But the problem does not reside with Missouri’s liberals only. Those of us who rightly recognize how lethal syncretism is to authentic Christian witness can also be lured into fanaticism. There are voices from the right, criticizing President Harrison for not acting decisively or even for having the audacity to repent and apologize. They want a church free of the leaven of syncretism and they want it now. No waiting on the Word to do its work, no imploring the Lord of the church to look down in mercy on this poor, wretched, and miserable band of sinners known as the Missouri Synod. Instead there should be an apocalyptic show down. The church cannot wait. This is a fanaticism to be repented of.
Read the whole thing here. . .
4 comments:
Missouri's liberals would have sided with Solomon:
"4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods."
Source:
http://biblia.com/books/esv/1Ki11.4
Pastor Peters wrote:
"They want a church free of the leaven of syncretism and they want it now. No waiting on the Word to do its work, no imploring the Lord of the church to look down in mercy on this poor, wretched, and miserable band of sinners known as the Missouri Synod. Instead there should be an apocalyptic show down. The church cannot wait. This is a fanaticism to be repented of."
Now? The LCMS has had problems for at least 40 years. Will this denomination finally tire from wandering in the desert. How many more decades are we supposed to wait until the Emergent Church stops being pushed on the sheep?
Until Christ returns in glory we contend with the same challenges, the same heresies, the same temptations, and the same frustrations.
"Fanaticism for which we need to repent. . ."
We can all agree to that, as well as to "Bankrobbery for which we need to repent. . ."
"His words are timely as we wrestle with the Newtown service and to what degree the LCMS allows participation in the somewhat religious civic events such as the prayer vigil that followed the tragedy there."
I'm wrestling right now with words like "what degree," "allows," "somewhat religious civic event," "prayer vigil," "followed the tragedy." How about wrestling with something simpler: Is it God-pleasing during a prayer service in which heathen co-officiants blaspheme God if an ordained LCMS co-officiant pronounces a Trinitarian blessing on all of that?
In his article, Prof. Pless's first three paragraphs discuss 1) Sasse's 1965 description of a sect, 2) the fanning-the-flames attacks on Pres. Harrison's responses to syncretism, and 3) the lying, demonic fanatics of the ELCA. These are certainly all very reasonable points.
It is in the fourth paragraph that (rather suddenly) "fanaticism" is applied to those Missouri Synod Lutherans who recognize "how lethal synocretism is"... oh... and also whose "voices on the right" dare criticize President Harrison. The paragraph then equates such criticism with "[n]o waiting on the Word to do its work," "no imploring the Lord of the church to look down in mercy on... the Missouri Synod," and wanting "an apocalyptic show down."
In a comment on Blogia, Rev. Dennis Bestul (Lutheran Church of Our Savior, Cupertino, CA) noted, "I would hope that the sincere request for clarity isn’t being labeled 'fanaticism'." You can say that again!
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