|
The ELCA supports and advocates for abortion (see here), and their bishop's and pastors are overwhelming in support of abortion.
ELCA pastor Elle Dowd, who is a minor celebrity within the ELCA crowd, says, "I love abortion" and "Any reason someone needs - OR WANTS - an abortion is a good reason." 
Michael Rinehart, Bishop of the TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod, of the ELCA made numerous abortion related FB posts, including this one that ends with "Enter the Taliban":
The ELCA's pastor of public witness, Nadia Bolz-Weber, tweets: 
Transgender ELCA pastor Drew Stever says, "I will help you find a safe abortion." 
ELCA pastor Lura Groen took to Facebook with these abortion-related posts: 
Lesbian ELCA synod bishop Brenda Bos writes: The East Central Synod of Wisconsin's synod bishop Anne Edison-Albright posted this:
4 Comments
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
As the newly installed first “pastor of public witness” of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Bolz-Weber is controversial. She led 31,000 ELCA teenagers to repeat the words “I renounce the lie the queerness is anything other than beauty”. She frequently uses the F word and exposed children to a drag queen in a program at her former church. Bolz-Weber presented Gloria Steinem with a golden vagina sculpture to thank Steinem for her feminist work. The sculpture was made from melted-down purity rings that women from around the country sent to Bolz-Weber. Bolz-Weber denies that Christ died in our place to pay for our sins since she believes that would be divine child abuse on the part of God the Father. And this is the person the ELCA is elevating to be the public face of the ELCA. You can’t make this stuff up. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock ELCA’s pastor of public witness told her teen daughter she can stay overnight with her boyfriend11/1/2021
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
When her 18-year-old daughter asked to stay overnight with her boyfriend, Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, newly installed “pastor of public witness” of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said “I want you to love sex, sweetie…I want you to be comfortable in your body and learn what it desires and how to communicate that to your lovers. So start that process now. Know your body. Speak up for what you want or don’t want. That will serve you your whole life.” Divorced Pastor Bolz-Weber has publicly talked about how she enjoys sex with her boyfriend, so it is not surprising she told her teenage daughter she could spend the night. She didn’t tell her daughter to wait until she is married someday. She talked to her instead about having “lovers“: “I want you to choose well, and to treat your lovers with respect and concern. And I hope for your faith to be a part of your sexuality and vice versa. Also, you know that high you feel with Justin? It’s the most amazing feeling in the world. But I want you to understand that if it goes badly or if and when you break up, there may be a commensurate low. And it will feel awful. But that doesn’t mean something is wrong”. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says that sex outside of marriage is wrong and that “fornicators will not inherit the Kingdom of God”. But Bolz-Weber is the person the ELCA makes their “pastor of public witness“. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock PS. Here is the full article from Bolz-Weber: https://www.christiancentury.org/article/first-person/talking-my-children-about-sex-without-shame (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Perhaps you have heard of the Reverend Nadia Bolz-Weber, radical pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She uses the "f-word" frequently and gave Gloria Steinem a golden vagina statue to thank Steinem for her feminist work. Bolz-Weber had 31,000 Lutheran teenagers repeat after her at an ELCA youth gathering "I renounce the lie that queerness is anything other than beauty". Divorced Bolz-Weber in an interview spoke publicly about the electrifying sex she has had with her boyfriend: "But I get together with my boyfriend and start having sex and it was like 'holy s---,' I was like, it felt like an exfoliation of my whole spirit. I'm like 'This is so good for my brain chemistry, and my body, and my heart. And I’m like f--- man, why in the world would the Church say ‘Don’t do this?’ Bolz-Weber also denies that God the Father punished Jesus for our sins, claiming this would make God a divine child abuser. Recently the ELCA installed Bolz-Weber as their first "pastor of public witness". According to the below article, "The entire conference of bishops of the ELCA had to sign off on the newly created position." The apostasy in the ELCA is now complete. If you have friends still in the ELCA, please forward them this article. I am afraid the days of "staying within the ELCA to make a difference” are long gone. In Christ, Pastor Tom Brock See article here. (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Perhaps you've heard about Nadia Bolz–Weber, the popular pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She is the one who gave abortion rights activist Gloria Steinem a statue of a vagina to thank Steinem for her life's work. She was also the speaker at the ELCA's teen assembly who led 31,000 ELCA teenagers to repeat after her "I renounce the lie that queerness is anything other than beauty." Bolz-Weber also denies that Jesus died in our place for our sins, claiming that would be divine child abuse on the part of God the Father. And now she has a meditation doing what has become typical in feminist circles of the ELCA, "expanding" the language for God. Bolz-weber writes: "Our Father, Our Mother, Our Holy Parent, The Source of All Being from whom we came and to whom we return, You who knows us better than we know ourselves. Jesus called you Abba and so shall we, even as we may have an ambiguous relationship with parenthood - Be to us our Holy Parent, the one who loves without condition." (See here) Jesus taught us to pray to "Our Father", never once did He say to pray to "Our Mother." It is arrogant to think that we have the right to "expand" upon the language Jesus gave us for God, as if we know better than the Son of God. The ELCA's hymnal has also revamped God language. It contains a hymn entitled "Mothering God, you gave me birth". The ELCA hymnal has also de-sexed all the Psalms to get rid of masculine pronouns for God. Such rewriting of Scripture and the ELCA's "expanding" beyond the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one more reason people should leave the ELCA and join a more biblical denomination. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock  Popular ELCA Minister Flips-off "Masterpiece Cake Shop" for Its Traditional Marriage Stance1/30/2020
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) beloved and notorious pastor, author and speaker continues to show the world why to stay away from ELCA pastors and their churches.
A couple of days ago, ELCA Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber sent out this Tweet, 
Masterpiece Cake Shop, which made national news, is the business that was taken to court for not baking a cake, and thereby not endorsing, celebrating and participating in, a same-sex wedding. The Tweet, which looks to have been taken down by Rev. Bolz-Weber, has caused an uproar, even bringing some criticism from people who support the radical pastor (see here). If you do not know a whole lot about ELCA Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, we have a collection of information about this pastor who is admired by many ELCA bishops. (see here)
Well-known Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor, Nadia Bolz-Weber, recently posted pictures of herself from 1995 saying "Proof that in 1995 I dressed up as a dominatrix for my Christmas Card which just said: Bad Santa. #yourwelcome" (See below)
Sexual perversion is rising in popularity in the ELCA as evidenced in this example. And ELCA leadership makes no attempt to quash it. Fact is, Rev. Bolz-Weber is very popular within the denomination, both with ELCA leaders and members, despite her vulgar words and heretical beliefs. (See here and here) She has been elevated into positions of great influence by ELCA leadership including speaking at multiple ELCA National Youth Gatherings. 
Pacific Lutheran University is holding their Ninth Annual Lutheran Studies Conference, which they call "Naked and Unashamed: Sex, Shame and Faith." Pacific Lutheran University's website says:
"The conference itself provides tools and national experts on religion, churches and current political landscapes that influence our discussions of sexuality and identity. A session will review one church tradition, the ELCA, for its social statements on abortion, sexuality and gender justice. We will also explore ways spirituality and religion may heal or hinder a healthy sense of sexuality." See here.
Nadia Bolz-Weber, an ELCA pastor, will be the evening speaker for the conference. Rev. Bolz-Weber is widely known and embraced by the ELCA despite her heretical teachings and disgusting words and actions. (See here)
Another speaker at PLU's conference will be Dr. Mary Streufert, the ELCA Director for Justice for Women from the Office of the ELCA's Presiding Bishop. Dr. Streufert reportedly once presented images of a female Jesus during the "Faith and Feminism – Womanist – Mujerista Conference" (see here) held at the goddess worshiping ELCA congregation known as "herchurch." The title of Dr. Streufert's presentation was "Jesus Christ Beyond the Divide: A Christian Feminist Proposal."
Dr. Streufert as well as Dr. Mary Lowe, from Augsburg University, will collaborate, presenting "Gender Justice and Faith: 2019 ELCA Social Statement.” The description of this presentation indicates, "...they will introduce three themes in the statement: sexism as sin, intersectionality as an approach to the problem of sexism, and the ELCA’s ongoing effort to view sex and gender in non-binary ways." (See here and below) 
Opening remarks of the conference will be by Dr. Marit A. Trelstad, PLU Chair of Lutheran Studies and Professor of Constructive and Lutheran Theologies at PLU. (See here) Pastor Jen Rude, of PLU Campus Ministry, will be speaking at another session. She is openly gay and the former program director for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. (See here)
The morning of the conference there will be a pre-conference where the "Focus of this time will be to review the content of ELCA Social Statements on Abortion (1991), Human Sexuality (2009) and Gender Justice (2019) and to discuss their implementation/impact and current issues congregations are facing in terms of gender and justice in their congregations...We may also have representatives from Extraordinary Ministries and Reconciling Works present as ELCA-focused ministries." (See here) Extraordinary Ministries and Reconciling Works are pro-LGBT organizations.
Below is an article by our friend Rev. Tom Brock with more details about the conference: (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Reverend Nadia Bolz-Weber, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and speaker at the ELCA Youth Gathering, has stated publicly that she enjoys having sex outside of marriage with her boyfriend. She signed a statement by a group of ELCA leaders called “Naked and Unashamed” which wants to overthrow the old 1990 ELCA rules that said pastors should not have sex outside of marriage. The ELCA bishops are presently working on a new set of standards for ELCA clergy to reflect the fact that the ELCA now ordains practicing homosexuals. The bishops state:: “We express our profound grief and deep regret for the times when Vision and Expectations (the 1990 rules) has been misused to single out, marginalize, and block people seeking to be leaders in this church when their peers were not always held to the same vision and expectations. This has caused considerable pain that has disproportionately been borne by those who have been historically marginalized or excluded from leadership in the church because of their gender, sexuality, race, or status. We apologize to those whose treatment under this document has made them feel targeted and less than the beloved children of God that they are.” I think this means, in part, that the bishops feel bad for not supporting practicing homosexual pastors and their partners in the past. That all changed in 2009 when the ELCA voted to allow non-celibate homosexual pastors. The proposed new statement reads that “Those who serve as (ELCA) pastors and deacons reflect a variety of sexual orientations and diverse gender identities…the greatest sexual intimacies should be matched with marriage. Pastors and deacons, as public witnesses to this church’s respect for marriage, are therefore to live in accordance with the understanding that deepening degrees of sexual intimacy are aligned with deepening levels of commitment to one another and the relationship. Such relationships are to be exclusive, monogamous, consensual, and in the ELCA, require marriage before cohabitation for those serving as pastors and deacons.” Thus, in this new statement, cohabitation (living together) is forbidden for ELCA pastors. I believe this means that a homosexual pastor living with a partner in a sexual relationship now needs to get “married”. This is tragic. What if the homosexual pastor gets “married” and then later comes to realize that homosexual behavior is sin? But now the pastor has been saddled with a “marriage” at the insistence of the bishops of the Church. This is the strange new world of the ELCA. And what about a heterosexual pastor like Bolz-Weber who engages in sex with her boyfriend, presumably in a “loving, monogamous relationship”? Since only cohabitation is explicitly forbidden by the proposed statement, is she allowed to continue to be sexually active and face no discipline? The statement is in its rough draft form and hopefully the language will eventually make it clear that both cohabitation and fornication are forbidden. But we shall see. I believe the greatest error of the statement is telling homosexual pastors they must “marry” their sexual partners. Back in 2009 the ELCA agreed that the conservative view regarding homosexual behavior would be honored alongside the liberal view. Where is the conservative view being honored in the ELCA today? What if an ELCA bishop were to say “I hold to the conservative view and I refuse to ordain a practising homosexual”? Would such a bishop be allowed in the ELCA? You can read the entire proposed new statement in the link below at the very bottom. And I hope it will make you consider leaving the ELCA if you are still a member. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock PS If you want to read what ELCA Pastor Bolz-Weber said in a podcast about how great sex is with her boyfriend, I have edited out her foul language below. As you read it, keep in mind she is an ELCA pastor in good standing with the denomination and spoke to 31,000 ELCA teens last summer: Reverend Nadia Bolz-Weber: “But I get together with my boyfriend and start having sex and it was like 'holy s___,’ I was like, it felt like an exfoliation of my whole spirit. I'm like 'This is so good for my brain chemistry, and my body, and my heart. And I’m like f___ man, why in the world would the Church say ‘Don’t do this?’ Like I could tell it was what I needed, and it was so good.” For new proposed standards for ELCA pastors: https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Trustworthy_Servants_Common_Draft_3-4-2019.pdf --  ELCA Bishop Tells 'The New Yorker' Magazine, Nadia Bolz-Weber's Sexual Reformation is Long Overdue2/9/2019
The New Yorker magazine wrote a feature story on Rev. Bolz-Weber this week, titled "The Lutheran Pastor Calling for a Sexual Reformation," which provides a window into the life, thoughts and vile nature of this beloved ELCA pastor, which I will highlight. The most important revelation came from Nadia's bishop, Rev. Jim Gonia, of the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He begins by comparing Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber to Martin Luther, "He talked about farting and drinking and he was kind of like Nadia.” The feature writer continues, "Gonia summed up Luther’s idea like this: 'Now that we don’t need to worry that we’re good enough for God, how do we direct our attention to our neighbor?'” Then we have the ELCA leadership's public approval of Nadia, who wants to undo Biblical teaching reserving sexual relations to one man and one woman within marriage. Here is the whole paragraph from the article to give you context: "Bolz-Weber argues that this idea should be extended to sex. For millennia, the Church has taught Christians to deny their physical selves, and to consider carnal urges sinful. 'We keep looking for a set of laws that will save us,' Bolz-Weber told me. 'Relying on grace can feel shaky. If it’s free it must be worthless.' As a result, both men and women lead fractured lives, believing that their sexuality is at odds with their spirituality. 'This idea that salvation comes through sexual repression,' Bolz-Weber said, 'that shit comes out sideways.' In “Shameless,” she sets out to build a sexual ethic around human flourishing rather than around rules encoded by men centuries ago. This begins by recognizing that with sex, as with everything else, 'it’s not about being good—it’s about grace.' This, she argues, is actually just the natural extension of classical Lutheranism. 'She’s the most classical Lutheran preacher you’ll ever meet,' Gonia said, adding that the reformation she’s calling for is long overdue. 'We have so intellectualized our faith—there’s a need to bring head, heart, and body into the forefront of our lives, for the future of the Christian tradition.'" People of the ELCA, the leadership approves of what Nadia Bolz-Weber is preaching. This is public confirmation, along with ELCA leadership having her speak to 31,000 ELCA youth this summer as they assembled for the church-wide gathering. They are on board with these harmful sexual ethics she and many others preach that clearly go against God's will for people. Why are you still part of this vile denomination? Here is a run down concerning things from The New Yorker article (in which I am quoted): - Nadia Bolz-Weber and her two children recently went to a sexually explicit exhibition called "Au Natural" that included casts of penises, nudity, and a sculpture that is masturbating. It also presented a sculpture of Jesus made from cigarettes. - "When she was twenty, she joined Vox Femina, a feminist performance-art group whose acts, she told me, weren’t so different from Lucas’s egg massage." (referring to one of the art exhibition performances) - She use to be a call-center psychic. - She had an abortion, saying she could not afford a child. And she does not think abortion is wrong. - She divorced her husband and loves having sex with her boyfriend, which has caused her to feel closer to God. - Her son is gay, and at 16 years old Nadia bought him condoms when she heard he had a new boyfriend. - She calls the belief, that homosexuality is wrong, "bigotry." - Bolz-Weber was once a counselor at a Unitarian summer camp where some campers would sunbathe nude. As you can see below, ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber is publicizing The New Yorker piece as if she is happy with what it says.
Famous ELCA Pastor Talks of Sex With Boyfriend, Writes Book Rejecting Sex Reserved for Marriage2/7/2019
What you are about to read, by the most famous and sought after pastor in the ELCA, goes completely against Scripture. Run away from this denomination as soon as you can.
Nadia Bolz-Weber is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and is highly revered in the denomination and with ELCA leadership. That, despite the heretical and controversial things she has said and done and keeps saying and doing. (See a list here, here and here) Recently, Rev. Bolz-Weber appeared on a podcast by Kevin Garcia that was titled "Making Sex Shameless, w/ Nadia Bolz-Weber." 
The content that follows shows you what the ELCA is becoming. This is what ELCA seminaries produced and are producing. Nadia Bolz-Weber is not some outlier. She is one of many the ELCA has elevated to a position of power and great influence, speaking throughout the ELCA and even to multiple ELCA Youth Gatherings. During the interview the host asked Nadia to give a little synopsis of her new book, "Shameless." Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber replied (language warning): “. . . it came out of my own experience, I was raised, obviously very very fundamentalist Christian, with all the crazy shit about gender roles and sex and extramarital sex and all that, but it was before the purity movement you know, but I was raised with all that, rejected it, led this very different life. But then I discovered the Lutheran Church, and the ELCA is one of the most progressive denominations in the country and yet, there is a document you have to sign when you’re ordained called “Visions and Expectations” that says you would be faithful in marriage, or I think its 'celibate or chaste in singleness.' Well, the origin of this document was it was originally sorta' forged through the denomination by a group that was trying to keep the homosexuals out of the pulpit. It was a way, it really was a way, of keeping the homos down. Because you would have to be celibate in your singleness, and gay people couldn’t get married – and that shifted, and they were like, 'oh shit,' right? And everybody had to sign this. And it’s insane because what happens is that there are all these people who get married right out of seminary, because they can’t afford to live separately, you know, they need to live in intern housing, and so they get married sooner than they should. Or they have sexual relationships that they are forced to keep secret or not be honest about. Or they are completely repressed, and we have single, grown-assed adults who don’t have, who are not flourishing in their sexual lives because the church says they shouldn’t. So none of those things are great, really. And so you know, (Nadia then talks about her ex-husband)...we never connected, like there was no intimacy in our marriage, and for whatever reason, it just didn’t happen for us. And so, you know, people are like, ‘Wow, you don’t do cross-fit any more?’ And I’m like, ‘I was doing cross-fit because I wasn’t having sex!' You know what I mean, it was just a way of like managing. And now I’m like all soft, and I got long hair, and I’m so much happier. So what happened was, I get divorced, like the most amicable divorce you can imagine. No lawyers, no acrimony. It was great, right, it was like actually really lovely. But I get together with my boyfriend and start having sex and it was like 'holy shit,' I was like, it felt like an exfoliation of my whole spirit. I'm like 'This is so good for my brain chemistry, and my body, and my heart. And I’m like fuck man, why in the world would the Church say ‘Don’t do this?’ Like I could tell it was what I needed, and it was so good. And then 10 days later, after we get together...I have to go to Europe for 3 1/2 weeks on a book tour, because the U.K and the German edition of my book came out...3 ½ weeks after years of sexlessness and 10 days of having sex, right, my mind was like swirling, I was like ‘What the fuck is happening?!’" "I’m walking down a street in London...we (a friend) just cried and ate, we had both just gotten divorced, and we were like insane. So for 10 days we trampsed around England and Scotland, and eating and crying...I as like ‘Wait a minute, why did the Church make me sign that thing? How is it better for my church if I’m not getting laid?’ Look, the church will entrust me with the care of souls and will not entrust me with my own grown-ass woman sexuality, to make good decisions for myself? Like don’t fuck the flock, clearly, I get that part... I’m like, “what the fuck.” So I messaged, I whatsapped Eric, my boyfriend… and granted, this was with an unwarranted urgency, and I’m going, and he gets on Skype, and he’s not Christian, he’s never a Christian, and I go ‘Why do you think the Church has tried to control sex for so long?’ and without skipping a beat, my beloved said, ‘Umm...I guess I always assumed that the Church saw sex as its competition'…I was like, I’m writing a book." Nadia continues, "Here’s the harm that these teachings have directly caused myself and these people (who Nadia interviewed), and if the teachings of the Church are harming people, we need to rethink these teachings. We should never be more loyal to an idea or a doctrine or an interpretation of a Bible verse than we are to people. So that’s the premise of the book.” (Listen here. Starting at 22:20 minute mark.) Continuing on, “I want people to have better sex too. I want people to feel uninhibited with their lover and to lose themselves in that. And uhm, you know, I think Christianity has led to a lot of really bad sex. And a lot of people shut down and not connected to their bodies. And terrified to talk about sex with their partner, even.” (Listen here. Starting at 41:40)
What ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber is saying, pushing for a new teaching on sex to replace the Biblical and traditional view of where sexual relations are to take place, is evil. It is from the pit of hell. It is against God's will and God's Word.
Let's recap what Rev. Bolz-Weber said (and apparently what she says in her new book): - She calls the ELCA document that pastors sign, reserving sex to marriage, "insane." - She calls fundamentalist thought on extramarital sex "crazy shit." - She says she is having sex with her boyfriend, (hence, sex outside of marriage. This is in violation of "Vision and Expectations," an ELCA document for pastors that she signed.) - She questions why the Church would not allow sex outside of marriage. - She calls the Biblical teaching on sex "harmful." - She says "people" should come before God's Word, if God's Word causes "harm" to some people.
As I said earlier, this is not one crazy ELCA pastor talking. This is a belief held by many ELCA pastors, leaders and future ELCA pastors. See below the social media post by ELCA pastor, Javen Swanson, and my blog about "Naked and Unashamed" (here).
Below is Pastor Swanson's tweets with active links.
Many in Christendom including most Lutheran denominations believe the Bible, written by God, is inerrant, or "free from error." Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr. says, "The affirmation of biblical inerrancy means nothing more, and nothing less, than this: When the Bible speaks, God speaks.” That is not the case with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Why not? And what does the ELCA believe about the Bible?
“We believe that the Scripture are the inspired word of God. But they are not inerrant because human beings are in error. You ever read one part of Scripture and then read something else and they don’t match?” (listen here, at the 58:10 minute mark)  At the same meeting, Rev. Craig Miller, Assistant to the Bishop of the Upper Susquehanna Synod, gave the following disturbing responses to questions from St. Luke Lutheran Church members: Question: “Do you believe that the writers of the Bible were so controlled by the Holy Spirit that they wrote exactly what God wanted them to write?” Rev. Craig Miller: “No. No.” Question: “You don’t believe that the writers of the Bible wrote what God wanted them to write?” Rev. Craig Miller: “Letter by letter? In the form that we have it? No. These have been copied over and over again and there have been mistakes that have been made.” Question: “So the Bible is full of mistakes and contradictions?” Rev. Craig Miller: “Certainly, there have been copy errors and yes, if you are only reading the Bible literally, then yes there are contradictions.” (listen at the 1:05:25 minute mark here) The ELCA states the following about the Bible, "This church accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life" (Art. 2.03 of the Constitution of the ELCA). The ELCA does not call Scriptures inerrant. ELCA Rev. Jay Thorson said this, in the ELCA magazine Living Lutheran, about God's Word, "I was reclaiming the view that the Bible isn’t an inerrant oracle dropped from heaven but more like a messy, earthen vessel holding the treasure of the saving gospel message. That’s what most ELCA professors and pastors teach, and I realized that was where I belonged." (See here) ELCA pastor Jerry O'Neal similarly writes, "To those who say, 'But you don’t believe in the Bible?' No, I don’t. As our former presiding bishop, Mark Hanson, once said, 'I don’t believe in the Bible – I believe in the God revealed in the Bible.' The Bible is NOT inerrant. It contains clear contradictions in places (e.g. 2 creation stories in Gen. 1—3 that do not agree), and it has been open to interpretation from the beginning." (see here) Popular and helpful website gotquestions.org writes this about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, "It claims to hold to the authority of Scripture, but it rejects inerrancy." (See here) The ELCA's belief about Scripture is a major problem. It has allowed heresy to take hold in the denomination. (As I document on this website). The most popular ELCA pastor, Nadia Bolz-Weber, whom the ELCA adores and had as a keynote speaker to address 31,000 ELCA teenagers this summer, says the following about God's Word: - “We should never be more loyal to an idea or an interpretation of a Bible verse than we are to people..." (See here) - "This is where it’s very convenient to be a Lutheran, because Lutherans very admittedly have a canon within the canon. So not all Scripture is the same to us. The Gospel of Jesus, the good news of who Jesus is, whether those texts are found in the Old Testament or the New, is at the very center of our understanding of why the Bible even exists. The Bible is the cradle that holds Christ. The cradle’s not Christ. If you understand that that is the importance of the Bible, then suddenly Scripture is read in concentric circles around what it is at its center. Sometimes you read Paul, and it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever read. I actually can feel it in my body. I’ll read something gorgeous from Paul, and just be like, 'That’s breathtaking. That is the word of God. That is the word of God. There’s something eternal about what he’s saying.' And then other times you read Paul and you’re like, 'Good lord, what is that?'" - (See here) - “The Bible is not God. The Bible is simply the cradle that holds Christ. Anything in the Bible that doesn't hold up to the gospel of Jesus Christ simply doesn't have the same authority.” (See here. Video looks to be removed) - “...Preaching hopefully in some way is the word of God, speaking is not. So I thought, I wonder, we can look at Paul that way. You know like sometimes he was just going off on his snotty opinions, he has some authority to speak on it but that’s not necessarily the Word of God.” (Listen to the audio posted here) - "The Bible’s not clear about shit!" (see here) (apologies for the language) This view, as you have read, is much different than how of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ viewed Scripture. He view it as authoritative, as truth, as from God. (See here) The namesake of Lutherans, Martin Luther, also stands against the ELCA belief about Scripture, saying the following about the Bible,
“Over against all the statements of the fathers and of all men, yes, over against words of angels and devils, I place the scriptures” (p. 80) And, “I have learned to ascribe the honor of infallibility only to those books that are accepted as canonical. I am profoundly convinced that none of these writers have erred” (p. 78). A review of Luther and the Bible, by Willem Jan Kooiman, translated by John Schmidt (Muhlenberg Press. 1961.) What one believes about the Bible is significant. The ELCA conducted a study in 1991, and one of its findings was that pastors who believe the Bible is inerrant were less likely to support abortion, homosexuality, and the belief that "men keep women down because most men benefit from having more power." (See here) How do you think the ELCA's view of God's Word has affected the ELCA's stance on transgenderism, sexual morals, the state of Israel, the reality of hell, salvation, seeking converts, the validity of other religions, miracles in the Bible and God's account of creation?
Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber is the face of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She is a beloved pastor/author in the denomination who speaks at some of the ELCA's largest gatherings, including this summer's National Youth Gathering that brought in over 31,000 high school students. (See the end of this article)
No word yet if Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber and her ELCA brethren will be dancing around the golden object at its unveiling. (Exodus 32:19) What is this about? This is about sex. This is about being sexual. Nadia does not like God's directive for sex to be between one man and one woman, who are married and does not think it should be confined only to marriage. Rev. Bolz-Weber's new book website says her book "offers a full-blown overhaul of our harmful and antiquated ideas about sex, gender, and our bodies." (See here) The Huffington Post article quotes Pastor Bolz-Weber saying, “This thing about women that the church has tried to hide and control and that is a canvas on which other people can write their own righteousness ― it’s actually ours...This part of me is mine and I get to determine what is good for it and if it’s beautiful and how I use it in the world.” (see here) If you think this is a joke, it is not. And Nadia Bolz-Weber is actually making a golden vagina sculpture. 
(See here)
In return for people sending ELCA pastor Bolz-Weber their purity rings, they will be sent an "impurity" ring and a "Certificate of Impurity" as seen below.
Nadia Bolz-Weber has said and done a lot of heretical things in the past (see here and here). For example, in 2017, Nadia Bolz-Weber signed the "Naked and Unashamed" statement that rejects marriage as the only place for sexual intercourse. (See here) And more recently, she spoke of her support for viewing "ethically sourced porn." (See here)
How can this be allowed in a "Christian" denomination? It can not. The ELCA has placed feeling and belief above that of God and His Word. This is what happens when a church rejects, twists and ignores much of Scripture. It will only get worse.
The same principles and theology of ELCA professors who taught Nadia, are and have been teaching most pastors of the ELCA. Warn people about the apostasy of the ELCA. If you are attending an ELCA church, get out and find a Bible-believing and God-honoring denomination. -- As you can see below, not only is Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber the brightest star in the ELCA, she is the face of the ELCA, and the defacto theological leader of the denomination. She is sought out by ELCA leadership. Rev. Bolz-Weber's Facebook page has 196,105 "likes" and 212,283 people follow her. On Twitter, she has over 71,000 followers. Nadia Bolz-Weber's influence is wide and deep.
Here is a picture of Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber sitting with the leader of the ELCA, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton.
This picture shows Nadia with former ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. 
The ELCA chose Rev. Bolz-Weber to speak to the the youth at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering. And also at the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. Then there is a video created by an ELCA synod about Rev. Bolz-Weber and her church. 
ELCA bishops want to be around Nadia Bolz-Weber. The picture below shows Nadia with the Bishop of the Gulf Coast Synod, ELCA.
Next, Rev. Bolz-Weber is pictured along with the bishop of the ELCA's Rocky Mountain Synod. Finally, we have Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin, bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with Rev. Bolz-Weber. 
Finally, here is an ELCA church hosting Rev. Bolz-Weber's book tour.
That quote is from Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, the most famous pastor, author and speaker in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Nadia Bolz-Weber is a major leader in the ELCA, and she is telling people that it is okay to view pornography. That, of course, is against Scripture. God tells us, and in the words of Jesus, "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:28 This is what the ELCA has become. Many ELCA leaders, members and unchurched people fawn over Rev. Bolz-Weber. She was even picked to speak to 31,000 ELCA teenagers at last summer's ELCA youth gathering despite the high volume of heretical statements she has made in the past. (see here and here) ELCA Pastor Bolz-Weber went on in the same article to say: "If we took shame out of the fact that people like to view erotic imagery, the compulsive behavior around consuming pornography would decrease." "The church is saying that the Creator of the Universe, God in the heavens above, knows if you’re masturbating, and God is super disappointed. How ridiculous. That causes harm because these teachings are done in God’s name." "The Bible’s not clear about shit!" "If the teachings of the church are harming people, then we need to rethink those teachings." The last two quotes are a good description of what the ELCA believes about God's Word. This is false teaching and people need to get out from under their leadership. If you will not do it in honor of God, do it for your children. And things are even going to get worse. With the approaching release of Nadia's new book, you can be assured that this is just the beginning of troubling and Bible-defying teaching ELCA leaders and members will consume. |
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.
Give online by clicking the "donate" button below: Categories
All
Archives
June 2025
 Exposing the ELCA is on Facebook 
Follow Exposing the ELCA on Twitter
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
|
RSS Feed