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Mark 8:38 says "(I)f 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."
It seems to me that Jesus is saying His words are very important. The ELCA should be very careful to deny and reject God's words and to decide their view is better than the clear reading of scripture.
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Here is an article from a great website called "Faithfulness Gathering."
"Gifts to Lobbyist Group from Foundation to change ELCA. A secular group gave a grant of $200,000 to Lutherans Concerned/North America to organize and support work to change Evangelical Lutheran Church in America policies on homosexual behavior. Changes in church policies to recognize partnered same-sex relationships and to allow partnered homosexuals to serve as ministers were approved by the ELCA 2009 Churchwide Assembly in August in Minneapolis. The Arcus Foundation, Kalamazoo, Mich., states in its 2008 annual report that it seeks to overcome cultural and policy obstacles that are “barriers to full acceptance, respect and human rights for LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people.” Jon Stryker, described in business magazines as an architect, heir to his grandfather’s Stryker Corp. and a billionaire, created the Arcus Foundation in 2000. Since its beginning the foundation has made grants of more than $50 million to support homosexual, bisexual and transgender causes. According to the Arcus 2008 report, its religion and values program made 19 grants totaling more than $2 million last year. It gave Lutherans Concerned/North America $200,000 over two years to “organize and support a grassroots collaborative effort to change existing denominational policy at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America toward the full inclusion of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] people of faith.” The foundation also gave $50,000 to Lutherans Concerned/North America to influence the 2007 churchwide assembly. Lutherans Concerned / North America, based in St. Paul, Minn., works for the “full inclusion” of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their church and congregations, according to its web site. The Arcus report says the religion and values program seeks to “change LGBT exclusionary denominational policies; build an LGBT inclusive, faith-based, social justice movement; and refute beliefs that portray gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people as sinful and immoral.” (Dan writing now) It's amazing how the ELCA found out that if you hold a wad of money over the Bible, scripture says a totally different thing. The ELCA has a dirty little secret that they hope their membership never finds out about. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides for abortions in the medical health coverage for people and families they employ. They have been doing it from the start, when the ELCA was formed. Over 20 years ago. Our tithes and offerings have went and are going to pay for the killing of unborn children.
That's bad, but it gets worse. They allow and pay for abortions for any reason. They don't limit them to only cases where the health of the mother or child are in jeopardy. They pay for any abortion that state laws allow. The baby has Down's syndrome? Abortion approved. Mother doesn't want to be tied down with a baby? Abortion approved. Wanted a boy, not a girl? Abortion approved. Abortion for any reason. During the ELCA Church-wide Assembly in 1997 some voting members tried to limit medical coverage for abortions. They submitted that abortions could be paid for "only in cases that involve pregnancy that results from the violence of rape or incest, or serious threats to the physical health of the mother, or abnormalities of the embryo or fetus that are incompatible with life." The majority of the voters and leaders of the ELCA said NO. 651 votes to 271 votes. (http://www.exposingtheelca.com/on-abortion.html) They did not want to limit abortions. The ELCA wants to pay for them all. Or should I say, they want YOU to pay for all abortions. Money you thought was going for God's work. Do you think Jesus would tell people to kill their child? Our paying for abortions makes it easier for people to have them. Is that God's will? Do you believe God thinks the ELCA is doing a loving thing by funding abortions? This is a denomination gone wild! Doing their own will. Making their own truth while rejecting God's Words. And they love having US pay for it! Christ followers, the ELCA is on brink of not even being Christian anymore. A friend sent me a study course called "Sense and Sensuality" by Rev. Gary Blobaum. It talks about "What Has Happened in the ELCA and How It May Affect Us." It is a very interesting read. Here is one point related to the ELCA and the scripture I thougth I'd share with you.
"In one of our sessions, the question was asked: “Will the ELCA make changes in the Bible?” It already has. To prepare congregations for reception of the new worship resource, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, an introduction to the current ELCA understanding of worship was sent to pastors and congregations. One of the major themes of that small volume was the inclusivity of worship. In many and various ways, the ELCA tells us to include everyone, to recognize no distinctions, to permit no boundaries between church and world. To deploy the Bible in its goal of “invitation and welcome to all people,” the volume offers this sentence: “As followers of Christ, we are called to welcome others as Christ has welcomed us (Rom. 15:7).” Now it may be a small point, but that is not quite how the verse reads. Paul is not really speaking in this verse about welcoming others, namely, those outside the church. He is speaking of relationships within the church. He says: “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.” Ah, but it would have been so much more convenient had the verse said “welcome others;” surely that is what Paul meant! And if he didn’t mean others, he should have! In any event, we can change it. Once you get the hang of overriding Scripture, you can do it without thinking. . . We can also note the revisions to the Psalms in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. In order to avoid masculine pronouns, the editors of the ELW took the liberty of switching from third person statements about God (“he”) to second person addresses to God (“you”). For example, whereas the twenty-third psalm actually reads, “He restores my soul,” the ELW changes this to “You restore my soul, O Lord.” Is it unreasonable to imagine that the ELCA will eventually alter the exact words of Scripture in its references to homosexuals?" I have a question for you Bishop Hanson. How much money has the pro homosexual lobby groups given to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over the last five years?
This should be public information, so please answer the question. If for some reason you do not want to do that, please provide us with an itimized list of all contributions to the ELCA. What is the Christlike way to respond to this request? To hide the information? To ignore appeals for it? No. You are the leader of a Christian denomination. I would not expect you to conceal the information or avoid the question that members have a right to know. Please answer the question, with documented proof so all members of the ELCA can know. Thank you. Exposing the ELCA conducted an unofficial poll on it's website asking "(I)s your church considering leaving the ELCA?"
The results were: 60% Yes (80 votes) 31% No (41 votes) 9% Other (12 votes) The total number of votes were 133 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is on the attack. And they will let nothing get in the way of their goal, a nation called Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital. They are shameless. The ELCA is now on the attack against Christians who care for and support Israel. Presiding ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson says the support of Israel by Christians “ . . . is a dangerous and radical political movement.” The ELCA has websites and brochures denouncing them. The ELCA gathered with other like-minded mainline denominations, not to long ago, to find ways to combat these Christians.
The ELCA's website highlights Rev. Munib Younan's, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem, thoughts on the matter. He says, "I hereby declare that (the belief of Christians who support Israel) is not only a sick theology but it is a heresy. . ." That's not all, the Bishop goes on to say this about these Christians, ". . . they are actually anti-Semitic." This is all promoted on our ELCA's official website. Make no mistake. This is the ELCA view. They are promoting anti-semitic statements against Christian supporters of Israel. It is their voice and their position. This is our church everyone. Let's really look at this. Let's say there are two groups. One group 1) loves the Jewish people, 2) supports the Israelis in word and deed, 3) promotes good relations between the governments and people, 4) takes vacations there, 5) prays for them, 6) financially supports the country and organizations with in it, 7) defends them when the vast majority of nations rain down hatred on them. The other group (the ELCA) 1) calls on Israel to give up its land, 2) uses inflammatory language to support their anti-Israeli positions, 3) calls on Israel to give up half of it's capital, 4) not only gives up territory but wants them to give it to a people who violently attack them and claim Jews as their mortal enemies, 5) demands that Israel remove its protective border fence, 6) has a founder with a history of anti-semitic views, 7) has heavily considered doing no financial business with Israel, 8) blames Israel for the reducing rate of Christians in the Palestinian controlled areas, 9) continues to give little credence to the violence perpetrated against the Israelis, 10) believe and teach that when the Bible says "Israel" and "Jerusalem" one should replace those words to read "Christians" and "church." Which one of these groups would you pick as anti-semitic? Group two is the perfect representation of the ELCA. People of the ELCA, is this the Church you want to belong to? In my last blog I asked the question, "How many times in the last 2 years have you heard your ELCA pastor explain, during a sermon, class or any time, how someone becomes a Christian?"
I know there are a lot of good, Bible-believing ELCA pastors who do not believe in Universal Salvation. Thank God for them. But the fact is, the ELCA seminaries are producing pastors every year and they are taught that all people are saved. If you believe otherwise you're one of the minority in this denomination. As the seminaries go, so goes the church. But who cares? Right? Well, we all should. This is a dangerous belief. The pastors are playing with people's souls. What if only those who have Jesus as their Lord and Savior are going to heaven? (and that's true) It means a lot of people are NOT going to heaven. And the ELCA is responsible for those they didn't tell. The enemy is winning here. He has God's Church believing a lie and being silent. I heard a stat that says the ELCA is sending out 60% less missionaries than they were 20 years ago. I should be shocked, but the reality is, if the ELCA thinks everyone is saved anyway, why send out missionaries? Universal Salvation is a lie and a huge risk. Hell is a reality. Nobody wishes their worst enemy be sent there. The Bible says those that don't know Jesus will go there. When ELCA pastors are taught to disregard the Bible, in so many ways, salvation in Jesus can be discarded too, because it feels better to say "everyone will be saved." They say this even though there are hundreds of Bible verses about people going to hell. I guess the Universal Salvation teaching seminaries disregard those verses too. How many times in the last 2 years have you heard your ELCA pastor explain, during a sermon, class or any time, how someone becomes a Christian?
It calls itself "Holy." God is said to have "inspired" the writings of scripture. But modern theological scholars have convinced millions of Christians that the Bible is full of errors. Many of these scholars like to gather together at the "Jesus Seminar" and cross out Bible verses they don't believe, as well as things, Jesus "couldn't have actually said." They don't think God can preform miracles, so they x-out the supernatural events in the Bible, saying they are not true.
Then comes their superior attitude. They look down their noses at us, laughable "mental lightweights" and our belief in the Bible. It's hard for them to understand how someone can actually believe the Biblical authors, even when those same authors indicate (or outright say) they are telling historic and factual events in scripture. The liberal "intellectuals" strut around believing they know the (big "T") truth because they have evolved their thinking to find higher meaning in the "myths" God's Word contains. The liberal seminary teachers have done well in sending out miniature clones of themselves to preach their "superior view" of scripture. They have deceived millions. If God could just tell us how we should view scripture. . . (long pause) . . . He did . . . We can look to Jesus. He knew the Bible better than anyone before and after Him. Jesus never once said an event didn't happen, when the Bible says it did. In fact, Jesus verified people and stories in scripture as being true. He talked about Adam; He spoke about Moses. Jonah and the whale did happen, according to Jesus. The list goes on. Jesus verified prophecy was written about Him and He was with us to fulfill it. Think about that. Humans can not predict future events with any accuracy. God was involved in the writing of the Bible. Jesus knew it. Because Jesus was actively involved in the writing of it. The liberal scholars of today have nothing on Jesus. Who are you going to believe? For more information on Jesus view of scripture go to Exposing the ELCA's Bible vs. the ELCA page. Check out this Pastor letter. This is a church has is standing up for the Lord and His word. And they have face many trials because of it. It's worth reading.
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus! So my "Read All About It" blog got one of my relatives upset. She read it on my Facebook page. I heard statements like, judging people isn't a Christian thing to do; God loves and forgives everyone; he who is without sin; you're judgmental; everyone has the right to go to church; I have a friend who is gay and he is a great person, and sin is sin.
Maybe some of you have heard some of the same things in response to your beliefs. I understand what I said could have upset people, and I'm okay with that. It wasn't intended to make her mad, it was more of a statement to the liberal ELCA people that are reading my blog. My blog was tongue-in-cheek with a lot of truth thrown in. What I realized through it all is that a lot of people don't get it yet, and they need to. This is how I responded to my relative . . . "Thanks for your comments. I love you also. But it's obvious that you haven't read much of my website. Because in it, it tells how the ELCA is saying it's ok to do a lot of things that God says we should stay away from (sin). Is the church Christian if they disregard the Bible at every turn? The ELCA says "all people are saved." The Bible doesn't. The ELCA says "please continue being an homosexual," the Bible says "Please stop." The ELCA says "Jesus didn't say what's in the Bible," "the Bible is full of errors," "there's no prophecy in the Bible," "Adam, Eve, Noah, Jonah are not real stories," "Virgin Mary? Doubt it." God says it's all true. We are all sinners. God loves us. Everyone is offered forgiveness for whatever sin. But the issue is the Bible. For today's ELCA Church to decide they are smarter than 2000 years of Christians before them and are smarter than the Biblical authors and smarter than Jesus and God who wrote the Bible, that is not something to gleefully accept. Jesus stood up for God's word, just as I'm doing. Jesus loved the scriptures and knew they were from God (we can read his reverence for them). He quoted scripture to the Devil. There must be something special about it. Today's ELCA Church has thrown the Bible in the garbage because they think they know better than God. That is not a Church to support. They have hidden there views for too long. I will not be quiet about it. There are too many Grandma Lucille's out there who don't know what their church is doing and they are giving their time and money to support those people who have led the ELCA away from God. People need to know." Rumor has it that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), due to their contradicting theology with most of Christendom, has decided to change it's official name to Non-Evangelical Non-Lutheran Non-Christian Church in a lot less of America. (NENLNCCIALLOA)
A source at exposingtheelca.com said, "Yeah, that name sounds right." This verse perfectly describes the ELCA leadership, pastors and liberal activists that have introduced and supported the heresy and mockery of God's Word.
"For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." (Jude 1:4) Well, we all knew it would happen. Even the ELCA bishops did. The same bishops that tried to tell their conservative members that "blessing" and "hold publicly accountable" did not mean marriage.
The ELCA is performing, endorsing, and encouraging marriage ceremonies. Oh, the glee I'm sure the ELCA bishops and pastors have to see it all happening. It's like a dream come true, for them. Funny thing is, these "Christian" leaders are leading their flock into lifestyles of sin. All with a big smile on their face. God loves all people, including those caught up in the homosexual lifestyle, but His message to sinners is always "go and sin no more." If the ELCA leaders were truly doing God's work they would be lovingly encouraging people to stop sinning and then help them in their effort. But here it is, folks, the weddings have begun, and the Triumphant Cross Lutheran Church in Salem, NH, an ELCA church, lead by Rev. David Yasenka is proud as punch. Lynn weds Kate. (article and video) If you don't agree with homosexuality, in Rev. Yasenka opinion, it is probably time for you to consider moving on. So, in other words, if you believe what God says in the Bible, you are not welcome in the ELCA. Like Rev. Yasenka, I too believe it is time to get out of a denomination that holds their views so high and God's views so low. |
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Dan Skogen
Former ELCA seminary student and former 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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Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
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