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| Why u no trust the Word of God? |
The Lutheran pastors who came to America were hybrids. They received plenty of rationalistic training. Several examples would be Stephan, Walther, and Hoenecke. But they also were influenced by Pietism and unionism.
Our family friend, whose parents are from Taiwan, was considered too Asian for the American girls, but the Taiwanese girls thought he was too American.
Likewise, the American Lutheran pioneers are often seen as leaving Europe so they could escape the oppression of their rationalistic state churches. Like the Swedish Augustana Synod, they looked to mission societies and Pietistic methods as their uniting characteristics against the dark background of a degraded state church.
Bishop Stephan, syphilis and all, led his congregation and his circle of pastors through the Pietistic cell group. Augustana involved itself in revivals and temperance causes (Pietism). The General Synod had altar calls and the mourner's bench, where individuals moved by an emotional sermon came forward to confess their sins and be born again.
Pietism loved small lay-led Bible study groups, avoided the liturgy, and made Holy Communion a quarterly Means of Grace.
The slogans of WELS and Missouri were often voiced around the Swedish Lutherans because they come from the same Pietism:
- I worship Jesus not Luther.
- Doctrine divides.
- I love my home Bible study group.
- I have that Book of Concord but it is old-fashioned and not interesting.
Because Pietists do not rely on the Confessions, which define Lutheran Orthodoxy, they quickly become unhitched from the Scriptures they imagine they honor. That leads them into emotionalism, to get the right effect, and rationalism, to find out what really works.
Their favorite authors (non-Lutheran, or unionistic, or both) constantly teach against the efficacy of the Word, whether openly or covertly. Opposing the efficacy of the Word means rejecting the Means of Grace, so there must be something else that works.
Hence the rationalistic Pietists constantly search for man-made methods and human reasons for doing whatever work they do.
Tim Glende gave a good example in his promotional film about their new church building designed by the chief architect for Holiday Inns. Tim began with the classic passage about the efficacy of the Word, Isaiah 55, but switched to "studies show that..."
The Lutheran Church in America used to take fads and ask, "How can we baptize this? Heh. Heh. Heh."
Starting with Isaiah 55 is a great way to mask Fuller Seminary studies. Mexicans will sit on top of each other in church, but Americans like more space. I heard that one in 1978. The real agenda is designing a church for the Fuller agenda of entertainment. Look at those giant screens. Is that Pastor Tim on the left? Almost as good as Ski on the jumbo screen at the movie theater they abandoned in haste.
The new plan is a stage, not an altar.
"Did you see how little room Koine had for their rock band at the old church? Pathetic. We need a big old stage and mega screens on the right and left to display the timeless tosh of their hand-scooped songs."
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| Note Pastor Tim on the left-hand computer screen. The architect knows how to sell a plan - to the pastor first. No altar, no font. No pulpit. The lectern is probably wired to the Net to provide a stream of Groeschel tidbits. |