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.
The last celebration, July 10, 2021 - was for 9 million views. I know many are praying for me - to stop. So I want to discourage them as much as possible.
That gives us a million-per-year viewing rate. I wonder how that matches the Calvinist News (nee Christian News, nee Lutheran News). They turned that into a goldmine, or rather, a lead mine. Those who dig up lead for a living find traces of gold, so the analogy is apt.
CN is out of gold but the lead can be polished to look like silver.
Interest in the KJV is very high. When my eyes work together, after the second cataract surgery, I will be able to finish up the second edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.
Let me count the ways - NIV or ESV Bible, KJV-Never, praise band, Luther only used for funny trinkets, Melanchthon and Chemnitz unknown, frequent trips to Fuller, Willow Creek, and other doctrinal dens of iniquity, clergy drunk or adulterous or both.
Three pretend to be Lutheran - Hale, Knapp, and Calvin.
Phil Hale, MDiv, The Fort:
"But the strength of the Keys is Christ and the historical fact that He has died and risen, bringing forth
absolution to the world. This forgiveness Christ distributes in the Word at all times. The teaching of objective justification demonstrates that the Word
actively gives a real forgiveness, whether it is brought
forth by an experienced, faithful pastor or a stuttering seven-year-old." Thanksgiving issue of CN, Calvinist News: Justification by Faith - zero Means of Grace - zero Efficacy distorted - once
Make that four who pretend to be Lutheran. Can anyone read this out loud and not laugh at the dreamy absurdities?
Justification Test - Those Who Fail Are Seminary Professors, Fuller Alumni, and Synod Presidents
1. Which is taught in the Book of Concord? - Justification by Faith (The Chief Article) or Objective Justification?
2. Where is Justification by Faith found in the Bible?
3. Do Calvinists and Quasi-Christian sects teach OJ?
4. Where did CFW Walther learn his OJ?
5. Where did Walther's mentor and guru learn is OJ?
6. What was their key passage?
7. Robert and Jack Preus came from what Lutheran tradition?
8. What experts were consulted by Robert Preus when he was attacking WAM II's Justification by Faith?
9. What did Gausewitz, the Synodical Conference president, teach?
10. What did the LCMS teach originally, in spite of Walther's obsession with the Easter absolution of the world?
11. What did WELS teach originally, the Chief Article or OJ?
12. When did the LCMS-WELS stop growing?
13. What are their favorite places of higher learning?
This Rambach statement is typical of Halle Pietism. Chemnitz taught otherwise about 1 Timothy 3:16.
Answers
1. The Book of Concord only teaches Justification by Faith.
2. Justification by Faith is taught first in Genesis 15:6, which is the key passage for Paul in Romans and Galatians. The entire Bible teaches Justification by Faith.
3. Calvinists and quasi-Christian cults teach Objective Justification, in much the same language as LCMS-WELS.
4. Walther learned his OJ from Pietist Martin Stephan, a Bohemian Pietist called to serve a Bohemian Pietist congregation.
5. Stephan never finished his university training, but he spent some time at Halle University, the mother ship of Pietism in Europe.
6. Halle liked 1 Timothy 3:16, pretending (like Rambach) that it taught the world was absolved when Jesus rose from the dead. Walther and his disciples never stop repeating this error.
7. Robert and Jack Preus were Norwegian Pietists. But in truth, all American groups were Pietistic in origin. They did not necessarily see Walther as the ruling norm of all doctrine and practice.
8. Robert Preus consulted with "experts" at a Calvinist seminary to bolster his defense of OJ. (Source - Scaer's autobiography)
9. Gausewitz taught Justification by Faith in his catechism. Those catechisms were withdrawn from print and replaced by the Kuske OJ catechism.
10. The LCMS originally taught Justification by Faith. The Stephan-Walther-Pieper faction kept promoting OJ until most of the graduates were brainwashed.
11. WELS taught Justification by Faith originally. Papenfuss admitted that he never heard of OJ until he went to Mequon.
12. WELS-LCMS stopped growing once they extinguished Justification by Faith.
13. WELS-LCMS leaders love Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, and and the Pietist Trinity Divinity School.
A book is supposed to be reviewed by discussing its contents, which was never done. I am flattered. Hale is so stunned by the Biblical evidence for Justification by Faith that he cannot even address the topic. He did conclude his rant by saying I picked the wrong path. The path is Biblical exegesis, so that is a telling confession of sin by Hale.
"Jackson’s foundational premise is flawed. He thinks “justification by faith,” as a slogan or summary formula, is the only way to talk about justification. A justification without mentioning faith must be a personal justification leading to salvation without faith, in his view. But justification in Scripture, according to its root, deals with righteousness." (P. Hale) How dare I quote Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz on Justification by Faith?
The back cover challenges Objective Justification fanatics to deal with Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4. The students of Scaer, Preus, and Werning should be able to deal with those two passages. Instead, they run from those passages, like little girls who just saw a big, fat garden spider. I enjoyed his ad-ELDONA attacks. If the review were any longer, he might have involved the CLC (sic) and the OLCC. Anything to avoid the topic, eh Hale? He learned so much from Scaer. Do not miss the ad-ELCA fallacies when the review reaches print. The fore-runners of ELCA taught Justification by Faith - and now they are so icky, louche, radical, Creation-denying (oops Concordia St. Louis), with wild and crazy worship. But that side-show bites the dogma chihuahua in the interlinear Greek NT. To wit:
One of his seminary presidents is speaking in tandem with an abortion and gay ordination advocate, Heidi and whats-his-name. Meyer, that's it.
Several of the commitee (still spelled wrong) members are LCMS pastors.
Two WELS pastors (more or less) are Parlow the Plagiarist, and Becker the Hand-puppet of Jeske.
Jeske is from Hale's beloved OJ tradition, although both synods originally and officially taught Justification by Faith.
LCMS-WELS is now one with ELCA, in doctrine and practice.
OJ!
OJ!
OJ!
Samuel Huber was a Calvinist "converted" to Lutheran doctrine. Yes, he was a minor figure, because the post-Book-of-Concord Lutheran leaders destroyed his Objective Justification dogma and kicked him out. Calvinism teaches Objective Justification, and David Scaer admitted that Robert Preus consulted Calvinist leaders to help him in arguing OJ. Calvinism teaches Election without Faith, the dogma used by CFW Walther to split the Synodical Conference. WELS Mequon Professor John Sparky Brenner admitted that Walther used Election without Faith to support his OJ. Halle University was founded to teach Biblical Pietism, but it quickly became rationalistic. Walther's mentor, Bishop Martin Stephan, studied at Halle and taught Walther the Easter absolution of the whole world, which Walther also taught. Walther was a cell group Pietist, educated in the union church of Lutheranism subordinated to Calvinism. Walther's father was a rationalist pastor, and Walther was trained and certified as a rationalist.
Ft. Wayne graduate Philip Hale does not understand Justification by Faith, the Chief Article of Christianity.
"In The Path to Understanding Justification, Gregory L. Jackson continues what seems to be his singular mission in life – that of trying to convince basically all of American Lutheranism that they have been wrong on justification for at least 150 years. Though he once published in support of objective justification in an early writing (the first edition of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant), he is now convinced that it is the greatest error possible in doctrine today." Philip Hale in an email to David Becker and CN.
My answer - The false teachers always want to absorb and include anyone who pointed out their errors as actually on their side in earlier days. I have repeatedly stated that I once thought they were talking about Objective Justification being the Atonement and Subjective Justification being Justification by Faith. I have never believed OJ - because it is anti-Biblical - and that is what gets the Hale's knickers in a knot.
Francis Pieper did a fine job of mixing around the terms, and his followers have aped his confusion.
The core falsehood of every version and label of OJ is this - "God has declared the entire world righteous, forgiven - even saved," though they have a devil of a time naming the Moment of World Absolution.
The laity are driving the badly educated pastors crazy by pointing out the OJ errors and lies.
The OJ advocates return to their disgusting arguments, as the dog returns to his vomit. (Proverbs 26:11)
Romans 4Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Chapter 5 - I John
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Rev. Philip Hale was installed as Associate Pastor at Zion in August, 2015. He previously served as pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bancroft, NE in 2007-2015. He was also called to St. John Lutheran Church in Lyons, NE as part of a dual parish in 2012. Pastor Hale graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, 2007, following a vicarage in Fredericksburg, IA. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. After working briefly as an engineer in Austin, he entered the seminary. Pastor Hale was born in Oklahoma and raised in Keller, TX. In 2007, Christ gave Philip his blessed wife Aubri. God has given them eight children: Lily, Clara, Gerhardt, Esther, Ephraim, Mercy, Martha and Josephine.
Hale continues this deception throughout the book, constantly upholding the late, false Calvinistic or Pietistic Objective Justification against "those who deny it."
This book is an extended argument against Pastor Paul Rydecki (WELS, ELDONA). There are a few potshots at me, but Hale never stops long enough to make an intelligent point with proper citations and warrants for his claims. A video game - right up his alley - portrays this as the Death Blossom: mow down the opposition in every direction with random fire.
The second problem, almost as significant, is loading his argument with all the authors on his side - a very shallow group - ignoring the actual meaning of some statements, and dismissing objections fatal to his cause. He avoids the Biblical, doctrinal anchors for Justification by Faith the way a vampire avoids garlic. Some call this cherry-picking, a clever term for this logical fallacy.
If I Were Hale
If I were Hale, I would start with Genesis 15:6, Abraham believing God's Promise of a Messiah and a Kingdom as numerous as the stars. Abraham was Justified by Faith, I would concentrate on why Abraham is such an important figure in the New Testament. Abraham would have to be exiled or demoted by some extensive, imaginative exegesis.
Next, I would address Romans 3 - 5 and Romans 10, but really concentrate on Romans 4 through 5:2, to prove that Abraham is not our example of Justification by Faith and that Paul did not mean to say we have peace, forgiveness, and salvation through Justification by Faith (Romans 5:1-2, for Mequon, Bethany, and Ft. Wayne graduates).
I would not cite Galatians against Justification by Faith, because even the dimmest dimwit knows the little epistle was written specifically about Justification by Faith. Hale's efforts are like warning people not to get into real estate like Donald Trump, because they will never get anywhere.
Finally, I would fight like a madman to make people forget the Chief Article of the Christian Faith and who endorsed it in the Book of Concord. I would make them forget Melanchthon. Mrs. Ichabod just said, "They already have." OK, that is taken care of. And I would get people to think all the serious scholars who wrote about the Reformation as Justification by Faith to burn those horrid books.
Page Through the Little Tome
Hale thinks Diers, Oh Jay Webber, and Jon-Boy Buchholz are experts on Justification. He quotes Rick Curia's OJ Autograph Book like it is the Bible. I am glad Curia collected all that nonsense, because he was cherry-picking like a fanboy, not even pretending to study an issue. Curia found OJ fool's gold long before Church Growth found - Oh! Oh! - CG principles.
Unanswered Questions
Why does Hale ignore Thy Strong Word, (available free) - written against Church Growth and Objective Justification - the research beginning when he was still using a three-wheeler?
Why did Hale quote from this blog but fail to cite it? Has Paul McCain ordered him not to mention this blog's URL, as he did with the ill-named Steadfast Lutherans?
How does a seminary graduate avoid the Book of Concord so perversely while raking up every bit of false doctrine from any OJist he can find? The implied answer? - the Synodical Conference, starting as an OJ Sex Cult absolved by Walther, trumps the Book of Concord.
Helpful Hints for the Misinformed Seminarians and Their Barthian Professors
Hale certainly does not know that the Atonement and Justification are different. The Atonement is the reconciliation, and it also called the Redemption with two different Greek words. Ransom is another synonym.
The Old Testament Gospel is Isaiah 53 - the Atonement. Where does it say that God absolved the sins of the world? No where. There is an obvious difference between Christ the Savior paying the price and this Gospel creating faith which receives the message of forgiveness.
Justification by Faith of Jesus - solve that puzzle and you might begin to grasp the meaning of the Bible. Until then, the OJists will continue to drift downward into mainline apostasy, coveting those big empty churches and seminary buildings of ELCA and the UCC.
