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VirtueOnline - News:

Church of Ireland Bishop Candidate had affair, declines appointment 
Moderates and Evangelicals shocked by revelations.
He would have been the first divorced and remarried priest to become a bishop

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org 
May 1, 2013

NOTE TO ALL VOL READERS: This story first appeared on April 26 but was removed under threat of legal action because of the use of the word "adultery". The more appropriate words should have been "inappropriate relationship" or "affair". The story has been amended and includes the priest's renunciation of the appointment following the release of this story and stories that appeared in the Irish News.

A priest who was to be consecrated a bishop in the Church of Ireland had an "inappropriate relationship" with a woman after being divorced from his first wife, has declined the appointment. The revelations came to light while on his honeymoon with his second wife. The woman in question is a now a priest in the Church of Ireland.

The 53-year old Venerable Leslie Stevenson was elected the new Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare. He is currently the Rector of Portarlington, Co Laois. He has served in the diocese for over 13 years. In 2009, he was appointed as archdeacon - a senior post within Church of Ireland dioceses - by his bishop, Dr. Richard Clarke. His election to the rank of bishop was announced recently following a half-day meeting in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral of an electoral college.

Stevenson was due to be ordained May 1 but he declined his appointment as Bishop of Meath & Kildare.

Archdeacon Stevenson stated to the clergy of the Dioceses of Meath & Kildare: 'I am honoured to have been elected Bishop of Meath and Kildare and appreciate the support and goodwill offered to me by many people from the dioceses and the wider Church of Ireland over recent months.

"My positive concern for the Church, to which I remain loyal, now leads me to decline the appointment. I wish to broaden and deepen my ministry in the parish and diocese in which I have been called to serve."

The Irish News revealed the scandalous behavior of Stevenson even as smiling pictures of Stevenson and the Archbishop of Dublin were portrayed in newspapers. Despite these revelations, having been nominated, "Archdeacon Stevenson allowed his name to go forward to the House of Bishops for ratification," said a statement.

Stevenson admitted having an "inappropriate relationship with a parishioner in a previous parish" which led to him stepping down for a period of 6 months from ministry before being appointed to a parish, in a different diocese, by the now primate of All Ireland Richard Clarke. In the row that followed, Stevenson left the parish, resigning in January 1999. He returned to full-time parish work several months later in Portarlington in the Dioceses of Meath & Kildare where he is due to be consecrated as bishop next week.

An article by William Scholes in the Irish News ran a headline, Church of Ireland bishops arrogant over affair scandal "The Church of Ireland thought it could make bishop a man who had once had to resign from a parish because he had an affair with a female parishioner... by confirming his nomination they left Mr Stevenson vulnerable to exactly what happened - the story coming out and he being forced to consider his position."

Sources in Ireland told VOL that Bishop Alan Abernethy was the rector of the neighboring parish when Stevenson's divorce and affair broke and he had to pick up the pieces. "They knew all about Stevenson's behavior but did not share this information with the House of Bishops when they gave assent.

There was also grassroots anger with the House of Bishops. It confirmed Mr. Stevenson's nomination despite knowing that Mr. Stevenson's authority to be a senior pastor would likely be disputed.

The House of Bishops includes three bishops with detailed knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his departure from Donaghadee-Bishop of Down & Dromore, Harold Miller, under whose auspices Mr. Stevenson resigned in 1999; Bishop of Conner Alan Abernethy, who at the time of the affair was rector in the nearby parish of Ballyholme in Bangor and involved in healing its pastoral fallout; and Dr. Clarke, in whose Meath & Kildoare Diocese Mr. Stevenson was restored to ministry.

Sources told VOL that "rank and file clergy were very upset. The shocking thing is that Stevenson has shown no signs of repentance. He said he went through a period of personal discipline which is a bit like giving up chocolate for Lent. The woman he had an "inappropriate relationship" with, Tracey McRoberts is rector of St. Matthew's in the Shankill area of Belfast."

Another source told VOL that both moderates and conservatives were alarmed by this news. "This information was known by the present Primate of the Church of Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh, Richard Clark. He was also the diocesan bishop when this happened. His suitability is now being questioned."

One outraged priest told VOL that Stevenson played down the relationship saying that it should not have happened in a parish context. "It should not have happened in any context - he had a relationship with a parishioner whose marriage he was supposed to be helping, ending the affair a few days before he himself got remarried. This is mind blowing and shows a degree of shamelessness we have not seen before." 

[GJ - These people have not experienced WELS, where murdering church workers are defended and a district elected their top official for 20 years, knowing he molested girls in his parish. The grown up victims finally put him in the Big House in Sioux Falls.]

Disquiet has been growing since the end of January when Dr. Clarke nominated Mr. Stevenson to succeed him, and not merely because he could become the Church of Ireland's first divorced and remarried bishop.

According to The Irish News as news of the 53-year-old's appointment spread, lay people and clergy familiar with the circumstances surrounding his resignation from Donaghadee began questioning his suitability for assuming high office in the Church.

As with doctors and their patients, allowing a relationship to develop with someone - a cleric - is pasturing is regarded as a serious breach of trust, reported The News.

"Different groups have in the past raised concerns both publicly and privately concerning the moral behavior of clergy. Informal discussions have taken place concerning this matter and we would expect to issue a joint statement after the meeting," reported the News.

It is with some irony that a press release from the Church of Ireland concerning marriage "continues to uphold its teaching that marriage is part of God's creation and a holy mystery in which one man and one woman become one flesh ... The Church of Ireland affirms, according to our Lord's teaching that marriage is in its purpose a union permanent and life-long, for better or worse, till death do them part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side ... The Church of Ireland recognizes for itself and of itself, no other understanding of marriage.'

This week the Northern Ireland Assembly will debate 'same-sex marriage' legislation in the legislative Assembly. "How ironic with what has just been revealed about the bishop elect for Meath and Kildare," said a source. The electoral college for Meath and Kildare has been called for May 28.

END

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VirtueOnline - News. Sue Bloggers for Their Humorous Satire

"Not funny. I'm suing."

VirtueOnline - News:

NIAGARA: Bishop Michael Bird sues Canadian Anglican activist blogger David Jenkins

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org 
May 1, 2013

The ultra-liberal Anglican Bishop of Niagara, the Rt. Rev. Michael Bird has sued an orthodox Anglican blogger, a layman, alleging that he was libeled 31 times on Anglican Samizdat, a blog by David Jenkins that presents facts and pokes satirical fun at liberal Anglican leaders who depart from "the faith once for all delivered to the saints."

The Bishop of Niagara was one of his targets.

The claim seeks:

* $400,000 in damages plus court and legal costs.
* An interim and permanent injunction to shut down Anglican Samizdat.
* An interim and permanent injunction prohibiting Jenkins from publishing further comments about Michael Bird.

Court documents reveal such blog entries as this:

Eating healthily in the Diocese of Niagara

The Diocese of Niagara wants its parishes to pass a vestry motion to have taxpayers pay for a $100 per month healthy food supplement:

Wrote Jenkins: Not an unworthy endeavor, I suppose and since the taxpayer is funding the supplement, it leaves members of the diocese free to use their money for the important things in life: the Bishop's Company Annual Fun and Fellowship Golf Tournament.

Or this...published December 12, 2011 entitled "Prophetic Social Justice Making in Cuba" Jenkins posted a photograph of Bird with some colleagues and wrote:

Clerical apparatchiks from the Anglican Church of Canada love visiting Cuba to get new ideas for turning Canada into a haven of egalitarian, anti-capitalist, totalitarian misery.

Here they are enjoying a benefit not extended to Cuba's incarcerated political prisoners: the sun.

From the left (the far left) Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, Archdeacon Paul Feheley, Archbishop Fred Hiltz and Bishop Michael Bird (Shorty to his friends).

Or this: Bishop Michael Bird is forging ahead with the ministry of Prophetic Social Justice by closing churches.

Finally this: Jenkins posted an article concerning global warning which stated that "As climate change alters the temperature of reptile habitats around the globe, tests of one lizard species suggests warmer nests make some reptiles smarter" and commented: You see global warning isn't bad news for everyone. I understand that Bishop Michael Bird can now tie his own shoelaces.

Court documents claim that these quotes and 31 similar blog postings allegedly libeled the bishop.

Jenkins, 66, is a computer I/T specialist and a member of St. Hilda's Anglican parish formerly in the Diocese of Niagara. The evangelical parish left the Anglican Church of Canada over that church's leftward drift on faith and morals and joined the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) under Bishop Donald Harvey, a former Anglican Church of Canada bishop and now Moderator of the ANiC.

Jenkins told VOL that contrary to what one might expect in such circumstances, he did not receive a "cease and desist" letter in advance of the suit and initial negotiations for an early settlement were unsuccessful, even though the complained of statements extend over two years.

"I have filed a statement of defense, the pleadings are now closed and we have commenced the Discovery process," he told VOL.

Disputes with the liberal diocese and its bishop go back to February 19th 2008, when the Diocese of Niagara served St. Hilda's with legal papers with the intention of taking possession of St. Hilda's building and freezing their bank account. 

On February 19th 2013, exactly five years to the day, Jenkins was served personally with a statement of claim for defamation of character from the Diocese of Niagara's Bishop Michael Bird.

Canada has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guaranties freedom of expression and religion among other things. 

Bird is suing for 31 specific blog entries that reveal sheer mockery and satirical humor with some serious accusations, with the most serious one being that Bishop Bird is a heretic.

In a court filed response to the bishop, Jenkins describes many of the online items as humor or satire, saying "no reasonable viewer or reader of the blog postings would be expected to believe that the statements are true."

Jenkins also says he was "exercising his right to freedom of religion and expression" and that online posts are fair comment on a public figure.

Bird's lawsuit attempts to limit Jenkins' freedoms under the Canadian Charter of Rights, the statement of defense says.

It is interesting to note that the lawsuit landed on Jenkins' desk 5 years to the day that St. Hilda's was served, a parish that left the Anglican Church of Canada over that church's leftward swing over faith and morals.

The injunction sought is clearly to shut down, bully and intimidate and thus close down the blog denying Jenkins his right of free speech. 

"The posts in dispute were removed a day after I was served", Jenkins told VOL.

At Bird's request, further posts were removed that are not mentioned in the suit - as a gesture of good faith, he told VOL.

"I have never received a cease and desist letter from their lawyer. I have made offers to settle and meet/talk, but they have been rejected."

Jenkins said that a big day his Anglican Samizdat blog gets between 300-400 hits. 

Jenkins said in his court defense that when Bird first complained, he removed the postings notwithstanding that they "were not libelous or defamatory to the bishop."

Jenkins has asked the court to throw out the case as it unduly limits his rights under Canada's Charter and is asking for costs and all his legal fees

"My parish is fantastically supportive," he told VOL.

It is very funny, our political realm is full of daily insults from one politician to another, but no one sues, nor would they get away with it. It is considered debate. It seems that some high-level Anglicans believe in the god of relativism, until their own dear little noses are out of joint. Then, instead of examining their conscience, they call in a litigation professional. How Christ-like. Do you think Jesus would have sued Pontius Pilate, given the chance? Can anyone take seriously ever again the much-ballyhooed "dialoguing" of the ACofC? When put to the test by its own authors, it crumbles sadly.

END

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Get Any Hostile Comments Lately?

"Ichabod? Never heard of him."

Someone asked me about hostile comments. Except for Lillo-of-the-Valley (Fox Valley), they are extremely rare.

Joel Lillo swore off Ichabod long ago, but he is additional proof that WELS pastors do not give up their addictions easily.

As readers know, I let most comments through - and often feature and answer them. The UOJ fanatics exhausted their two arguments long ago, kept repeating them, and finally realized that they only fueled all kinds of justification by faith quotations and exegesis.

Some have complained that I feature comments, so I continue to feature comments. Others have raged against the graphics, so I keep making them.

The page-view rate seems to be running at 1.1 million per year, a big increase from a few months ago.

Checking to see if Cyberbrethren and LQ were still alive, I found this quotation on LQ - gasp:


The nominations, if you're interested, are at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2004/03/w hen-bad-music-happens-to-a-good-god/ 

Then, the blogger and Lutheran pundit Rev. Gregory Jackson wrote a review of the musical "Godspell" which included the following comments: 

---

quote:One can also see the influence of Hinduism in portraying Jesus as the Lord of the Dance, a figure borrowed from India, where Shiva’s title is Nataraja – Lord of the Dance. The juxtaposition of Jesus as a dancing clown and as the crucified Messiah struggles as awkwardly in Godspell as it does in the modern hymn (1963), Lord of the Dance:

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he (Carter, 1963).

Godspell represents a welcome break from the overly somber and melodramatic Jesus films of the past, but the Gospel message is lost in the amusing digressions from the actual narrative, the new mythology of a dancing god. A simple portrayal of the verbatim record in the Gospel is going to have a greater impact than a joyful, mystical, impressionistic experience. 

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/200 9/02/godspell-review-from-my-film-course.html

Mark Driscoll Vision Casting

These lupine leaders claimed they were at a "pastor conference"
when they took Bishop Katie to Seattle with them.
There were no WELS conferences; Driscoll is in Seattle.
"Let us prey."

MARK DRISCOLL VISION-CASTING DEAD BODIES HIS MARS HILL BUS WILL ROLL OVER : Apprising Ministries:

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jun 18, 2012 in Current Issues, Features

Apprising Ministries has been telling you for some time that Emerging Church New Calvinist Mark Driscoll is badly adrift and taking more and more people with him.

For example, Mark Driscoll Promoting Word Faith Teacher Brian Houston? and Mark Driscoll, Acts 29 Network, And Rick Warren and Mark Driscoll And Contemplative Idolatry.

Now comes this below segment from today’s edition of Fighting for the Faith by Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio. In his introduction he tells us:

If you disagree with or are disloyal to the vision that God supposedly gave Mark Driscoll then you’re going to be thrown of the bus or have the bus run you over. In Driscolls own words, by God’s grace there will be a mountain of bodies before they’re done.

This segment of Fighting for the Faith has Mark Driscoll telling a room full of church planters about what he calls “Blessed Subtraction.” (source)

Further reading

• FELLOW EVANGELEPHANTS MARK DRISCOLL AND JAMES MACDONALD REBUKE T.D. JAKES ON THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL
• EMERGING ECUMENICAL EVANGELEPHANTS AND THE WORD FAITH MOVEMENT
• ELEPHANT ROOM 2′S T.D. JAKES SAYS TBN’S PAUL CROUCH LED BY GOD TO LAUNCH JAKES’ MINISTRY

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Ecclesia Augustana: The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America 2013 Synod and Colloquium, Part 1

Pastor Paul Rydecki gave a paper on justification by faith.

Three Luther sermons - on justification by faith. Cantate Sunday.

Ecclesia Augustana: The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America 2013 Synod and Colloquium, Part 1:

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America 2013 Synod and Colloquium, Part 1

Early Monday morning, fellow Ecclesia Augustana contributor Christian Schulz and I began a 14-hour trek to the great state of Texas with the intention of attending the Colloquium portion of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA)‘s 2013 Colloquium and Synod.  Those of us in the Lutheran world are familiar with such acronyms as LCMS, WELS, ELS, ELCA, and even some smaller groups like CLC.   Some of these groups claim to be "Confessional Lutheran" and theologically orthodox institutions, but many of us are all too familiar with the horror stories stemming from each. Playing on this theme, the ELDoNA writes on their website:

In the Lutheran Church, one encounters a great deal of talk about ‘confessional Lutheran’ doctrine and practice; sadly, the substance has been something quite different. The various ‘synods’ often appear more interested in a ‘theology of glory’ (focusing on worldly prestige, money, and ‘numbers’) than a ‘theology of the cross’ which recognizes that the Church is despised by the world, because she is the Bride of Christ. 

The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America is committed to the restoration and advancement of consistently Evangelical Lutheran doctrine and practice in harmony with the Sacred Scriptures and the Book of Concord (1580).

It is in this context that the ELDoNA piqued our interest; after all, it is hard to deny their claims concerning the synods, my own Wisconsin Synod included.  While rush hour traffic in Fort Worth prevented us from making it to the opening Vespers and fellowship dinner last night, we got up bright and early this morning to attend Matins and the first day of Colloquium presentations.

There were a number of insightful papers presented today. The first of these was by Dr. Kent A. Heimbigner, whose topic was “Nietzsche on Christianity: A Baptismally Informed Analysis.” The paper demonstrated the impasse that exists between Nietzsche (and his ideological ilk) and those belonging to the orthodox (Lutheran) Christian confession, specifically in terms of the person of Christ Himself (Nietzsche’s Jesus verses the Biblical Christ), the use of language (Nietzche viewed language as imprecise and even dubious, whereas Christians view the language or Word of God as powerful and effective, with the ability to create and restore), and disparaging concepts of morality and humanity (Nietzsche sees man as born as “fully or ideally human,” whereas Christians see man born into death as fallen creatures in need of restoration through Holy Baptism). In short, the paper was enlightening on both philosophical and theological levels.

The next paper, entitled “Social Identity in the New Testament and Today: Does Christianity Negate All Other Identity?”, was presented by the Reverend John S. Rutowicz. He touched on a number of themes related to the Social Identity Theory developed by Henri Tajfel, which posits that there are varying levels of group membership that effect human identity to greater and lesser degrees. In particular, the paper demonstrated that the New Testament does not disparage social identities such as race and ethnicity, but rather embraces them - even in some contexts that might be viewed as “racist” by individualistic, postmodern Western society. He specifically highlighted the example of Christ Himself in St. Matthew 15, where the Lord calls a Canaanite woman a “dog” in solidarity with His own Jewish heritage, as well as the example of St. Paul in Titus 1:12-13, where the Blessed Apostle generalizes an entire people in stereotypical, negative terms ("All Cretans are liars"), while elsewhere (2 Corinthians 11:22) he lauds his social identity as a Hebrew. In short, Rev. Rutowicz contended that these examples serve to show that one can maintain social identities outside of the Christian identity. While the Christian “social identity” should be what the author calls our “terminal identity,” thus governing our other identities, it should not negate them, if we take the Lord and His Apostles as our examples.

Another presentation was Rev. Joshua W. Sullivan’s paper entitled “The Use of Genesis in the Old Testament Apocrypha.” Rev. Sullivan provided a number of examples demonstrating the fact that the O.T. Apocrypha rely heavily on the types set forth in the canonical Book of Genesis. While the Apocrypha contain some dubious material, they provide what the author called “sermon illustrations” or stories that are of immense value to laypeople and pastors alike.  One such instance was the story of Tobit, which provides in the persons of Tobit and his betrothed Sarah provide a beautiful picture of what the Christian marriage is supposed to be (in fact, the early Church adopted a citation from the book of Tobit as the Introit for its Nuptial Services!).  But more than this, the Apocryphal texts are especially fitting given the similarity between their immediate context (a time in which the Jews were faced with the immense pressure of Hellinization to forfeit their culture and beliefs) and that of our own day, in which Christian values and mores are being trivialized and ridiculed more and more.

The last paper yet to be mentioned from today's session was presented by Pr. Paul Rydecki and entitled “The Forensic Appeal to the Throne of Grace in the Theology of the Lutheran Age of Orthodoxy: A Reflection on Atonement and Its Relationship to Justification.” In it, Pr. Rydecki provided citation after citation from the era of Lutheran Orthodoxy highlighting the traditional analogy of forensic justification in the Divine Tribunal of God. In so doing, he demonstrated that the Christian’s justification occurs not at the Cross or from eternity, but rather in time when the Christian - by God-given faith - clings to the “Throne of Grace,” an "alternate tribunal" from that of the Law and established by the Cross for all people. To quote pages 4-6 of the paper [the citation is long, but worth the read]:

Chemnitz offers this analogy [it is essentially an expansion of Romans 3:22-26] in its most extended form, depicting the various aspects of this courtroom setting. [...] It is presented here at length, because it expresses so clearly the Lutheran concept of justification in relation to the atonement.

‘Thus, the use of the legal term 'justification' refutes the ideas of the Epicureans. For it shows that the justification of the sinner is not some insignificant or perfunctory thing, but that the whole human being stands before the judgment of God and is examined both with respect to his nature as well as his works, and this according to the norm of divine law. But because after the entrance of sin a human being in this life does not have true and perfect conformity with the law of God, nothing is found in this examination, whether in the person's nature or in his works, that he can use to justify himself before God; rather the Law pronounces the sentence of condemnation, written by the very finger of God Himself.
Now God does not justify the ungodly by some kind of mistake, as a judge often makes a faulty decision by failure to examine the evidence sufficiently or by wrong thinking; nor through indifference, as if He did not care about the transgression of His law; nor through wickedness, as if He approved of our iniquity, connived with it, or were in collusion with the impious. A justification of this kind God Himself pronounces to be an abomination, Ex. 23:1; Is. 5:23; Prov. 17:15. God cannot retract this sentence of condemnation revealed in the Law, unless it is perfectly satisfied or fulfilled, Matt. 5:18.
Thus righteousness and satisfaction are required where God is to justify. Luther is correct when he says that God remits no sin unless the Law has been satisfied with regard to it. In the case of human judgment, to be sure, guilt is absolved either because of some preceding merit (for they are accounted worthy who deserve to be forgiven), or with respect to present righteousness and innocence either of the cause or of the person, or with respect to a satisfaction which the guilty party promises to make either to the judge or to his opponent in the case. But before God's judgment man can put up nothing in his own defense in order that he might be justified, as many very clear Scripture passages declare.

Therefore, because God does not justify out of frivolity, unconcern, error, or iniquity, nor because He finds anything in man whereby he might be justified before God; and yet the just requirement of the Law must be fulfilled in those who are to be justified, Rom. 8:4, therefore a feign righteousness must intervene-the kind of righteousness which not only with payment of penalties but also with perfect obedience to the divine law made satisfaction in such a way that it could be a propitiation for the sins of the whole world.

To this the terrified sinner, condemned by the voice of the Law, flees in true faith. This he desires, begs for, lays hold of; to this he submits himself; this he uses as his defense before the judgment seat of God and against the accusation of the Law. By regard for this and by its imputation he is justified, that is, he is absolved from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation and receives the promise of eternal life. This is what Paul is saying Rom. 3:31: "The doctrine of the righteousness of faith does not destroy the Law but upholds it."

Paul clearly describes the act of justification in this way in Romans 3:

1. The conscience of the sinner is through the Law placed before the judgment tribunal of God (who is a consuming fire and in whose sight not even the stars are pure), is accused, convicted, and condemned, so that it is afflicted and pressed down by a terrifying sense of the wrath of God, Rom. 3:19: "...that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God" (KJV).

2. The heart thus contrite does not entertain Epicurean thoughts but anxiously seeks whether and how it can be freed from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation. From such thoughts come such passages as Ps. 130:3: "If You should mark iniquities...."; Ps. 143:2: "Enter not into judgment..."; Rom. 7:24: "Who shall deliver me...?"...

3. Therefore God, "who is rich in mercy" [Eph. 2:4], has had mercy upon us and has set forth a propitiation through faith in the blood of Christ, and those who flee as suppliants to this throne of grace He absolves from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation, and by the imputation of the righteousness of His Son, which they grasp in faith, He pronounces them righteous, receives them into grace, and adjudges them to be heirs of eternal life.

This is certainly the judicial meaning of the word 'justification,' in almost the same way that a guilty man who has been sentenced before the bar of justice is acquitted.

It is manifest how much clarity this gives to the discussion of justification. The fathers in disputing this matter often spoke inadequately about justification. But in their devotional writings, when they were looking at the picture of the divine judgment or the divine judicial process, they handled the doctrine of this article very well.

The example of Bernard [of Clairvaux, 1091-1153] shows this clearly, because he was not involved in idle speculations but was exercising himself in the serious matter of repentance based on the doctrine and testimony of Paul. Gerson has some wonderful thoughts about the tribunal of God's justice and the throne of His grace. For if we are discussing our common position before the tribunal of God, we are all subject to the tribunal of His justice; and because before him no living person can be justified but all are condemned, therefore God has also set up another tribunal, the throne of grace. And the Son of God pleads for us the benefit of being called away from the tribunal of justice to the throne of grace. Therefore the Pharisee, because he was not willing to use the benefit of this calling, but wanted to enter into judgment before the tribunal of justice, was condemned. But the publican, who was first accused at the tribunal of justice, convicted and condemned there later by faith called out to the throne of grace and was justified [Luke 18:9-14]. (Loci Theologici, p. 481-482)

And this is the process or act of the justification of a sinner before the judgment seat of God, so that he appeals from the throne of the strict justice of God to the throne of grace in the blood of the Son of God, as Gerson describes the matter of justification by the apt simile of forensic appeal. (Enchiridion, Q. 146)

All these points so beautifully illustrating the doctrine of justification come from the correct linguistic understanding of the word "justification." (Loci Theologici, p. 482)'

Several things must be noted here. First, that, on account of the satisfaction Christ made to the divine law, there exists, objectively, a Throne of Grace to which all sinners are invited (in the Gospel) to flee, an alternate place of judgment opened up as a result of God's grace and the obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is "another tribunal," apart form the Law, where God is propitious, where absolution is pronounced, justification is declared, and eternal life is bestowed for the sake of Christ. The "atonement" made by Christ has opened up this Throne of Grace, which is actually Christ Himself, the "atonement cover" or "Mercy Seat," sprinkled with His own blood, the "Atoner" or "Reconciler." 

Second, that justification occurs in the divine courtroom, not without the accused fleeing in faith to the Throne of Grace, not before the accused flees in faith to the Throne of Grace, but simultaneously with this 'fleeing' or this 'forensic appeal.' This present-tense (that is, concurrent with faith) absolution and justification is perfectly in keeping with the language of the Augsburg Confession:

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 in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4. (AC:IV) 

...in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake (AC:V). 

Scripture teaches that we are justified before God, through faith in Christ, when we believe that our sins are forgiven for Christ's sake (AC:XXIV:28).

Third, that, although the foreign righteousness of Christ has made satisfaction to the divine law so that it is a 'propitiation for the sins of the whole world,' only those who appeal to this Propitiator actually escape condemnation under the divine law and are justified. The act of justification is not simultaneous with the atonement made by Christ. 

Fourth, since 'the just requirement of the Law must be fulfilled in those who are to be justified,' and since the only way in which that just requirement can be fulfilled for any sinner is if the accused pleads the 'foreign righteousness' of Christ as his defense, then it would actually be contrary to God's justice for Him to absolve or acquit the guilty man who is not using the 'foreign righteousness' of Christ as his defense before the judgment seat of God. 

Fifth, Chemnitz says that his analogy presents the article of justification as clearly expressed by St. Paul in Romans 3. The burden is on those who wish to read an already-pronounced justification of all unbelievers into Romans 3:24 either to demonstrate how such an interpretation is compatible with Chemnitz' analogy, or admit that their own interpretation is at odds with Lutheran orthodoxy. 

Sixth, note that Chemnitz refers this analogy to the 'correct linguistic understanding of the word 'justification.'" He is not seeking to offer an arbitrary, partial or ad hoc definition of the word, but to faithfully convey the meaning of the word as used throughout the Holy Scripture. As he says elsewhere, 'Our question is in what sense the Holy Spirit employs the word "Justify" in those passages of the Scripture in which He treats and teaches the doctrine of justification, as we have already shown it most clearly.' 

Chemnitz' analogy illustrates that the concept of forensic justification, as described by the Lutheran Fathers, is not a piecemeal justification that already 'happened' for all sinners, and then 'happens' again through the Word and faith. Instead, it is the culmination of the four 'causes' that comprise the article of justification, each of which is a sine qua non in forensic justification. There can be no forensic justification of the sinner without God's grace, or without the merit of Christ, or without the sinner being clothed by faith in the foreign righteousness of Christ, or without the promise of the Gospel that kindles faith.

The Lutheran Fathers have much to say about the unique role that each of these four components plays in forensic justification....”

Pr. Rydecki went on to delineate the “four comonents” of justification, which I myself have elaborated on in prior posts on this blog. In short, Rydecki irrefutably demonstrated that “this common outline, this ‘justification by faith alone in Christ’ was the only concept of justification espoused by the Lutherans” - that is, “until Samuel Huber (1547-1624) arrived on the scene” (p. 17). Contrary to misguided and unscholarly notions, Rydecki showed that "Huber's problem was not that he was a Universalist. It was that he strayed from proper Biblical exegesis of certain passages, including Romans 5:12-20. It was that he strayed from the common outline of forensic justification that requires the imputation, by faith, of Christ's righteousness in order for the sinner to be justified. It was that he strayed from the Lutheran teaching that 'restricts justification to believers only, as prescribed by all prophetic and apostolic Scriptures'" (p. 19).

All of the Colloquium presentations were well received by those in attendance. Each paper sparked interesting discussion and prompted unique insights. Pr. Rydecki’s paper on “Forensic Justification” elicited what seemed like distractions to this observer (comments about “objective/subjective” terminology and Synodical Conference theologians, which were nowhere to be found in the paper itself), but the feedback seemed to be generally positive from actual members of the diocese.

All in all, I have been impressed by the ELDoNA so far. I look forward to the rest of the Colloquium tomorrow and learning about how the rest of the Synod unfolds. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

'via Blog this'

The Saxon Exodus to America Did Not Arise from Persecution but from Prosecution.Syphilitic Stephan Was Under Arrest. His Career Was Over.

narrow-minded has left a new comment on your post "Another Resurgence of Rationalism in the Lutheran ...":

From what I recall from "Zion on the Mississippi," it would be a false claim to say the Saxons came to the States to escape persecution. Had Stephan not defiantly held his illegal small group meetings, the government would have left him alone. I'm sure the "late night nature walks" with the ladies didn't help his credibility in either country. Stephan rings of Jim Jones and other cult leaders. Is that Kool-Aid in the chalice?

Randy Hunter, the Failed Latte Church Leader, Will Teach All of WELS about What?Paul Kelm Speaks from Retirement - Harder To Get Rid of Than Ski

Wisconsin Lutheran College - Center for Christian Leadership:

Center for Christian Leadership

Leadership Conference 2013
WLC's Second Annual Leadership Conference

Epic fail - thanks to the morons behind this leadership conference.

WELS favors safe sects.
It's Luther they can't stand.

LEADLIVE

• Sponsored by the Center for Christian Leadership at Wisconsin Lutheran College, in cooperation with the Commission on Congregational Counseling of the WELS.
• Saturday, May 4, 2013, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in the Raabe Theatre of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, and simulcast via the internet to participating congregations.
• Opening presentation by Dr. Richard Gurgel of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary on the theological rationale for sharing best practices in ministry.
• Five sessions - each with 30 minutes of presentation, 25 minutes of application to their congregation's ministry by participants, and the introduction of a book to assist leaders in follow-through. The five sessions will be:
  • DEVELOPING LEADERS by St. Andrew in Middleton, Wisconsin. Pastor Randy Hunter and a key lay leader. [Hahahahahahahaha.]
  • CREATING MISSION MINDEDNESS by Immanuel in Greenville, Wisconsin. Pastor David Scharf and two key lay leaders.
  • SMALL GROUP MINISTRY by St. Paul in Muskego, Wisconsin. Pastor Peter Panitzke and a key staff leader. [Not Peter Pan! Give us a break!]
  • RECRUITING AND ENGAGING VOLUNTEERSby Hope in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Pastor Jason Ewart and a key lay leader.
  • GETTING THINGS DONE by Faith in Sharpsburg, GA. Pastor Jonathan Schroeder and a key lay leader. [Cell groups - that's a real Lutheran Pietist.]
• The goal of the conference is to provide church leaders practical examples and tools that they can adapt to their own ministry context in the most user-friendly format possible. A secondary goal is to demonstrate the ability of technology to facilitate leadership development and ministry enhancement for the future. [They can get that free from Ichabod and Bethany Lutheran - without all the Fuller/Willowcreek nonsense.]
• Congregations participating via simulcast will be provided step-by-step technological instructions and a test date in advance.
• Cost: $60 per "live" participant at the college, which includes continental breakfast and lunch; $150 per congregation participating via simulcast with as many leaders as possible.

'via Blog this'

Luther is definitely the bogey-man in WELS - always do the opposite.
The worship comment makes perfect sense for idiots who reject the Means of  Grace.

Cost of Seminary a Scandal - And LCMS Charges Far More Than the Average

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "LCMS Seminary Cost Scandal: Fabulous Costs To Supp...":

'Cost of Seminary Is Out of Control,' Says President of The Urban Ministry Institute:

http://www.christianpost.com/news/cost-of-seminary-is-out-of-control-says-president-of-the-urban-ministry-institute-94751/

NEW YORK – Pointing to research showing that the average cost of a seminary education ranges from $35,000 - $50,000, the president of The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), Don Davis, said the hefty price tag has become one of the main barriers to training more leaders for ministry.

"Frankly, traditional education costs too much. The cost of seminary is out of control, $35,000 - $50,000 is the average," said Davis at the "Educate: Empower" conference of church leaders at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, N.Y., on Thursday.

"People come out of seminary and they can't go to a little congregation where on a good Sunday our offering is $27.20. They have to service a loan. They will not go to a poor church. It's a bad system. We train people and none of them deploy to urban poor neighborhoods. None of them virtually," he added.


Classic Ichabod -

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2011/09/lcms-seminary-cost-scandal-fabulous.html

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "LCMS Seminary Cost Scandal: Fabulous Costs To Supp...":

Average LCMS seminary graduates owes $30 grand at least. 10% of seminary graduates owe over $50 grand.

The pastors must all be choosing the 30-year payoff option on their student loans (rather than the more common 10-year payoff), since a representative sample of LCMS pastors (between 1 and 30+ years of service) were asked how much student debt they still had to pay off, and the median figure was a whopping $18,100!

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The Pastor Debt Monster
http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=24918
LCEF conducted a survey in 2011. This was a similar survey to one conducted in 2006. The respondents ranged from newly called workers to those having been in the ministry several (30+) years. This tends to “skew” the medians. The respondents were nearly equally divided into ranges of 0-10, 10- 19, 20-29 and 30+ years in the ministry, The median numbers for those in each category, for example, is not available. However a couple of things that jump out: The median level of outstanding STUDENT LOAN debt was $18.1K. On the surface, that doesn’t appear alarming. However this figure is 20% higher than reported in 2006. In addition, the number of workers that incurred student loan debt increased from 48% to 61%. Those reporting outstanding debt in excess of $50K increased from 4% in 2006 to 10% in 2011. An increase of 250%!....

Based on this data my guess that the average (not median) for my 2009 graduating class was at least $30k per student is probably accurate. That’s over $4 mil for the graduating class of CSL/CTSFW of 2009 alone.

Another Resurgence of Rationalism in the Lutheran Church. Unhitching Doctrine from the Efficacy of the Word Is Pietism's Gift to Apostasy

Why u no trust the Word of God?

Pietism has had several peaks. The first came after Spener blended Calvinism with Lutheran doctrine. When Halle University--founded to teach Pietism--turned rationalistic in one generation, a hybrid formed in Europe. The state churches were thoroughly rationalistic, but some people and pastors still believed in the basics of the Christian faith. 

The Lutheran pastors who came to America were hybrids. They received plenty of rationalistic training. Several examples would be Stephan, Walther, and Hoenecke. But they also were influenced by Pietism and unionism.

Our family friend, whose parents are from Taiwan, was considered too Asian for the American girls, but the Taiwanese girls thought he was too American.

Likewise, the American Lutheran pioneers are often seen as leaving Europe so they could escape the oppression of their rationalistic state churches. Like the Swedish Augustana Synod, they looked to mission societies and Pietistic methods as their uniting characteristics against the dark background of a degraded state church.

Bishop Stephan, syphilis and all, led his congregation and his circle of pastors through the Pietistic cell group. Augustana involved itself in revivals and temperance causes (Pietism). The General Synod had altar calls and the mourner's bench, where individuals moved by an emotional sermon came forward to confess their sins and be born again.

Pietism loved small lay-led Bible study groups, avoided the liturgy, and made Holy Communion a quarterly Means of Grace.

The slogans of WELS and Missouri were often voiced around the Swedish Lutherans because they come from the same Pietism:

• I worship Jesus not Luther.
• Doctrine divides.
• I love my home Bible study group.
• I have that Book of Concord but it is old-fashioned and not interesting.

Because Pietists do not rely on the Confessions, which define Lutheran Orthodoxy, they quickly become unhitched from the Scriptures they imagine they honor. That leads them into emotionalism, to get the right effect, and rationalism, to find out what really works.

Their favorite authors (non-Lutheran, or unionistic, or both) constantly teach against the efficacy of the Word, whether openly or covertly. Opposing the efficacy of the Word means rejecting the Means of Grace, so there must be something else that works.

Hence the rationalistic Pietists constantly search for man-made methods and human reasons for doing whatever work they do.

Tim Glende gave a good example in his promotional film about their new church building designed by the chief architect for Holiday Inns. Tim began with the classic passage about the efficacy of the Word, Isaiah 55, but switched to "studies show that..."

The Lutheran Church in America used to take fads and ask, "How can we baptize this? Heh. Heh. Heh."

Starting with Isaiah 55 is a great way to mask Fuller Seminary studies. Mexicans will sit on top of each other in church, but Americans like more space. I heard that one in 1978. The real agenda is designing a church for the Fuller agenda of entertainment. Look at those giant screens. Is that Pastor Tim on the left? Almost as good as Ski on the jumbo screen at the movie theater they abandoned in haste.

The new plan is a stage, not an altar.

"Did you see how little room Koine had for their rock band at the old church? Pathetic. We need a big old stage and mega screens on the right and left to display the timeless tosh of their hand-scooped songs."

Note Pastor Tim on the left-hand computer screen.
The architect knows how to sell a plan - to the pastor first.
No altar, no font. No pulpit.
The lectern is probably wired to the Net to provide a
stream of Groeschel tidbits.

Leaving the A-Frame Behind

Is that the "carriage light of day"
or someone taking a flash photo of their architect's drawing.

2013-04-03  Our Town 

Peace to break ground for new sanctuary

April 03, 2013 - Peace Lutheran Church, 737 Barracks-view Road, plans to break ground Sunday, April 7, for a new sanctuary that is estimated to cost $5.5 million.

The ground-breaking ceremony will take place at 8:45 a.m. The structure, with ecclesiastical symmetry, theater seating and a 37-rank organ, is intended to offer parishioners a sense of majesty and reverence while at worship, according to a news release.

Completion is set for late spring 2014.

Plans were drafted by Stauder Architecture, with R.G. Ross & Associates as the general contractor. The 5,800-square-foot sanctuary, with a mezzanine and undercroft, will seat roughly 500, with overflow capacity for additional worshipers.

Annually, Peace's choirs present a Christ-mas Boar's Head Festival, the Living Last Supper and other religious and nationalistic holiday musical features. Peace also is noted for its involvement with the Bosnian community, offering computer, English as a Second Language classes and other training in preparation for U.S. citizenship.

The Revs. Dennis A. Kastens and Jon C. Furgeson are pastors of the 1,700-member congregation, which serves the Mehlville and Oakville areas and reaches also into Jefferson County, as well as Monroe County, Ill.

http://www.peacelutheranstl.org/expansion/

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St. Peter, WELS, Freedom, Wisconsin