Marcus Borg is not a name many laypersons would know, but he is very popular with the leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Mr. Borg has spoken at many ELCA functions and his books are well read throughout the denomination. But who is Marcus Borg?
Borg’s own website says, “Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar. . .” (see here) He is the author of nineteen books. Mr. Borg is also a member of the Jesus Seminar, which has been described as “. . . a self-promoting, pretentious attempt to popularize a historical Jesus, which is more culturally appealing. While claiming to represent the mainstream of critical New Testament scholarship, the Seminar might be likened to a sideshow rather than the center-ring attraction.” (see here) Marcus Borg is wildly popular with ELCA leadership, (which I will show you a little later in this blog) but first you should know what this man teaches and believes. The best way to do that is by hearing it from the man himself. Mr. Borg says: “I let go of the notion that the Bible is a divine product. I learned that it is a human cultural product . . . As such, it contained their understandings and affirmations, not statements coming directly or somewhat directly from God" "Seminary also introduced me to the historical study of Jesus and Christian origins. I learned from my professors and the readings they assigned that Jesus almost certainly was not born of a virgin, did not think of himself as the Son of God, and did not see his purpose as dying for the sins of the world" "I cannot believe that God could have stopped the Holocaust but chose not to, just as I cannot believe that God responds to some prayers for healing and protection and not others...It is difficult to believe in such a God" "The pre-Easter Jesus is the historical Jesus...The post-Easter Jesus is what Jesus became after his death. More specifically, the post-Easter Jesus is the Jesus of Christian tradition and experience..." "Was the pre-Easter Jesus divine? NO...Is the post-Easter Jesus divine? Yes--the post-Easter Jesus of Christian experience and fully developed Christian doctrine is divine" "As such, myths can be both true and powerful, even though they are symbolic narratives and not straightforward historical reports. Though not literally true, they can be really true; though not factually true, they can be actually true. The stories of Jesus' birth are myths in this sense. Along with most mainline scholars, I do not think these stories report what happened. The virginal conception, the star, the wise men, the birth in Bethlehem where there was no room in the inn, and so forth are not facts of history. But I think these stories are powerfully true...The stories of Jesus' death and resurrection contain a mixture of historical memory and mythical narration." (read here) Wow!! It’s hard to believe that a leader in mainline Christianity can hold these beliefs. But amazingly, the same things Borg says in these quotes are beliefs that are growing by leaps and bounds in the ELCA. Pastor John Bent and Pastor Ralph Boyer have this to say about Borg and the Jesus Seminar, in which he is part of: “Marcus Borg, the professor referred to in Bishop Hanson’s Report . . . was a primary member of the Jesus Seminar. The Jesus Seminar was the group of scholars who concluded that only 18% of the words attributed to Jesus in the Gospels were probably spoken by him. Things like the miracles of Jesus and the physical reality of Christ’s resurrection are dismissed as the words of ancient people who misunderstood what happened. Scholars like Marcus Borg would say that they take the Bible seriously, but they do so in a very different way than Christians have for 2000 years, ways that discount many of the basic beliefs of Christianity and the life of Christ. Once you do that, questions of sexuality (and whatever issues come next) are no longer decided on the basis of Scripture, but on the basis of the powerful voices of the culture around us.” (read here) This man, Marcus Borg, whose views are about as heretical as you can get, is a very respected scholar and highly sought after speaker by the ELCA leadership. Let me show you:
ELCA publication “Lutheran Partners” reviews Living the Questions 2.0 video series in which Marcus Borg is one of the contributors. (see here) To which a letter to the editor responded: “Geoffrey Scott's recent review and implied recommendation of the Living the Questions 2.0 education materials greatly alarms me. Once more I am left wondering if the ordained and lay leaders of the ELCA truly have any real partnership in the gospel together. The Living the Questions curriculum is linked to the so-called "progressive Christianity" movement. The eight primary tenets of this ecumenical, loose affiliation of mainline Protestant congregations include the belief that all faiths lead to God apart from the unique atoning work of Jesus Christ in his life, death, and resurrection; that the unbaptized should be admitted to communion; and that the historic, biblical doctrines of Christianity are, in large part, no longer helpful or necessary. This "progressive Christianity" therefore stands in direct opposition to apostolic Christianity. Moreover, among the authors of the Living the Questions materials are John Spong, Marcus Borg, and John Crossan. All three deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus and denounce many of the basic, creedal core beliefs of Lutheran Christianity and historic Christianity in general. Living the Questions presents a different gospel than the gospel of Jesus Christ, proclaimed in Scripture. What then are we to make of the endorsement Lutheran Partners gives to this curriculum — indeed, to this heretical teaching? It leaves me to surmise that the key leaders of the ELCA would have local pastors and educators incorporate these materials into their teaching and education ministries. I can think of hardly anything worse. As the Lord says to us, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15). Living the Questions is another example of that wolf. And such a wolf, if left unchecked, will eventually consume the whole flock.” (see here) Why is Marcus Borg allowed to speak and teach at so many ELCA functions? Why are his books being used and promoted in the ELCA? It is because Marcus Borg’s teachings resonate with the leadership of the ELCA.
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There has been a lot of talk and publicity on the idolatry and goddess worship happening at the ELCA church, Ebenezer Lutheran, in San Francisco (otherwise known as “herchurch”). If you haven't seen it yet please check out what is happening at their November conference (see here and here). Of great importance is the fact that the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop is being represented at the conference and that person will be speaking. Since this is an important topic, I thought I would share with you some more information about this conference and the ELCA pastor responsible for it.
First, I came across a blog discussing “herchurch’s” 2009 conference. This comes from the perspective of one of the conference speakers. She says: “I was very, very surprised at the feeling of singing words of love and praise to the Sacred Feminine in hymn tunes which were already familiar.” “A rich and wonderful conference such as this with the title ‘Marys, Madonnas, Goddess-with-Us’ wouldn’t be complete without small group workshops for integrating sacred feminine spirituality through creative artwork or conversations with presenters, or more meditation and chanting. . . I kept seeing people walking around with Goddess dolls, wands really, that were magical and potent and strong in color and feeling. It turned out they were from a workshop given by the artist Linda Roberts. They were personal creations that each creator seemed to be in love with, and I’m sure they will grace many home altars.” “Once we understand that Mary Magdalene is the voice of the Goddess Herself in Christianity, it becomes very interesting to learn her symbolic language so we can hear her better in our own dreamworld and artwork.” “It was a very full weekend; full of love, full of respect for Rev. Stacy Boorn and her courage within Christianity, and full of secret hopes for the religious changes we need to support ‘the New Creation’ we all want.” (see here) Now let’s hear from the woman who is responsible for this yearly conference, “herchurch” pastor Stacy Boorn (ELCA). Toward the beginning of the interview Pastor Boorn talked about the people’s reaction to her church’s name, “herchurch”: “. . . when we posted that on the front of the church, people would drive by and then identified the congregation as “herchurch,” knowing what we meant the deity was “her.” The interviewer, soon after, asked about referring to goddess as “holy other.” Rev. Boorn, in her response said, “ . . . but ‘holy other’ also gives a sense of tie, I think with many religions’ traditions.” Here are some more statements made by Rev. Boorn from that interview: “. . . but way beyond the writing of those scriptures (the Bible) the wonderful work that we’ve tied into was Maria (inadible) Buddhist and others who showed us that for tens, and tens, and tens of thousands of years that there have been women leading societies, and goddess the head of that, and they produced peace communities . . .” “For example, you know we have a Wednesday evening goddess rosary which is a ritual that we’ve developed . . . in a very similar way to a ritual of the Anglican or the Roman Catholic prayer beads but with a more intentional liberation connectiveness to the holy mother, goddess of us all. And so for some, people will pray prayers envisioning an actual in the womb or the Earth as the body of the 'holy other' or the cosmos as the mother so it is wide open and I think that is the important part of it. On this journey with ‘she who is,’ there are many voices in the feminist religious world who have various takes, and I think it is important in what we do in this ritual community is to listen and use them all for our richness.” “. . . we have in our communion at the goddess rosary, some persons who, when we talk about ‘mother, maiden, crone,” as a symbol or metaphor for the 'holy other,' there will be some in our community who will actually name three goddess, Isis and others . . .” “The day is coming, I hope, when the patriarchal religious traditions are totally dismantled and something new comes forth and I think the feminists are going to make that happen.” “Hopefully our congregation will not be just one but one of many. And when we can be a model for others we are grateful to do that.” (listen here) This goddess worshipping church, supported by the ELCA leadership wants to be a model for other churches. Their pastor wants to see feminist goddess worship dismantle and replace historical Christianity worldwide. We cannot say “well this is just one church.” Not when this church has been supported and protected for years by the ELCA leadership. Not when the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop is represented at their goddess worshipping conference. The ELCA leadership is moving the denomination in this same direction. I know I do not want to be part of a denomination that encourages the worship of demons and pagan gods. Fellow members of the ELCA, don’t miss this.
Next month, an ELCA church in San Francisco, CA, will be hosting its annual heretical conference called “The 5th Annual Faith and Feminism – Womanist – Mujerista Conference.” The ELCA church hosting this conference is called Ebenezer Lutheran, otherwise known as “herchurch.” Ebenezer Lutheran is the church of Rev. Megan Rohrer, the first openly transgender minister ordained by the ELCA. This year’s conference has many non-Christian events on the schedule, (see here), but I would like to highlight a few of the conference speakers. On Friday night of the conference, at 10 p.m., you can participate in guided meditations with Lady Lorean of Isis Oasis. I looked up “Lady Lorean of Isis Oasis,” and I found that she is high priestess and proprietor of a Temple and mystical center dedicated to the goddess Isis. For those who may not know, Isis is the “ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility.” (see here) Why is this person being brought in to speak at a conference conducted by an ELCA church? And why is the ELCA churchwide allowing it? Good questions to ask as we attempt to understand more about Lady Lorean. Her website says: - “If you are called by the Goddess, the Temple of Isis is the largest active Iseum in the world today. The Temple has initiated over a thousand priestesses in it’s thirty year history.” (see here) - “You are invited to visit our mystical center dedicated to the Goddess Isis.” (see here) - “THE STAFF . . . provides massage therapy, tarot, past life and astrology readings by appointment.” (see here) Lady Lorean’s website also says that each week they offer "prayers at the altar of the great goddess Isis." (see here) A poem on the website says, "I am Isis the goddess, and I am the lady of words of power. Isis, the goddess and great enchantress at the head of the gods." (see here) Elsewhere, on Lady Lorean’s website, we read, “We are hoping to create a spiritual community of like-minded people who can live by the Laws of Maat, the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Truth.” (see here) Again, the website makes it clear, “The Temple practices magic using rituals of ancient Egypt which are taught in our gatherings on Sunday afternoons. These have amazing properties of manifestation . . . (w)e worship nature, and observe all the gifts bestowed on the planet.” (see here) You can’t make this stuff up! Also speaking at the conference is Cea T. Hearth, “Priestess and Shamana” (see here) “What is a Shamana/Shaman” you may ask? “The word ‘shaman’ is often used to refer to a person in a particular community who is chosen by the spirit world to be a spiritual healer (a soul doctor) for the group and its members. . . The shaman is one who is able to communicate with the spirits, enter trance at will and inspire ecstatic healing in others. These abilities come from the spirit world, but they are honed by the shamanic initiate through practice.” (see here) Not to be left out is “Isis Priestess Katie Ketchum” who is also conducting a conference workshop. (see here) God tells us in Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” Yet this ELCA church brings followers of other gods in to speak and teach at their conference! The ELCA churchwide has known about the anti-Christian happenings at “herchurch” for years, yet they allow the church to remain in the ELCA. Not only do they know about the practices of this congregation, but would you believe that, a key note speaker of the conference comes straight from the Office of the Presiding Bishop, Director of Justice for Women for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Mary Streufert. (see here) If that isn't a big stamp of approval, I do not know what is. See more information about this ELCA sanctioned church. (here and here) Please take a few minutes to read this survey conducted by The Barna Group, in 2009, on what Christians believe. (read here)
Many Christian denominations in America are failing to teach the truth of scripture. The study says almost 60% of “Christians” do not believe Satan is a real being? Almost 40% think that Jesus sinned while on Earth? How does this happen? The Bible is clear on Jesus being sinless and Satan being real, yet a lot of Christians think otherwise. This happens when denominations and pastors are not teaching Scripture correctly. Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. said, "We have the Bible and all of the Bible. We are accountable to it all, and it is all true, trustworthy, authoritative, sufficient, and, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, clear in its message." Churches in America, including the ELCA, need to be teaching and preaching the truth of Scripture. It is God's Word. Sadly, this isn’t happening. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s worldly teaching of Scripture, in their seminaries, leads their future pastors (many of them) to reject much of what the Bible says. This has been happening gradually for over 20 years. Subsequently, the pastors, who are now serving congregations, will rarely uphold the truth of Scripture in the sermons they give. (But they sure know how to deliver some enlightening social justice and self-help sermons.) Through these tactics, the devil has silenced God’s Word and replaced it with damnable heresy. Time to check out another video from the ELCA church that calls itself “Herchurch.” Be prepared to witness the breaking of the 1st Commandment, among other things. (the video is at the end of this blog) At the beginning of the video you will hear this - Congregation: Beloved Mother of wisdom, you are black and beautiful. ELCA Pastor Stacy Boorn: She is Queen and virgin, women onto herself. She is in violets, she is rising up. She is Mother, Mother of all, Mother of all that is. Congregation: Beloved Mother of wisdom, you are black and beautiful. At the 1:48 minute mark you will read that “Herchurch emphasizes dance, music and art as a form of worship to the Divine Feminine.” At the 2:48 mark you will see a painting of a topless pregnant women. Also starting at the 2:48 mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Pastor Stacy Boorn says, “Today we gather to be in the presence of that which is holy and good. Today we gather also to honor the black Madonnas who throughout history have been a reminder that our first Mother, the Mother of us all, our African Mother, our Mother Earth cries out from the stumps that are too often the remnant of a cut down life of (???). If you have never heard of this heretical ELCA church before, please check out these links. (see here and here) The ELCA has placed their opinion over God’s Word. The denomination's actions and teachings show us that they place their own authority over God’s authority. They have made themselves god and that is idolatry. Not surprisingly this isn’t the only form of idolatry happening in the ELCA. ELCA church Ebenezer Lutheran, otherwise knows as herchurch, in San Francisco posted highlights from their Christ Sophia Mass in 2009 on youtube. Pastor Stacy Boorn opens the service this way, “Welcome to the Christ Sophia mass, the incarnation of she who is all wisdom. . .” At the 2:33 minute mark of the video you can view the singing of Silent Night, but notice the changing of the words, they sing “Christ Sophia is born, Christ Sophia is born.” At the 2:46 mark you can see the congregation sing and dance to a song called “Grandmother Song.” The lyrics are, “Oh, Grandmother, I see you sitting in the East. I pray to you. I pray to you. You are sacred And you are looking at me.” This is repeated with only minor variations of the words. At the 4:30 mark you can watch children sing to Christ Sophia, (to the tune of Angels From the Realm Of Glory) “. . . come (each?) worship, come (each?) worship, Christ Sophia sets us free.” During Holy Communion, at the 8:26 mark you can see Pastor Stacy Boorn mouth what looks to be, “Body of Christ Sophia for you.” This is not Jesus Christ they are worshiping. It is a different god. The ELCA knows full well what is happening at this church. They approve it and welcome it. (see here) Is God being honored in this? Add another piece of evidence exposing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America wants to change the rules. They want to make it much harder for orthodox, traditional, Scripture-believing ELCA churches to leave the denomination.
Read all about it on the front page of Lutheran CORE's newsletter (here). The proposal will be voted on in August 2011 at the next ELCA Churchwide Assembly. How are these proposed amendments acceptable? Is this an example of Christian love? Did God give the ELCA leadership a 'new revelation' to 'do whatever possible' to take away congregations' free will? The ELCA gives lip-service to respecting our "bound conscience," but in reality their intentions and motivations are only self-serving. Sadly, the ELCA is trying to force you to partake in their heresy, false teachings and false gospel. My advice - Get out now! (Update: Thanks to the wonders of the internet the Dig Deeper section of the ELCA's webpage, that they remove, has been saved for all to see. Here is the main page in their Dig Deeper section - https://web.archive.org/web/20101030072822/http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/New-or-Returning-to-Church/Dig-Deeper.aspx
And here is a blog detailing some very troubling claims and teachings that the ELCA's Dig Deeper section revealed - http://www.exposingtheelca.com/exposed-blog/read-the-elca-articles-that-caused-a-huge-uproar ) Christian traditional orthodox teaching saw a victory this week. It was a victory for God’s Truth. This week the ELCA removed a section of their website that preached heresy. The website section which boldly proclaimed that "everyone would be saved" (a heretical belief), that questioned the virgin birth, that questioned whether Jesus really rose from the dead and that questioned the truth of God’s account of creation, was removed. The ELCA changed the main page in that section to state: “The Dig Deeper section of ELCA.org was created to invite fresh explorations of Christian faith for people new or returning to church life. The pages in this section have been removed while they undergo a comprehensive review to improve their usefulness as a resource for study and discussion with others. If you have suggestions for improvements or new topics in the Dig Deeper section, send them to info@elca.org.” (read here) Why did the ELCA take this action? Maybe ELCA leadership has responded to God’s call to them to come back to His Truth. I truly hope so. If that is the case, I call on Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson to make a public statement renouncing the heretical teachings and beliefs on those pages. Then the ELCA needs to take actions to eliminate those non-orthodox beliefs from the denomination. It is not enough to simply remove a few heretical statements on their webpage. The more likely interpretation of the pages’ removal, in my opinion, is that the ELCA leadership buckled to pressure because of the uproar over these website statements from concerned members and went into hiding, at least on the surface (on their website). The ELCA is trying to stop the bleeding of orthodox Lutherans leaving the denomination. They are okay with laying low and not making the widely publicized anti-Biblical statements and beliefs in the hope that membership may stay. The truth is, unless God has intervened, ELCA leadership and many ELCA pastors will continue speaking these heresies. They will still be teaching them in the seminaries and colleges. They will still be proposing and voting on Bible-denying policies. Likewise, they will keep those non-Christian policies they have already enacted. They will continue to preach the social gospel over the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They will still refrain from evangelizing to the “lost.” This was a victory. I am thrilled that orthodox Christians spoke up! And now it is a little harder for the ELCA to mislead seekers and followers of Jesus who are reading the ELCA website. Exposing the ELCA has highlighted Ebenezer Lutheran Church/“her church” in San Francisco in the past (read here on page 6 and here). This ELCA church is famous for goddess worship, praying the goddess rosary, praying to “Sophia” and “Mother,” as well as the use of female pronouns for the god they worship. The ELCA has taken no action to stop these practices/beliefs. We could only conclude that goddess worship is an acceptable practice in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Now we have an actual statement from ELCA leadership about the teachings of this San Francisco Lutheran Church. Bishop Michael Burk of ELCA Southeastern Iowa Synod spoke with Ebenezer Lutheran Church’s Bishop from the Sierra Pacific Synod (in August 2010). Bishop Burk had questions about reports he had heard of non-orthodox practices happening at the church. Here is his account of that conversation, “After visiting with the bishop and with another synod staff member who knows the congregation and the pastor well, there is an acknowledgement that this congregation ‘pushes around the edges’ on matters that make some of us uncomfortable. Things like what they refer to this ‘rosary’ are seen by many to be outside the bounds, but don't rise to level of anything in the disciplinary arena. Speaking explicitly about the pastor and regular worship experience there, when folks have ‘dropped in unannounced’ they have experienced preaching that is decidedly within Lutheran orthodoxy and worship that is familiar and done with integrity. It was said that this small congregation is serving the local community very well, especially when it comes to reaching out to the local community.” (read here, go to comment 6) We have now learned that Ebenezer Lutheran Church is offering women an interesting “spiritual retreat.” The church website says, “Celebrate ‘She Who Is’ Encounter the Divine Feminine with body, mind and spirit” At this spiritual retreat you will experience - “Sacred Re-imaging, rituals and work(play)shops, sacred sounds, altar building, meditation with the Cosmic Mother, Christian Feminist stories, beach walks, free time and relaxing with beauty that is around, among and within!” The experience will include presentations on - “God/dess Around Us Language of the Goddess – Pr. Boorn (ELCA pastor) God/dess Within Us Connecting with God/dess – J. Dancer God/dess Beyond Us Spirit Shrines – Linda Roberts” The Retreat gets even more interesting unfortunately. Ebenezer Lutheran Church’s website tells an attendee’s retreat experience where we read, “Pastor Stacy reminded us of some of the discounted feminine images of God in the Old Testament—probably none of which were the products of female imaginations—and invited us to form our own images in clay of Asherah, the mother goddess of the Canaanites familiar to early Jewish inhabitants of Canaan. I am no artist. Warming and working the clay with my hands, I wondered whether my goddess would look anything like the photograph of an Asherah figure Stacy provided as a possible starting point . . .” “The next project, led by Kathryn Wagner, was to make a mandala, a circular, meditative image of the self . . .” “On the shore of Monterey Bay, on Saturday night and Sunday morning, all ten of us prayed the Goddess rosary [some beaded their own Goddess Rosary that afternoon] beside a cross erected of driftwood and draped with seaweed. Stacy called us to remember the sea as the primal water from which life emerged, to think of it as the amniotic fluid of our mother's wombs . . .” (Read here) One could write five articles on the non-orthodox, troubling, and heretical statements written about this "spiritual retreat." But we will just focus on "Asherah." The image of Asherah, that ELCA pastor Stacy Boorn had the women on the retreat make, is a false god. As was mentioned above, Asherah is "the mother goddess of the Canaanites" that God continually told the Israelites to stay away from. Scripture speaks of Asherah and Asherah poles extensively and none of it is positive. Here is one verse (see more verses at end of this article) - Deuteronomy 12:3 - Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. I would be interested in hearing from ELCA headquarters and the synod bishops as to whether this new documented information of "herchurch" making idols of a false god (one the Bible specifically mentions and which is forbidden in scripture) is still considered acceptable practices for ELCA members. As you can read in the Bible verses below, it is not acceptable to God. If making idols and the worship of false gods does not warrant expulsion, I don’t know what does. ELCA inaction here = acceptance/approval. --------- More of what God’s Word says about Asherah/Asherah poles - Judges 3:7 - The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 1 Kings 14:15 - And the LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the LORD’s anger by making Asherah poles. 1 Kings 16:33 - Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him. 2 Kings 17:16 - They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. Deuteronomy 7:5 - This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 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 but an internet archive website has it here) 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 but an internet archive website has the page here) 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. Many ELCA members are asking how their denomination can allow and accept teachings that go against clear Biblical doctrine on such things as salvation in Jesus for those that believe (John 3:16) and homosexuality.
In order to better understand how the ELCA got to this point, one needs to analyze what the ELCA leadership believes and ELCA seminaries teach about Scripture. There are many things we could talk about here, but for now we will focus on the ELCA using the critical method of "Redaction Criticism" for studying and understanding the Bible. (read here - the ELCA removed the original link to this article but thanks to the internet you can still see it. Check out this link for a little bit more information on the ELCA and redaction criticism) What is Redaction Criticism? Redaction Criticism of the Bible is the theory that different copyists and commentators of the early biblical writings embellished and altered the biblical texts throughout early Jewish and Christian history to make them appear more miraculous, inspirational, and legitimate. An example of redaction theory would be the claim that Old Testament prophecies were modified by redactors after the fact to make them appear as miraculous prophecies. Redaction criticism reduces the quality of the biblical record, casts strong doubt on its inspiration, and implies that the Bible is not trustworthy as a historical document." (read here) This method allows the leadership in the ELCA to discount prophecies and miracles, among other things. It also allows the belief that the Biblical authors embellished, exaggerated and, in other words, lied about things they wrote about. Is there any wonder why the ELCA, in their words, actions and policies, discount what God says in Scripture to entertain their worldly, human wishes and desires? Redaction Criticism is one cause of the ELCA's eroding belief that all Scripture is from God, that it is timeless and that it's true. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 For people who disagree with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's policy changes on homosexuality, these have been trying times. Yet we are told, "The ELCA took pains to not declare winners and losers. But to rather acknowledge that we were not of one mind as a church body around these issues. That we affirm and support people of conscience who have conflicting views over this." - ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod Bishop Peter Rogness (watch here)
The truth is the ELCA does not affirm or support your view if you believe what Scripture says about homosexuality. They call your view “sinful” and view you as sinner for holding to Scripture. Read this confession made July 2010 at the San Francisco ELCA Rite of Reception: "Friends in Christ as we gather, we seek to speak the truth of the difficulties we have witnessed in our church. Our church of the reformation has been too long captive to bias and misinformation. We have not remembered the life giving words of our own Confessions. We have not respected the gift of sexuality, nor the joy, delight and vulnerability sexual intimacy creates among loving partners. We have not honored faithful and loving promises, marriages, and covenantal relationships. We have not acted quickly enough for some who have died and have not made it to this day. We have not accorded all families with the dignity and respect they deserve. We have not spoken up. We have betrayed fellow members of the body of Christ because of cultural prejudice. We have misused Scripture as a tool of discrimination. We have forced celibacy upon too many, a gift God grants to only a few. We have encouraged silence and complicity. We have promoted invisibility and dishonesty. We have hardened our hearts with bitterness and condescension. We have intimidated and disciplined, censured and expelled. Our actions have destroyed faith and have led people away from the gospel's call to love and justice." (read here or watch here) This confession claims that because of the ELCA's previous Scriptural based policies on homosexuality, the ELCA church body members (all of us in the denomination) are guilty of sin for believing and following them. The ELCA changed its Scripture based policies on homosexuality in August of 2009. But what about those of us who still hold to the Biblical view? If following what Scripture says on homosexuality was a sin before the ELCA’s August 2009 policy change, in the ELCA's viewpoint, it would still be a sin to follow it today. The ELCA confesses our sin again at the September 2010 Rite of Reception in Minneapolis, MN. Former Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Herb Chilstrom reads, "Blessed be the Holy Trinity, one God, who forgives our sin. Whose mercy endures forever. Friends in Christ, as we gather, we seek to speak the truth of the church's troubled history with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of God. Too often our valued heritage of grace has been overwhelmed by messages of shame. We have fallen short in honoring all people of God and being an instrument of that grace . . . We have dishonored faithful covenants and withheld from families the respect that they deserve. We continue to debate the worthiness of sanctioning couples whose unions are legally recognized and whose minds are implicitly rooted through the long standing fidelity of bonds of parenthood. We have disciplined, censured and expelled when we could have listened, learned and included. We have studied God's people withholding justice so long and countless dying believing their identities and relationships were not worthy of blessing or the church and baptizing. Throughout our history many have left the church, others have hidden within the church and still others have been cast out of the church for speaking the truth of their lives. It is time to change our history. It is time to seek forgiveness, healing and reconciliation. This rite of reception is an overture to new beginnings throughout our church. . . Already we have seen an oppressive policy overturned." (watch here) I'd like to make a few points: 1) The ELCA invents a new sin. That sin is "believing what God said in scripture." And they confess this sin. 2) There are many of us in the ELCA (for now) that still believe what God said in scripture regarding homosexuality. Again, the ELCA views our position as sinful toward GLBT people. 3) As the two Rite of Reception services show, the ELCA doesn't respect our view, no matter how much lip service they give us saying they do. 4) What the ELCA does want is for us to remain in the ELCA and to continue sending them money. 5) How long will the ELCA allow you, your pastors or your church to hold the view that homosexuality is wrong, especially since they see this view as sinful? Check out what Lord of the Mountain Lutheran Church (ELCA church located in Dillon, Colorado) has to say on their website,
"LOTM MISSION STATEMENT In the spirit of the Reformation, Lord of the Mountains Lutheran Church continually seeks meaningful ways of expressing our commitment to the life and teaching of Jesus. We do this by... *welcoming all people to full participation in our community of faith. *Recognizing there are other ways to God than just our way." (find here) If you didn't catch that, Lord of the Mountain's Pastor, Joseph Holub says this on his own website, "1. I affirm that Jesus Christ is the emergence of God's ongoing gracious presence in the world, and that through Jesus relationship with God is experienced. Jesus is a doorway into the mystery of God." (find here - click on "Joe.") "Jesus is A doorway." "There are other ways to God." So the belief that all paths lead to God is OK according to the ELCA? We see the ELCA teaching universal salvation, which has a very similar result. (read here) Allowance of this teaching means acceptance, in my view. For what it's worth, I also found these statements by Lord of the Mountain's Pastor, noteworthy. "Since The Enlightenment especially, but even long before that Christianity has been preoccupied with doctrine – faith defined as a set of right beliefs. Christianity is spoiled, grossly distorted and loses its heart when it is turned into a set of correct doctrines that I must accept or else. I mean read the Apostle's Creed. There's nothing much there that really stirs the soul and lights a fire in one's heart. There's nothing there about loving one's neighbor or enemy or anybody else. Doctrines and correct beliefs don’t make disciples but eventually turn us into narrow and intolerant fanatics. Jesus is not a doctrine. He is the expression of compassion and radical inclusive love who invites us to follow him on an adventure called discipleship that just may cost us our lives as we give ourselves away in the pursuit of love, compassion and justice. He calls us beyond the narrow boundaries behind which we protect and isolate ourselves from others. What Jesus asks for is our faith defined as trust and commitment in his way of loving and living. Unfortunately somewhere along the line being Christian came to mean accepting beliefs about Jesus rather than actually following Jesus." (read here, click on "blog" and go about 3/4 down the page to a heading called "The Deficiency of Doctrine.") The ELCA made it's decision to call homosexuality "good" even though God calls it sin and asks those to turn from it. The ELCA decision was a rejection of the Bible and then they ask it's members to remain in unity. Here is how we all should answer the ELCA.
"It is illogical to embrace heresy and then expect unity. . . It is better to be divided by truth than united in error." "Unity, Biblical unity comes from what we believe about the word of God and the Son of God." "It is appalling and evil when an official denominational pronouncement condones and celebrates the very sins that keep people out of the kingdom of God. How is that good? How is that justice? How is the loving? How does that liberate anyone? This decision slanders God. It just misses God's word and promotes damnation in the place of salvation. . . it is better to be divided by the truth than united in error. . . Biblical heresy is not the rallying point for church unity, Biblical truth is. We rally around the word of God and the Son of God, that is where we find our unity." "Personally, I could not stay in a church or denomination that has blatantly ignored and defied scripture." Quotes from Pastor Troy Dobbs (see video here) Please read this article -
Excerpts from an Email to ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson from Jaynan Clark, President, WordAlone Ministries I read this article minutes ago and feel it is something all ELCA members need to read. We, the members of this denomination should have the same passion and courage to stand against the enemy who desires to lead the elect astray. I call on all to ELCA members to not back down to the false gospel the leadership of the ELCA is endorsing and weaving into a once Christ centered, scripture following denomination. As the young shepherd David boldly proclaimed victory over the giant and ran swiftly at him in battle, knowing God was on his side, we need to be a strong voice of truth, leading our churches away for the false gospel the devil has brought into the ELCA. Please send this article on to all you know who would be interested. <>< Dan Skogen |
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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