Amusing

You know what amuses me? Pastors who left the Lutheran Church for Orthodoxy who still quote hymns from the Lutheran hymnal in their blog posts! Hmmm . . .

Christ at the Center

Well, it's snowing pretty good here today. Supposed to warm up a bit, but so far the temperature has fallen. Supposed to change over to sleet and freezing rain, and then plain rain overnight - the question will be how much snow falls first. We'll see!

But anyway, more words from Dr. Schmauk . . .

The difference between various [Christian denominations] lies not merely in some difference of their component elements, but also in the way in which those elements are set in their relation to each other; and the large and more sweeping difference, which counts on the whole, is to be found in the latter fact.  . . . 

The Roman Confession writes the doctrine of the Church large, and makes it the visible centre on which all else revolves. The original Reformed Confession writes the doctrine of God, our Sovereign and Creator, large, and makes it the centre and goal of the faith. Many of the older sects exalted the doctrine of the individual and his freedom, as the large and controlling element of their faith  . . .  The Lutheran Confession is the one Confession that writes the doctrine of Christ large.  . . .  If Christology is thus the centre, the centre of Christology is Christ's office as Priest, and particularly that of completed redemption through his vicarious satisfaction. In Word and Sacraments it recognizes the means whereby the fruits of his satisfaction are applied.

The Confessional Principle and The Confessions of the Lutheran Church, 

p. 136-37

Petition Thrivent

I do not hold out much hope for Thrivent anymore. Ever since AAL and Lutheran Brotherhood merged I believe the organization has been in a steady downhill slide, accelerated now by the removal of Lutheran from its name and mission and recent revelations of its funding of abortion providers. But it won't stop there - funding for other charities that conflict with our Lutheran Confession will likely follow.

However, a petition has been started to ask Thrivent to establish policies that disallow pro-abortion groups from receiving funding and to allow pro-life groups to continue to receiving funds. CLICK HERE to view the petition and sign it. And help us spread the word to get many more signatures and let Thrivent know that we are not happy with their policies and direction.

Abortion: The Death Penalty for the Innocent

The new Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, while the archbishop of Buenos Aires, said (in 2007): "We aren't in agreement with the death penalty, but in Argentina we have the death penalty. A child conceived by the rape of a mentally ill or retarded woman can be condemned to death." In our country, it is even worse - an unborn child can receive the dealt penalty for any reason at all. No trial, no appeal, just death at the hand of a merciless executioner.

Now, in Lutheran theology, we would disagree with the new Pope in that the government has been given the power of the sword by God in Roman 13 - but it is the power to defend and protect its citizens, not kill them. But we need good rhetoric like the new Pope used in 2007 to help those who support abortion see the inconsistency and illogicality of their position. Many rail against the death penalty and offer in support the death of those who are innocent and were wrongly convicted. Sometimes it is not until many years later that the error is exposed. What if they had been executed? We should not stand for these wrongful deaths, they say!

Indeed, we should not. Yet that is exactly what is happening hundreds of thousands, if not millions of times each day all around the world. The death sentence is handed down by one person who acts as prosecutor, judge, and jury, and an innocent life is taken. We cannot stand for it. We must speak for those who cannot speak for themselves and defend the poorest and weakest - and smallest - among us.

Abortion: The Death Penalty for the Innocent. That should be a bumper sticker. And a death penalty all should fight against.

HT: Cranach: The Blog of Veith

Is Sacramental Millennialism an Oxymoron?

Is it possible to be a millennialist and still hold to the sacraments?

This thought occurred to me today. If you are a millennialist, you are looking for Christ to come and establish His supposed 1,000 year reign on earth. If that’s the eschatology you’re waiting for, then the eternal is not (and cannot be?) something that breaks into the here and now. For a millennialist, there is no now and not yet - there is only not yet.

But doesn’t that militate against a proper understanding of the sacraments? For in the sacraments, the not yet, the eternal, is breaking into the now through water, words, and bread and wine. We don’t have to wait for Christ to come and establish His kingdom on earth, He is doing so already!

Luther said this in the explanation to the Second Petition: How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

And so God gives us His Spirit here and now through Holy Baptism. We hear the judgment of the last day in the words of Holy Absolution. We receive a foretaste of the feast to come in the Holy Supper. In all these ways, the not yet is now, the end is breaking into the present, and the kingdom of God is coming to us.

To me, that seems diametrically opposed to any kind of millennial understanding. Is this why it’s often so hard to talk to evangelicals of this mindset? 

More to come as I have time to think . . . but I think this is important and there is a great need for us to think about this: How to speak Lutheran to an Evangelical?

TWO Lutheran Study Bibles!

Paul McCain points out on his Cybrebrethren blog that the ELCA has come out with a Bible they are also calling "The Lutheran Study Bible" - don't be confused! There is a vast difference between the ELCA version and the one coming this Fall from CPH. McCain gives one excerpt on his blog and you can see for yourself the tremendous difference in quality and orthodoxy. Our congregation is taking orders for the one you will want, from CPH. Please let others know about this and warn them. Thanks.

From Pastor Neuhaus

A good quote from the late Richard John Neuhaus read in the Forum Letter I just received - a tribute edition to this theological thinker, containing some snippets of his writings.

The future of Lutheranism

"If the Lutheran Church has a future, it will be as the Lutheran Church. It will not be as imitation Baptists, Presbyterians, or anything else. If people are to become, remain, and rejoice in being Lutheran, it is because they understand the distinctively Lutheran way of being a Christian. Being Lutheran is an evangelical catholic and catholic evangelical way of being in unity with the entire Church of Christ. The present state of American Lutheranism is not just "not satisfactory." It is a sickness unto death. The alternative is not beating the drums to revive flagging spirits, nor is it to move evangelism a few notches up on the bureaucratic agenda. The alternative is renewal - theological, pastoral, sacramental, catechetical.  . . .  There is no guarantee that a Lutheran Church that is excitingly and distinctively Lutheran would reverse the dismal membership figures, although there is good reason to believe that it might. But at least there would be more purpose and integrity in going down with the ship." (Dec. 1986)