Peace and Justice Christians--Do they ever get to talk about Jesus?

"The Pittsburgh interfaith impact network, which comprises more than 30 faith-based organizations, promised to hold them [senators, city council reps] accountable on issues such as health care, immigration reform, racial profiling, neighborhood blight and public transportation.

For two hours at Epiphany Catholic Church in Uptown, PIIN members outlined problems and plans for reform, then called upon officials or, in some cases, their surrogates, to answer a series of yes or no questions.

Among the promises, representatives for Sens. Bob Casey Jr. and Arlen Specter said they would support legislation that protects immigrant workers from abuse regardless of whether they were born in the United States.

Allegheny County Council President Rich Fitzgerald said he would continue to support plans to make shopping malls more accessible to public transit riders. A representative for County Executive Dan Onorato said he would make eradicating blight a priority.

And Pittsburgh police Chief Nathan Harper said he will work to implement a policy that would bar officers from targeting people based solely on race. He also agreed to create a "cultural diversity training program" that would be mandatory for each officer and said he wants the force to better represent the diversity of the community it serves."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09303/1009479-455.stm#ixzz0W6zPwJUu

A pile of stones

If you've been a member of UALC since the days of Pastor Luther Strommen, you might remember a pile of stones in front of the sanctuary. Here's a trip down memory lane.

www.advent1.com/UALC/stone_at_top.mp3

We came to UALC as baby Christians. That's when the Pastor came to the home of visitors with a team of parishioners. My husband used to say, Pastor Strommen has a 3 point sermon: Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord.

Steve Puffenberger explains: Pastor Strommen had received a call to go to another church, something he struggled deeply with. He presented the prospect of his leaving to staff, council and ultimately the congregation, with the challenge that if he stayed there would be a new commitment to following Jesus. The congregation agreed. The moment was commemorated by the building of a pile of stones that sat on the shelf beneath the cross (in the old sanctuary). In the year that followed some of the most remarkable ministries began happening. The Don Abdon seminar resulted in the "so preach teach and live" mission statement. William Vaswig brought the beginnings of healing prayer. There were other programs on evangelism born. The "New Day," as it was called, was pivotal in the spiritual lives of many.

Listen and pray.

Not to be offensive, but. . .

We're being encouraged to save on our utilities at our three locations. Years ago I was taught that constantly turning lights on and off didn't really save electricity. However, there's another reason not to turn out the lights at Lytham Road Ladies Rooms. At least during busy times like Sunday Morning, Thursday morning, weddings, funerals, etc. It turns off the ventilation. 'Nuf said?

But if that's not enough. The rooms have no windows, so they are pitch black when you enter. The ladies room in the back of the church is off a windowless hallway where some conscientious Christian has also turned out the lights. That's not very welcoming for visitors. And dangerous.

Get out now--nothing is going to change

I grew up in the Church of the Brethren, as did my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents (in 1888 there were several splits, but you get the idea). The church dates its beginning to 1708 when a group decided after much prayer and Bible study that they needed to re-baptize themselves--thus Anabaptist. It is one of the historic peace churches with strong ties to the Mennonites (and a lot of intermarriage). Each year it has an Annual Conference to discuss the business of being a church--a very tiny church, I might add. I attended one in 1949 with my grandparents in Ocean Grove, and one in Dayton in 1974. Some people go every year to see old friends. I think there are about 50,000 members--so it's not hard to run into someone you know. At the Newsletter of the Brethren Rival Fellowship (now 50 years old) a group that has attempted to return the group to its Biblical Anabaptist Pietist roots, I noticed this report on the 2009 Annual Conference.

1. The 223rd recorded Annual Conference was held in San Diego, California, on June 26-30, 2009, with attendance at an unusual low of just slightly under 2,100 in attendance.

2. The theme was, “The Old Has Gone, The New Has Come, All This Is From God.” It was based on 2 Corinthians 5, on becoming new creatures in Christ.

3. While the theme emphasized the new things in Christ, the Conference spent most of its time dealing with what is becoming an increasingly old issue at Annual Conference–namely homosexuality.

4. Last year’s Standing Committee had formed a statement of Confession and Commitment in response to the repeated requests that came to the Program and Arrangements Committee from BMC (Brethren Mennonite Council­a pro gay organization) to have a display area among the exhibits. This request has consistently been denied.

5. The Standing Committee Statement essentially affirmed the 1983 decision on human sexuality and acknowledged the tension that exists in the denomination over this issue. The statement cautioned against the meanness that has been expressed at some levels and said this kind of activity must stop.

6. This year a new item of business was received from the Northern Indiana District that raised the question, “Whether it is the will of the church that this language on same-sex covenantal relationships [in the 1983 Annual Conference decision] will continue to guide our journey together?” . . .

I think we know what the result of this struggle with the advocates from the LGBT group will be. I’m not sure why every denomination tries to reinvent the wheel on this. A tiny percentage of the group advocates for acceptence of their unbiblical life style; a larger group doesn't want to be mean or judgemental (because that would be unbiblical) and supports them; the majority waffle and wait (which is also unbiblical since there is an outline on how to handle this) and finally leave a weakened, gutted denomination. The solution might be to get out now so you can move ahead with the Lord’s work. Their sexuality statement goes back to 1983, and when I went back and looked at some of the archives, even 26 years ago teen-agers at the youth conferences were being told same sex attraction was OK and they should be working for “justice” for the gay community.

The ELCA task force statement to recognize and bless homosexual unions goes back to 1989, but only because ELCA was birthed in 1988 through a merger of two of the largest synods, the Lutheran Church in America, and the American Lutheran Church. The individual statements on sexuality from those groups probably predate 1989.

Mix and match any number

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has been sparing over its sexuality statement for 20 years (1989 the task force was formed), and in August 2009 the liberals won--by a tiny margin. The English in the document is so obscure you'd never get out of Writing 101 if you tried this at the college level. Now hundreds of Lutheran churches are leaving as soon as they can secure their buildings and pensions and work out the business relationships with new umbrella organizations through which they can continues missions, teaching and publication. As I have often pointed out to my clueless (and holier than thou) friends, it wasn't going to end with gay marriage, or ordaining gay pastors in "loving committed relationships." Polygamists and man-boy love advocates were waiting in line for us to lower the bar.

So I hate to say "I told you so," but I will. Obama's nominee Chai R. Feldblum, to the Equal Employment Opportunity Council, is a lesbian who believes any number, any mix and match, makes a family and a household. Read her story at InsideCatholic.com

Obama has flip flopped on so many issues, his backing off of marriage between a man and woman is no surprise.

Feldblum's advocacy of the homosexual lifestyle is quite startling, given the fact that she teaches at a Catholic law school. As a matter of fact, she is seen in this video arguing not only that the government has a duty to promote homosexuality but also proclaiming, "Gay sex is morally good."

Since President Obama nominated Feldblum on September 15, his outreach to the homosexual community has rapidly accelerated. His keynote speech to the Human Rights Campaign on October 11 contained all the positions advocated by his EEOC nominee: "You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman."

Obama's declaration "to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and to pass the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act" reflects Feldblum's commitment to employ the power of government to encourage the growth of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender social units, thus presenting a direct challenge to traditional marriage."

My only question is what is this woman doing at a Catholic school? A question we soon won't be able to ask because it is hate speech to believe what God said in Genesis 1-2. Hate speech legislation isn't about protecting minorities from violence--that happens most in their own communities--it's about shutting up and outlawing anything you don't want to hear, including the truth.

The flu scare

Our church has installed a hand sanitizer outside the sanctuary and fellowship hall (where the X-Alt service meets). Also, bottles of hand sanitizer were available as we went up for communion, and each server used it.

But the soap in the Ladies Room is pink and the counter top is white--and horribly stained from the pink soap. Part of encouraging people to wash their hands is to have a well kept environment and attractive wash room. About a year ago I suggested that we purchase white soap, but nothing happened. I'll have to find out what channels or committees were used to get those hand sanitizers installed.

Blake Haxton begins at OSU

Blake Haxton's story is amazing. In the spring his legs were amputated to save him from necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria); he was not expected to live. Although the Haxtons were not members of UALC, many days our whole community was praying for him and his family because teens in our community knew him through sports. His father has a journal at The Caring Bridge, and on Sept. 23 reported that Blake had entered OSU as a Freshman. The faith of the family has been an inspiration to all.

Interview with Blake's Dad.

Lutherans Leaving ELCA

Alternative church fellowship for Lutherans to be formed as 1,200 gather in Indianapolis, Sept. 25-26 for Lutheran CORE convocation. http://lutherancore.org/ The turn out and interest has been so great, the registration is closed and they've moved it to a larger church.

My first impression at this web site is that I hope they can soon hire a professional web designer. But the information is good.

My church, UALC in Columbus (3 locations),

"Our future is not in the ELCA. Moving toward wherever our future will be is a fairly lengthy but a critically important process, and one that will be given all the time it needs. . . No funds whatsoever have been given to the ELCA since July. . . We will spend our effort and our energy where they matter most, on people, for Jesus' sake." Senior Pastor Paul Ulring, report to the Congregation, Cornerstone, Sept. 20-26, 2009

There are a number of other options in addition to CORE for ELCA congregations planning to distance themselves from their misguided synod which has been wandering in the wilderness for about 10 years.

• Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (this probably isn't an option for UALC since 7 of the 9 services are informal/contemporary or too loud for me to attend (drums, electric guitars, etc.)
  
• The Lighthouse Covenant (Ulring is one of the founding members)
  
• LCMC Word Alone (UALC is a member)
  
• ARC Alliance of Renewal Churches
  
• AFLC and AALC Association of Free Lutheran Congregations and **American Association of Lutheran Churches

**Twelve ALC congregations chose not to enter into the ELCA merger and prior to the merger, on November 7, 1987, formed their own Lutheran church body, The American Association of Lutheran Churches (The AALC). The pastors and congregations held firmly that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and they saw the ELCA moving further away from that foundation. From 1987 to 2009, The AALC has grown from 12 congregations to 78 congregations and formed their own seminary, American Lutheran Theological Seminary (ALTS), which is now located on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. (from the AALC web site)

Be changed by God’s Word. Don’t let the Word be changed

“To all believers, not just Lutherans, and to all not-yet believers in Jesus Christ: Have ears to hear!

It is very important for you to hear today that Jesus died for you to save you from your sin through repentance, forgiveness and new life, which are true freedom in Him.

That is the message and the calling for the church. That is not up for a vote. . . God’s Word is not up for a vote and, remember, He always gets the last word because He alone is eternal.”

Word alone newsletter, in response to the vote to accept homosexual behavior

Wenger on European Christians

Earlier this month I blogged about my new book (110 years old) Six months in Bible Lands by A. D. Wenger. Wengers are in my family tree, but I think he's a different branch. I've finished it now, and thoroughly enjoyed reliving the many places we visited this spring on our "Steps of Paul" tour. However, his trip is 14 months, so he sees many places and visits many different Christian churches, missionaries, and particularly Mennonites, when he can find them. Modern Jews and Arabs of Israel probably think Christian pilgrims make too much of "holy" sites (although we bring many tourist dollars), and miss the modern day political and social problems. However, an Iowan doesn't go to D.C. to see samples of corn, so I think it's quite logical to look for Biblical clues about archaeological sites in Israel, Turkey, Egypt and Italy. Wenger's book isn't exactly a travelogue, but more a 550 page evangelism tract. Nothing misses his magnifying glass of a premillenialist, American Mennonite evangelist who was on the cusp of many changes in his church and American society.

He provides some details both about Mennonites and Lutherans, or "evangelicals." After noting the various Mennonites he visited in Germany and Switzerland, he writes:

"But how did we get to Germany and the adjoining countries from which we came to America? . . . According to history, many centuries before Christ the descendants of Japheth, the third son of Noah, reached central Europe. For many generations they had been pushing westward from their primitive home, thousands of miles away in Asia, to these favored lands (Germany) and had forgotten the God of their old father Noah and turned to be a horde of degraded savages clothed in the skins of animals. They worshipped wooden and metal images, hand-made gods, and offered up human sacrifices. We are not the descendants of the Jews, but of these Gentile barbarians. The early missionaries bore the Gospel of salvation westward and northward from the Holy Land until it reached our forefathers several centuries ago. . . Ever since as early as 150 AD when the Roman Church already began to grow corrupt, there have existed bodies of Christians independent of that church. . . in one continued line such as Marconite Christians, Paulician Christians, Catheroi Christians, Waldensian Christians and Mennonite Christians. . . The faith of the ancient Waldenses was not changed, but because of the prominence of the able minister, Menno Simon [former Catholic priest baptized by and united to Waldenses] others gave them the name Mennonists and later Mennonites. . .

[Gives history of William Penn inviting Mennonites from Germany, Holland and Switzerland to settle in Pennsylvania, the first arriving in 1683] In our minds let us step back 200 years and take the position of our brethren ancestors in Europe. Three things stare us in the face, severe persecution, recantation of faith or flight to America. We choose the later. We are hundreds of miles from the sea. There are no railway trains to carry us to the vessel, none even in the world. By means of vehicles, horseback or on foot, we pass through many dangers and reach the shore. No great steamship awaits to carry us in safety in a week to Philadelphia or New York. We must take only the ru'e sail crafts of the time and be tossed for months on the merciless waves. At last we set our feet upon a strange land [notes problems with Indians]. . . Many clung to their faith and laid down their lives for Jesus that He might take them up to better realms. Others were too weak to stand the test of their faith. The longing eyes of some never reached our fruitful land. They rest in their deep graves until the sea shall give up its dead. Now, from five to eight generations on both shores await the Resurrection. Others continued to follow the little band that settled at Germantown. They are still coming to our most favored land, especially from Russia. . . The pressure by the European governments to bear arms and to violate other principles of the gospel of Christ has been greater than in our country, hence some of the most faithful and conscientious ones continue to come to enjoy our religious freedom.

He goes on to note how small the European congregations are now, with the two groups separated by a vast ocean are almost completely independent of each other. He is quite distressed at the higher criticism that has taken over many of the European Mennonites, and how the Germans see nothing wrong with vineyards that will turn to alcohol, and their pridefulness in their beautiful farms and livestock.

In almost every country he visits he notes the condition and fashion of women, always mentioning how much better American women live, because in so many societies women were little more than pack animals, and still wearing the family's wealth on their heads or clothing. He compares the deformed, tiny feet of the wealthy Chinese women to the stays in the corsets of high fashion western women deforming internal organs.

The laboring classes [of Germany] are hard workers, especially the women. You can see them doing all kinds of slavish work, even hauling on the road with ox teams. Nothing appears too hard for the weaker sex. . . On the road I saw an old lady tottering beneath a heavy basket while beside her walked a large, strong man with his hands in his pockets. . . Women are not held in high esteem and as man's equal, especially in rural districts. While her position seems a little degraded and lower than in our country, it is not nearly as low as in Asiatic countries. Men take respectable places and women are pushed aside. . . The Germans are noted for their kindness and hospitality. . . When you retire for the night and again when you meet in the morning you must shake hands with every member of the family. Really I think there is not a friendlier people to be found or a people more ready to do you a favor than the Germans are. . .

He tells the story of Katrina, a child care worker and teacher of young children in Gelsheim. Here he puts in a plug for religious education outside the home, something not popular in many American Christian groups.

"Her mission is to live for the good of others and for the Lord whom she loves. She appears to be a pious and heavenly-minded soul, fond of prayer and the Scriptures. . . She is a Lutheran, or rather Evangelical [notes she attends a pietist group movement]. . . She calls it "Kleine Kinder Schule." Though a school teacher, yet in one sense she is a farmer, for she allows many others to go to the field by keeping the children. While the parents and the larger children are engaged in household duties and in working in the fields she is taking care of the little ones of the village [50]. . . She entertains them with may beautiful pictures, especially Bible pictures; and with dolls, all kinds of toys, hobby horses, swings, trowels to play in the sand, lines to play driving the horse and apparatus to play post man and many other games. Katrina well knows that children are almost always busy at something. . . who knows how much these plastic minds are shaped and moulded for time and eternity by her teaching and influence. . . I am told 200 such sisters work in the province of Wurtemburg alone. Their work is highly necessary, especially in summer, when the women all work in the fields, and besides the children generally get better training under the care of a Sister than they would get at home. . .

Except for the part about each child having a spiritual spark that needed to be ignited, he could be a disciple of Friedrich Froebel, the German who started the kindergarten idea which was imported to the United States.

It's time

For years our huge, evangelical congregation in suburban Columbus with 3 locations and 9 services on Sunday and many ministries has been told we would leave if this happened. Let’s see if promises are kept. In April 2008 I wrote about the "Social Statement on Human Sexuality" at Digging for the Pony.

This ELCA draft does violence to our English language--verbal abuse, noun abuse, adverb abuse and adjective abuse, to say nothing of abusing our Christian faith. It is Scripture twisting and gymnastics! This draft criticizes "Lutheran historical teachings concerning homosexuality" with no footnotes (Book of Concord? Luther? Lutheran Brethren? Missouri-Synod Lutheran? Wisconsin Synod? the old ALC?). It does not analyze or reference any teaching, research or biblical criticism by known Christian homosexuals, theologians or Lutheran pastors who promote ordination and marriage for gays. It does find space to comment on and condemn children's clothing, playground bullying, consumerism, date rape, dangers of the internet, early sex education, grandparents raising grandchildren and inappropriate touching of female pastors. If you throw in the kitchen sink maybe no one will notice there is no Biblical foundation?

I checked the website today, and found out the temperature in Columbus is 63, but didn't see anything about this issue. Nor did I really expect to. ELCA (our synod) has been spiritually wandering in the wilderness and losing members ever since it was created in 1988 out of a liberal and a moderate synod whose ethnic differences had blurred over the years.

From Episcopal Life online: The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on August 21 approved opening the ministry of the church to pastors and other professional workers living in committed same-gender relationships.

The resolution passed by a vote of 559 to 451 and overturns previous church policy that prohibited participation of gays and lesbians in church ministries unless they were celibate.

Discussions about human sexuality have dominated the August 17-23 assembly in Minneapolis, the chief legislative authority of the 4.6 million-member denomination. More than half, or about 1,045, of the 2,000 participants are voting members at the gathering, themed "God's work. Our hands."

The assembly also approved a resolution committing the church to find ways for congregations that choose to do so to "recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships." It did not use the word "marriage." It also approved, by a vote of 771-230, a resolution committing the church to respect the differences of opinions on the matter and honor the "bound consciences" of those who disagree.

In 2008 I concluded with, "I don't know what our congregation (UALC) is waiting for--it took this sexuality task force seven years to write a mish-mash and hodge podge and submit it to the people of God as a serious work. Every paragraph looks like the sentences were drawn from a hat of former reports and pasted to a page. It is an insult to our common sense and a travesty of our faith. It's time to go. It really is. These people will not back down; they'll just wear us out."

Six months in Bible lands

Yesterday I bought a "bag of books" for one dollar at the Women's Club book sale here in Lakeside, Ohio. There wasn't much left when I got there and I just picked some up randomly. When I got home and went through the bag I found some real treasures, including a first edition of Edna St. Vincent Millay's letters. However, I also found a delightful book with a very long title,

Six Months in Bible Lands and Around the World in Fourteen Months; observations and notes of travel in England, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, Constantinople, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, India, Ceylon, China and Japan. With fifty illustrations. Moral, practical and religious subjects are treated in harmony with the Bible. Wenger, A. D. Joseph B. Steiner, Mennonite Publisher, Doylestown, PA. 1902.

Book Description from an internet used book site: Hard Cover. Book Condition: Good. Dark green cover, some light spots. cover slightly frayed at spine ends and corners. clean and tight. 550 pp. $14.00 (what the dealer wanted, plus shipping)

Wengers are in my family tree, so I first looked up Amos Daniel Wenger, and learned through a genealogy that he is a descendant of Christian Wenger, not Hans and Hannah Wenger, my guys. But they all arrived in the U.S. around the same time, the 1730s. Also in looking through internet genealogies, I learned that his wife of one year had died in 1898 and in January 1899 he began this around-the-world trip, returning in 1900, to recover from his grief. This is not mentioned in the passages I've read. He later married his second wife with whom he had 8 children all of whom either became ministers, missionaries or spouses of same. He edited his notes with research about the areas, and published the book in 1902.

He says in the introduction that no orthodox Mennonite had ever written a travel book of this type and it would fill a place in the church literature. Often I have a problem with the flowery purple prose of 100 years ago, but he is a delightful, easy read, and sounds like he went on our trips of the last few years. Before he even gets out of the U.S. he lets us know on page 3 that foolish claims of materialism and the worldly culture are claiming even Mennonites. He stopped in Brooklyn to visit an Amish-Mennonite family--or a used-to-be in the faith--in their too well funished home with costly furniture and adornments.

"The widowed mother is from an humble Amish Mennonite family in Pennsylvania. Like too many thoughtless young men and women, she arranged her conjugal relations first and the church relations received an after consideration. Now she finds herself a member of a denomination too proud and avaricious to give her a pew in her nearest church-house."

So he went off with the family some distance to find a church that was within their reach, although the son, a well-off lawyer, has his membership at the nearest place of worship and rents a pew there. Wenger has little use for magnificient buildings and would prefer to see the money go to feed the poor. More about that when he gets to Europe!

Hellfire in the modern church?

"Some people say they are tired of hellfire and damnation sermons." Then [paraphrase of the late Keith Green] he said, "Let me ask you a question: When was the last time you heard any?" Comment at Darrell Bock blog.

The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission

Maybe they could establish a mission in the United States. Map.

Gender issues in the ESV

Our church, UALC, has been using the NIV for many years, but I've noticed a number of people, including at least 2 of our pastors, have moved to the English Standard Version, which is essentially a word for word translation, as opposed to phrase for phrase or a paraphrase. Looking through the website for the ESV, I noticed this on "gender issues."

Gender Issues

In the area of gender language, the goal of the ESV is to render literally what is in the original.

For example, “anyone” replaces “any man” where there is no word corresponding to “man” in the original languages, and “people” rather than “men” is regularly used where the original languages refer to both men and women. But the words “man” and “men” are retained where a male meaning component is part of the original Greek or Hebrew.

Similarly, the English word “brothers” (translating the Greek word adelphoi) is retained as an important familial form of address between fellow-Jews and fellow-Christians in the first century. A recurring note is included to indicate that the term “brothers” (adelphoi) was often used in Greek to refer to both men and women, and to indicate the specific instances in the text where this is the case.

In addition, the English word “sons” (translating the Greek word huioi) is retained in specific instances because of its meaning as a legal term in the adoption and inheritance laws of first-century Rome. As used by the apostle Paul, this term refers to the status of all Christians, both men and women, who, having been adopted into God’s family, now enjoy all the privileges, obligations, and inheritance rights of God’s children.

The inclusive use of the generic “he” has also regularly been retained, because this is consistent with similar usage in the original languages and because an essentially literal translation would be impossible without it.

Similarly, where God and man are compared or contrasted in the original, the ESV retains the generic use of “man” as the clearest way to express the contrast within the framework of essentially literal translation.

In each case the objective has been transparency to the original text, allowing the reader to understand the original on its own terms rather than on the terms of our present-day culture.

The Poor and the Christian Church

As I've noted here numerous times, I'm really uncomfortable with Christian churches taking money from the government to meet their God-given commitments to those less fortunate, while shelving God's command to preach the Gospel because that's not allowed with USDA food distribution grants or the HUD housing rehab or the HHS neighborhood clinic. "Peace and Justice" Christians, whether liberal or conservative, Protestant or Catholic or Orthodox, need to open the Old Testament--to the Book of Job. The story of Job is a non-Israelite story. Scholars don't agree on how old the story is, or where it came from, but a casual reading shows that Job was considered a righteous and moral man by his peers and himself, a man devoted to God. Job in his own words described his close fellowship with God, his wonderful family, his blessings of wealth, and his respected position in the community (this sounds like the "health and wealth" gospel you find on Christian TV). Then disaster takes it ALL away. We see that Job is an adherent of an ancient patriarchial religion, common among many desert people--he avoids adultery, including carnal lust, even the smallest thought that would contaminate his mind; he doesn't lie or deceive and was never unfair; he was fair even to his slaves; he was a man of great charity, helping the widow and fatherless orphans; he didn't worship idols and knew that silver and gold could be idols; he didn't gloat when his enemies failed; he didn't hate the foreigner and practiced hospitality; he hadn't obtained his land by robbery; no one ever charged him with being hypocrite. He "wore righteousness as a garment."

So if this is the sum total of what Jesus came to preach, he was a few centuries late--the people already knew all this. What constituted righteousness was well known, common knowledge, just as today. So Christians need to make sure that their own "righteousness" is more than that, it must include the Gospel, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If the USDA summer lunch and snack program forbids distributing printed Bible tracts, or says you can't sing songs about Jesus or that you can't console a pregnant mother with life giving testimony about your own situation, then DON'T TAKE THE MONEY! Don't pay your church staff to go after and manage these grants. It's a deal with the Devil.

President Obama promised us in his 2008 campaign that he was going to strip religion from these programs--and even in the old days of "a thousand points of light," (Bush I slogan) Christians were restricted about what they could do or say in order to receive government grants. But we've already seen how President Obama co-opted the Catholic church in their own building on their own grounds dangling before them the prestige of having the President stand at their podium. He won't be any less harsh to Lutherans running lunch programs in neutral community buildings in Hilliard and on the Hilltop.

Government programs are rarely "temporary" and almost never go away. They just get bigger because so many staff government jobs are dependent on them. They spawn entire marketing and printing projects, distribution channels, factories to process food, conferences and workshops to keep employees informed of changes in the law (with travel to interesting cities like Las Vegas and New Orleans), warehouses and storage equipment, soup kitchens, special healthy snack creation, and all manner of cross fertilization of other projects, especially environmental, the current craze. What started 65 years ago when my grandparents were farming in Illinois and Iowa to use up agricultural surpluses to help the farmers after WWII, has run amok creating a dependency among the poor and the distributers alike. And I use the word "poor" loosely here--to qualify for food assistance, the family of 4 can earn $41,299 and add $6,959 for each additional family member.

"Ohio Foodbanks began in 1985 to develop the federally funded Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) within the state of Ohio. Working in conjunction with the Department of Education and then the Ohio Department of Agriculture and finally with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services the Ohio Foodbanks struggled through many years of programmatic development, burdensome federal bureaucratic processes, repeated threats of cuts to the TEFAP food sources, and the constant recognition that even in the best of times, the food was generally in insufficient amounts to meet the growing needs of the hungry Ohioans." So now they are a line item in the state budget guaranteeing a permanent income stream. OASHF

"TOLEDO NORTHWEST OHIO FOOD BANK
• 87% of pantries, 70% of kitchens, and 36% of shelters are run by faith-based agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious organizations.
• At the agency level, 80% of agencies with at least one pantry, kitchen, or shelter and 69% of all agencies including those only with other types of programs are faith-based. Toledo NW Ohio Food Bank, 2006"

Cross posted at Collecting My Thoughts.

Making room on the shelves

for Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. A two volume commentary published by Fortress will have to go. I blogged about it here.

Strong verses for tough times

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29: 11

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27-28

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1:16

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

Do not fear what you are about to suffer...Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

I found this list in a Concordia confirmation certificate pack, but just as they are good for the long haul, the are also good for the next day or week, which is about as far as we want to go right now.

Support Lutheran CORE

Lutheran CORE is a coalition of individuals, congregations and reform movements in the ELCA. Lutheran CORE seeks to be a voice for the solid, faithful core that is the majority of ELCA members, pastors, and congregations.

You may give online at www.lutherancore.org or send gifts to:

Lutheran CORE
c/o WordAlone Network
2299 Palmer Drive, Suite 220
New Brighton, MN 55112-2202

Please make checks payable to the WordAlone Network and indicate that your gift is for Lutheran CORE on the memo line.

"Over the past three years Lutheran CORE has worked for the reform of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Our chief goal has been to serve as a voice for the Word of God within the ELCA. We have sought to maintain the Christian doctrine of marriage and the normative use of the Biblical names for the persons of the Holy Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Within the ELCA we have sought to uphold both Biblical authority and Lutheran identity. To effect these reforms, we have used the constitutional structures of the ELCA — synod assemblies, churchwide assemblies, and the election processes for synodical and churchwide leaders. . .

The commitment of the ELCA to its Trinitarian heritage continues to weaken, as evinced by the increasing avoidance of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our church’s liturgical and educational publications. The ongoing debate over marriage and sexuality seems never-ending. We see indications of a weakening Lutheran identity within our church." Additional information at the April 2009 Newsletter.

You may be yawning at this point if you are not a Lutheran, however, the same issues are happening in your denomination whether Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, or Congregational. In fact, your church has possibly already been sunk by the world, the flesh and the devil working in concert (it takes three) with tiny committees who have usurped your authority and taken the people in the pews hostage.

I've blogged before about the bizarre twisting of language and theology in the ELCA Social Statement on Human Sexuality. Be sure to read the article on p. 10 of the above newsletter by Paul Hinlicky: "I Think I Want A Divorce from ELCA." There are some marriages that cannot be fixed, and the ELCA has been flagrantly unfaithful to her bridgegroom Jesus Christ, afraid to even mention his name, and is out and about on the streets whoring. She needs to be cut off from her source of funding to end the prostitution.

Noise--the asbestos and allergies of the future

Interesting note in one of my husband's architectural journals, "Schools of the 21st Century," Supplement to Architectural Record, Jan. 2009.

"But one thing that is universally true [in designing buildings for children] is that the senses of a child are nearly always more acute than those of an adult. Poor air quality, bad lighting, extraneous noise, and rooms that are too hot or cold are enormously distracting, especially if one is struggling to learn." Welcome, p. 11

I don't see any Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) on the list of top 20 songs used as "torture," but I've left services, or even the building, so if I were confined to a stroller, or baby holder, it would be uncomfortable.

Music as a means of torture became commonplace in 1989, during the effort by US troops to force Panama president, Manuel Norriega to surrender. The brutal practice was also a regular part of interrogation tactics authorized by then commander in Iraq, Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez in a September 14, 2003 memorandum.

Since then, music torture has become the norm in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay in particular, where it is blasted at high volume over PA systems to create fear, disorient detainees, prolong capture shock, induce sleep deprivation – and to drown out screams. Link

Some Christians worry CCM lowers standards (actually lots of public domain, traditional old timey hymns have terrible theology); I worry about it raising decibels. Architects can't do much after the building is occupied. The music speakers at our X-Alt services blast the fragile and developing and elderly ears alike. I think parents who bring babies and young children into those services, carefully watching for peanut allergies, carrying hand sanitizer, and checking for ear infections, will some day realize they created hearing impairment and auditory processing disorders--especially if universal health care is expected to supply hearing aids to 30-40 year olds. The boomers barely notice, they are already hearing impaired from rock concerts and want the music cranked; the gen-x-ers have never known anything else and think we're just old fuddy-duddy fun spoilers. Those of us in our 60s, 70s, and 80s, are more sensitive to it than the younger people. Someone needs to show those pastors and parents (and musicians) an ear chart.

And I guess it will be me!