Katy Perry

Little Ichabod and I went to the Walmart Shareholders Meeting, which  combines their business meeting with an entertainment extravaganza. They keep one guest secret  from everyone, and that star sings at the end of the meeting.

I was curious why the normal line-up during the meeting was not long on celebrity. In the past many of the entertainers were nationally known (perhaps more in my generation). Finally, I said, "Is there a mystery guest?" LI did not know.



I remembered Celine Dione singing in the past, coming out at the very end while people went nuts taking photos.

Pretending to close the meeting, Katy Perry's make-up was advertised in a video and she strolled out with her dancers to do a three-song set. I said to LI, "The Booze Brothers dream come true!" That explained where the entertainment budget went. One can only imagine what makes her successful in a land gone to the dogs.

Geena Davis in a League of Their Own

We arrive early at the monthly Saturday Morning Meetings. Very early. At one meeting we sat behind the Walton (Walmart) heirs and top executives. I have talked to two of Sam Walton's children, Alice at the museum and Jim after a meeting. The family owns 51% of the stock, which comes from Walton planning his estate early and dividing the shares.

So - one meeting we were in the row behind Geena Davis, who was introducing the annual Bentonville Film Festival.

Hugh Jackman was very kind to a little girl who brought him a card during the Christmas meeting. He greeted the family afterwards and stayed to shake hands with those, like us, who wisely stayed around to say hello. He is the only celebrity guest to do this - ever.

We watched Hugh Jackman leading the Christmas carols at a December meeting and shook hands with him afterwards.

Anderson Cooper came to one meeting to promote his autobiography. Once again we were front and center. We are in so many reaction shots at the meetings - cameras aimed at the crowd - that I advised LI to look toward "our" camera to avoid the monitor-stare look.

Arnold Schwarzenegger never stops entertaining.

We were fairly close to Arnold at another recent meeting. He loved telling stories about how films get made. Some fans know that he is famous for going to Walmart at all hours and buying large quantities of stuff between takes.

We spoke to Google's VP of global sales, Philipp Schindler, after another meeting.

Giant Alium bulbs are fun to grow.

I have my eyes open for things to give to Almost Eden Gardens and Nursery. For instance, I have Giant Alium (garlic) finishing, and some giant Elephant Ears starting to grow. Sharing bulbs gives him a chance to try some plants without spending extra money. The Alium has doubled, so I can divide it. The Elephant Ear bulbs have to be pulled in the fall, so I should have something to share there.

Tansy is reputed to repel flies.

Wiki:

I ended up with 5,000 Tansy seeds, which mystified him until his farmer's wife mother told him about the herb. I did not need 5,000 so he got the bulk. When I asked for some of his wood mulch from chipping a tree, he drove two front end loader buckets full to me. That was a small loader, but it was so much better than wheelbarrowing the stuff across a large field.

The painter, whose wife got roses on Mothers' Day, gave me five-gallon pails for hauling water, following me to the rose garden to hand them over.

Meanwhile, our helper came over to patch up the mulch in the rose garden, where patches of grass or weeds broke through. Weeds love mulched, earthwormed soil as much as roses do. All we need to do is hide the sun from them and turn them into compost.

Sound Doctrine
False doctrine grows well where sound doctrine has taken root. Interest in spiritual matters grows and people with their own agenda take advantage.

The false teachers of mainline Protestantism have been almost unopposed. They do not need to be invited. They blow in with the wind, like weed seeds. Or someone leaves a deposit, with fertilizer, like a bird, and the new dogma takes root. False doctrine grows abundantly with big taproots or prolific seed production  - or both. But false doctrine is sterile.

People think of many healing and beneficial bug plants as weeds, but they contribute without doing harm. The Creating Word gave us most of our medicines in herbs that thrive in bad soil. Deadly Nightshade has an ugly berry and is toxic to farm animals, but the plant produces a stomach medicine.

Some plants are just toxic. I was following the growth of a beautiful member of the carrot family. The carrot family carries its seeds in the form of an umbrella. This plant was more of a cluster and continued to grow taller. I tried various names - even my neighbor was puzzled.

• Not Queen Anne's Lace - blooming too early.
• Not quite Angelica - some wrong characteristics.
• Not Fennel - no licorice aroma.
• Not Celery, Not Parsley. None of those nice smelling family members.
• Not Poison Hemlock - no purple splash. Wait a minute. There are purple splotches near the bottom!

I showed the suspect plant to Almost Eden. He pointed out all the baby ladybugs on it. "Don't be in a hurry to get rid of it." I went back to the comparisons, including another evil  plant - Cow Parsley. Everything pointed to Poison Hemlock, especially its attraction to beneficial bugs.

For example, poison or spotted hemlock (Conium maculatum), a native of Europe, and a similar North American species, spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata), are both exceedingly appealing to beneficial insects of all sorts. They are found across the entire North American continent, but both are incredibly poisonous to humans and livestock, making them a very bad selection for the insectary border (just ask Socrates—he was executed by being forced to drink a concoction of poison hemlock). Both plants are also considered noxious invasive weeds in many regions. However, these species are very valuable nectar and pollen sources for numerous beneficial insects and—even though you probably don’t want them in your yard or garden—a roadside patch can provide food for many beneficials.

Walliser, Jessica. Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 1532-1537). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Attractive to baby ladybugs - that  is a strike AGAINST the mystery plant. 

In another study, begun in 1928 and lasting thirty-three years, researchers documented more than fifteen thousand insect parasitoids present on several hundred different plant species in central Illinois to examine what kinds of plants attract what kinds of insect visitors. They found that the plants with the most parasitic wasp species present were members of the carrot family (Apiaceae)—with an average of twelve parasitic wasp species per plant species! Other important plant families for these parasitoids were the aster family (Asteraceae), the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), the pea and bean family (Fabaceae), and several others. The carrot family is so important to parasitoids because members of this family have those open, exposed nectaries. The other plant families frequented by parasitoids had more concealed nectaries and so were found to be more attractive to certain wasp families but not others. The ten plant species that hosted the largest diversity of parasitic wasp species offered nectar that was easily accessed by wasps with all sorts of different mouthparts.


Walliser, Jessica. Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 1522-1529). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

False Doctrine Must Be Removed
Like the Poison Hemlock I am growing by accdient, false doctrine must be removed. Poison Hemlock kills from the feet up, so the victim knows he is dying. The plant must be carefully cut down and its base poisoned with Roundup.

WELS - ELCA - LCMS - What could possibly go wrong?

When you combine Moonstone with Marilyn Monroe how can you help but create a star? We guarantee you'll "fall in love" with these full, shapely blooms of exhibition form. The pure pink color softens to white on the outer petals and on the reverse to give the flowers a surreal glow. The strong rose and fruit fragrance is downright heavenly. The upright plants stay tidy and compact. Just right for tucking right up front in the flower border. Large dark green foliage clothes long stems perfect for cutting. Flower Size: 5-7". Fragrance: Strong rose and fruit. Hybridizer: Carruth, 2007.

The Edmunds photo captures the white contrast, Falling in Love.

Let us start with a major blooming cycle, so good that I asked Mrs. Ichabod to see the first two blooms - Falling in Love. The photo above does not do the rose justice, which is true of all rose photos. The best portrait never captures the subtle colors.

Marilyn Monroe Rose

Moonstone Rose

The story behind planting this rose will impress the flintiest heart in Lutherdom. I bought 10 roses for $5 each from Weeks Roses via Gurney's. They only promised two of each, a variety of colors.

When I took roses to Ecclesia College, I cut the ones in full bloom or ready to bloom. I soon heard the registrar's office was keen on roses, so they got regular deliveries of whatever roses were ready. The assistant kept asking for one rose again and again, "Pink and it smelled so good."

I thought the rose died at one point and I almost pulled it out entirely, but it was still alive and had its tag - Falling in Love. Keeping those tags in place is a chore, and I often do not bother.  I looked up its description and realized that was the rose she kept looking for. First year bare root roses leaf out, bloom, and take some time to bloom again. The roots are getting established and - in my case - the sod is turning into compost.

The assistant loved the rose without knowing the name, but the name fit - she was engaged to be married, a situation that developed that year. We attended her wedding and saw the old and young college crowd. I told the bride the name of that mystery rose.

For the rose garden we decided to grow one row with the same name and characteristics. The garden began with a variety and we still like that, but the advantage of several bushes of the same variety is putting together a good bouquet all alike or contrasting with white rose. That was my plan with white (John Paul II) and red (Veterans Honor) but the John Paul roses do not last well when cut. Growing on the bush, John Paul roses are heavenly and have a good fragrance.  Most roses outlast JP in the vase, so I may look for a better white rose. Oh the hype!

On a hot, sunny day, in the perfect place to show off, Falling in Love burst into bloom, two roses together. Aww. I will get a photo tomorrow, plus progress photos of various plants.

KnockOut roses are the easiest to abuse, as so many are eager to prove.

K Mart Rose Killers
I stopped by K Mart to look around. Outside were plants roasting in the sun, on sale perhaps. All the roses were KnockOuts, not in bloom but with all the petals off. I touched the soil - hard as a rock. They were trying to sell dead KnockOuts for $16 each. Anything above FREE! was too much.



Recent Developments
The Elephant ears have reached the surface and are ready to inspire and intimidate the neighborhood.

The mature tomatoes have ripened into a deep red. I have to serve the slugs some beer tonight in hopes they will stay in the bowl long enough to be devoured by some night creature - a raccoon, a dog, or some other varmint.

All the berry plants - especially pokeweed - are doing well and ready to fruit.

Poison Hemlock
My giant beneficial bug plant is indeed a Poison Hemlock, a toxic member of the carrot family. Fortunately my explorations have not caused an allergic reaction to it.

The plant is crawling with mature and young ladybugs. Tonight I spent some time watching them from a few inches away. Tomorrow I will put on my bunny suit and dispose it as toxic waste.

A good covering helps when getting rid of Poison Hemlock. The clothing is washed immediately after.

All the carrot family flowers are umbrella-like, but the flowers vary in color and arrangement. Beneficial insects love all the tiny flowers. Dill smells exactly like dill pickles.

Almost Eden and his dog Opie were outside when Sassy and I walked over. I wanted to check out the carrot family weeds on his berm, which is a lab for anything goes plants. He got the topsoil free from a construction site. They messed up their scraping of the soil and could not process it for sale. He gladly took it. Topsoil disturbed will expose past weed seeds and welcome new ones planted by the wind and the birds.

One cluster like mine was definitely Queen Anne's Lace. As I learned yesterday from the Net, "Queen Anne has hairy legs." Once I saw the hairy stems, I looked more closely at the flower, which definitely had the spot of "blood" in the middle. Unlike her cousins, Queen Anne decided to have a fake bug painted into the compound flower, to encourage pollination.

People sometimes rave against evolution, but evolution must use the language of Intelligent Design, yea even Creation, to explain what goes on in plants. Every feature has a purpose, and purpose requires design and Creation.

My interest is not only the marvel of Creation by the Word itself, but the perfectly inter-related engineering of each feature and the continuous management of plants and animals.

Some members of the carrot family contribute directly to gardening:
Carrots
Parsley
Fennel
Anise.

David - The Death of Socrates

Hemlock has distinct purple blotches or streaks near its base.

Queen Anne's Lace is disparaged as a weed known for "truck parking lots," as Jessica Walliser writes. Poison Hemlock is the plant that killed Socrates, when he was given a death sentence and forced to drink it.

Almost Eden pointed out that toxic plants are not so bad since we no longer go out and eat whatever we find in the forest. He said, "Just don't eat it."

Even so, I saw the Poison Hemlock having the potential for many more family members to follow. Growing unbidden in the former sweet corn garden, the plants grew in a cluster, with a cluster of flowers, each complex flower having hundreds of seeds. The opportunistic weed took advantage of the sun and reached 8 feet in height. The Hemlock also had mulch to feed the soil population and extra watering from the blueberries I planted. The greed! The avarice!

I used hedge-clippers to cut the plant at the base and chop it up within the garbage can. I react more to cutting roses, since my skin burns and tingles from rose pollen.

I had another suspect plant along the fence, so I looked for distinctions within the carrot family. This one was not quite in bloom, but had hairy legs. Aha. Next I rolled a leaf to get its aroma - definitely carroty. I will leave the Queen Anne's Lace growing alone the fence, because I like the plant and its attraction to beneficial insects.

Poison Hemlock is supposed to smell mousy but I never detected an odor there.

The "spot of dried blood" identifies Queen Anne's Lace, so we do not have to mention her hairy legs.

Dill smells dill pickly and fennel gives off a licorice aroma. Anise has the fragrance of black licorice.

The Tokens made "In the Jungle" their song, but the hippo and dog are the best performers.

TV is still using this song in the background. When I walk into the garden in the back, I am in the jungle. The birds are singing and having a go at the feeders, sometimes bathing in the children's swimming pools. If it is quiet and I go to the feeders, the chorus starts up to announce that breakfast is served.

Squirrels see me watching their approach to the feeders. Sometimes the varmints retreat, but they often sit brazenly on top the sunflower seeds in the platform feeder. I have seen squirrels bat the birds away with their front paws, so I chase them away for a moment.

The backyard has everything birds could desire:

• Tall grass for shelter.
• Fresh berries for discerning tastes: blue, black, poke, wild strawberry, elder, beauty, goose, raspberry, etc.
• Trees and bushes for diversity in habitat.
• Perches to serve as a crow's nests for spying bugs.
• Wood mulch and logs to feed and concentrate soil creatures.
• Abundant fresh water, until they bathe.
• Four feeders - platform, finch, suet, and hanging.
• Bugs galore to eat.
• Fresh showers from the Jackson Aqueduct

Modern Marvels - The Jackson Aerial Aqueduct
Soaker-hoses are a good way to water with relatively little waste. I have two outdoor faucets, one in the front and one in the backyard. I use splitters to run two soaker hoses from each faucet, plus one traditional, pesky, kink-prone hose.

Most of the watering is done by turning the water on and switching hoses by a complex system of levers that only I can understand. A special touch is the the soaker-hose run on top of  the fence on Mrs. Wright's side. The birds can get a shower this way, which is especially appealing to hummingbirds.

In the dry weather especially, the birdbaths get brown-green from the algae, dirt, and fertilizer which is dumped on grateful plants nearby.

The front soaker-hoses run under the mulch in the rose garden. I no longer know exactly how they run, but the slanted yard sends excess down to the maple tree garden.

In the backyard, ceramic pans for plants catch the soaker hose water, which also cleans them. The ceramic pans provide additional water sources for birds - but especially for toads hydrating in shallow water.

Thy Strong Word is being finished for Amazon-Kindle, which will make it much less expensive for readers. My finishing editor, who does so much in fixing the format, moved to Texas and set up a new household, so that slowed TSW down. The debut is scheduled for mid-June.

Kindle eboods are ideal for looking up and quoting material. I have both versions for favorite gardening books.

Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant
Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant is next. I have corrections from a proof-reader, Next I will send the corrected file to Norma Boeckler for artwork.

The budget for CLP is:
$100 - Proof-reading
$100 - Finishing work
$100 - Free promotional copies      
$300 -  TOTAL

Those who contribute will get free copies when the book is done, which should be in the next 30 days.

Norma Boeckler is the award-winning artist who designs the covers and the interior art.

We were Facebook friends when he was running for president. We still have 800 mutual friends.

Harrison might not have liked the way I reported on his kissing up to Paul McCain. Not long ago someone wrote to Waldo Werning, "Are you training a replacement?" The answer must be, "Yes!"

Werning was close to the Preus brothers and Herman Otten.

Werning is being reborn as Paul McCain. The difference - Werning kept most of his hissy fits private, instead of posting them all over the Net.

"If Jenny Craig calls again, just hang up, OK?"

Calvinist Leonard Woods, Junior, graduated from Andover Seminary. He explained Knapp's theology with these terms - Objective Justification and Subjective Justification.

Objective Justification is the Helen of Troy for the Synodical Conference, the dogma that launched a thousand essays. Simply put, OJ states that God declared the entire world forgiven when Christ died - or when Christ rose from the dead. They have not decided on the Moment of Absolution, but the entire unbelieving world was absolved on or about Good Friday- they say. We have not yet heard from the Holy Spirit where this dogma is revealed, but in a world where John Lawrenz debates with the Holy Spirit and almost wins, anything goes.

A related matter is the salvation of the entire unbelieving world. That is often claimed by OJ Enthusiasts, who say, "I was saved 2,000 years ago!" That gets awkward, dating their salvation from the approximate time Jesus was in the Temple. The more astute among the false teachers say, "I was saved at Calvary." Redeemed, yes, but not saved.



Objective Justification and its overlooked partner, Subjective Justification, were articulated by a Calvinist, Leonard Woods Junior, the super-star son of Leonard Woods, Senior, the first theology professor of Andover Seminary - also a Calvinist.

But Subjective Justification is not Justification by Faith, as some might assume, just as OJ is not the atonement, in their own words. Subjective Justification means accepting the dogma of Objective Justification.

These two terms - OJ and SJ -  came from a Calvinist translator of the Halle University professor's Pietistic lectures on theology - George Christian Knapp. His German doctrinal book was published in 1827 and translated by the Calvinist Woods in 1831.



Explain this - how did Luther teach Objective Justification 300 years before the term was articulated by a Calvinist, Woods, translating a German Pietist, Knapp?

The quotation above, from the commentary commended by the Formula of Concord editors to explain justification, repudiates the claim solemnly declared by Jay Webber, ELS pastor with an STM from an ELCA online seminary.

Where did Walther obtain his special revelation about universal absolution without faith? The scholars have shown, and Walther admitted, that he learned his OJ from Bishop Martin Stephan, who studied at Halle but never graduated from any university.

Now we begin to smell the pot-roast, as Luther said. The concept of OJ came to Protestants through Pietism.



An Even Bigger Question
Lutherans are about to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. But they dodge this question with the greatest of ease.

• WELS claims twice in their precious Essay File that OJ is the Chief Article of the Christian religion. 
• The ELS and LCMS are itching to work with WELS on the basis of OJ. 
• ELCA teaches exactly the same false doctrine, because their various segments all came from Pietism too. 

Will 2017 be one giant con-job, with Lutheran leaders letting everyone think they teach Justification by Faith?

Purple Splash - from Weeks Roses.

Our helper wanted to grow roses, and I had some extras. Two Purple Splash roses cost me $5 each, and I did not have a good place for them. He dug them up and placed them in his front yard. He was really catching onto the fun of watching plants grow. He already had a maple tree from the abundant crop in my gardens. He mulched the tree and protected it from stomping with a tire around it.

The rose wilted a bit from the transfer. One cane looked a bit questionable for a time. He demanded some flowers. I said, "Give it time to establish new roots." Then we had days of rain - and then more rain. He said, "You were right about rainwater. Nothing happened until it rain. I watered and watered it, but the rain made it grow and bloom."

I drive by his home when going to Walmart, and Purple Splash shows up perfectly with its white and purple flowers.


The man-made solutions are tap-water at best, and yet the entire denominational racket is aimed at all these methods and funded from offerings. The hucksters who promote their products promise everything and never deliver. Mark Jeske - the new Jester - gives the same idiotic talk every time he organizes a new conference promoting...Mark Jeske. His rant is - "We ran  out of Germans, " a clever way of ignoring the efficacy of the Word in the liturgy, creeds, hymns, and Biblical sermons.

Pastors trusted in the Word in the old days because they had Gausewitz - instead of Larry Olson - guiding them.

Jester's solution is - Change. And yet this Isaiah passage promises three results from the Word of God, which is like the rain and snow from heaven in always being effective -

1. The Word will never be devoid of results.
2. The Word will always accomplish His purpose.
3. The Word will always prosper His purpose.

"Do not read that little Gausewitz catechism. That booklet is too small and simple. We have a big, expensive, and verbose version for you - the Kuske blue book. It corrects and improvesupon justification."

Grape Hyacinths

Selections, Open Letter, ALPB Forum

Removal of Human Resources leadership in the International Center who had information related to questionable activities of Rev. Harrison prior to his being elected President.

"Dad, if you are tossed, am I next?"


GARDEN GROVE – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who started his ministry in an Orange drive-in theater more than five decades ago, has been voted off the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which has been torn apart by debt and familial disharmony for the last several years.




The church has not released information about the board meeting where Schuller, 84, was ousted, but his son Robert A. Schuller, who was himself forced out of the cathedral by his sisters and brothers-in-law three years ago, confirmed it Sunday.

He said his father wanted to enlarge the board, which was not received well by the others.
"A majority of that board consists of paid employees of the church and that's a serious conflict of interest," Robert A. Schuller said.

None of the board members or church officials could be reached for comment Sunday.
Schuller said his mother, a board member, voted against it, but was in the minority.
"It's a very sad day and unfortunately, I know how that feels," the younger Schuller said.
The church's financial travails, including a significant drop in donations and dwindling membership, culminated in its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The church still owes about $7.5 million to unsecured creditors, many of whom are vendors for the cathedral's "Glory of Christmas" pageant. According to a reorganization plan filed by church last month, they have an offer from Irvine developer, Greenlaw Partners LLC, to buy the core buildings for $46 million.

Under the proposal, the church would have a 15-year leaseback agreement with the developer and the option to buy the properties back for $30 million in four years. In exchange the developer will be able to build hundreds of apartment units in a portion of the 30-acre campus.

In 2008, two years after he received his father's gold medallion, a symbol of the church's leadership, Robert A. Schuller quit as senior pastor and his sister, Sheila Schuller Coleman, took control of the ministry. The younger Schuller says his departure was spurred by a vote on July 9, 2008 by the board. That vote, too, shot down Robert A. Schuller's proposal to bring in new board members and end conflict of interest issues, he said.

Robert H. Schuller has been at odds with his daughters over how they have chosen to run the church. The cathedral recently switched over from a traditional worship format to a Gospel-style choir – much to the chagrin of many long-time members. Coleman also required choir members to sign a covenant acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

The older Schuller publicly lashed out at the contract saying everyone is welcome in the church. Phillip Johnson, the architect who constructed the cathedral's iconic glass sanctuary, was an openly gay man.
At the time, Schuller's daughter, Carol Schuller Milner, said her father's time in a leadership role was over and that her sister, Coleman, was in control. She said her father was having a tough time relinquishing control of a church he had built from the ground up.

Dory Bauler, a member of the cathedral since 1972, said she was shocked and saddened to hear about Schuller's removal from the church board.

Bauler said she and her husband met Schuller when he came to Philadelphia in the 1960s, when he was still preaching from the drive-in theater.

"Both Bob and Arvella Schuller were so sincere," she said.

Robert A. Schuller said the issue is no longer about his father being able to relinquish control. The question, he says, is who is running the church?

"Anyone with a brain knows it takes income and expenses to get a balanced sheet," he said. "You cannot run a church by slashing and burning."

He said his mother, although still on the board, will not go to the board meetings.

"It's absolutely horrible what has happened to the church," he said. "I know that my father is disappointed, but he is detached. I have also emotionally disconnected from that place a long time ago."

He called his father's dismissal from the board "one more step in (the church's) demise."

Bauler says she believes entrusting the ministry to his children who had no experience with running a church is the mistake the older Schuller made, which led to his ministry's downfall, Bauler said.

"The children were not qualified to run it, they've abused it," she said. "We, as members, are heartbroken."

"Dad, buck up. Mom voted to keep you on the board. But I didn't. Payback is fun."

Mark Jeske's smile is down on one side -suggesting a deeply unhappy parson. He lists to the Left.Diversity is the code name for gay activism.

Kevin Hastings

WELS "Time Of Grace" broadcast, "Celebrate the Diversity of Heaven" - When did our Lord Jesus Christ replace Faith with Diversity as the entrance to heaven? Romans 1:16, "I am quite ashamed of the Gospel of Christ" as it is broadcast now.

If you also a fan of Andy Stanley, son of Charles the son of Perdition, you recognize his perpetual sadness. Why Andy? You have WELS eating out of your hand.

Jeske covers for a fellow WELS pastor in the most bizarre smokescreen ever - the Internet did it.

Minnesota LCMS officials encouraged Darwin Schauer, a convicted sex offender, to become a lay pastor, so he abused another victim. All the "conservative" Lutheran synods and ELCA are guilty of this kind of behavior. More information and better formatting later. This is another Steadfast article with comments.

From Steadfast Lutherans - Accounts by Pastor Don Kirchner - In Case They Are Kilcreased  - Erased - Later

And they were erased, as ordered by SP Matt Harrison's!

It’s time…

I went down to Park Rapids two weeks ago, to the Hubbard County Detention Center, and spoke with Darwin Schauer for about an hour. (I had tried to see him a week earlier but was unable to see him due to an ongoing shift change of jail personnel at the time.) On March 4, 2012, I met with Minnesota North District President Donald Fondow (Fondow), Bemidji Circuit Counselor Allan Wierschke, and the congregational president of Trinity, Lake George to discuss what I had learned as laid out in Schauer’s current criminal charges and to discuss further action on our part. It was determined that Rev. Wierschke would render pastoral care to Schauer since I had a clear conflict of interest. Still, it was necessary for various reasons for me to talk to Schauer about what had transpired. When I met with him, I immediately advised Schauer that I was not there as his pastor or as a lawyer, lest he be given any expectation of confidentiality.

I now know from that conversation that The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), particularly on the district level, waswell awareof Darwin Schauer’s 1983 conviction for the sexual abuse of his 13 year old step-daughter and, in spite of it, assisted him in becoming a lay minister and chose to place him as a lay minister in Immanuel Lutheran Church of Cass Lake and Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George without warning or advising the congregations that a sexual predator was being placed in their midst to render them pastoral care, to teach confirmation classes to 12 to 14 year olds, etc.

Fondow recently told me that when he was convicted in 1983, Schauer was told to resign his Synodically rostered position as a school teacher or he would be removed. He had resigned. I was upfront with Schauer and told him that we now knew about the 1983 conviction. We discussed that. I then asked Schauer how he got into the lay ministry program at Concordia College in Mequon,WI (now Concordia University-Wisconsin.)

http://locator.lcms.org/nworkers_frm/w_detail.asp?W28381

He stated that, after his probation on the 1983 conviction was completed, he went to Rev. O. H. Cloeter, who was District President of Minnesota South District of the LCMS 1978–91. Darwin laid out everything about his conviction and asked if there was any way that he could still serve the church. Cloeter stated that being an ordained minister was out of the question, but that there were other ways around that. The answer was the lay ministry program that led to being commissioned as a lay minister in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. I do not know how involved Cloeter was in getting Darwin into the program, but he certainly had no objection to it and encouraged Schauer. Darwin stated that President Cloeter was a very nice, understanding man. No one has been able to explain to me how it is out of the question for a sexual predator to become an ordained minister but perfectly okay to be a lay minister, performing nearly all of the same functions as an ordained minister!

It seems that, given his previous undergraduate degree, Schauer spent only 6 months at Mequon to complete the lay ministry program in 1989 and was commissioned as a lay minister and was assigned to Immanuel, Cass Lake. His supervisor was a Rev. Rudder of Blackduck. Rudder knew all about Darwin’s conviction. Later on, there was some friction between Darwin and a pastor of the LCMS- sponsored Indian Ministry in Cass Lake. Rev. Richard L. Guehna, District President of Minnesota North District of the LCMS 1986-96, came up from Brainerd to personally meet with Darwin about the issue. He also brought with him the newspaper clipping that had been sent to him, the article in Darwin’s District file, and asked Darwin about it. Darwin again laid it all out on the table, explaining everything about what had happened, Darwin stated that President Guehna was a very forgiving man. Guehna took no action and, it seems, told no one in the congregation.

Later, Darwin was allowed to serve Trinity, Lake George with no objection and with no one at the congregation being told that their minister had a 1983 conviction for ongoing sexual abuse of his 13 year old step-daughter. As I now know from emails between Fondow and me in late 2007 – early 2008, and from what he has now confirmed, is that Fondow knew about the 1983 conviction at least as early as 2008, at that time discussing Schauer’s history and situation with MNS DP Seitz, Synodical Secretary Hartwig, and then Synodical 1st VP Diekelman, had possession of the 1983 newspaper article, and continued the District apathy toward the situation. He did nothing.

I thank everyone for their prayers and words of support to the congregation and me and especially to the victim and the victim’s family. Through these weeks we have learned that the glorious Gospel is indeed the Word of life. As we enter the Paschal Triduum let us remember that the Lord indeed has made all things new.

Thanks be to God.
Don Kirchner

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Rev. Don Kirchner
April 5th, 2012 at 07:33 | #55 Reply | Quote

On March 4, 2012, at a meeting at the Lake George Café with Minnesota North District President Donald Fondow (Fondow), Bemidji Circuit Counselor Allan Wierschke, and the congregational president of Trinity, Lake George, we discussed what had happened and the fact that Darwin Schauer was being arrested even as we met. At one point, the congregational president excused himself to use the restroom. Fondow then advised Allan and me that he had looked through Darwin’s file when he retired (which would have been May or June of 2008, I believe) and that there was a newspaper article in the file about a similar sort of incident. The next day Fondow emailed me a scanned copy of the article which detailed Schauer’s 1983 plea of guilty to sexual abuse of a minor.

This seemed somewhat odd. I recalled a series of emails between us some years ago when Fondow had done some extensive checking of Darwin Schauer’s history. I had previously written to Fondow , inquiring about why the Minnesota South District had blocked Darwin Schauer’s path to ordination, which Schauer had told me happened, though Schauer did not tell me why. Fondow had responded with a non-answer, that Minnesota South had determined that he should not be allowed to complete such a path, confirming what we already knew.

On 10-08-07 I emailed Fondow, advising him that, given our membership at Immanuel, Cass Lake, (Darwin Schauer was serving that congregation and the congregation of Trinity, Lake George), my wife and I “would certainly would like the minister at our congregation to be an ordained pastor so that we can actually receive an indicative-operative absolution, etc. How do we go about getting Darwin Schauer ordained?”
I heard nothing back from Fondow. On 10-22-07 I sent him the exact same email. I heard nothing. On 10-26-07 I sent him the exact same email. On 10-30-07 Fondow responded, advising me that he had been checking on Schauer’s situation. He stated, “I apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mails regarding Darwin. I am doing some more checking into this and will communicate with you as soon as I receive some more information and clarification.”

I waited a month and heard nothing further. On 11-30-07 I decided to get his attention. I emailed: “Having not heard back from you on this matter may I propose an action before Darwin retires? Is it okay if a few of us pastors go ahead and ordain Darwin Schauer, thereby formally establishing what already is in place- i.e., his call as a pastor to Immanuel, Cass Lake and Trinity, Lake George?”

That got a response. Within less than two hours, Fondow responded: “In my last e-mail to you I indicated that I would look into this matter. I have had conversation with President Seitz and Secretary Hartwig and asked them to find out information for me and I will be checking back with them.

In answer to your question and in keeping with the agreed upon protocol of our church-body it would not be in order for an Ordination such as you are proposing. I would ask you to be patient as I seek answers and clarification as to the reasons for past decisions in an effort to see that all things be done ‘decently and in order’.”

I replied, “Thanks for your reply and your response to my proposal. That’s why I asked, although to formalize or ‘ordain’ what already has taken place- Darwin’s placement as a pastor- would seem to be decent and in good order. As we all know a lay minister, in this context, is an oxymoron. but I understand your position. I’ll await to hear from you.”

Nearly three weeks later, having not heard anything, I wrote: “We’re coming up on the end of the year. What have you found out about Pastor Schauer’s situation?”

I heard nothing. A week later, I decided to press the situation again. I wrote, “We are now nearly into the new year, about a half-year from Darwin’s retirement. I still would like my pastor to be a legitimate pastor. A few of us were looking at possibly [of ordaining him.]” Fondow responded, “I understand your intention, however, I strongly advise against this course of action… I will be speaking once again with Secretary Hartwig about this matter as well as President Seitz…The fact that his Ordination was not approved sometime ago is what I am asking to have looked at now. We do need to things decently and in order and that is the way in which I am proceeding.”

I couldn’t understand the delay. On 12-31-07, I wrote, “I simply can’t understand why you are putting this off. The appearance, even though I’m not saying that it is the case, is that you simply are waiting for Darwin to retire so that the issue is moot. Meanwhile, my wife and I, along with the other members, cannot even receive an indicative-operative absolution from our pastor who is somewhat placed in the office but is not allowed the rite of the Office.”

On 01-02-08 (it was now nearly three months since my initial inquiry), Fondow responded: “I’m sorry if it seems that I am putting this off, it is not my intention to do so…I have spoken today with President Seitz and he is calling me back tomorrow. Also, tomorrow I will be in communication with Secretary Hartwig.”

I waited a week and on 01-09-08, having heard nothing further, I asked for an update. Fondow replied later that day: “I have spoken to both President Seitz and Secretary Hartwig. At the present time I am waiting to hear back from First Vice-President Bill Diekelman. So, I am following through as previously indicated and I will be in contact with you.”

I waited a week and, having heard nothing back, again inquired. Later that day, Fondow replied: “This morning I spoke once again to President Seitz and this afternoon First Vice-President Diekelman called me back. They have shared with me information pertaining to Darwin and his situation (past and present). To the end that, according to the Handbook of Synod, Darwin may apply for admission to the Pastoral Ministry (Ordained) Roster of the Synod…I would ask that if he is seeking to pursue this that he would contact me to schedule a meeting to discuss this and to request the necessary application forms and to schedule a meeting with the District Interview Committee (cf. 2007 LCMS Handbook)

Once again, I apologize for the delay in answering your initial straight forward question. Due to the fact that there was some previous history involved and with a desire to learn of the background and information pertaining to this matter and wanting everything to be done according to our agreed upon procedures, it has taken me longer than it should have.”

I was frustrated. I replied, “We’ve spent months and months, and you’ve needed to make numerous calls to a district president, a Synodical Secretary, and a Synodical VP so that you could tell me that Darwin is eligible to do what we already knew he could do- apply for admission to the Pastoral Ministry (Ordained) Roster of the Synod by colloquy according to Bylaw 3.8.2.4.2, (a) or (b)?”

I wrote to a friend that day, “There’s something going on here. At any time Fondow could have picked up the phone and said, “Sorry. Darwin would have to go through the regular colloquy process to be ordained. Nothing else can be done.’ But everything has been done quite formally, including Fondow’s stiff, formal, non-conversational tone which is quite unlike him, except in cases where he’s being wary and treading lightly.

So, the reason that Darwin was blocked from being allowed to do this back in the ’70s was…?
Something stinks…”

The next day, 01-17-08, Fondow snapped back, “Since you inquired, I felt that it would be well to check on the past history of his situation to see if there was anything that would prevent him from applying! If you already knew what he could do, then why did you ask me?”

Later that day, I replied, “I’m not sure why you are being this way, President Fondow. As I previously stated, normally you would pick up the phone and call me. Instead, you’ve been quite formal, cool, and careful with your statements. There was no phone call stating, ‘I checked it out, Don, and it looks like Darwin is going to have to go the regular route under the Synodical Bylaws. I realize that the chances of anything being done before his retirement are virtually nil, but it appears that there is no other way.’
No, it was a formal statement that Darwin ‘may’ pursue this under such and such rule, something that you and I both know he always could have done. Please go back and look below at your statement, President Fondow. It is a caricature of lawyerspeak.

And now you respond with a testy attempt to play word games. Of course I knew the Bylaw. You know quite well why I asked. I asked if there was a way that we could get him ordained given the time constraints. And by the way, after waiting months you now suggest that he take action similar to what he did years ago and which was denied him at that time. What has changed that you suggest that he should try again? Can you give any assurance that he would not simply be going through the motions (as if this could be done in 4 months) in order to again receive a denial? Bottom line- why not simply state, ‘Sorry, it looks like Synodical approval to ordain Darwin is not going to happen, given his probable retirement in May’?”
Schauer retired a few months later.



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Now, before we see the usual “circle the wagons” mode with suggestions such as that putting forth Schauer’s conversations with District personnel is hearsay (it is not), information is from a secular reporter and we know what they’re like (a classic argumentum ad hominem), and other such fallacies and irrelevancies, let me state the main reason why I make these things public and why I am not doing so.

With the events of the past month I have become beyond cynical with District interaction. I have virtually no trust left. The continued verbal dancing and passing of the buck continues. Our DP met with the congregation on March 7th and claimed little or no knowledge about the newspaper clipping of the 1983 incident, claiming that all knowledge rested with a man who is now in heaven (former DP Guehna).

On March 13th, our DP emailed me, now even suggesting that he showed me the newspaper clipping on February 7, 2008. He did not. But it is a classic red herring, intended to divert. For the sake of argument, even if he had shown me the article, I was covering a vacancy in Duluth at the time. Our DP was the ecclesiastical supervisor and it was he who bore responsibility to Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George, a congregation with which I had no relationship at the time. Most importantly, our DP’s suggestion that he showed me the article confirms that HE had knowledge of it at least in early February of 2008, while Darwin Schauer was still serving Trinity of Lake George and Immanuel of Cass Lake.

Keep in mind that Schauer also continued on the Synodical roster after his retirement, filled in for me at Trinity the last several years when I was out-of-town, filled in for at least one other Circuit pastor/congregation, attended winkels, etc. until March 4th when the horror began for the congregation. Thankfully, and that is what we look to, that is the day that the horror for the young victim ended. Somewhat, for the victim will never be the same. What was taken can never be replaced. Only the Gospel can give that peace that passes all understanding, the victim knowing that he or she is a lamb safe in the Good Shepherd’s arms.

It goes on. Our DP attended Schauer’s arraignment on March 19th. One of our congregational elders is a court bailiff for Hubbard County and also was at the hearing. Afterwards, our DP approached the elder and told him that he had been trying to contact “Pastor Kirchner” and that he wanted to meet with me and congregational leadership. My response to the elder was that this simply was baloney! Our DP has my email address. He has my cell phone number. He had used both to communicate with me until recently when, suddenly, there is silence. He hasn’t been trying to contact me!

I expect that the silence is due to my announcement to our DP, on March 15, 2012, that our congregational delegate and I will not be attending the District Convention later this month. We simply see it as a waste of time for us. Our view is not only that there is nothing beneficial in doing so but that we trusted District and District leadership allowed a child predator in our midst without telling the congregation. The congregation asks me why, and I have no answer for them. I do not know why church leadership does this– past, present, and regrettably probably into the future.

I also have no expectation that anything will be done at the District level to hold anyone accountable. The time when the integrity of leadership– The buck stops here, this happened on my watch and, therefore, I must step down– is long past the present day. Leaders don’t do that anymore. Thankfully, the secular entities that some disdain will hold Schauer accountable. Our DP will be re-elected, probably on a unanimous ballot, and Synodical life on the District level will go on. The only change I foresee is that I will become an outcast in District circles, maybe even disciplined.

Brothers and sisters, I hope that I am wrong about much of this. Perhaps I will be surprised. I realize my cynicism is great, spiritually unhealthy, and sinful. Tomorrow, at a Circuit Treore service, I will preach on the words of our Lord, “Father forgive them.” Do we forgive those who have wronged us? Of course! For this Christ died! Because of the forgiveness won for us on the cross we get to forgive others. That is the joy this Holy Week.
Trust? That takes time.

SP Matt Harrison ordered Steadfast editor Pastor Joshua Scheer to erase the entire thread. Scheer obeyed. Scheer went from junior pastor and junior editor to senior in both areas. That was his home congregation, but what's child rape when money is on the table?

***

GJ - There is some discussion about what rules would keep these things from happening.

I can list exact parallels with the Episcopal Church (Bishop Bennison) or WELS (Tabor, Just, Stolzenburg, Werner, Adrian, Zerbe).

Or the Roman Catholic Church, which the Protestants deride but emulate to perfection.

The problem is not with the rules but with the men involved. Denominational leaders are spineless, ruthless, unethical, and shameless. They shift from one deception to another, whenever caught in a lie. They have no concern about the victims or the congregations, only about their careers, perks, and reputations.

Two stories on Schauer -

http://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/event/article/id/32090/

http://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/event/article/id/32132/publisher_ID/15/

The great Saxon migration was part of a sex cult where Martin Stephan controlled a group of young women and the CFW Walther circle looked the other way.

The Otten crowd continues telling the Walther myth while despising Loehe who invited the Perryville cult to join his group. Walther later asked Loehe for the Ft. Wayne seminary - for free - with continued Loehe support.

I posted about Purple Splash roses being revived by rain, which is always effective.

Several events got me interested in rugosa roses. One was the mother of Almost Eden talking about old roses and hips, using them for wreaths. However, my initial investigation found them being offered for a princely sum on the Net, about $30 each.

Every rose flower tries to turn into a a rose hip - seed pod - packed with Vitamin C. Some roses have very large hips. Chewable Vitamin C tablets taste just like rose hips.

But I also heard about this group of roses being large and shade tolerant. I was thinking about which dominant plants could be featured in the semi-shaded Wild Garden, and I had my answer. They would block the back alley view, provide hips for birds and wreaths, and shelter for birds.

I checked out Direct Gardening, which has various roses and plants for deeply discounted prices.

Rugosa bushes are fragrant, tolerant of shade and salt spray.

Textured leaves make them rugosa wrinkled.

Rose growers are a bit wary of such low prices, but I read they replace roses that do not grow, just as the big commercial sites do - Edmunds, Jackson and Perkins. So - what about the price?

Six for $10! They threw in some bonus plants, too.

When they arrived, the bare root roses were little sticks with roots on them. The other plants were a bit stronger and more vital looking.

I put everything into the rain-barrel and made sure they were immersed. They remained soaking almost 24 hours. The hosta starts began to sprout. The balloon flowers also began to grow.

I looked closely at each rose stick - they were covered with buds!

Mrs. Ichabod was struck by how they revived overnight in rainwater. "Do people know about this?"

I said, "Roses are often soaked before planting. After I received some bad-looking roses from California, I soaked them in rainwater for a long time and pruned the canes and roots. They leafed out faster than any roses I planted before that time."

I went on to say, "Some people add bleach to water they use for soaking." Mrs. I - "Oh no!"

"And others add fertilizer, in another attempt to kill all soil microbes." Mrs. I - "Pathetic."

The cardboard collar is handy for protecting small plants from weeds, clover, and foot-traffic.

Small Plant Protection
Nobody beats me in stepping on plants, so I have learned to set them off when they are in high traffic areas. I open up a cardboard food package - empty of course. Each one is a single piece, almost square, often with scoring to make the central hole easy to fashion with fingernails or scissors.

I make a ruffled clergy collar, without the ruffle, to pass over the plant and block most of the weed growth. The Elephant Ears were trying to grow in the front yard, and the clover were ready to take over completely - one example. The location was out in the sun where anyone might walk and injure the new plant rising up from its bulb.

In the Wild Garden I had brown sticks among brown leaves in the semi-shade. I made the collar weed-blockers and kept them in place with small logs on each side. On our walk today Sassy and I saw a familiar pile of logs. I picked out a light, rotten log and took it home for one of the collars.

To make a reasonably straight line, I tied twine between two screw hooks and stuck them in the soil.

I was about to dig into clay. "Oh, clay is so heavy and hard to dig, especially when the soil dries out."

But this clay was covered with cardboard in the fall and garnished with 60+ bags of leaves. This cardboard and leaves mulch proved so effective that hardly anything grew through the layer.

Underneath the mulch, in spite of the dry weather and no watering in the Wild Garden, the clay soil was soft, damp, and filled with red wiggler earthworms. I did not have to deal with digging through a tangle of grass roots - the sod was composted by the lack of sunlight, the abundance of soil creatures, the engineering and management of the Creator.

Covering the Wild Garden in the fall was a matter of getting cardboard boxes from Goodwill, laying them down on 1/2 of the backyard, and weighing down the cardboard with various logs, weights, garbage pails, boards from an old desk. Caution - autumn winds will try to recycle the cardboard into neighboring yards until it is wet and soggy from rain.

Rugosa roses are simple but aromatic. Many prefer the old roses.

Sample of Twitter accounts linked by Luther Days:

1. Three on porn addiction.
2. Uncrappy Theology.
3. Northpoint - Andy Stanley, gay activist.
4. Craig Groeschel.
5. Obscene title (c___) foul language, etc. Supposedly Christian account.
6. Pastor Rick - WELS.
7. Thrivent salesman.
8. Wartburg ELCA Seminary - celebrating the inauguration of Louise Johnson, president
9. World Council of Churches.
10. Gettysburg ELCA Seminary.
11. Plenty of ELCA congregations.
12. Tony Robbins.

"So much good stuff to read! And distinctively Lutheran!"

A. Berean has left a new comment on your post "Imputation Is the Foundational Issue - Says A. Ber...":

Justification - the Chief Article of Christian Doctrine as Expounded in Loci Theologici, by Martin Chemnitz. Translated by J.A.O. Preus. Published by Concordia Publishing House. Page 149.

Also in his Examination of the Council of Trent vol. 1, pg. 532, paragraph 17. Published by Concordia Publishing House. Translated by Fred Kramer.

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solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Imputation Is the Foundational Issue - Says A. Ber...":

Here it is to be noted that these three things are joined together: faith, Christ, and acceptance or imputation. Faith takes hold of Christ and has Him present, enclosing Him as the ring encloses the gem. And whoever is found having this faith in the Christ who is grasped in the heart, him God accounts as righteous. This is the means and the merit by which we obtain the forgiveness of sins and righteousness. “Because you believe in Me,” God says, “and your faith takes hold of Christ, whom I have freely given to you as your Justifier and Savior, therefore be righteous.” Thus God accepts you or accounts you righteous only on account of Christ, in whom you believe.

Now acceptance or imputation is extremely necessary, first, because we are not yet purely righteous, but sin is still clinging to our flesh during this life. God cleanses this remnant of sin in our flesh. In addition, we are sometimes forsaken by the Holy Spirit, and we fall into sins, as did Peter, David, and other saints. Nevertheless, we always have recourse to this doctrine, that our sins are covered and that God does not want to hold us accountable for them (Rom. 4). This does not mean that there is no sin in us, as the sophists have taught when they said that we must go on doing good until we are no longer conscious of any sin; but sin is always present, and the godly feel it. But it is ignored and hidden in the sight of God, because Christ the Mediator stands between; because we take hold of Him by faith, all our sins are sins no longer. But where Christ and faith are not present, here there is no forgiveness of sins or hiding of sins. On the contrary, here there is the sheer imputation and condemnation of sins. Thus God wants to glorify His Son, and He Himself wants to be glorified in us through Him.

Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, Luther's Works (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1963). 26:132-133.

SolaFide: Pretty clear, I think.

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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Imputation Is the Foundational Issue - Says A. Ber...":

Ichabod - Thank you for highlighting, A Berean's excellent comment. Yes! The word "Imputation," is at the forefront of this universal objective justification controversy and discussion.

Luther correctly said: "Where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation."

But it is here where the universal objective justification enthusiasts [UOJE] get tripped up, and never do get to first base:

UOJE [Universal objective justification enthusiasts] become hung up on the Atonement as a "be all" and "end all." They would rather just view Christ's universal sacrifice for sin as the one time imputation to the human soul. Their basic view of imputation is that when Christ died and rose; - that is what Luther talked about - "Where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation." To them, that is the sum and substance of imputation. Hence, this is why UOJE often don't highlight the Holy Spirit's work in the salvation process. [John 3:8 in context] They essentially diss (ignore) faith. They bypass faith and actually believe that with the forgiveness of sins brought about by the Atonement, - that has brought [as Luther put it] "life and salvation" to all. So, then, their understanding is all based around the Atonement; that Christ's sacrifice was imputed, - not, faith.

On the other hand, those of us who believe Scripture, (and, the Confessions, concur); we believe that we, (by God's grace) are justified by faith. [Ephesians 2:8-9] We believe that the faith the Holy Spirit creates in us is imputed to us. We could almost use the words "infused" and "continually dispensed." Luther put it this way in his explanation of the 3rd Article of the Apostles Creed:

"In which Christian church He daily and richly forgive sins to me and all believers......"

Finally, I will point to an illustration, using an analogy. [And, I realize that no analogy is perfect]:

The universal objective justification crowds are stuck on the Atonement. To them that is their priceless "auto body."

But, the car doesn't travel (anywhere) without wheels and fuel. Hence, the Atonement without its (Holy Spirit) "imputation wheels & fuel" is useless. Without the Spirit's wheels and fuel, the human soul cannot personally partake of and benefit from Christ's all encompassing Atonement. Nor, (without Holy Spirit wheels and fuel) will that human soul travel to heaven. All that, though, does not matter for the universal objective justification enthusiasts still stuck in their Atonement auto. To them a car without wheels and fuel is a perfect and complete auto.

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org

www.moralmatters.org


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GJ - The readers and I are grateful for the thoughtful contributions that arrive as comments.

How many Lutherans (apart from Bethany members) study Luther's Galatians Commentary? Instead, they read Sig Becker, Jungkuntz, and the Brief Confession of Universal Absolution. Jay Webber mentioned, then ignored the commentary in his odious Emmaus meltdown.

Mr. Mcgranor has left a new comment on your post "A 21st Century Formula of Concord: RESURRECTION AN...":

Many a Lutheran is quick to play theological condemnation games.

Unfortunately you are in a Spiritual Church that you have limited control over. However even that limited control is not entirely asserted by you and others.

If Christ had not effected (sic) even the non-believer the universe would be in hell.

Still i (sic) understand the need to find precise definitive doctrine. At the same time, any doctrine that is not ultimate will not stand; whether it is on paper, or not. Or will stand even though it is not on paper.

This is not relativism; but as Philipp Melanchthon and His Philippist Party suggested--the Spiritual Church is absolutely true.

http://www.everypoet.net/poetry/blogs/dickgentile/philipp_melanchthon_and_his_philippist_party

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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "A 21st Century Formula of Concord: RESURRECTION AN...":

Ichabod -

It is so true what you say:

>>>>> ...... Luther always praises the atonement and describes how Christ has graciously taken all our sins upon Him. However, he never confuses that with the imputation of righteousness..... <<<<<<

Cascione's own words, illustrate his confusion when he mischaracterizes those who reject universal objective justification:

>>>>> .....our own faith causes our own atonement. Hence, the Sovereignty of God would necessarily be more significant than an atonement that we are able to bring on ourselves....... <<<<<<

Cascione overlooks the reality of God's grace. He, apparently is putting words in the mouths of those who believe Scripture's "justification by faith alone." What is so difficult for these Universalists to understand? Can they not appreciate God's good grace, followed by faith? Can they not understand Ephesians 2:8-9? Why do they confuse this and then go on their mischaracterizing binges alleging that those who adhere to Scripture and Luther's teaching on "justification by faith alone" are out to lunch?

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org

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He was not the leader and not the founder, but Walther was the enforcer and pimp for his syphilitic bishop, Martin Stephan, STD.

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "A 21st Century Formula of Concord: RESURRECTION AN...":

I disagree with your analysis Mr. Mcgranor. Christ is of no affect to those who do not believe.

Galatians 5:3-5, "For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith."

The same response applies to Otten's teaching of the false gospel of Universal Objective Justification. In the previous post Otten makes the following statement.

Otten, "Christ reconciled the world to God by offering Himself as Propitiation to God for the sins of mankind. Paul declared that Christ "gave Himself a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6). John wrote that Christ “has paid for our sins, and not for ours only but for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). William Beck correctly comments in a footnote on this verse in his translation of the New Testament: "His sacrifice wipes out our sins and changes God’s anger to love.”"

This false tenet of UOJ is destroyed by Christ's declaration in John 8:24, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

Only through the Holy Spirit's faith, the righteousness of Christ, worked solely by God's grace through Word and Sacrament alone, is any man's sins forgiven.

UOJ declares God's forgiveness upon the unbelieving world outside of and before Christ's faith in man. This is rejected by Scripture in Romans 14:23, "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatever is not of faith is sin."

UOJ is sin.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "A 21st Century Formula of Concord: RESURRECTION AN...":

Link to Otten's war on the Scriptural doctrine of Justification as quoted in my comment above.

http://a21stcenturyformulaofconcord.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-vicarious-satisfaction-of-christ.html 

***

I'm taking notes here... What?

GJ - The UOJ Enthusiasts claim to follow justification by faith, so why do they persecute and excommunicate justification by faith? They love every other dogma. They either adore Fuller dogma or keep their silence. But Luther's doctrine! - they loathe that.

If Herman Otten wants to create a 21st century Formula of Concord, why does he begin by selling a poisonous, hate-filled, lying book about Luther? Roman Catholics laugh about the lies in The Facts about Luther, the equivalent of those nuns' stories about "don't wear patent leather shoes, because they will reflect your underwear." Otten responded - it was for the money. He sells to both sides of an issue.

Not true.

Once I identified Otten with Enthusiasm and UOJ, he refused to mention anything I published. Otten only printed remarks againstThy Strong Word and spiked positive comments. That was "the other side of the issue."

And yet he is happy to sell Valleskey's pathetic UOJ-Church Growth textbook, We Believe...

I can hear the Fox Valley Andy Stanley Chorus saying, "But you only care about him selling your books."

I give away PDFs of every book I have written. Did NPH give away Liberalism? No, but I give it away as a PDF. Bethany Lutheran Church gave away several thousands in free books at two Emmaus conferences (ELS-WELS-LCMS), but the host did not want justification by faith discussed at a "free conference."

I have promoted the free exchange of ideas among Lutherans and other confessions. UOJ, in contrast, silences the Gospel with great venom and dishonesty.

Calvinism is the foundation of Lutheran Pietism, and its rationalism leads to Universalism.

This is not our German Shepherd mix, but it could be.

Pageviews peaked at 6,200 for a 24-hour period and stayed at 4 - 5 thousand a day for 10 days. The 30 day views are around 90,000 at the moment. I attribute the surge to district conventions.

When people are reading stories from way back, I check them out and see if they are worth re-posting.

I knew my mother's secret for having the best houseplants at Garfield Elementary School. She filled her watering container early, let it evaporate out the chlorine, and then used it. No other teacher had so many flowers in their classroom.

She told me about it with a big smile - "Give it at least 24 hours. Flowers do not like chlorine." Later, when I bought her bare-root roses to grow in St. Louis, she ended up with the best ones in the condo area, and people asked her how she did it. She said, "I grew up on a farm."

Now that regular rains have departed, and the rain-barrels are empty, I have done the same to build up a supply of stored water. When I was done with some routine watering, I filled one barrel almost to the top. Some replacement roses are coming, so they will be soaked in stored water before planting. The $2 rugosa roses will get daily watering from the same supply.

What seems like a lot of water is soon gone when gallons are used here and there. I have four large rain-barrels and four 5-gallon painting buckets (clean).

People gasp at Big Bertha, which is an expensive copy of the earthworm they take for granted.

Avoiding chlorine in the water is short-hand for favoring the bacteria cycle. As readers know, earthworms graze on bacteria. The earthworm's rings of muscle and bristle propel them through the soil. They are like the giant tunnel-boring equipment used to create space for subways and underground pipes. From the mouth to the disposal area, the earthworm is one straight digestive track, with little grinding stones to pulverize the intake.

When man tries to imitate Creation, a much more elaborate device is needed, and it can choke on a pipe found in the wrong place.

But earthworms patiently continue the work assigned them, which brings us back to bacteria. The earthworm does not digest the food taken in through its mouth. The bacteria digest the food for the earthworm and get a free ride.

Since most bacteria are not dangerous and help keep disease organisms at bay, they are good and useful.

Nitrogen fixing bacteria are the foundation for improving the soil. I visited the office of a company that drew nitrogen from the atmosphere in Midland, Michigan and sold it to Dow Chemical. Nitrogen gas is handy for preventing fires and explosions in chemical reactions.




Pulling nitrogen from the atmosphere without changing it is an elaborate and noisy operation, but the bacteria do the same and make a compound at the same time. I am no chemist, just a chemnitz, so here is the explanation -

Wiki:

Legume family[edit]

Cow Vetch is a legume that produces seed loved by budgies and other birds.

Vetches are not glamorous because they grow on their own, but Cow Vetch has a delicate flower that would be prized if rare.