Jesus: His Birth and Life Foretold 12/24/2011
A simple video, yet a profound message. Merry Christmas from Exposing the ELCA! Add Comment Jesus Would Reject ELCA's Interfaith Agenda 07/24/2011
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has immersed itself, and promoted involvement of its members, in interfaith relations. A search of “interfaith” on elca.org confirms this. (see here) But when you look at all the interfaith work the ELCA is so heavily involved with, very little is about sharing the Good News of what Christ has done and the gift of eternal life that is available for those that believe. That is a huge problem and ELCA members should be asking themselves why this is so. The ELCA’s May/June 2011 edition of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics focuses on helping to “inform and inspire encounters with our multi-religious neighbors.” In one article the Journal’s Associate Editor, Victor Thasiah, tells of one of his experiences. “Shortly after getting to know some young Muslim men from Malindi while traveling in Kenya in 2009, they invited me to join them for prayer — to observe and participate as I wished. Outside of the mosque, after removing my shoes, they welcomed me to wash my hands, feet, face, ears, and mouth — to purify myself from the evil I had thought, done, seen, heard, and spoken. On my knees . . .I cupped water with my hands to cover my ears. . .” The story ends with Victor saying, “I can say that one day in Nairobi I was baptized by a Muslim.” (read here) In 2010 during an ELCA “Sharing the Gospel” event, the conference welcomed Muslim and Buddhist prayers and those in attendance were invited to participate with them if they wished. (read here) The ELCA failing to tell people of other religions about salvation in Christ for those that believe is bad enough. But as the examples above show the ELCA seems to be moving toward the acceptance of prayers and worship to gods other than the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (see here and here for more examples) What is going on in our denomination? Would Jesus participate in a prayer and cutting ceremony with the prophets of Baal? In Scripture God told His people to remove the temples and alters of other gods in the land of Israel, not to worship with these false religions. Solomon’s sin was that he worshipped the false gods of his wives. Yet the ELCA invites this. When you combine the universalism teaching that is going on in the ELCA (teaching that all people will go to heaven - see more here) with the “Interfaithism” preached by this denomination, it is easy to see why the ELCA is not actively sharing the good news of forgiveness of sin and salvation in Christ for those that believe. (John 3:16) It is also easy to see how the ELCA will fall in line, lock, stock and barrel, with the end times one world government that the Bible talks about. Pray that the ELCA repents of its ways. In the 2011 issue of The Lutheran we learn this interesting fact. “In 2005, the Dover, Pa., school board went to federal court over a conflict about their order to teach ‘intelligent design’ in biology classrooms. Members of the seminary (ELCA’s Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg) faculty were engaged in the controversy, opposing the curriculum.” (see here) So ELCA faculty members, who teach future pastors the Bible, actively oppose a “theory” of God’s involvement in the forming of this world from being taught in high schools? People who teach in ELCA seminaries should listen to the words of Jesus, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” John 18:16  The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America claims they believe the Bible is true, yet they continually deny factual accounts of Scripture and traditional church doctrine. See articles about: - 1500+ ELCA leaders who deny creation, Adam and Eve and Noah and the Ark - ELCA support of Universal Salvation - ELCA on Homosexuality - ELCA on Hell - ELCA and the Virgin Birth ------------- Cartoon by Matthew Silber http://www.ganarus.wordpress.com email: tridus@live.com The Real Jesus 05/04/2011
Is the ELCA following the Real Jesus? Empty Tomb 04/24/2011
 Resurrection 04/24/2011
Good Friday 04/22/2011
'You Must Be Born Again' 12/02/2010
Jesus says in John 3:3, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” A few verses later, Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’” From these statements, salvation is predicated on being born again or born through God’s Spirit. Unfortunately I rarely hear, in the ELCA, about the need to be born again. Jesus tells us we need to be born again, yet it is seldom addressed. Being “born again” is a traditional Lutheran understanding. The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, VI, which was written in 1577 talks of being “born anew.” So it seems strange to me that the ELCA goes out of it’s way to not talk about being “born again.” Exposing the ELCA has documented that the ELCA’s official website supports and promotes Universal Salvation, the belief that “everyone will be saved.” Within a section called “What We Believe,” on a page dealing with “Salvation” the denomination states: "Because Jesus is the unique and universal Savior, there is a large hope for salvation, not only for me and others with the proper credentials of believing and belonging to the church, but for all people whenever or wherever they might have lived and no matter how religious or irreligious they may have proved to be themselves. It is clearly God’s announced will that all people shall be saved and come to the knowledge of truth (1 Timothy 2:4)." (ELCA webpage has been taken down ) This is not the only mention of this false teaching on the ELCA website. On “The Resurrection” page, is a subheading “Resurrection for all?” The ELCA document, after first saying that most of the verses in the Bible say not everyone will be saved, goes on to say, "(B)ut ELCA members also look to New Testament texts that go beyond those parameters . . . Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler coined the phrase ‘Cosmic Christ’ in his 1952 address to the New Delhi assembly of the World Council of Churches, saying, ‘It is now excruciatingly clear that Christ cannot be a light that lighteth everyone coming into the world, if he is not also the light that falls upon the world into which everyone comes.’" A little later it states, “For ELCA members, the resurrection that completes the victory of Christ over sin and death is not intended for Christians alone.” The article continues, "Beyond that,
ELCA members believe that, being ‘entrusted’ with this message of reconciliation, we are to proclaim this salvation intended for all humankind, this redemption of the whole world, this resurrection to new life.” (webpage has been taken down) This is on the ELCA’s official website, and it is contained in a section called “What We Believe.” Is there any doubt the ELCA is preaching Universal Salvation? To read more evidence that the ELCA teaches and promotes Universal Salvation see here. | Dan Skogen
Former ELCA seminary student and now ELCA member who is fed up with the ELCA's consistent mockery of God's Word. If you have been helped and blessed by Exposing the ELCA's ministry, please help us continue to proclaim the truth of God's Word to ELCA members who need to hear it.
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