Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 200     I Know that My Redeemer Lives   1.80   

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn # 384            How Great Is Thy Compassion            1.6

Faith versus Salvation by Works

The Communion Hymn #236            Creator Spirit                         1.9 

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 514     God Moves in a Mysterious Way    1.81

KJV 1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

KJV Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Eleventh Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, we beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not forget our sins and be filled with pride, but continue in daily repentance and renewal, seeking our comfort only in the blessed knowledge that Thou wilt be merciful unto us, forgive us our sins, and grant us eternal life; through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Luther’s Sermon on the Pharisee and the Publican

Faith versus Salvation by Works

KJV Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

The Word of God is quite clear, so we must assume that people who think otherwise are anxious to insert themselves into the discussion as the only people who can interpret the real message of the Bible. They mean – “I know the real message, the part you cannot understand because you do not have my deep insights and great learning. After all, I studied Greek and Hebrew, and you did not.”

But those claims are wrong. The Word of God is plain, so clear that anyone can learn that he needs to know about forgiveness and salvation from the text itself. And yet the Bible is so profound that we can study it a lifetime and continue to learn more.

To show us how He works, God gave each Gospel a distinct message and style. Luke repeats much of what we have in Matthew and Mark, and yet we would never want to be missing the special, unique parts of Luke, such as today’s parable.

This first sentence tells us exactly what we should know about this section, which is only a few verses. Try to write a story in a few words and make a lasting impression on civilization. I have read many such thumbnail stories, and I cannot remember a single one.

This one we cannot forget.

He told a parable…

This alerts us to a fictional story with a spiritual message. There is no confusion about the genre of the following verses. If there is one thing we know about Jesus’ teaching, it is His use of parables. Some are fairly long (for parables) and this is quite short.

Parables normally have one major point and a few other points related to that important teaching.

What is the purpose of this parable?

To certain people (a) who trusted in their own righteousness and (b) despised others.

Thus in one sentence Luke introduced a parable so clearly that we have a plot and an outline of the very brief story. It does not take a homiletics professor to show that the people who trusted in their righteousness would be shown up in the story.

The Jackson Literal Translation (NJLT) has this, word for word, following the Greek word order –

He told—to those who believed on themselves that they were righteous and despised the others—this parable.

This may ring a bell for those who have heard about Universal Objective Justification, currently the stealth dogma of WELS, since they cannot admit in public what they really teach.

Does this literal wording perfectly describe those in the LCMS, WELS, ELS, and ELCA who believe in their own righteousness?

UOJ teaches them that they must accept, or make a decision, in favor of their own righteousness, because God declared every single unbeliever (sinner) righteous, according to the wisdom of Halle rationalistic Pietists.

The modern Pharisees believe in their own righteousness and despise all others who do not have this secret counsel taught by the ultra elite of Stephan’s sex cult and Wisconsin’s clone in Wauwatosa.

But this parable is not only meant for Pharisees of yesterday and today, but also for us.

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisees were ultra-saintly, very strict, and devoted to good works. They were highly educated, as we can see from Paul’s example, since he was a Pharisee.

Publican seems like an odd term, but it is not. The Roman Republic simply means the things (Re) that belong to the Public. Their banner said SPQR – the Senate and People of Rome. (q is for and)

The publican gathered taxes for the Roman Republic, which turned into an Empire under Caesar. At this point, during the Incarnation, it was an Empire ruled by Tiberius.

This reverses the common thought of the time – the Pharisees were the saints and the tax-collectors (publicans) were evil. The publicans did take advantage of their roles. If they extorted more money from people, they made more money. Imagine that happening today.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

The spirit of the Pharisee was continued in Pietism, which became the Christian form of Pharisaical holiness.

This holiness was based upon what people did or did not do. The Holiness code of Methodism was almost the same in German Pietism, except the Germans never gave up alcohol.

Some non-Biblical restrictions were:

1. Never drinking alcohol of any type, including during Holy Communion. Welch’s grape juice was developed with the Temperance Movement in mind, since Welch had to find a way to keep grape juice from going into fermentation. He did this with pasteurizing. The Pietists of all Protestant groups made Welch’s a hit. There is a belt of grape juice communion churches still among American Lutherans of the old General Synod, which embraced the Temperance Movement.
2. Never going to the theater. This stricture changed from era to era, adding all movies to the list, not just live theater.
3. Never using tobacco. The new version is no tobacco, lots of marijuana, which is far harsher and more addictive.
4. Never opening a store on Sunday or sell liquor on Sunday when retail was allowed.

Among Lutherans, Pietism created a religion of works, which included the requirement of cell groups and holding the cell group as the real church, despising those who did not attend a cell group. Since the cell group is THE Means of Grace, the Pietists have a very low regard for the Sacraments and often treat them as merely symbolic ordinances (laws).

Lutherans looking for magic answers were told to develop cell groups again, like the cell groups that Walther and Stephan brought over to America.

The Swedes and Norwegians had cell groups too.

Luther wrote, for the sermon on this text, that Luke seems to be promoting good works, which is the impression from other passages in the third Gospel.

But this is best explained by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:15ff.

A good tree can only bear good fruit. Faith makes the tree good. Therefore, justification by faith is the beginning of good works, because both belong to God – faith and good works.

In contrast, a corrupt tree can only bear evil fruit. I was mowing and pruning yesterday. In the midst of growth here and there, junk plants grow. They spring up, shade the good plants, and produce abundant but useless vegetation. When they flower and fruit, they only bear bad fruit. They are cut away and removed because they cannot produce something worthwhile, for beauty or for food.

So Jesus teaches us about faith and works with that plain example. It can be applied both ways, showing lack of faith from the evil fruit of a corrupt (unbelieving) leader. Many think the cure for bad policies in the church is to argue, lobby, arrange votes, and “get our guy in.” That is completely wrong, so people continue to do that anyway. It is fun, unproductive, and a great way to form friendships and political alliances.

The cure is to address the problem of unbelief in the Word of God.

An Evangelical was telling me this week, “No one wants to teach what Jesus commanded. The Great Commission includes, Go, Baptize, and teach all that I have commanded.”

I agreed and said Luther’s whole emphasis was upon Jesus coming to us through the Word and teaching us.

The Matthew 7 passage and this parable from Luke teach the same in different words because they come from the same Lord and the same Spirit.

The Pharisee condemned himself for saying, “Look at what I do,” while despising the tax collector.

But the tax collector is different.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

We know he had faith because he saw the vast difference between God’s holiness and his sins. Instead of suggesting that God should thank him, he asked for God’s mercy. Only a person with faith would ask for mercy.

When Peter saw the divine power of Jesus the Son of God, he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”

Moreover, we know the judgment of Jesus upon this tax collector, because He said,

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

As people admit, even when in the throes of UOJ addiction, justification in the Bible always means justification by faith. Forgiveness is received through faith, and justification is the word used to describe that forgiveness. God gives us the Gospel, which produces faith in Christ, and this God-given faith receives the forgiveness promised by the Word of God.

Because faith receives this forgiveness continuously, nourished by the Means of Grace, the believer is forgiven of all sins, each and every day.

The danger we face is growing Pharisaical, neglecting the Word and Sacraments, and no longer trusting in the Word. This does not happen at once or in sudden dramatic moments, but in slow, insidious ways.

The Parable of the Sower illustrates three general ways in which the Word is lost, but not because the Word lacks efficacy. Difficulties can be one reason. So can the cares and riches of the world. Many fall into a fascination with false doctrine, with something new. We tire of the truth and find falsehood to be a glittering temptation: exciting, new, enticing, emotional.

Although the liturgy changes almost all the words each week (and it could be 100% with many variations, such as a hymn liturgy), people got rid of the liturgy saying, “It’s always the same.”

Nothing is more “same” than contemporary worship services, where they get rid of the creeds, liturgy, appointed lessons, and hymns. A Pentecostal services is almost exactly the same as a Lutheran contemporary worship service. Lutherans are now copying the Pentecostal movie screen, too. And they cannot wait to tear out the priceless pipe organ.

The simple truth of the traditional worship service is that it gives Jesus to us – His Word, His body and blood, and His teachings. He condemns us for our unbelief and shows us once again to trust only in Him, not in our merits or worthiness.

Do we doubt His love for us? We only need to look at what He has done for us.

Thou Christian heart, Who ever thou art, 
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child, In mercy mild, 
Joins thee to Him; how greatly God must love thee!

Paul Gerhardt

Quotations

                      

"Now, that faith signifies, not only a knowledge of the history, but such faith as assents to the promise, Paul plainly testifies when says, Romans 4:16: 'Therefore it is of faith, to the end the promise might be sure.'  For he judges that the promise cannot be received unless by faith.  Wherefore he puts them together as things that belong to one another, and connects promise and faith."

            Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV, Justification, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Tappert, p. 114. Romans 4:16.                

"Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins.  This faith God imputes for righteousness is His sight.  Romans 3 and 4."

            Augsburg Confession, Article IV, Justification, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 45. Tappert, p. 30. Romans 3 and 4.        

"Identisch mit der papistischen Lehre, dass der Glaube nicht als Mittel und nicht allein rechtfertige, ist die andere papistische Lehre, dass die Werke rechtfertigen." "Identical with the papistic teaching, that faith alone is not a means and does not alone make righteous, is the other papistic teaching, that works make one righteous."]

            Adolf Hoenecke, Evangelisch‑Lutherische Dogmatik, 4 vols., ed., Walter and Otto Hoenecke, Milwaukee:  Northwestern Publishing House, 1912, III,  p. 386.  

"The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our conscience before God.  Without this article the world is utter death and darkness.  No error is so mean, so clumsy, and so outworn as not to be supremely pleasing to human reason and to seduce us if we are without the knowledge and the contemplation of this article."    

            What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 703. June 1, 1537.      

Liturgical popcorn goes well with liturgical dance.
Bring on Koine and Fide for the cacophony.

There is Never a Good Reason For Liturgical Dance…:

There is Never a Good Reason For Liturgical Dance…

August 8, 2013 By Katrina Fernandez 54 Comments

… I loathe liturgical dance with the white hot passion of a thousand burning heretics. I don’t understand it’s purpose other than to keep the makers of spandex unitards in business. Even more baffling is why liturgical dance has to be performed inside a Church, a scared space. Or even worse, during the liturgy itself.

I suppose if the performers did their jigs, more appropriately, in a dance hall then it couldn’t technically be called liturgical dance, now could it?

But that begs the question… if the only thing making the dance number spiritual is the location and not the performance itself than how exactly is the spectacle supposed to religiously edifying? It would seem logical than to assume that just being inside a Church itself would be enough of a spiritual experience, making all that dance-y dance just empty theatrics. But that’s just crazy talk. A church, all by it’s lonesome, devoid of all that “active participation” can’t possible be spiritually uplifting.

“The Redemption of Bathsheba – “A collection of dances that evoke the spirits of the Bible’s most intriguing women.” – Saint John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, Pittsburgh, PA.”

Yeah …. Because that ginormous icon of our Blessed Mother isn’t doing enough to evoke the spirit. I need a writhing women splayed out across the sanctuary floor to tap into my feminine sense of intrigue.

Please people. Just say “No” to liturgical dance.

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From a WELS Member

WELS member: "They deny justification by faith. Why not everything else?"

Another Stolen Church, Episcopal Style. VirtueOnline - NewsSome Alienate Congregations with an Ordination, Some with the NNIV

VirtueOnline - News:

NEWPORT BEACH, CA: Court Pushes Rector and Parishioners out of St. James
Plans are in place for a new church location, says evangelical Anglican rector

By David W. Virtue 
www.virtueonline.org 
August 9, 2013

After nine years of legal wrangling, the $20 million church property of St. James Anglican Church, Newport Beach, CA, will revert back to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in September.

The Rev. Richard Crocker said the court imposed a $1 million bond and gave the church 45 days to clear the property if they cannot come up with the money. They will leave, however they will also appeal that decision, he told VOL.

In a letter to his parish Crocker said, "One of today's key decisions was the bond amount required which would allow us to remain on our properties during appeal. The Judge set a very large bond amount (in legal terminology, an "undertaking" of just under $1,000,000, which was far beyond what we considered appropriate or even possible. The alternative then left for us is that we will be required to move off the properties during the appeal process. He said attorneys negotiated behind closed doors allowing the congregation to remain on the property for 45 days, hold worship services, other events and do day-to-day church business until the properties are turned over on September 21."

Crocker added that as difficult as the change may be, they would transition well. "Be assured, plans are already in place for our new worship location." The plan calls for responding with pastoral care for parishioners with anger, grief, or other concerns, and the variety of ways we will remain connected in this important time.

In an e-mail to VOL, the priest wrote that the church is not conceding defeat. "The appeal will continue but the court has laid down financial conditions far beyond what we are prepared to pay for us to stay on the property during appeal, so we have to move off." The Vestry has resolved to appeal the decision of the lower court.

"St. James Church separated from the Episcopal Church in 2004, one of the first to do so in the current round, so we have had a long time to think about these issues. The possibility of a move has been there through that time, we have discussed the possibility many times, and we are expecting to take the vast majority of the congregation with us. The Vestry is firmly committed to orthodoxy in faith and morals."

Crocker noted that average Sunday attendance is about 300 spread over three services with different styles of worship at each service.

ELCA - ministry partner with the WELS, LCMS, and Little Sect on the Prairie.

NO SHADOW CONGREGATION

Asked who would occupy the property once they have gone, the priest said there is no shadow congregation. "We are not aware of any plans for the continuation of Episcopal ministry and worship though it would not surprise us if the bishop arranged some sort of service to mark their occupancy - whether a sustainable congregation would emerge is another matter. Their victory is entirely pyrrhic."

Crocker said the life, ministry and staff would continue under a budget that should be similar to previous years. "The first Sunday in a new place will be the first Sunday of a planned Fall series outlining a new vision for St James Church. That is motivating me in the midst of all the legal and relocation matters."

He said that the revisionist Bishop of Los Angeles J. Jon Bruno and the lesbian assisting bishop Mary Glasspool were present at some of the court hearings, but neither party had much interaction.

"We are in good heart and have received many encouraging messages of support from near and far, and many testimonies of the blessings congregations can receive when they go through such a move."

"This is a new day. Though it will take time to adjust to this change, our parish family, our mission, and our Savior will remain the same. 'Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today and forever.' Hebrew 13:8"

HISTORY

The parish finally split from the Episcopal Church in 2004 following the consecration of an avowed homosexual to the episcopacy in the person of Gene Robinson. St. James Anglican Church later became a parish in the Diocese of Western Anglicans in the Anglican Church in North America. Since 2004, the church has received national attention over its legal case against the Episcopal Church, forcing realignment over the Episcopal Church's departure from biblical faith and morals forcing the parish to withdraw from the national church and join with an orthodox Anglican province.

Starting with the leadership of Fr. David Anderson in the 1990s, (now a bishop in the Anglican Province of Nigeria), the church began to play an important role in the orthodox wing of the Episcopal Church. In 1996, new administration, fellowship and education facilities were completed and in 2001, a new sanctuary was completed. In 2002, Anderson retired and currently serves as Rector Emeritus. He was succeeded by Rev. Praveen Bunyan in 2003.

Years of conflict over doctrinal and ideological differences with the Episcopal Church led to a tense and frayed relationship. Under Bunyan's leadership, steps to disassociate with the Episcopal Church were initiated. In August 2004, the theological differences reached a point they believed they could no longer stay in TEC. This led the rector, wardens, and vestry to vote overwhelmingly to disaffiliate with the Episcopal Church and to affiliate with the conservative Anglican Church of Uganda. These Uganda parishes in the US later merged into the Anglican Church in North America. A parish vote also supported the decision. 

St. James was later joined in secession by All Saints Church in Long Beach and St. David's Church in North Hollywood. All three churches were then sued for their property by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church.

In January 2006, an Orange County Superior Court judge threw the lawsuit out, claiming that the Episcopal Church had no standing to bring their suit against St. James or the other two churches. However, in June 2007, a California appellate court reversed the decision. This led to St. James appealing the decision to the California Supreme Court, where it was widely-believed that the church would win, since there was no precedence in California history for a denomination confiscating the property of a local church which held the deed.

In January 2009, in an unexpected decision, the California Supreme Court ruled against St. James. The court stated that because it was founded as an Episcopal Church, it could not take the property with it when it seceded even though the church holds the deed to the multi-million dollar property. St. James is currently considering taking its case back to the trial court level and possibly an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In May 2013, Judge Kim G. Dunning reaffirmed her May 1 order to return the property to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, sent a letter to Christianity Today magazine offering the campus of his Lake Forest, California mega church to St. James to use if they are forced to vacate their Newport Beach property. Rev. Crocker responded to Warren's offer with the following, "We are overwhelmed by his generosity. It is an encouraging sign of support from Christians in the community."

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ELCA -
Former Professor of Confessional Lutheranism -
another UOJ guy.

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Defending Heresy - Exposing the ELCA. Gafney and Wendland Equally Keen on Rewriting the Bible

Defending Heresy - Exposing the ELCA:

Defending Heresy 08/07/2013 5 Comments Over the past day I've been getting a number of comments in support of Dr. Wil Gafney, an Associate Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, an ELCA Seminary. The people writing recently found a blog I wrote back in May regarding a blog written by Dr. Gafney where she posted a picture of Jesus as a female. (read my blog here) Those who commented thought the picture was great. They expressed that Dr. Gafney is a wonderful professor and attempted to justify what she did and wrote. Many of them justified the female Jesus picture by pointing to the verse where Jesus says,“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” - Matt. 23:37. Somehow, because Jesus referenced a female chicken, these people think Jesus was a woman.  Some of the comments I received: From an ELCA pastor – Dr. Gafney's “. . . teaching and preaching build up the faith and instill a deep interest in knowing more about our Scriptures, something you sadly know nothing about. Go and educate yourself.” From another ELCA pastor - “Do you honestly have so little imagination that you cannot see that God is greater than gender, color or race? Your God is too small, too white and too male as far as I can tell.” “I am so glad that ELCA pastors in training are being taught by Dr. Gafney. Too few seminarians are learning robust feminist and womanist theologies . . .” “I think Dr. Gafney is one of our most gifted and prophetic voices in our church.” “It troubles me that my beloved church may actually have paid for your education which you are now abusing in order to propagate such flawed and hateful statements. Shame shame on you.” “Clearly the author of this reflection is at best novice and at worst ignorant of how social realities impact theological reflection. Please spend time doing something more productive than objecting to the scholastic innovation that comes from Dr. Gafney.” “I think the Christa image is beautiful and thought-provoking.” “The Rev. Dr. Gafney opens up, by her meticulous scholarship, access to images of God that are not only scriptural but deeply needed in a world that is increasingly polarized by racist, sexist and homophobic agendas.” Most of the people who support Dr. Gafney's female Jesus picture are liberals who warp Christianity and Scripture to their own liking so much so that many of them do not even worship the God of the Bible anymore. In their lost-ness, they would likely still sing Dr. Gafney's praises even in view of the professor's belief that Asherah, a Canaanite goddess, is the Holy Spirit. (see here) I'm not joking. As you can see, that is what she believes. Is this thinking and foundation for teaching “scholastic innovation” and “meticulous scholarship?” No. It's heresy! People in the ELCA need to know what is happening in their church and what their leaders are teaching.

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---

Title/Position: 

 Associate Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament

Email: 

 wgafney@Ltsp.edu

Type: 

 Faculty

http://ltsp.edu/rewriting-bible

Education: BA Earlham College, 1987; MDiv Howard University School of Divinity, 1997; Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies, Duke University, 2000; PhD in Hebrew Bible, Duke University, 2006. 

The Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney is an Associate Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Her course offerings include: Heroines, Harlots and Handmaids: the Women of the Hebrew Scriptures with sections on "Cosmic Herstory," "Carnal Knowledge" and "Postcolonial Musings," and Prophetic Constructions, which explores prophets who do not have canonical books attributed to them, including better-known prophets such as Miriam and Nathan, Elijah and Elisha, along with lesser-known prophets such as the woman with whom Isaiah fathered a child and Zedekiah the Canaanite. Her approach to teaching the Hebrew Scriptures includes emphasizing archaeology, comparative ancient Near Eastern literature, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Her newer courses include Suffering in Job and the Holocaust, An Introduction to the Dead Seas Scrolls, and Exodus in African and African American Exegesis. From time to time, contemporary syllabi will be posted at the bottom of this page.

Her interest in the ancient Near Eastern and biblical portrayals of Lilith and other night-stalking creatures led to her participation in two HBO documentaries on the origin and evolution of vampire mythologies, True Bloodlines: Vampire Legends and True Bloodlines: A New Type in 2008, airing before the series premier of True Blood.

Dr. Gafney, an ordained Episcopal priest, is a member of the historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia, PA. Founded in 1792, it is the first Episcopal church in the U.S. founded by and for African Americans. She is also a member of the Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan of the Germantown Jewish Centre, in Philadelphia. She is particularly interested in how Jews and Christians interpret the texts they hold in common.

Dr. Gafney is a former US Army Reserve chaplain. And, she served the Thompson Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church as pastor before joining the Episcopal Church.

Among her research interests are feminist biblical studies, rabbinic studies, and issues in translation. Dr. Gafney's series of bible studies in Genesis was published in the Abingdon Pastor's Bible Study, Volume III, in 2006. Her monograph, Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel, and thePeoples' Bible, which she co-edited, are available through Fortress Press. Her recent projects include an exploration of motherhood in messianic genealogies in "Mother Knows Best: Messianic Surrogacy and Sexploitation in Ruth" inMother Goose, Mother Jones, Mommie Dearest: Biblical Mothers and their Children (Brill), and a commentary on Ruth and article on responsible Christian exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures in the African diasporic biblical commentaryThe Africana Bible (Fortress).  Dr. Gafney has also contributed to the Lutheran Study Bible, now available through Fortress, and is anticipating publication of a commentary on the book of Numbers in the "African Women's Bible Commentary." Her essay on transformative teaching practices, “Intoxicating Teaching as Transformational Pedagogy” in the volume edited by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and Kent Harold Richards, Transforming Graduate Biblical Education: Ethos and Discipline was published by the Society of Biblical Literature in 2010.

A number of Dr. Gafney's sermons in Jewish and Christian congregations are posted in her blog. In most cases, the translation of the scriptures is her own. Dr. Gafney also is a blogger on the Huffington Post - follow her writing here. Visit Dr. Gafney's Amazon author page here.

SP Mark Schroeder Had an Opinion?I Must Have Nodded Off

http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2013/08/lets-turn-non-decision-into-good.html

MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2013

Let's Turn a Non-Decision into a Good Decision!

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Dear Readers,

I encourage each and every one of you this morning to sit down and write a letter in your own words to our Synod President regarding the issue of Bible translation.

I urge you to tell him that you supported his effort to have our synod produce a truly Lutheran Bible in English, and that you very disappointed that the recent convention was persuaded by other leaders not to pursue this very worthwhile project.

In addition, please tell him of your total and complete dissatisfaction with the so-called "New" New International Version, aka NIV 2011, and that you desire that our Northwestern Publishing NOT use this translation in any publication of any kind ever.

If you want to, go ahead and make a suggestion as to which other translation you would like to see used.

Please copy the VP of Publishing at NPH, Rev. John Braun, and your own district president. Indeed, if you are so inclined, copy ALL the district presidents.  All addresses you will need are copied below directly out of the WELS Yearbook.

If you would like to share your letter with other readers, email a copy here to us at Intrepid Lutherans, and we'll publish them on the blog as we get them.

Please to this TODAY, so you don't forget!

Thank you and God bless you all!

Pastor Spencer

  

Rev. Mark Schroeder

N16 W23377 Stone Ridge Dr.
Waukesha, WI  53188

Rev. John Braun

1250 N. 113th St.
Milwaukee, WI  53226

Rev. Jon Buchholz

1821 E. Apollo Rd.
Phoenix, AZ  85042

Rev. Charles Degner

326 N. 9th St.
St. Peter, MN  56082

Rev. Douglas Engelbrecht
249 E. Franklin Ave.
Neenah, WI  54956

Rev. John Guse

716 Song Bird Way
Woodstock, GA  30188

Rev. Theodore Lambert

6027 Peregrine Ct.
Bremerton, WA  98312

Rev. Peter Naumann

620 9th St. W
Mobridge, SD  57601

Rev. Donald Patterson

1719 Fort Grants Dr.
Round Rock, TX  78665

Rev. Herbert Prahl

S8441 Michael Dr.
Eau Claire, WI  54701

Rev. David Rutschow

527 63rd St.
Downers Grove, IL  60516

Rev. John Seifert

907 Mattes Dr.
Midland, MI  48642

Rev. Donald Tollefson

40 Coleman Rd.
Long Valley, NJ  07853

Rev. Earle Treptow

2610 S. Wadsworth Blvd.
Denver, CO  80227