Monday, January 25, 2021

But It Was Only Rain

Walther, the American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

 

We knew it would rain last night, after a little bit on Sunday. We did not expect an artillery duel directly over our house. The noise was spectacular, but it was only rain. The worst thing was going back to sleep only to hear a new series of crashes and booms. 

These exceptional rains have everyone calculating how many feet of snow would have buried NW Arkansas, an area where a little snow seems catastrophic.

Who needs an alarm clock with giant storm system moving overhead? 

I got up to brew some Ethiopian coffee, pour-over, no additions whether natural or unnatural. The next step was inviting seminary libraries to include Walther, The American Luther: A Synod Built on Felonies, by sending free review and library copies.

All the ELCA seminaries are cratering (Chicago, United 😖, Luther in St. Paul, Wartburg in Iowa) or post-apocalypse (Trinity in Ohio, Southern, Pacific). Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago lists their enrollment, as of 2010, no doubt waiting in vain for an upturn. I have visited all the ELCA seminaries, primarily for research, minus Wartburg and Pacific.

Passavant was dedicated to sound Lutheran doctrine, Lutheran education,
and serving people's needs.



A free PDF is available at Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry.


I chose LSTC for the review - or library - or circular file copies. LSTC represents all that is foolish and expensive in education. Chicago had a good start with Passavant land and guidance. The Illinois leaders refused to buy land in Chicago, so Passavant bought it, held it, and sold it to the Illinois leadership when they realized the need. The Cubs needed a stadium, so the seminary moved to Maywood, where the faculty still had to sign a statement saying they agreed with the Book of Concord. That Passavant requirement evaporated with the LSTC merger. 

LSTC gathered a number of seminaries together, reducing loyalty and increasing faculty friction. I counted seven in all, but I could be off by one or two. 

The ELCA seminaries are primarily outlets for Left-wing activism, virtue signaling, and new adventures in marriage. 

Seminarians have traditionally been known to read a lot, or at least to own a lot of books. 
The chances are greater that they will read Walther, the American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies.

LSTC should be thankful I was not in the audience when they dedicated their compost tumbler at a chapel service. Would you appreciate that filled with scraps and and tumbled with pious earth-first energy, a few doors from your apartment?