The Roman Catholics wanted to have a special roast for Martin Luther, but Philip Melanchthon led the effort for the Augsburg Confession, in Latin - the Augustana, 1530.
The theologians and the laity signed the Augsburg Confession, which became the standard for almost all Lutherans. However, those who idolize CFW Walther and his syphilitic bishop Martin Stephan, have a bizarre and toxic response to Philip and to the foundational Augsburg Confession. The leaven of salvation without faith has been sprinkled and dumped on the ELCA, WELS, ELS, CLC (sic), and micro-minies. We only need to look at the "Sparkle creed" to know where this is leading. Objective Faithless Justification is the half-way house for sophisticated Universalists, drunks, adulterers, and Bad Bible Boosters.
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| This should be read carefully, but the yahoos of the various synods have no use for the Scriptures, only for their Pasadena passports to Paradise. |
The OJists are like the murderers who carefully and daintily show the police where the crime and its evidence never happened. "See, now you can go back to the police station." If I say, Romans 4, the OJists scream in horror. If I point out the opening verses of Romans 5 as a summary of Romans 4 (plus Romans 1-3), they shudder and begin calling me names. Blasphemy is their soothing lotion, which has a purifying effect, for scholarly libraries full of denials.
The Defense or Apology of the Augsburg Confession has a beautiful expansion on the meaning of Justification by Faith. It is named Article II or Article IV of the Apology, another excuse for seminarians and scholars never reading it.
"The peacock is an image of heretics and fanatical spirits. For on the order of the peacock they, too, show themselves and strut about in their gifts, which never are outstanding. But if they could see their feet, that is the foundation of their doctrine, they would be stricken with terror, lower their crests, and humble themselves. To be sure, they, too, suffer from jealousy, because they cannotbear honest and true teachers. They want to be the whole show and want to put up with no one next to them. And they are immeasurably envious, as peacocks are. Finally, they have a raucous and unpleasant voice, that is, their doctrine is bitter and sad for afflicted and godly minds; for it casts consciences down more than it lifts them up and strengthens them."
What Luther Says, II, p. 642 (W-T 2, No. 2152; SL 22, 1842).
