ELCA Bishop Herbert Chilstrom, defender of abortion rights and homosexuality, dies

1/22/2020

(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)

Bishop Herbert Chilstrom, first head bishop of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has died. For many years, he was my bishop, and it was a difficult relationship. I believe in the infallibility of Scripture, and Chilstrom wanted no one to teach at the seminary who held such a view. I am pro-life and opposed to the ELCA paying for abortion for any reason with offering dollars, Chilstrom publicly defended abortion. I have struggled with same sex attraction most of my life but for the sake of Christ and my soul, I abstain. Chilstrom promoted the acceptance of homosexual relationships and the ordination of homosexually active pastors, which the ELCA approved in 2009.

Someone asked me "Do you think he is in heaven?" I replied "Only God can sort that one out."

Many years ago a wonderful pastor by the name of Maynard Force died, who had been Chilstrom's professor and who grieved over how liberal Chilstrom had become. At his death, Chilstrom wrote a letter to pastors informing that Maynard had died and that, though we don't believe in the Bible the way Maynard did, we still stand at the foot of the same cross of Christ. A conservative pastor wrote back stating that, yes, Bishop Chilstrom, some of us still do believe in the infallible authority of Scripture.

Back in the 1980's a controversy erupted when Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota started showing hard-core pornographic films to teen sexual offenders and their families as part of "therapy" (including in one case a 10-year-old sister). At a large public hearing Chilstrom was asked if he could bring these films before the Judgement Seat of Christ. Chilstrom responded "Yes, I think I could." A huge groan went through the crowd. I remember a farmer saying of the controversy "When I go to clean something, I don't use a dirty cloth."

Bishop Chilstrom treated people graciously, including myself. But I am sad that he was instrumental in helping the ELCA become the unbiblical, radical denomination that it is today.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock

PS The below article shows how Chilstrom "evolved" on homosexuality

https://www.gvnews.com/news/longtime-church-leader-herb-chilstrom-dies-at/article_4d4bed20-3b41-11ea-be82-13fa671df8e9.html

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4 Comments

James Young

1/22/2020 08:47:17 am

Told me some things about Pastor Brock I didn't know, or had forgotten. A powerful testimony, nevertheless, especially to the licentious wing of Lutheranism.

Didaskalos link

1/23/2020 06:17:27 am

March 1, 2011: Confessional Lutheran pastor David Barnhart's reply to Bishop Chilstrom's letter to those leaving the ELCA
-- https://davidbarnhart.blogspot.com/2011/03/bishop-herbert-chilstroms-letter-to.html

. . . "Bishop Chilstrom, it is not “sex” that has caused over 800,000 members and at least 1000 congregations to leave the ELCA since its establishment in 1988; it is the ELCA’s ongoing denial of the Bible as the inspired Word of God and its blatant attack on the teachings of Scripture. Those who have left and those who are still in the process of leaving the ELCA, including some of your own most respected theologians and former bishops, have explained this repeatedly, but you and ELCA leaders apparently are not listening. Instead, you have chosen to ridicule and insult them by suggesting some warped attitude about “sex” has prompted their leaving.

"The people of the ELCA were not the ones who raised the issue of promoting homosexuality as being virtuous, nor did they raise the issue of ordaining practicing homosexuals as pastors. You, Bishop Chilstrom, and the ELCA leadership were responsible for relentlessly driving this agenda in the ELCA over the past 22 years. It was you and liberal ELCA leaders who initiated studies, costing millions of benevolence dollars, in order to reeducate ELCA members that homosexuality should be fully accepted by the church, in total contradiction to the teachings of Scripture.

"Because the Bible clearly identifies homosexuality as sin and an abomination before God, (Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-28; Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Jude 1:7), ELCA leaders gathered theologians and teachers to write books, papers and articles that would “prove” numerous biblical passages that identify homosexual acts as sin do not really mean what the text declares. This is clearly reminiscent of the first false teacher, Satan, who used the same tactic with Eve when he asked her: “Did God really say? (Genesis 3:1). Paul described such deceitful teachers when he wrote:

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…” (1 Timothy 4:1).
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

"Bishop, you and the ELCA leadership permitted the pro-homosexual lobby to bring their political agenda before the Churchwide Assembly year after year, even though it was repeatedly rejected. Your persistence paid off when the 2009 Churchwide Assembly approved a resolution that officially allows practicing homosexuals to serve as pastors. The fact is—the ELCA leadership had permitted practicing homosexuals to serve in the ELCA for years with little or no discipline being imposed on them or the congregations they served.

"The resolution to sanction the ordination of practicing homosexuals was passed at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly only because ELCA Church Council drafted and backed a provision that permitted its passage by a simple majority vote instead of the customary two-thirds plurality. Had the people in the pews of the ELCA been given the opportunity to vote on ordaining practicing homosexuals as pastors, the measure would not have passed. No, Bishop Chilstrom, the issue that has “pushed” literally hundreds of thousands of former ELCA members “over the edge,” to use your words, is not sex; the issue was, is, and continues to remain the ELCA’s low view and arrogant rejection of the Scriptures."

Dave from Minnesota

1/24/2020 08:29:49 pm

I was not a Donald Trump fan in 2016. I thought he was an Atheist pretending to be a Christian. But I voted for him anyway due to federal judges. I have since come around on him. Please watch his talk to the March for Life. Its worth your while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzS0vjw7C_g&fbclid=IwAR19SX-OQvVOrsawgY8kQU0b4hAp2uiuT1o3jYBNjl_S5Z9HvVe1mIepsAo&app=desktop

Bryan

1/24/2020 10:59:03 pm

Chilstrom was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing,,,He merely bound people in their sin instead of freeing them in Christ...He will be judged all the more for his duplicity

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ELCA Bishop Herbert Chilstrom, defender of abortion rights and homosexuality, dies

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