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| Hot air salesman Mark Jeske showed off his Thrivent threads at Martin Luther College - he was a leader in closing Northwestern College. Tution has skyrocketed ever since, and language requirements have plummeted. |
Evangelism Day: “Your Kingdom Come”
“Evangelism Day is a day set aside so that the Spirit can fill the hearts of both faculty and students with excitement and gratitude,” says MLC President Mark Zarling.
“Excitement as we learn more about the amazing things the Lord Jesus is doing through the gospel. Gratitude as we think of almost 50 Church and Changers who come to New Ulm and share with us the good news about the power of the Good News.”
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GJ - Last year I was unable to obtain the list of leaders who would speak for Evangelism Day. Their good news is that everyone is already forgiven and saved.
The year before that, the list was hidden but I found out anyway. All the speakers were Church and Changers. Bonafide. Certified. Approved. Tattooed with an image of the Beast - Mark Jeske.
Before that year of the hidden but found list, the shrinking college bragged about all the Church and Changers invited for their alleged Evangelism Day.
The total cost of attending one year at MLC is already $25,000.
Zarling finally got an accredited degree from Concordia Mequon, LCMS, which is OK, because Missouri is retroactively in fellowship with WELS and the Little Sect.
Zarling is a complete idiot when it comes to Lutheran education, in spite of his master's degree from Concordia Mequon. Here is his opening lie about justification.
The doctrine of justification is the shining jewel of our faith. Indeed, this teaching of Scripture is the heart and core of Christianity. Luther, as is well known, called justification the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae. Dr. Luther goes on in admiring this jewel by saying: The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our conscience before God. Without this article the world is utter death and darkness... The doctrine of justification must, as I frequently urge, be diligently learned; for in it all the other articles of our faith are comprehended. And when that is safe, the others are safe too.1 (Footnote - from What Luther Says.)
Of course, the above statement is true. But note how he shamelessly reverses the meaning of the Chief Article - just as Bivens did. Perhaps Bivens plagiarized the opening.
Bivens - The Primary Doctrine in Its Primary Setting: Objective Justification and Lutheran Worship1. Justification and the Power to Worship “The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our consciences before God. Without this article the world is utter darkness and death.”1 (What Luther Says) Luther’s appraisal of the doctrine of justification is also ours. We hold it to be the primary doctrine of Scripture, that is, the central and most important teaching revealed by God for us sinners.2
But then, suddenly - a warning, an about-face from Zarling -
Bivens - The Primary Doctrine in Its Primary Setting: Objective Justification and Lutheran Worship1. Justification and the Power to Worship “The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our consciences before God. Without this article the world is utter darkness and death.”1 (What Luther Says) Luther’s appraisal of the doctrine of justification is also ours. We hold it to be the primary doctrine of Scripture, that is, the central and most important teaching revealed by God for us sinners.2
But then, suddenly - a warning, an about-face from Zarling -
Last year, when first approached to take this assignment, I was under the impression that this paper would be a response to the now famous "Kokomo case." (My only criterion for selection was that I happened to vicar in the same conference back in '78-'79, when the situation first developed. Now I know that vicaring for George Boldt is an honor, but I wonder if I should thank him for being assigned a paper purely by association?!) In the intervening year, the Kokomo case has been dealt with by the proper committees of our church. Yet to read the "august" pages of the Christian News one would imagine that the controversy rages on. Such is not the case. I am convinced that our gracious Lord has united the brethren in our Church in a Scriptural understanding of justification. There is no controversy or conflict within the WELS. However, since our position has been raped and plundered by those who put words into our mouths, this paper might prove a beneficial review.
Leaving the scene of rape and plunder, here is the tired, old, shopworn, trite, often-repeated definition of justification -
Three phrases are usually applied to the teaching that God has forgiven the sins of all men: "Objective justification", "general justification", or "universal justification." Most of the time these terms are interchangeable. Stoeckhardt3 seems to prefer "general justification," while Pieper4 talks of "objective reconciliation." Only Dr. S. Becker carefully delineates between objective and universal justification. "Universal justification" is a term denoting the doctrine that God has forgiven the sins of all men. Strictly speaking, the term "objective justification" expresses the thought that the sins of a man are forgiven by God whether he believes it or not. Objective justification is not necessarily universal, but if justification is universal it must of necessity be objective.5 Perhaps such a distinction is helpful if it assists us in understanding the glorious Gospel: In Jesus, God has declared the entire world righteous and forgiven, regardless of whether or not the world believes it. Such is the jewel described by objective, universal, or general justification. Yet Scripture goes on in revealing how God appropriates this good news to the individual. God creates faith in the heart of a sinner, faith which trusts that since I am part of the world, I also am declared righteous for Christ's sake.
And yet, to spite the opening of the essay, which the author clearly repudiates, the title of this essay - carefully preserved in the Holy of Holies, the WELS Essay File - is:
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| Zak Stowe received his MLC diploma from Zarling just before coming out - a deal worked out in advance, but Zak was supposed to wait months, not seconds, to come out. |