Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed

Monday, October 29, 2012

The Barbarians Are No Longer at the Gates:
They Are the Gatekeepers, And They Charge a Toll

VirtueOnline - News - The Silence of the Wolves.
Like the WELS and LCMS District Presidents

Passive bishops and district presidents
leverage the evils of the high command. Pictured here - Mark Hanson of ELCA and
Kathy Schori of The Episcopal Church.

VirtueOnline - News:

Former TEC Bishop Speaks Out About Recent Atrocities against Orthodox Episcopal Bishops

An interview with Bishop David Bena
www.virtueonline.org
October 25, 2012

VOL: Why are you deciding now to speak out on the ecclesiastical issues of the Ft. Worth Amicus Brief and the recent happenings in the Diocese of South Carolina?

BENA: Although I resigned from being a bishop of the Episcopal Church and became a bishop of the Anglican Church of Nigeria over five years ago, I keep up with what's going on over there in the Episcopal organization based in New York City. In my opinion, atrocities have been committed by The Episcopal Church leadership against the nine bishops involved in expressing their opinions signing on to an Amicus Brief regarding the Ft Worth lawsuit (and the testimonies in the Quincy lawsuit), and also against Mark Lawrence of South Carolina. Since I'm hearing a great big fat silence from Episcopal and Anglican bishops in support of them, I think someone should speak out in favor of these bishops. I know there was a letter from the Global South Primates in support of Mark Lawrence and letters from Dan Martins and Bill Love, but that's about it. The Communion Partners are silent and I haven't heard anything from the Anglican Communion Institute either. Why the silence?

VOL: Could part of the silence from the Communion Partner bishops be because most of them are caught up in the Title IV fiasco?

BENA: Could be. But you know this new Title IV disciplinary canon (which I think did not get a lot of input from the actual clergy who have to live with it) is being used as a hammer to squelch dissent from orthodox Episcopal bishops. It is interesting timing that right after Mark Lawrence was brought up on charges in South Carolina, Bishop Clay Matthews issued his decision for a Title IV Conciliation (translate "shut up and get in step, Ft Worth Nine") event. The Episcopal Church leaders do not want their bishops saying anything that rocks their ecclesiastical boat. Am I a conspiracy theory kind of guy? No, I'm a total realist. This whole thing was cooked up by the Episcopal establishment to wipe out any orthodox bishops who speak their minds.

VOL: Why do you use the term "atrocity?"

BENA: The definition of atrocity is "an extremely wicked and cruel act." First of all, what's being done to Bishops John Howe, Ben Benitez, Bill Love, Bruce McPherson, Ed Salmon, Dan Martins, Jim Stanton, Paul Lambert, and Peter Beckwith is just that. These are men of character who simply expressed their First Amendment rights as Americans by signing an Amicus Brief. Because they did that, a couple of other Texas bishops filed Title IV charges against them.

It should have ended with the charges being dismissed. These nine did nothing to violate the "doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church." They simply signed a statement expressing their opinion of a court proceeding. The fact that Bishop Matthews has chosen to take it any further is extremely puzzling. What it comes down to for me is atrocious behavior by Episcopal leaders against fellow bishops. It's an atrocity which, I think, will lead to further discipline against the nine. It's vicious.

VOL: And Bishop Lawrence?

BENA: Regarding Bishop Mark Lawrence, his diocese was simply protecting itself from unbiblical Episcopal Church teaching when it passed resolutions and canons shielding itself from the effects of those teachings. To my knowledge, Mark presided over the conventions but as president he didn't even vote for the resolutions/canons. How can that possibly be construed as abandonment of Communion by Mark? And the fact that he gave quit claim deeds to every parish in his diocese was just good common sense. There is no Dennis Canon in effect, at least not in South Carolina, so he violated nothing by making sure every parish owned its own property. Now he's up on charges for that? Give me a break. That's an atrocity against Bishop Mark Lawrence.

VOL: So what do you think the outcome of these atrocities will be?

BENA: For Bishop Mark Lawrence, the die is already cast. His diocese will support him and that's why his Standing Committee voted to dissociate from The Episcopal Church. Mark will continue to shepherd his diocese. They will go on winning people to Jesus and caring for the needs of the world. The Episcopal Church will be the big loser in all this, suffering the loss of thousands of Episcopalians and the dollars that were still flowing from the Diocese of South Carolina to Episcopal Church agencies. I would imagine that the Episcopal organization leadership will at some point either depose him or say that he abandoned the Communion. That's kind of like closing the barn door after the horse has fled. They drove him and his diocese out; now they're closing the door. Guess what - I don't think Mark or his diocese is going to try to get back in that barn. It's on fire.

VOL: What about those other bishops who have been brought up on charges for signing anAmicus Brief?

BENA: As for these bishops, I don't think this will end well. Some of them may indeed decide to shut up and say no more, lest they and their dioceses come under fire from the Episcopal leadership. Some will see that it is now time to dissociate from the organization, and they will be deposed and sued for diocesan properties. It is simply a very dangerous time for any orthodox believer, lay or clergy, to remain in the Episcopal Church. One by one, these orthodox bishops will be picked off. And no one will support them. The Episcopal Church will continue to dwindle while its members leave for Anglican churches or churches of other denominations.

I long ago lost any hope of an "inside strategy." It's never gonna happen. Now if the Episcopal leadership decided that lawsuits are counter-productive and that a "velvet divorce" is productive, there might be hope. But I don't see that happening. It's one of the reasons why I left the Episcopal Church. Consider the following: Bible authority - down the drain; Biblical sexual principles - down the drain; The Historic Anglican Formularies and Communion and catholic faith - down the drain.

VOL: Before we end this conversation, tell me about yourself. What is your present status?

BENA: As you know, when I was getting ready to retire as Suffragan Bishop of Albany in 2007, my diocesan bishop, Dan Herzog, transferred me by Letter Dismissory to the Church of Nigeria and I was received into the House of Bishops of that Anglican entity. I notified the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and she acknowledged my letter with kindness. I became the Suffragan Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, (CANA) a mission outreach of the Church of Nigeria.

So I was somewhat puzzled when a full year later, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church stated that I had abandoned the Communion. I had of course not abandoned the Communion; I was just functioning in ANOTHER branch of the Anglican Communion. Her statement was, of course, null and void, in that I remained a bona fide bishop in the Anglican Communion.

I served five happy years in the exciting Episcopate of CANA and the Anglican Church in North America. I retired a year ago last June and have been functioning since then as Interim Rector of St. Margaret's Anglican Church in Woodbridge, VA. This parish, by the way, is one which lost it property last March. We are now free of buildings and any further atrocities by Episcopal Church leadership. We are together being a witness of the love of Jesus both locally and globally in Bolivia.

VOL: What advice would offer orthodox Episcopalians today?

BENA: Let me end by reassuring any Episcopalian considering leaving the Episcopal organization. Crossing over from TEC to ACNA is like crossing the Red Sea to freedom. Whether you take your property or not, you will find a whole new freedom to preach the Gospel and stand for biblical truth. Welcome.

The Rt. Rev. David Bena is Suffragan Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. He is a former Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany

'via Blog this'

DinoLutheran Understands Justification by Faith Better Than the Sausage Factory Faculty

Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Last Thirty Days - Most Read Posts - Embedded Link...":

Ichabod -

I think that Dino has more sense than all of the WELS hierarchy.

***

GJ - I was thinking about this all afternoon, because three holy days always make me feel inadequate -

Reformation,
Christmas, and
Easter.

I wonder - How can anyone say enough or teach the message of those days clearly enough? Luther and the Reformers put their lives on the line when most of the power of Europe was marshaled against them.

Given the choice between the greatest Biblical expositor of all time and the enforcer of sex cult run by a syphilitic bishop, I would choose Luther on academic merit, character, and natural ability.

But it is more than our Reformer versus their go-fer. The great divide is between truth and authority, or combines truth and authority.

Who defines truth? The Word of God, by itself, is the only divine authority, the only book written by the Holy Spirit (and a perennial best-seller, as they say in the trade).The Scriptures are the truth and the only authority, even if no one on earth believed a syllable of the Bible.

The opposite side says that the visible church organization holds the truth and is the authority on what is truth. Therefore, it is pointless to use the classic passages on justification by faith when they simply add a word to invent a justification without faith to those clear sections. Their argument is, "But that is what I see." Or - "We have a paper written by Professor Schnorrfest. Are you calling him a false teacher, and by extension, accusing all of our faculty members?"

Although the opponents are not very bright, persuasive, or analytical, they have each other as mutual authorities and Holy Mother SynConference as their ally. Touching that web of deceit alerts all the spiders waiting in their chambers for a little action. They rush out, insert the fangs, inject the toxin, and let the victim fall into a peaceful sleep - still alive but no longer a danger.

The longer one remains in the falsehood of universal forgiveness and salvation, the more hardened and blinded he is. The clergy are especially vulnerable because they get the most brainwashing and benefit the most from the false teaching. All they have to do is recite their little UOJ catechism and the coffers belch money and honors. "You just can't put your faith in faith." That alerts the minders, who nod approvingly. Or - "If I don't know that everyone is already righteous, forgiven, and saved, then I have nothing to believe in." This is best spoken solemnly or with a self-satisfied smug expression, like the man who bought useless land and repeated what he was told - "Just like money in the bank."

The clergy are especially hardened and blinded because they handle the Word. They teach and preach, even if they are lazy. I know some are at work already on next week's sermon. The Mequon graduates are on Google, searching for the sermon they will preach. No wonder the titles are the same and they appear in series of four.

Someone in the mindset of UOJ will look at a text or the Book of Concord (if the volume is ever cracked open) and wonder how to find UOJ there. The more he turns truth into falsehood and error, the blinder he becomes.

The laity are not subject to the same immersion in the Word. Seldom will any layman spend years in the philosophy of UOJ because the clergy never tell the whole story until they are forced into admitting their slavery to this self-serving philosophy of works and law. Enough prodding will get the UOJ clergy to confess their tawdry dogma, but that is rare. I am glad to see it happening today.

The laity turn to the Scriptures for guidance and comfort, so they find the Gospel as it is, not as filtered by Huber, Knapp, Rambach, Stephan, Walther, Pieper, J. P. Meyer, Tim Glende, and David Valleskey.

A layman, like some innocent clergy, will hear the key UOJ words and interpret them back into the actual Biblical meaning. They hear Objective Justification as another word for Atonement or Redemption. They hear that Christ has paid for all sins, not that the entire world of unbelievers has been declared righteous, forgiven, absolved, and saved. Precious few sermon titles are:

Hitler is a guilt-free saint in Hell.
Sodom burned up, but its victims are declared free of sin.
Stalin, Mao, and Bin Laden - three forgiven amigos. Saved. Period. End of story. (Sermon idea for Buchholz, based on his convention essay.)

The timid UOJ Stormtroopers without the universal absolution cup from the laity, and the laity re-image the false terms they hear, believing the Word rather than the philosophy of liberal, rationalistic Pietism.

Can anyone imagine the clergy creating and posting the DinoLutheran graphics, asking pointed questions about the one and only dogma of the Synodical Conference?

Links about Justification by Faith

and Justification without Faith (UOJ)

Pastor Rydecki's blog

Luther's Galatians endorsed by reader

Luther's Galatians on Gnesio Lutherans

Roman Catholic adjunct Jack Kilcrease as Humpty Dumpty

Calov, quoted by Robert Preus, repudiated the UOJ position of WELS

Kilcrease, the McCain tutor, equivocates.

Buchholz is anti-Luther

Pastor Bickel on Tossing Rydecki Under the Bus

Church and Changer Jeff Gunn and His Mequon Class of Shrinkers

Paul McCain and Jon Buchholz - Bedfellows of Apostasy

Abraham Is the Common Theme in Justification - Justification by Faith

Pastor Rydecki's Account of His Suspension - October 9th

Intrepid Account October 6th- Pastor Rydecki Suspended

LutherQuest (sic) Opposes Justification by Faith

Warming Up the Tar and Feathers on LutherQuest (sic)

Pastor Bickel Answers Jon Buchholz

Kokomo Statements - WELS UOJ - JP Meyer

Jack Kilcrease Showing Signs of Stress

Dr. Lito Cruz and Brett Meyer Dispatch the UOJ Stormtroopers on Extra Nos

Latest Links

DinoLutheran Asks Impertinent Questions

Clarification from David Becker

Three Comments from Sola Fide

Otten Celebrates Rydecki's Removal: Two Front-Page Stories

Mixed Messages from LutherQuest (sic)

Departing from the Confessions - Berean

Loyalist-Conservatives and Holy Mother Synod

Jack Cascione Dusts Off Iron Maiden

Wauwatosa Influence in WELS

Mighty in the Scriptures - Luther Sermon Passage

False Claims by WELS

UOJ Is Pavlov's House

Hunnius repudiated an early form of UOJ,
backed by P. Leyser, an editor of the Book of Concord,
a biographer of Chemnitz, and an early expert on justification.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Clarification from David Becker

Reward the Groeschel clones -
kick out Justification by Faith during Reformation celebrations
and sell the New NIV porno-mytho-paraphrase.

David Becker has left a new comment on your post "Breaking News - Otten Celebrates Pastor Paul Rydec...":

Just a clarification that the October 29 CN DID use my statement, verified by Pastor Rydecki via e-mail, "The October 15 Christian News reported that Rev. Paul Rydecki was suspended as a Pastor in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

He remains pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico. That church now lists itself as 'an independent confessional Lutheran congregation.' His church voted to disaffiliate from WELS on October 17, and that allowed Rydecki to remain as pastor there."

It was included as an editorial note after Jack Cascione's commentary without my name.

CN did not use Rydecki's statement from Steadfast Lutherans (sic see below) (at least not yet), which I forwarded to CN twice.

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David Becker has left a new comment on your post "Clarification from David Becker":

Oops. I meant Intrepid Lutherans, not Steadfast Lutherans - http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2012/10/suspended-from-wels-why.html,
which you have included on your blog. Rydecki's statement on INTREPID LUTHERANS