Paul Calvin Kelm arranged
the Leonard Sweet Church and Change gathering
and refused to answer questions about it.
Kelm received three calls from WELS after that.
Doctrinal discipline is their motto.
Translation: WELS beats up on Lutherans
and rewards false teachers.Rogue Lutheran Leonard Sweet is the darling of the LCMS executive leadership, so much so that he appeared on a dais speaking to Lutherans with the Synod President, Gerald Kieschnick and other prominent Lutherans. This man has captivated the minds of the Leadership in the Missouri community that they openly promote him as a leader who’s ideas the general body should consider.
“On Aug. 18-20 theological convocation on Congregation-Synod-Church is set for the Marriott St. Louis -- Airport, where some 250 Synod leaders -- including representatives from each district -- will take an in-depth look at the 22 theological principles.
Sponsored by the COP and the CTCR, the convocation will feature a presentation on the theological principles by the presidents of the Synod's two seminaries. Also on the schedule as a presenter is Dr. Leonard Sweet, a theologian, author, and church futurist who was voted "one of the 50 most influential Christian leaders in America" for 2006 and 2007.
CTCR Executive Director Samuel H. Nafzger will deliver the convocation keynote address and LCMS California-Nevada-Hawaii District President Robert D. Newton is scheduled to speak on Missio Dei (God's Mission), the second principle covered in Congregation-Synod-Church. Five individuals representing various sectors of the church will respond to Newton's presentation.”
Futurism and semiotics are scientific disciplines from the sociological branch of (pseudo) science. The social sciences collide with fundamental Christians over the principle of just what exactly is a human being and what is reality, among others.
There is not much about Sweet’s personal life available on the internet, I admit I have not read his writings (I read the short version on Amazon Book reports). What Sweet teaches at George Fox University intrigues me and I wonder how he came to be so well versed in the disciplines of Futurism and Semiotics. Those disciplines seem odd (and redundant) for a Methodist minister.
Semiotics is a sophisticated social science, the most likely experts are MIT and The Stanford Research Institute. If you google the term SRI or Stanford Research Institute, the search engine delivers a plethora of oddities.
Alternatively, I have a keen interest in Chicago Politics and had read about The Chicago Marxist Family histories and thought is was unrelated to my interest in the Transforming Church Growth movement within the Lutheran Synods; the two interest points converged with the person of Russell Targ and the concept of what is described as a Scientific Materialistic Church.
From the Public Document:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
----------------------------------------X
PENGUIN BOOKS U.S.A., INC., FOUNDATION
FOR "A COURSE IN MIRACLES, INC.", and
FOUNDATION FOR INNER PEACE, INC.,
Plaintiffs, 96 Civ. 4126 (RWS)
- against - NEW CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF FULL ENDEAVOR,LTD., and ENDEAVOR ACADEMY,
“David Hurt ("Hurt") was an engineer associated with the
Stanford Research Institute ("SRI"). He worked at SRI with Russell
Targ whom Skutch Whitson knew in connection with Targ's research regarding the outer reaches of human capability. At a luncheon in July or August of 1975, attended by Targ, Hurt, Skutch Whitson, Wapnick, Schucman, and Thetford, Hurt was provided with a number of pages from the manuscript of A Course in Miracles because of his particular interest in Schucman's experience in"scribing" the Work.”
A Course in Miracles was made famous among the public through Marianne Williamson and Oprah Winfrey, it’s typical New Age schlock. The link is interesting since the work was derived from ‘automatic writing’ and there’s an old astronaut that had his hands on the manuscript-Edgar Mitchell.
(Where is this going? I will tie this all up in the NID-LCMS.)
Coming up:
I. Disciplines of Leonard Sweet are Futurism and Semiotics
A. Semiotics
B. Futurism
II. Example Old Time Futurists; their worldviews are still compatible with Contemporary Futurists, Leonard Sweet and Willis Harmann. By observing the commonalities of stated individuals the futurists worldviews are always the same; they haven’t changed since the Enlightenment Period of History.
Sweet Semiotician-- a closer look at Leonard Sweet, Part I.
