The first calumny is that I should "return to my previous position." That is on the first page of Christian News, 2-15-16 edition.
But I welcome false statements out in the open, which are rare in the Synodical Conference.
I have always taught justification by faith because Luther interested me from the beginning and I often used Luther's sermons in preparing for Sundays.
True - like many others I thought Objective Justification was the same as the Atonement. However, research into the terms and history, continued over the last 15-20 years, has shown that assumption to be false. OJ means everyone is forgiven and saved, without faith, the position of Halle Pietists.
I corrected this assumption in the new edition of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, which Otten still sells. I just sent him 20 more.
Our next item for amusement is Paul McCain's claim that I am not a real pastor. That comes from a man who never really served a congregation. Instead, he connived to get Al Barry elected as Synod President, secretly sending Otten advance copies of Barry materials so Christian News could run them early. Otten and McCain both bragged to me about it, yet both lied to the public about their covert partnership. Otten even published a denial.
McCain always poses in a clergy collar, yet his blog became famous for his incessant plagiarism from his friends' blogs and The Catholic Encyclopedia. Like all plagiarists, he changed a few words to cover his tracks, but a comparison with the free online papist recruiting tool revealed he was not a scholar but a lazy bum, a devious one at that. He probably figured that the nilhil obstat would give away his source, so he always removed that.
Let's examine McCain's accusation. I am a tent-maker, which has a precedent in the Bible. Think of your first name, Paul. I teach graduate and PhD students in theology, a role for which McCain is unqualified - due to his lack of education and his sordid record of unapologetic plagiarism.
I preach every Sunday, for Advent, Lent, the Ascension, but not the Assumption of CFW Walther.
In 2015 we visited all our members and held services at their homes, both in Washington and in Michigan. Besides that, our members come here for services.
McCain is offended that we hold services "in a rented room!" - to quote the ex-blogger. I wonder how he gets through Christmas with such prejudice, since the Savior was born "in a rented room."
We broadcast free over the Net, so we have people joining us from all over the US and also in various countries. We do not hide our services behind a user name and password, so nothing is secret.
Whether this suits the plagiarist or his editor buddy is no concern of mine. People thank me for teaching in harmony with the Word, Luther, and the Book of Concord.
The Walther myth is the main reason why the LCMS, WELS, and the Little Sect on the Prairie are cratering. They have established this unwritten rule - that Walther is the last word on everything.
Walther only had a BA from the rationalists at Leipzig. His religious training was from one abusive Pietist and then a second one, Martin Stephan. Walther learned his OJ from Stephan and felt it saved his life.
I always tell the truth about the opposition's views and quote them verbatim. However, they are not willing to match their OJ dogma against the Book of Concord, Luther, or the Bible. They simply pound the same old trite statements and ignore anything that contradicts their own contradictions.
