New things to discover, all part of God's Creation.
This just happened with Big John. He had Super Giant Print KJV Bibles and a work crew digging up his lawn. He went to offer them Bibles when they drove off. He walked down after them and asked if they needed Bibles. They did, and he saw them open them up before they went further. Big John said, "They had the same problem you and I have with our eyes."
Various people put those Bibles in Big John's hands so he could broadcast them like the Sower and the Seed of the Word.
Do people remember Otten stirring up a big fuss about the corrupt Greek New Testament texts being honored in Missouri? The repeated warning was "plastic text" and "Kloha," who was promoted from Missouri to the Bible Museum. John W. Montgomery added his insights.
Will Matt the Fatt need a larger costume for his events in the USA?
Guess what? The Otten/Hale regime has promoted the corrupt text of the Beck Bible all along. Grab a copy and look at the ending of Mark's Gospel. Cutting off the Resurrection of Christ at Mark 16:9ff means - no empty tomb, just what the apostates love.
By the way, taking away the original Markan ending, which is clearly superior to the plastic surgery of the moderns, has no credibility. Beck used, in his vague footnote, the lame excuse that "older and better texts" did not include Mark 16:9-20. Older and better? I detect a Tischendorf-Westcott-Hort fan.
What Otten was hollering about from the front page of Christian News, week after week, was the very thing he perpetrated - for filthy lucre - attacking the Apostolic Text (Traditional, Byzantine) as inferior.
The Beck Bible - "Beck. (1976). The Holy Bible (An American Translation, AAT). Holman.GJ-Quoting Beck on the ending of Mark. “The two oldest manuscripts [Vaticanus, Sinaiticus] lack Mark 16:9-20...but end at verse 8.” GJ - Vaticanus is not one of the oldest, since it is a translation from the Latin, as Erasmus noted. Sinaiticus is an outright phony, dated from the 1850s - not exactly the oldest either. Neither one has any merit.
Matt the Fatt has issued a letter condemning anyone who disagrees with him; the bleacher crowds at Lutherquestioning and the ALPB Ovaltines are delighted. Anyone thinking the new Large Catechism is less than a stink-bomb will be consigned to the area reserved for social liquidation. Matt is an expert in NewSpeak, so pay attention.
Doctrinal literacy and the efficacy of the Word are long gone from the LCMS. The ones who run on traditional values and work with ELCA are experts at jumping on one horse and then the other. Bravo!
Yale Divinity School hardly ever turns out parish ministers anymore. People said to me, "You are actually taking a parish call?"
The YDS missions library is a reminder that Yale was once considered the place to become a world missionary. Across the hall is the RSV Room, where the National Council of Churches planned the Revised Standard Version and its erasure of the Virgin Birth of Christ, Isaiah 7:10.
They made WELS what it is today, dead on arrival.
Wayne Mueller at the youth conference told the kiddies that evangelism was easy - "Just tell everyone they are already saved."
The spontaneous "revival" at Asbury University was carefully planned in advance to have a sudden crush coming to the school and filling the newspaper religion pages for a few days. One of my members from LCA days thought maybe it was "a good thing" if it was true. As the Spartans said, "If."
"In this Perspective I will focus more narrowly on the first season of revival that came to Yale College during the Second Great Awakening. The college’s president at that time was Timothy Dwight, grandson of Jonathan Edwards. When Dwight assumed the reins of leadership at Yale in 1795 the college “was in a most ungodly state,” and only about ten percent of its 125 students publicly professed to be Christians."
I had a laugh over the WELS big-time conference, led by James Huebner preaching. He bought his Fuller Seminary tattoo many years ago (along with Larry Otto Olson and Paul Calvin Kelm). Of course, that reminds me of Wayne Mueller's claim that WELS did not drink the hemlock of Church Growth while its Church and Change mafia was busy finishing off any hint of Biblical Lutheran doctrine.
First VP of WELS - James Huebner.
Huebner knows how to satisfy felt needs. His congregation sponsors beer outings, another reason why Wisconsin leads the US in alcoholism.
Daddy Huebner denied that a WELS teacher murdered his own wife. The murderer got out of prison very early.
Could you name 10 Lutheran pastors that preach justification by faith using the KJV as Walter A Maier??
I can name one: Pastor Gregory L. Jackson PhD
Like
Elijah we think all Lutheran pastors are apostate. It seems they all
bow the knee to OJ and the corrupt Bible translations.
I
hope God gives us faithful Lutheran pastors like Walter A Maier PhD and
pastor Gregory L Jackson PhD. If you know of any they should be
featured on your blog: Ichabod The Glory Has Departed.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, ``What shall we eat?'' or ``What shall we drink?'' or ``What shall we wear?'' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. [Psalms 23]” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
“In the heartfelt mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will visit us, to shine on those sitting in darkness, in the shadow of death, to guide our feet to the way of peace.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of calm and well balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises. Anyone who is sick should call the church's elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person in the name of the Lord. And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen. (James 5:13-16)” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ― Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version
