From the Lutheran Library and Its Librarian

 

Newsletter from The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

In This Issue

Church History For Young People by Peer Olsen Stromme The Lord's Prayer: A Devotional Study Based on Luther's Smaller Catechism by Charles Armand Miller An Order of Family Prayer - Jesus Our Table Guest by Emanuel Greenwald The Sermon on the Mount: A Practical Study by Matthias Loy Out of the Labyrinth: The Conversion of a Roman Catholic Priest by Leo Lehmann

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Church History For Young People by Peer Olsen Stromme “The Christian Church is in reality as old as the world itself. It has existed ever since the creation of man; for there always have been true believers, who have done God’s will on earth, and who have gone to heaven when they died. And all these have been saved through faith in Christ. “The church history of the time before the coming of Christ is the history of the Jews, God’s chosen people, as recorded in the Old Testament. The true believers of that day were saved by faith in the Savior whom God had promised to send when he said: ‘The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent.’ They truly believed in Christ, and were members of his church; for it was true then, as now, that ‘there is no salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.'” – From the Introduction Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed. Contents Foreword Introduction Part I. The Early Church The Apostles The Early Christian Martyrs Constantine The Great And Julian The Apostate The Religious Services And Customs Of The Early Church The Church Fathers Arianism And Athanasius Augustine And The Pelagian Controversy Monachism And Asceticism Part II. The Church During The Middle Ages The False Prophet Mohammed Christianity Victorious Throughout Europe Popery Superstitions And Heresies Of The Roman Church The Crusades The Monastic Orders The General Church Councils The Reformers Before The Reformation Part III. The Reformation and After The Church Reformation By Martin Luther Ulrich Zwingli And John Calvin The Early Struggles And Triumphs Of The Lutheran Church The Growth Of The Reformed Church The Jesuits Doctrinal Controversies In The Lutheran Church About Peer Stromme Peer Olsen Stromme was born September 15, 1856 in Winchester, Wisconsin to Norwegian immigrant parents. Stromme graduated from Luther College (Iowa), attended Concordia Theological Seminary, and was ordained a Lutheran minister in 1878. Stromme taught at St. Olaf College, and was editor of a Norwegian language paper in Chicago. Additionally he was the founding editor of the Norwegian language newspaper Dagbladet. He also translated books for the John Anderson Publishing Company in Chicago and the Lutheran Publishing House of Decorah, Iowa. Stromme fell asleep in he Lord on September 15, 1921. (Wikipedia, retrieved 2017-10-20.) Why this book? “It has seemed to me that a Compend of Church History, in handy form and in the English language, would fill a want among our Lutheran young people. For years I have therefore had it in my mind to prepare such a book, hoping that it might be read with interest and profit in the homes, and that it might be found useful in connection with the work done by our Young People’s Societies and our Sunday Schools. I may add that while the plan and arrangement of the book are my own, I have, of course, consulted other Church Histories, and made use of that which seemed best.” – Peer O. Stromme Download the eBook PDF EPUB - [Apple, Kobo and other devices] MOBI+AZW3 - [Kindle] If you request an EPUB or MOBI version, you can expect to receive it within a few hours. If you don't hear back by the next day, check your spam or junk mail folder. This is especially true for yahoo mail. You can also request a copy of this or any Lutheran Library e-book by sending an email with the title and format you'd like. Enjoy the book! Publication Information Lutheran Library edition first published: 2017-10-30 Updated: 2019-08-12 Copyright: CC BY 4.0

Luther's Book on the Psalms - A Far-Seeing Quotation

 Lutheran Librarian - Luther’s comments here on Psalm 12 are both historical and prescient.

“This is a prayer containing a heavy complaint against them, who, introduce human doctrines instead of the word of God, and who, afterwards, by various new traditions and forms of worship disturb the church, and fill all things with a white-wash show of religion, and with the outward daubing of Pharisaism and hypocrisy, so that wicked men and hypocrites reign on every side, as the last verse complains.

“For when human doctrines have once invaded the church, they go on to rage far and wide, and spread in all directions like a cancer; there is no end to their corruption and destructive influence; they take possession of all things and wonderfully vex and torment consciences: so that the number of the true saints and of those that truly fear God is few and small indeed: of this the infinite variety of papistical hypocrisy affords a manifest example.

From: Luther, Martin. A Manual on the Book of Psalms. Translated by Henry Cole. Lutheran Library 1837/2022. LutheranLibrary.org

Plagiarism in WELS - A Deep Dive into the Past - 2015

Sent by a reader, who added - "This is you."
He added - "Time to give more reason to fear the truth."

Reverend John Thorpe

The first minister of record to preach here was a Calvinist minister, Reverend John Thorpe. Unfortunately soon after arriving in 1659, it became apparent he did not adhere to the gospel he preached. His shortcomings included addiction to strong drink, extreme profanity, and a foul disposition. In 1661, he was forbidden by court order to continue preaching.  GJ - Note - he was banned, not promoted. Read Jane's story here.

2008 Links

St. Mark DePere - removes evidence of plagiarism from their websty

GJ - St. Mark is the home of Church and Change, a political lobby funded by your offering money, WELS members. 

Creepy Plagiarism - Church and Changers Copy Each Other and Their False Teaching Idols

Church and Change Misbegotten Ideas - Including Ski from St. Marcus and Cross-Dressing Pastor Adam Mueller

Church and Change Board Member Ski Evacuates to Appleton

Another Coven of Changers Offering Their Toxins - Ski Again

You Must Read This - Parlow and Timmer Plagiarize Hybels Words and Emotions

WELS Pastor Adam Mueller -
From Church and Changer to Gender Bender.

2009 Links

The Rebels Guide To Plagiarism - How To Get Promoted from Round Rock to Asian Prof

Church and Change Conference in Appleton



2010 Links

 Change or Die - Seibert Foundation - Parlow and the ELCA LCMS Shrinkers

Parlow Plagiarism

Hilarious Kelm Graphic - From Anonymous - Not That One, Another Anonymous

More Fox Valley Plagiarism - From Intrepid Lutherans

Bethany Appleton Caught Plagiarizing Swindoll

Apology Erased from Bethany Websty


2011 Links

Why Did Pastor Christenson Leave St. Peter in Freedom after a Few Months?

Deep Sixing the Plagiarism Issue - Intrepids


2012 Links

Plagiarism from Paul McCain, MDiv



2013 Links



Intrepids - Steve Spencer - Afraid 

Paying Dearly for Bad Food

A parish member - who knows the numbers - agrees - Nutritious food is dirt cheap, but bad food is very expensive.

Beans and greens are popular with poor people because both food groups are satisfying. As I discovered in Creation gardening, there is an abundant supply of fresh, very nutritious weeds in any yard, starting with the hated dandelion, an herb brought up from Europe. Dandelions spawned a major industry - herbicides - like Scotts Lawn and Garden toxins. I used to eat Purslane and Pig Weed. 

The joke of the ages is that the promoted food groups - meat, milk, cheese, eggs, are very high in fat and relatively low in nutrition. When  it comes to cost per meal, beans and greens are a steal.

I always grew beans and tomatoes; Christina loved both, especially uncooked beans. Anything grown from seed is dirt cheap, to coin a phrase.

A bigger joke is paying for fattening over-salted food at a burger joint. The food is often old and dry, costs a bundle, and offers salt and fat in abundance. The Sass and I have a little at McDonalds because it means so much to her. I fail to order potato produces and soft drinks.

For lunch I had two huge bowls of spinach, a little bit of dressing, milled flaxseed, and blueberries. I find it ironic - eating a bale of spinach does not stuff the stomach the way SAD food does. I added flaxseed because it is good for blood pressure, somewhat like walnuts and blueberries. I will have walnuts later, too satisfied now. 

My desserts are either oranges or apples. The WM cashier was shocked at the price of Envy apples. But she would not have been surprised if I checked out a pound of steak, for $16 or more. WM even charges high prices for roadkill (just kidding, tougher than roadkill).

My blood pressure is way down and my weight is now at its lowest since the last century.

 "You taste good too!"

Truth,

 "What is truth?" said scoffing Pilate.

Truth must be unified and powerful, so it is no wonder that philosophers today are almost 100% atheists. We must allow for a few exceptions, or the previous claim is not true.

Truth survives, even though there is almost universal antagonism toward it. Many attacks have been organized against the truth, but not one has been successful.

The source of the truth must be solitary, because a host of competing claims would blunt the message. That can be seen in the ways so many meal-tickets modern versions of the Bible are printed, but not one agrees with the other. One version - the NIV - has claimed to be the top seller, though it remains in the minority with the rest of the fakes.

No one has the ability to grasp the foundational claim that God became man, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth. That had to be revealed by the Holy Spirit in writing, using such simple words and grammar that a child could learn and believe the nature of God.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Word made flesh. As God's only-begotten Son, Jesus explains the Father-Son relationship, the transmission of this truth revealed by the Spirit through the beloved Apostle John.

Truth is eternal, not seasonal, so the truth remains, even when attacked on every side. God is delighted to let the great and powerful cower and crumble before Him, the proud scatter like autumn leaves. But He watches over the humble, the poor, the weak, and the children. 

One residual item mocks and condemns mankind's modern hatred of the truth. If someone is in desperate straits, complete in the assumed knowledge of all the errors and contradictions of the Scriptures, he will still pray. How can such a weak and fallible God hear this silent - or spoken - prayer? How can God, with so many infirmities - carefully described by brilliant philosophers, Biblical critics, and bishops - do anything about that prayer?

One little word explains this - faith. A person's faith is established by the truth, spoken or read. A great philosopher at Yale, mostly unknown today, explained how he became a Christian. "My mother taught me."

Newest Camera - Stand Alone Mike Not Used

 

This is the newest camera, preceded by Brio (black Logitech), the original Logitech, and the NewEgg offering (scrambled).

The separate stand-alone mike is not plugged in for this trial.

Vimeo Live.

Sassy Calls

 

Sassy stays in her bed late some days, then bawls me out to start on a walk. So this is my "Yes, I feel great post."

Macular - Immaculate

Eye surgery was yesterday and follow up was today. This computer is rigged for large print, so I do not need reading glasses for writing. Now I feel like Burgess Meredith in the famous Twilight Zone episode where he has vast amount of books to read - oh joy - and broken glasses - oh no!

The key date was December 8th.  The regular doctor identified my pancreas warrantee running out. Later that day, the ophthalmologist found eye pressure going up, even with two kinds of drops. I did not want glaucoma to do any more damage, so I scheduled the operations.

The route of the optic nerve is a spot on the back of the eyeball, and that spot is called a macula, Latin for spot. Macular degeneration is the gradual loss of that bundle of nerves. (Note for the Lutheran Librarian - that is not an Wiki link, so it may be factually accurate.)

Glaucoma is different (Harvard link).

December 8th is the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. I mention that because many get mixed up. The invented and promoted dogma - Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox - is that the Virgin Mary was spotless (immaculate) her entire life and never committed a sin. That dogma grew and flourished with Mary as the Queen of Heaven, the one who comforted the suffering souls in Purgatory. And yet, Purgatory came from pagan sources, not the Scriptures. She is contrasted with the distorted teaching that Jesus is harsh and angry with sinners, Mary demanding mercy for them as the Mother of the Redeemer. 

So December 8th began my change to nutrition and away from desserts, sweets, and atrocious choices in food. In one week, between eye operations, my blood pressure dropped 45 points (top part) which became a 30 point drop before surgery, due to white coat syndrome - being nervous when a doctor shows up.

Christina's job at Yale Medical School, The Child Study Center, was researching the use of books for helping children and parents. It is ironic that her copy of Eat To Live was in my library when I got the shocking pancreas news. Fortunately, Dr. Fuhrman's book became my therapy for reducing blood sugar and lowering blood pressure. 

I have avoided desserts, candy, and snack-food the entire time - replacing them with almonds, walnuts, and fruits. Lunch today was a combo of green peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes. Sassy and I had our last fish later because I was getting low on mercury and plastic. (That's a joke.)

Fuhrman's prescription for a lot more exercise is expressed well, but it fell into the abyss of taking it easy for eye surgery. Soon that will be a daily routine to supplement the low-cost gym I use, which is an exit away.

WELS Luxury Conference in the Caribb - Funded by Thrivent. Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

 Thrivent brings us all together in one big fellowship of love.

Conference of Presidents January 2022 meeting

The Conference of Presidents (COP) held its winter meeting in another deluxe Caribbean trip funded by Thrivent on Jan. 3-6. The following items were discussed, avoided, or decided:

• Representatives from the Conference of Presidents will meet with the Board for Home Missions leadership and with several members of the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary faculty as a part of the planning process for the effort to open 10 new home missions in ten years beginning in 2023, God willing.
• Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) is continuing its search for a new president. Mr. Bill Ziche, current NPH president, has announced his plans to retire. Mr. Mark Buske, director of marketing for NPH, will serve as acting president until a new president is found. What about Eve?
• There are currently 143 pastoral vacancies in the synod, 124 of which are parish pastor positions. Forty of the pastoral vacancies are in associate pastor positions (meaning those congregations are still being served by at least one pastor). This year’s graduating class at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary will be larger than those tiny ones in recent years, which will help to reduce the number of pastoral vacancies.
• With expanding enrollment at our WELS schools, the growing shortage of teachers continues, especially in the area of early childhood. The COP discussed ideas for enhancing recruitment efforts and more child development buildings at Martin Luther College.
• The COP recently issued a pastoral letter on Christian freedom. Ironic?
• Compensation for vicars was set at $42,000, slightly lower than last year’s amount.
• The COP expressed thanks to God for the high level of Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) in 2021. The exact total will be published in the coming days.
• Congregations are asked to submit their 2021 statistics and CMO subscriptions by the Feb. 4 deadline.
• The COP expressed its support for a proposal by Northwestern Publishing House and the Commission on Lutheran Schools to develop a comprehensive K-12 religion curriculum for schools, DPs, and Sunday schools.
• The COP has been making final edits on yet another restatement of the synod’s teaching on male and female roles. It is hoped that the final document will be ready for review by the district conventions this summer.

 Why not both, male and female?

  Why not both, male and female?

Serving with you in Christ, From the Love Shack:
WELS President Mark Schroeder

Surgery Yesterday - Post-Op Checkup Today

That bit of fun is missing online. I finished one class last night.

We are bound to be more appreciative when we realize how fragile our bodies are. Surgery yesterday was very easy and soon I was home again. Ranger Bob did the driving and will again today.

They were a little grumpy that they had to supply me with a mask. I said, "I will give it back when I'm done." The receptionists burst out laughing and declined the offer.

I have taken my glasses off five time already today because the plastic shield over the right eye is attached to my eyebrow with Gorilla tape (not really). 

Yes, I am taking it easy.

Right Eye Surgery - Just Fine

 

Right eye surgery for cataracts and stent - went even better than the left eye.

Thank you for your prayers.

Waiting for the Right Eye Surgery - Hard To Focus

 

I will have surgery in a few hours, so right now I have the concentration of a ferret - about five seconds at a time. 

I often read Fuhrman's two books before going to sleep. He offers so much information about food that I return to basic issues, to route them to permanent storage rather than RAM.

Blood pressure and weight both dropped as soon as I stopped bad food. I also reduced portions in favor of greens and beans, fruit and nuts.

Missing from the menu are significant portions of bread, meat, cheese, and eggs.

Yes, it is possible to have four fruit portions per day, and that erases the need and desire for desserts and candy.

Mounds of greens with a tiny bit of dressing? Yes, I enjoy that and continue to marvel over the nutrition in "rabbit food" as we called it in Illinois. The tables for nutritional value are shocking, because the least admired (greens, beans, fruits, nuts) are the best while the standard fodder is really pitiful (milk, eggs, meat, bread).

In addition, dark greens (collards, spinach) are even better than greens (like green beans), and greens are better than rainbow foods (like bananas and sweet potatoes). The dark greens and greens satisfy hunger while providing a wealth of protein, vitamins, minerals, and all those obscure food combinations.

The upside-down value of food reminded me of the time I discovered organic gardening in Midland, while going through the gardening books at the Grace Dow Midland Public Library. I also bought a lot of those books and devoured them. Everything natural was in harmony with Creation, which led to the Wormhaven Gardening book and the later Creation Gardening book.

Christina would say, "You graduated from Notre Dame and became a farmer?" We ate all kinds of vegetables from the garden - asparagus, beans, tomatoes, Silver Queen corn, egg plant, etc. I ate so-called weeds full of nutrition, such as Goose Foot and Purslane. When people complained about Purslane, I replied, "Eat it - delicious and crunchy." I learned how to grow spinach so perfect and crunchy that I could plant it in the fall and harvest it in the early spring (no bugs to eat it, no heat to make it bitter tasting). Gardening was good exercise and good nutrition. Kids came over and ate from the garden - green peppers and carrots pulled from the soil.

Pet rabbits got the dandelion greens and flowers, donating healthy amounts of Rabbit-Grow to feed the earthworms in kiddy pools under their cages (Christina's idea).

I am back to my down on the farm experience but I have to pay for the fresh foods. The rabbits and squirrels do not leave anything edible alone.

I Remember That King James Bible at Home

We had a breakfast nook at home in Moline, which served as my mother's office for grading papers, which she did with speed and efficiency. An electric typewriter was there for some work, and bookshelves filled the upper half of one wall.

The more useful books were there, including a set of encyclopedias. She said, "I read a whole set once," and I had no reason to doubt her. 

The King James Bible was there, so I often saw it with a paper cover on it, somewhat like the graphic at the top. I was curious about the Authorized Version on the front page. That happens to be one of the strange aspects of that sub-title. That was not the official title, but it seems to be the favorite in England, just as KJV is here.

The back and forth of critics, good and bad, made me reminisce about the musical, majestic tone of the KJV. I tried my hand at translating some books of the New Testament. I learned - tis easier to imagine a better translation than to execute one.

Can anyone improve on the KJV's 23rd Psalm, John 10 - I am the Good Shepherd, The Lord's Prayer, and 1 Corinthians 13 - the love chapter perfectly recited at Princess Diane's wedding?

I remember little tidbits from the past - the doxology from the Lord's Prayer - "Oh that was taken from the Didache, an early Christian document." 

Going over the historical trickery used against the Majority Text - I thought - "More likely the Didache took the doxology from Matthew!" So why do Roman Catholics not use the doxology to the Lord's Prayer and we retain it? There is a very long history of papal corruption of the apostolic Majority Text. It is much easier to corrupt by erasing than by adding clumsy extra words - the ending of Mark, the woman caught in adultery, the Johannine comma, and the Lord's Prayer doxology.

If I could take everyone through each erasure in the NIV, the precious ESV, and the RSV, each would be shocked beyond belief, that such flagrant pilfering has taken place by the very people who praise themselves for being "scientific, exacting, scholars of the text." The erased words are directly related to faith in Christ and His divinity. 

Even more laughable is how these masters of deceit have achieved the most perfect text (cobbled together as if by drunks, skunks, and enfeebled monks) and the most glorious dynamic equivalent translation, yet they differ from each other hundred or thousands of times, and differ from their own previous efforts hundreds more times.

The Majority Text was preserved by the Christian Church, from the Apostolic Era onward, and beautifully expressed in the King James Version.

The modern paraphrases, passed off as translations, come from corrupt and fraudulent sources (Vaticanus - a LCMS fave; Sinaiticus - pure fraud; the Vulgate - Rome again!). Who prints these disasters? - Profiteering Bible businesses do - and their greedy denominational sponsors.

Links for Live Streaming Church Services - Vimeo Is Not Doing the Job

 Everyone - bite your lip - this is a 1956 hard drive, leased by the month. 

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