That’s probably too strident, stringent, harsh even. But you Waltherians can blame Walther for getting me to think along such clamorous lines. He says in Law and Gospel that there are only two groups that humanity can be separated into regenerate and unregenerate. It was Pietism that gave us so many different classes that nobody was able to tell to which class he belonged (356). Besides I said scratch a fund raiser and you’ll smell not find a pietist. Not every time you smell something do you find it. Continue reading
Well at Least We’re not Debating Whether or not Jesus was/is Divine
Dr. Dale Meyer, current president of Concordia Seminary, relates that one of Dr. Dean Wenthe’s favorite stories was of a cab ride he shared with the president of another denomination’s seminary. Wenthe asked what the hottest debate was on his campus, and he answered “whether or not Jesus Christ was/is divine” (“Pedagogy for a Politicized Church,” Concordia Journal, Winter 2014, 6). Continue reading
Posted in General
Is there an Imperative to Grow?
The sainted Reverend Father Rudolph Kurz once wrote a paper saying that there is no command in Scripture for the church to grow in numbers. Continue reading
Posted in Contemporary Worship, Missouri Megatrends
“A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, But the compassion of the wicked is cruel.”
That is Proverbs 12:10. In filling out the Synod’s survey on the First Chief Part of Luther’s Small Catechism, I was reminded again that children today need to have it empathized that neither dogs, cats, nor any other animal are people too. Continue reading
Posted in Families
Self-Inflicted Wounds
William Manchester’s excellent memoir of the Pacific War, Goodbye, Darkness ought to be read by anyone who thinks he knows of the horrors of war or actually does know of them. He reports that shooting yourself in the foot was a court-martial offense (258) because it was a way to get out of combat. Christians inflict themselves with wounds that only get them deeper and darker into spiritual combat. Continue reading
Posted in General
Cherchez la femme
That’s what I usually write in my book on feminism when I have been asked to sign a copy. It’s French for “look for the woman.” As American’s say “follow the money” to solve a crime the French say “look for the woman.” And I know what you’re thinking. This guy, meaning me, must be some kind of sexist pig. I don’t deny that I have, can be, and at times am one, but not here, not now. Continue reading
Posted in Families, Missouri Megatrends
Good Thing He Didn’t Debate with an Obstetrician
Don’t go by this post because I don’t know how or where to look on the internet for accurate information on such things. But my take is that in the great debate between Hamm and cheesy Bill Nye the Science Guy, the evolutionist our trumpeting victory and the creationists are hanging their harps on the willows (Ps. 137:2) and doing a little weeping. All I can say is good thing Hamm didn’t debate an obstetrician about the Virgin Birth….
Continue reading
Posted in General
Did You Hear the One About….
You hear these words and you get ready to laugh, don’t you? Well did you hear the one about the evolutionist, the abortionist, and the gay activist? Continue reading
Mr. Rogers Worship
When my kids were small I didn’t forbid them from watching Mr. Rogers but I ridiculed the man, and I say so now unapologetically not wishing to speak ill of the dead but truthfully of the one-time living. Continue reading
Posted in Contemporary Worship, Missouri Megatrends
My Problem with The Problem of Pain
C. S. Lewis never claimed to be a theologian or pastor. He makes some big theological boo-boos, but he was a great thinker. But some of his thoughts in The Problem of Pain are a problem for me, if true. Continue reading
Posted in For Anyone who dares