Quotes Exposing the ELCA

"It is my prayer, and it should also be our prayer, that every single ELCA member may decide to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. It is my prayer, and it should also be our prayer, that every single ELCA member would protest the 2009 CWA decision -and would decide to uphold the Scriptures as the infallible rule of faith and conduct." - Pastor Eddy F. Perez

"Basically, the ELCA has moved down the road to rejecting Holy Scripture. The ELCA is becoming a social club instead of a church." - Rev. Iovine, St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church

(The bone of contention is not) "strictly about sexuality, but a fundamental view of Scripture. Either the Bible is the final authority or it is not."  -  Rev. Walter Kallestad, senior pastor of Community Church of Joy in Glendale, Ariz

When asked, “are you leaving or are you staying?” leaders and members should simply reply WE ARE STANDING on the authority of Scripture. -   Pastor Bill Bohline, Hosanna Lutheran Lakeville, MN (pdf)

"It is impossible to imagine ... how [Martin Luther] would have reacted to a church endorsing homosexual practices. It's off the charts."  -  Robert Gagnon, New Testament scholar at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

"It bothers me when our church sends in premium payments for health benefits for church employees, knowing that part of that is going to pay for somebody's elective abortion. To me that's reason enough to leave right there, no matter what happens down in Orlando in August."  -  Pastor Tim White, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

“Then comes the devil, inciting and provoking in all directions, but especially agitating matters that concern both the conscience and spiritual affairs, namely, to induce us to despise and disregard both the Word and works of God to tear us away from faith, hope, love and bring us into misbelief, false security, and obduracy, or, on the other hand, to despair, denial of God, blasphemy, and innumerable other shocking things. These are indeed snares and nets, yea, real fiery darts which are shot most venomously into the heart, not by flesh and blood, but by the devil.”  - Martin Luther (in his Large Catechism teaching regarding the Sixth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer)

“Doctrine directs us and shows us the way to heaven…we can be saved without love….but not without pure doctrine….The devil would dearly love to corrupt and overthrow our doctrine; that is why he attacks us so cleverly with this specious argument about not offending love and the harmony among churches” Martin Luther (Luther’s Works 27:41-42).

“In fact, when the issue of marriage and sexual boundaries was brought to Jesus, he affirmed the Old Testament law established by God at the creation of the first human beings when he said, ‘Haven’t you read the Scriptures? They record that from the beginning “God made them male and female and this explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united as one.”’ Clearly, then, here we have a mandate from God, established at the beginning of creation, affirmed by Jesus in the Gospels, and Paul in the epistles: God created the gift of sex to be shared within the boundaries of a marriage between a man and woman. . .
Repentant sinners acknowledge their sinful behavior, seek forgiveness, and do not claim by words or actions that their behavior is God blessed and therefore something that should continue. On the other hand, pastors involved in same gender sexual relationships are involved in ongoing, and therefore unrepentant, sin,” he said. “By words or actions, they embrace their sinful behavior and claim to know better than God when it comes to defining sexual boundaries. At that point, they are no longer qualified to serve as pastors.” - Rev. Mike Housholder, senior pastor at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines

"When a church that uses the name “Lutheran” can not even get the Great Commission right, this is an important opportunity truly to consider just where the theological direction the ELCA has headed ultimately leads." - Rev. Paul T. McCain,Publisher at Concordia Publishing House and also Executive Director of the Editorial Division

"The fact that human beings, representing the church of God, in 2009 can be so gullible, as to swallow this nonsense that has only been invented in the last 20 years by the gay lobby, in order to torture the people of faith. In order to take over the denominations. They said they were going to do this.  They said they were going to rewrite scripture.  And they said they were going to take over the institutions.   They are doing it.  Only because the alleged people of God are stupid and gullible."   - Jan Mickelson, radio host, WHO (Audio)

"I conclude that there is no evidence based on the text of Scripture which permits or mandates the change as stated in the new policy adopted at the assembly. The action rather was unconstitutional and violated a part of the Confession of Faith. On that basis, the appropriate question is whether the ELCA is still without question a faithful and confessing church. I conclude that the ELCA has placed itself in a precarious position. Can I recognize my membership as authentic and God-serving in the fullest and truest sense?"  - Dr. James R. Crumley, Jr.

"To dismiss the passages of the Bible concerning homosexuality as irrelevant is beyond my understanding and appears to me to negate the authority of the Scriptures."
- Dr. James R. Crumley, Jr.

"Since ELCA formed in 1988, the total amount of international missionaries decreased by 62 percent, but staff for ministries increased by 16 percent. " Adjusted to inflation, money sent to global missions has fallen by 52 percent," -  Violet Nelson, Singsaas Lutheran Church Secretary

“It is the duty both of preachers and of hearers first of all and above all things to see to it that they have a clear and sure evidence that their doctrine is really the true word of God, revealed from heaven to the holy, original fathers, the prophets and apostles, and confirmed and commanded to be taught by Christ Himself.  For we should by no means ever let doctrine be manhandled according to the pleasure and fancy of the individual who adapts it to human reason and understanding.  Nor should we let men toy with Scripture, juggle the Word of God, and make it submit to being explained, twisted, stretched, and revised to suit people or to achieve peace and union; for then there could be no secure or stable foundation on which consciences might rely.”  - sermon by Martin Luther

 . . .Those who are sitting in the ELCA church, waiting it out and hoping that things will change, while staying silent must come out, taking a stand for all that the Bible teaches. What we communicate when we remain a part of an apostate church is that we do not take the Bible seriously, and that we do not fear God. While unity in the Body of Christ is important, it is equally important that we are unified in truth. . . - Juan Chisham

"God wants our conscience to be certain and sure that it is pleasing to Him. This cannot be done if the conscience is led by its own feelings, but only if it relies on the Word of God." - Martin Luther

"The world maintains, as do many people who do not understand,
that we should not fight so hard about an article and thus trample on Christian love; rather, although we disagree on one small point, if we agree on everything else, we should give in and overlook the difference in order to preserve brotherly and Christian unity and fellowship.
No, my dear man, do not commend peace and unity to me when thereby God's Word is lost...The Word was given unto us for eternal life and not to further outward peace and harmony... Therefore, do not talk to me about love and friendship if that means breaking with the Word or the faith, for the Gospel does not say love brings eternal life, God's grace, and all heavenly treasures, but instead 'the Word'" - Martin Luther

"Anywhere there is an inconsistency between biblical teaching and church belief/practice, it is the church that must change, not the biblical teaching. This is the case in the ELCA today. There is now a gap between the consistent teaching of Scripture, and the voted on belief/practice of the ELCA in regard to human sexuality.  One conviction I have is that the church can vote on anything that God has not already voted on. If God has already voted, we have no business voting." - Rev. Nathan Hoff

". . .the heinous conduct of the people of Sodom ” as “extraordinary, inasmuch as they departed from the natural passion and longing of the male for the female, which is implanted into nature by God, and desired what is altogether contrary to nature. Whence comes this perversity? Undoubtedly from Satan, who after people have once turned away from the fear of God, so powerfully suppresses nature that he blots out the natural desire and stirs up a desire that is contrary to nature." - Martin Luther (Luther’s Works, Vol. 3, 255)

"How sad that the ELCA no longer affirms the timeless Christian understanding of marriage. Instead it is touting secular psycho-babble about "fulfilling" and "nurturing" relationships. How will the church's young people interpret this tacit approval of at least some non-marital sex?
"In embracing moral relativism, the ELCA assembly has disregarded the Bible, the views of its own members, and the pleas of Lutherans in Africa and Asia. It has left the mainstream of U.S. and global Christianity, instead following other shrinking denominations like the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ towards internal division, accelerating membership loss, and cultural irrelevance." - The Institute on Religion and Democracy President Mark Tooley

"In the arrogance of our soul, it's presumption to think that we in the 21st century can see Jesus more clearly than the apostles did in the 1st." - Pastor Larry DeBruyn

"ELCT has refused to recognize the decision to allow same-sex marriages because it is against the Holy Bible. It is in direct contravention of God's word, which has not changed . . .It's time Africa preached to the rest of the world and remind them of God's word because it seems they have forgotten what the Bible says. . . We should be independent so that they don't use their money and wealth to threaten us … we should leave them with their money and stick to the word of God. . . We strongly affirm our decision taken in Lund in 2007 that 'marriage is holy, ordained by God and is a relationship between a man and woman.' Therefore, the majority of African member churches say "NO" to homosexual acts and regard it to be sinful. . . Further to this affirmation of our position on this matter, we are extremely disturbed and deeply regret the recent developments taking place in some member churches of the communion who have taken unilateral decision on same-sex marriages, disregarding the strong sentiments expressed by other members of the communion. This unilateral action has negatively impacted our life together as a communion, something which could have been avoided."
 - Rev. Alex G. Malasusa, ELCT presiding bishop (Tanzania)

"For people here it was a matter of biblical authority and interpretation of the Bible as God’s word . . .  The growing liberalism in the ELCA is ultimately a deal breaker." - Rev. Tim Hauge

"Just a reminder that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is already in full communion with another body that has congregations with dual membership in the Unitarian-Universalist Association." - Rev. Wayne Kofink

“Liturgical changes will be the window through which the wolf will enter the evangelical fold.” - Matthias Flacius (sixteenth-century reformer)

We find it very sad that the ELCA, with such a large worldwide presence, a presence that could have and should have stood for what is true, proper and chaste, a force that could have stood firm for Biblical truths, guarding and guiding the flock entrusted into their care has turned their denomination into a mockery and a sham, now being nothing more than whitewashed graves- pure on the outside, but inside full of dead men's bones. It would be more fitting if the ELCA stood for The Evangelical Liberal Church in America and dropped the name Lutheran, which the ELCA is no longer, in the eyes of this Lutheran ecclesiastical body. . . -  Whereas, the worldly attacks against sound Biblical Doctrines, and Christianity in general is so intense today, even destroying whole denominations and ripping apart the church at its very core, the world must not succeed in its attack against Biblical Doctrines, and the Church MUST remain firm against all attempts by Satan and his minions to mislead even the elect. The ELCA has again, failed miserably in guarding the flock entrusted into her care by so blatantly ignoring the sound principles as laid out in Scripture. - The Council of Bishops, Administration, Executive Officers and laity of The Lutheran Orthodox Church incorporated.

"If (Jesus) had called God ‘the Mother’ or ‘the Great Spirit’ or any number of other things, we would no doubt be obligated to that. But he didn’t...."       - Gerhard O. Forde, “Naming the One Who is Above Us”

"If a church were to let itself be pushed to the point where it ceased to treat homosexual activity as a departure from the biblical norm, and recognized homosexual unions as a personal partnership of love equivalent to marriage, such a church would stand no longer on biblical ground but against the unequivocal witness of Scripture. A church that took this step would cease to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church." - Wolfhart Pannenberg

"The ELCA wants to respect the 'bound consciences' of both sides in this debate, but in our opinion it cannot do this without having a different understanding of the authority of Scripture than that held by the LCMS. The Missouri Synod regards consciences bound to positions that contradict the simple and plain meaning of Scripture as erring consciences in need of confession and absolution." - Rev. Samuel H. Nafzger

[W]herever there is a Christian congregation in possession of the gospel, it not only has the right and power but also the duty—on pain of losing the salvation of its souls and in accordance with the promise made to Christ in baptism—to avoid, to flee, to depose and to withdraw from the authority that our bishops, abbots, monasteries, religious foundations, and the like are now exercising. For it is clearly evident that they teach and rule contrary to God and his word. - Martin Luther (LW 39, 308)

". . .(I)t's actually those that are tolerating the serial, unrepentant, sexual immorality, that are consigning the individual to hell." - Dr. Robert Gagnon