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Calling Out the ELCA

5/26/2014

1 Comment

 
The non-Biblical teachings of the ELCA continue and Biblically knowledgeable readers of the ELCA's official magazine, the Lutheran, are letting the denomination know what they think. Here are some recent letters that were sent to the magazine -

"Peter W. Marty’s advocacy of the old heresy of universalism is heartbreaking (March, page 4). If the editor believed in the doctrines of the church, he would suspend Marty immediately. If the presiding bishop loved her church she would start the process of defrocking him tomorrow. Neither of these will happen. The leaders of the ELCA are so lukewarm and lazy that they will sniff at their critics and pretend that they are not tolerating a debilitating old heresy but are actually breaking new theological ground.

Henry Poetker
Taylorsville, N.C.”



“It appears that Marty accidentally submitted his “Who gets saved?” column to The Lutheran when he surely must have intended it for publication in a Unitarian Universalist periodical. How careless.

The Rev. Elna L. Stratton
Orwigsburg, Pa.”


(see here)

“Marty tells us in January (page 3) that God does not answer our prayers, and in March that Christians have no special place with God over any other religion. In between, Erik Heen tells us in “Predestination” (February, page 14) that all will be saved. These articles would be more appropriate in a Unitarian magazine. They do not seem Lutheran to me.

Richard N. Bergesen
West Chester, Pa.”


“I was dismayed to read Marty’s column in March (page 3), which appeared to embrace universal salvation. Christ did, indeed, die for everyone. However, an individual must accept Christ as savior to receive the gift of eternal life. I was born into a Jewish family, circumstances over which I had no control. Although I love my heritage, I was not saved and assured of heaven until I accepted Jesus as the messiah 35 years ago. This is a scriptural fact, not an 'exclusive club' mentality.

Barbara Summers
Rolla, Mo.”



“In her April column the presiding bishop mentions German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I am currently reading my fourth book on Bonhoeffer, his Letters from Prison. If Bonhoeffer were alive today, I think he would question the ELCA and the direction taken by our beloved church during the past 20 years. In fact, he would flee in the opposite direction.

Ober J. Anderson
Ankeny, Iowa”


(see here)

Bonus letter -

“Clearly the ELCA should warmly welcome people of all races (February, page 50). There are also other types of diversity. Wikipedia states that the ELCA is a broad denomination containing socially conservative and liberal factions that emphasize liturgical renewal, confessional Lutheranism, charismatic revivalism, moderate to liberal theology and liberal activism. Divergence (a form of diversity) on gay ordination has led to another Balkanization (a potential result of diversity) of American Lutherans. Politically, surveys indicate that the laity splits evenly between 45 percent Democrat and 43 percent Republican, yet clergy are 69 percent Democrat and 19 percent Republican, revealing another diversity gap within the ELCA. 

Eric Olson
New York City”


(see here)

1 Comment
Didaskalos link
5/26/2014 10:48:07 pm

Since the ELCA's heresies and apostasies have made the denomination an agent of damnation rather than salvation, Bible-believing Christians -- especially former members of the ELCA -- have a biblically imposed obligation (Ephesians 5:11) to speak out against the unfruitful works of darkness as these letter writers have done.

It takes courage to stand against the ELCA’s embrace of universalism. It takes courage to stand against the ELCA’s embrace of abortion. And because homosexuality, sexual libertinism, and perversions of marriage are the secular world’s favored cause du jour, it probably takes the most courage to stand against the ELCA’s and other quisling denominations' ardent embrace of those apostasies.

Owen Strachan and Andrew Walker write in "The Necessity of Theological Courage in the Public Square,"

". . . Theological courage is bearing epithets like “bigot” because one believes marriage is paramount to society’s health.

"Theological courage is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn at Harvard’s 1978 commencement, indicting the West for trading ultimate meaning and spiritual living for fleeting sensations and material comfort.

"Theological courage is a mega-church pastor (or a small-town preacher) willing to preach not only against homosexuality, but against divorce, cohabitation, and sexual promiscuity.

"Theological courage is a college student willing to speak biblical truth on human sexuality. It is that same student getting a burger with her friends after class and urging them to embrace the transforming power of the gospel. . . .

". . . Love of our neighbor means that we must reject the view that homosexuality, and all sexual sin, “liberates” the sinner. In reality, it is enslaving. The truth, then, is not hostile; it is loving, for it frees us from our sin.

"So Christians are not unloving and hateful for calling for repentance (and the right to do so, or even the right to be an evangelical in public). Confessional Christianity in the public square, involving the affirmation of moral transcendence on matters of moral consequence, is theological courage, and theological courage is by nature motivated by love.

"These are strange times, whether for wholesale craft suppliers [Hobby Lobby, currently fighting the HHS's mandate of abortifacient contraception] or fresh-faced pastors. To face the headwinds, Christians must summon fresh bravery if our faith is to continue to play its vital role in this country, if thriving businesses are to endure, and most importantly, if our neighbors of all kinds are to know the love of Christ.”

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    Former ELCA seminary student and former ELCA member who is fed up with the ELCA's consistent mockery of God's Word.


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  • Home
  • ELCA Exposed News
    • on The Bible
    • on Homosexuality & Sex
    • on Universalism & Hell
    • on Goddess/Mother God/Gender Neutral Lang.
    • on Israel
    • on Abortion
    • on Social Media (ELCA Wolves Blog)
    • on Radical Hospitality and Prophecy
    • on Transgenders and Drag Queens
    • on Social Justice
    • on Gospel Reductionism / Antinomianism
    • on Called to Common Mission
    • on Other Critical Issues
  • Responses to ELCA
    • The Bible vs. ELCA
    • Churches Respond
    • Pastors Respond
    • Exposed Quotes
    • People Respond
    • More Responses
    • ELCA Finances
    • Alternatives to the ELCA
  • Exposed Blog
  • Share
  • Support
  • More
    • About & Contact
    • Help and Advice on Leaving ELCA
    • Important Information
    • Church Produced Info
    • ELCA Vault
    • Readers' Comments
    • ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber
    • ELCA Colleges
    • ELCA Seminaries
    • Want to Know Jesus?
    • Exposing the ELCA Newsletters & Important Websites
    • Submit Tips