God's Mission 11/17/2011
 
(the following article was originally printed in Exposing the ELCA's fall 2011 e-newsletter)

I'd like to share with you two emails I received this month.  The first -

I am a junior who recently transferred to an ELCA affiliated college. I stumbled across your website after sitting through a particularly awful religion class - in my first of two religion courses that are required to fulfill the general core here - trying to fight back the disgust I felt for having to study such nonsense. I was brought up in a strong Bible-based Lutheran church body, and I couldn't believe what I was being told was "truth" and "fact" in class. I wanted to see how the professor could possibly believe the things he was telling us - obviously I didn't realize how far astray the ELCA really was from God. This website has given me so much comfort and reassurance, and it's become a habit to come back to it after each class and reaffirm that God's word is certainly pure and living and true. Thank you so much for helping me to stand under all the falsehoods I have to endure in this class. You have given form to my frustrations and answers to my incredulity. I pray that God continue to bless your efforts. Thank you!

The second email . . .

I found your site through a friend. Thank God someone has stepped forward with the truth. I left elca in 2009 in disgust. It wasn't just the direction they were headed, but that they've been headed that way all along and have been deceptive about it. The people I left behind are good folks, but either asleep or not willing to rock the boat. Bless you for taking a stand.  

I hope, by reading these two emails, you will see the vital role God has given Exposing the ELCA and those who support this ministry in helping those hurt, deceived and abandoned by the ELCA's departure from God's truth.

People need this ministry.  Thank you for being part of it.

Your prayers, support and financial gifts are very much appreciated.  You can give by following this link, help Exposing the ELCA.

Thank you and God bless you in Jesus' name!

Dan Skogen
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The Bethany College men’s golf team got itself in hot water recently when they posed naked for an unofficial team picture. (see this article - Bethany suspends golfers after racy picture - warning, picture is posted with article)

The story out of Bethany College (ELCA) has been picked up by newspapers, websites, television stations and radio programs from around the nation.  (see here)
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Yes, the ELCA affiliated Wartburg college in Waverly, Iowa is at it again.  The 6th Annual Drag Show will be held on Saturday, March 26 Neumann Auditorium. (see here)  "This year's theme is 'We Are Who We Are', celebrating everyone being themselves and enjoying life to the fullest!"

Exposing the ELCA reported on the Wartburg's drag show last year. (read here)

Would Jesus participate as an observer or performer at a drag show?  Never.  So why are we contributing to a college that endorses such behavior?
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One would think that ELCA pastors, bishops and teachers would believe Scripture.  However all one has to do is read, “The Clergy Letter - from American Christian clergy: An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science,” to find that most do not.

Over 1500 ELCA leaders signed this letter which states,
 
“the overwhelming majority (of Christians) do not read the Bible literally, as they would a science textbook. Many of the beloved stories found in the Bible – the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark – convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the proper relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the only form capable of transmitting these truths from generation to generation. Religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth.”

Make no mistake, what these Christian leaders are saying is that they do not believe what the Bible actually says.  They are calling the story about creation, Adam and Eve, and Noah’s ark, lies.  These ELCA leaders think they know better than Jesus, the Old and New Testament writers, and 2000 years of Christians, who knew these stories to be true.  (read more here)

The letter goes on to say, “We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as ‘one theory among others’ is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children.”

Really?  So those that believe God’s account of creation, are “ignorant?”  Maybe these religious elites should read from this website about the many scientists who are skeptical of Darwinism. (read here and download the list of scientists who signed "A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism.")

More from the letter, “We believe that among God’s good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God’s loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris.” 

Let me get this straight, now these “Christian” leaders, who say that the Biblical account of creation is not true, are now telling us that if we believe God’s account of creation we are REJECTING God’s Will? 

Finally the letter says, “We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge.” (read here)

Here are “Christian” leaders urging school boards to have the teaching of evolution be a “core component of HUMAN knowledge.”   These are the people teaching us and our children about Jesus and the Bible?  

Someone may ask, “What’s the big deal?”  “Who cares if ELCA leaders and pastors don’t believe what the Bible says about creation?”

Here are a few quotes that highlight why we should care:

"More cases of loss of religious faith can be traced to the theory of evolution--- than anything else." - Martin Lings, quoted in Christian Century July, 1982

“Evolution is the greatest engine of atheism ever invented.” - Noted evolutionist, Professor Will Provine, in “Evolution: Free will and punishment and meaning in life.”

"Any creationist lawyer who got me on the stand could instantly win over the jury simply by asking me: 'Has your knowledge of evolution influenced you in the direction of becoming an atheist?' I would have to answer yes and, at one stroke, I would have lost the jury." - Noted evolutionist, Dr. Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion  (2008)  p. 93

While I was studying at an ELCA seminary, the Dean of Students told me that not one ELCA seminary professor in the United States believes Adam and Eve were real people.  I couldn’t believe that this would be true, but after viewing the signatures of the letter, it seems that the Dean’s statement is true.  Sadly, seminary professors’ beliefs are being picked up by their students, our ELCA pastors.

Linked at the end of this blog is the list of current and retired ELCA pastors, ELCA seminary professors, ELCA college professors, ELCA seminary presidents and ELCA Bishops who agree with this letter and signed it.  Some of the notable signers are: Bishop Allan Bjornberg (ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod), Bishop Paul J. Blom - Houston, Texas, Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, The Rev. Stacy Boorn (herchurch), The Rev. Michael Cooper-White, D.D., (President - Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA), Bishop Ralph W. Dunkin (West Virginia -Western Maryland Synod), The Rev. James Kenneth Echols, Ph.D. (President - Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago), The Rev. Paul W. Egertson, Ph.D. (Bishop Emeritus - Southwest California Synod), The Rev. Anita C. Hill, The Rev. B. Penrose Hoover (Bishop - Lower Susquehanna Synod), The Rev. Robert L. Isaksen, (Retired ELCA Pastor and Bishop of the New England Synod), The Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, Kevin S. Kanouse, (Bishop Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod), Paul R. Landahl (Bishop Metropolitan Chicago Synod), Bishop April Ulring Larson (La Crosse Area Synod), The Rev. Duane H. Larson, PhD., (President - Wartburg Theological Seminary), The Rev. Felipe Lozada-Montanez (Bishop of the Caribbean Synod of the ELCA), The Rev. Dr. Gerald L. Mansholt (Bishop Central States Synod), The Rev. Robert W. Mattheis (Bishop Emeritus, Sierra Pacific Synod), The Rev. George Paul Mocko (Bishop Emeritus, Delaware-Maryland Synod), Bishop David G. Mullen (Sierra Pacific Synod), Bishop Dean W. Nelson (Southwest California Synod), Bishop Margaret G. Payne (New England Synod), The Rev. Dr. Ted Peters (Interim President - Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary), The Rev. Dr. Jerry L. Schmalenberger (Retired President - Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary), Bishop David R. Strobel (Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod), The Rev. Dr. Christopher M. Thomforde (President - St. Olaf College), Bishop Ron Warren (ELCA Southeastern Synod), The Rev. Dr. Howard E. Wennes (Retired Bishop ELCA), The Rev. Paul M. Werger, (Bishop Emeritus - Southeastern Iowa Synod) and The Rev. Dr. Herman Yoos (Bishop - South Carolina Synod).

More than 12,000 American pastors signed this letter and over 1500 of them are Evangelical Lutheran Church in America leaders.  By the way, these are just the signers who listed “ELCA” or “Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” with their signature (for the most part).  There are many more signers who only listed their Lutheran church’s name.  I would estimate there are at least 350 Lutheran pastors who did this and most of those would be ELCA pastors, I’d assume.

Check and see if your pastor signed the letter.  I’ve linked to it because of the vast space needed to list them all.  See the list of ELCA leaders here. 
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News coming out of ELCA-affiliated California Lutheran University (CLU) in Thousand Oaks, California:  “Cal Lutheran Student Senate Proposes Change to Pro-Christian Constitution.” (read here)  Seems that the CLU student senate is proposing to take the phrase, "to further Christian growth" out of their constitution and replace it with the following: "to inspire the maturity of faith and reason in an environment of Lutheran tradition.”  The article indicates that the student senate is doing this "in hopes of introducing more inclusive and encompassing language."

The student senate is trying to change the wording of the constitution from something that has a clear Christian emphasis to something much more ambiguous and universal. 

Why are student leaders at an ELCA supported university attempting to distance themselves from helping to “further Christian growth?”  The CLU community should embrace the Christian foundations of the school, or at least pretend to for their Lutheran donors’ sake.  The student senate is acting like they are ashamed of being a Christian school.  Jesus said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."  Mark 8:38

The more I read about ELCA colleges, (see here) the more I realize that these institutions have a greater interest in bringing the ways of the world into the schools rather than teaching Christianity and the truth of Scriptures and growing student’s Christian faith, providing a Christian learning environment. 

Shouldn’t ELCA funded institutions be raising up students with strong Christian faith and values?  Equipping and preparing students who are able to apply their Christian faith in their future careers and relationships?  Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be the case.

I hope the students of CLU reject the proposed change to the constitution.  We will see.
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“Higher Standards — Higher Values — Lutheran Higher Education — There's a Difference, and it Lasts a Lifetime.”  (quote from here)  That is a statement from the official Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s website describing “the 26 colleges and universities of the ELCA . . .”  (quote from here) 

I leave it to you to decide if the ELCA is living up to the above statement after reading the following:

Muhlenberg College, an ELCA affiliated school, offers first year students a course called "Of Kings and Queens: Drag Theory and Performance." 

In a Muhlenberg College posted article entitled, “This class is a drag — and students love it,” it says this about the course, “The students in ‘Of Kings and Queens’ have spent the first three-quarters of the semester reading, writing and analyzing, discussing the politics of gender and sexuality, and coming to understand drag as a cultural phenomenon.

But the highlight of the semester will be the final exam. (Assistant Professor Troy) Dwyer and all 15 of his students are planning a drag show, which they will perform for the public, Dec. 9 at the Stonewall.  Dwyer says he believes the course is unique.” (read the whole article here) 

The two following links will take you to videos of the 2010 final exam student drag show.

The first one is a group performance by the students (see here)

This second video indicates it is of the assistant professor, Troy Dwyer’s drag performance. (see here)

Lastly, here are some pictures from a website which documents, in the URL, that the pictures are of Muhlenberg students.  The students and teacher in the above videos are the people in the pictures. (see here)   Be warned, there are a few pictures with very sexual content.

Before you send your children to an ELCA affiliated school, you should do some research into what the school is about.  If you would like to read about more instances of “higher standards - higher values” at ELCA schools, go here and scroll down the page. 
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What are your thoughts on this?  Kids having fun obviously, but is it appropriate?  Should it be happening at an ELCA college?  I would think there were probably some young children attending the game who were subject to seeing this.
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ELCA affiliated Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, is hosting a lecture on Jan. 13, 2011, by Dr. Peter Ochs.  Dr. Ochs is a “(p)rofessor of modern Judaic studies at the University of Virginia and founder of a revolutionary approach to reading scripture . . .” (read here)

Dr. Ochs will lecture about “scriptural reasoning” and will have a demonstration of how it is done.  “Scriptural reasoning is a way of studying scripture with people from different faith traditions.”  This includes studying the Qur’an with Muslims.

The press release put out by Augustana College says, “Ochs' lecture will show students and community members the importance of scriptural reasoning for peace and understanding between traditions. ‘Divine voice(s) are not heard deeply without learning and effort — and, we add, without listening to those who hear in ways that are slightly different,’ he said.” (read here)

You may want to read the above quote again.  Augustana is bring Dr. Ochs in to their college to “show students and community members” this method where “Divine voices” are heard in other faiths.

This is another example of an ELCA-related entity that is introducing false doctrine.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the one true God.  They are not the god of the Muslims or any other religion. (read more about this here) 

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Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa is an ELCA school. On March 20, 2010, they hosted Wartburg College's 5th Annual Drag Show. "The show brings in professional drag queens and kings from around the state of Iowa and also features students, faculty, and staff performers." (see here)

The Drag Show takes place on campus at Neumann Auditorium (see here) and is sponsored by Wartburg Alliance, which describes itself as ". . . a student-run organization that seeks to generate awareness about LGBT issues and advocate for more inclusive environments on campus, locally, and nationally." (see here)

A blogger in attendance during this year’s drag show said the star performer was Serena Michaels, otherwise known as Miss Gay Iowa 2010. (read here)

Here are links to pictures from the event - 

-  Picture 1

-  Picture 2

-  Picture 3

-  Picture 4

-  Picture 5

-  Picture 6

An ELCA college hosting drag shows for their student body, as well as inviting the attendance of the local community, should not be a surprise. When the parent denomination is rewriting God’s Word and encouraging people to remain in sin, how can one expect the schools they run to uphold Christian values?

Wartburg College student programming - God’s money - your tithes, gifts and tuition at work.





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One would think if you send your child to a Christian college that the school would uphold Christian principles and values.  That is often not the case.  Gustavus Adolphus College, an ELCA school presents some eye opening and very disturbing information to its incoming 2010 freshmen class.

A group called Gusties for Restoring America describes one of the presentations, “The first video, from a seminar titled the 'Inside Scoop' (a 'must see' event according to the orientation schedule), features a series of sexually suggestive skits explaining to incoming students such things as where to get free condoms on campus, how to signal to your roommate that you are busy having sex (so he waits until later to come in), and how to tell your roommate you're gay (as well as the appropriate response you ought take when receiving such information).” (read here)  

Video one -
 
For more information and to see the second video
featuring another orientation skit, see the article “Sexual Indoctrination at Lutheran College's Freshmen Orientation Caught on Tape” (read and view here) 
 
I have to ask, why send your children to ELCA colleges anymore when they can get this same experience at a state college for 1/4th the money?
Update:  Here is another blog written about the Gustavus Adolphus presentation - Bargain Alert: Our “Christian” College Will Teach Your Kids Decadence, Atheism and Doubt for only $42,000 a year!
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