Messages

1

Your Turn / Re: Congregation sued by ELCA

« on: Today at 07:13:41 AM »

A few years ago one of the AFLC leaders told me of a LC-MS congregation that had been meeting with us about leaving Missouri and joining the AFLC.  He said their DP told them that the Synod would take their church building and they backed down.  I said I knew that to be untrue and the only thing I could think he meant was that, if their mortgage was held by the CEF, it could be called and they'd need to get another funding source.  But the threat worked. 

Of course, as a convinced congregationalist, this idea that the "wider church" should have a claim on the property of a separately incorporated entity which has paid its own mortgage and maintenance strikes me as just plain wrong.  I do, however, agree that a dissolving congregation should have, in their constitution, a list of what Christian charities will receive their assets.  That's especially true if there is a cemetery involved.  To have no such provision would indicate they have not been what we like to call "a free and living congregation."

2

Your Turn / Re: Social programs and family structure

« on: May 23, 2022, 02:44:13 PM »

Charles Murray made very similar arguments in the 1980's.  I had the opportunity to sit next to him at a luncheon and found his presentation quite compelling. As he said, poor people aren't financially stupid, they just don't have much money, so they make the best choice available to them at the time.  If work was the best choice, they would choose that. The one big question is, of course, what can we do about this culturally destructive system.?  Murray was unable to give any option except to abolish the system, and there's the rub.  We have a huge number of people that make very good livings managing the current welfare system and they are deeply imbedded in the various bureaucracies fighting like tigers to get their share of tax money.  Add in the number of receivers of the benefits and those who mistakenly believe this system is actually doing good for the poorer among us, and you have a lot of voters.  I don't believe this system, full of unintended consequences like demeaning men, can be changed in my lifetime. 

BTW, when I was in graduate school people often referred to those earning nice salaries to manage these programs as "welfare pimps."  Probably mean, but also somewhat descriptive.

3

Your Turn / Re: Pelosi barred from taking communion

« on: May 21, 2022, 05:11:42 PM »

Since abortions are legal, it is not murder.
As I see it, you are willing to cast the first stone at the sinful woman. Jesus had something to say about that.

Sigh. The definition of murder does not depend on the legalities.

By accusing someone else of being willing to cast the first stone, you cast the first stone.

you could say the same thing about nazis killing Jews--it's legal

4

Your Turn / Re: Guns? Why?

« on: May 16, 2022, 11:20:45 AM »

The trouble with more gun control is that there is no consensus on what method of control should be used.  Many of the people who argue for it propose things that are either practically impossible or just plain silly.  I don't know anyone who is totally opposed to any kind of gun control, but, once again, what kind is the right kind. 

5

Your Turn / Re: 1 Corinthians 15:8

« on: May 16, 2022, 11:13:59 AM »

I've always read it to mean he was born again late because he had clung to so vigorously to Pharisaic Judaism.   

6

Your Turn / Re: Roe v. Wade overturned?

« on: May 09, 2022, 10:08:56 AM »

The “founders“ could not have imagined the complexity of today’s world. And today is not 1776. To assume that this world needs to be interpreted only through the minds of those people or the documents they crafted is, in my not so humble opinion, not very bright.

And the Founders recognized that fact and made it possible to amend the Constitution.  Obviously it is difficult to amend, but that prevents the momentary disputes from being enshrined in a system designed to last for hundreds of years.  Still, if you want to change what we do as a nation you do so by a system designed for the promotion of an ordered liberty, you don't legislate through the courts as if we were Venezuela.

7

Your Turn / Re: The Disinformation Governance Board, Free Speech, and the Church

« on: May 04, 2022, 06:26:06 PM »

Lutheran orthodoxy is of concern, but of more import is Nicene orthodoxy and sometimes that gets shredded on this board. 

8

Your Turn / Re: Roe v. Wade overturned?

« on: May 04, 2022, 06:22:19 PM »

I accept the charge of being one of Dan's ilk.  My real concern are those of Charles' ilk who are seeking to assume authoritarian control of the US, including the nutcase Rep. of the Progressive Caucus who believes it is unlawful for the SC to overturn set precedent.  Back to Plessy v. Ferguson, I guess.

9

Your Turn / Re: The Disinformation Governance Board, Free Speech, and the Church

« on: April 30, 2022, 03:38:45 PM »

The Democrats and their media allies are busy trying to frighten people into voting for them because the GOP has become authoritarian and anti-democratic.  It's a bunch of hooey.  You want to see authoritarian and anti-democratic--just look at the Dems newest attempt to manage information and their attacks on Musk for his pledge to actually allow people to exercise their first amendment rights on twitter without having a bunch of left wing trolls knocking their words off the net.  If there are authoritarians in the American political system, most of them are liberal or socialist Democrats.

10

Your Turn / Re: Political/cultural/religious division

« on: April 30, 2022, 06:56:03 AM »

This idea that I should feel bad about the Holocaust and WWII is just silly.  Should I also feel bad about the Peasants War of the 16th century?  How about the invasion of Western Europe by our Germanic ancestors who pushed aside people who were already there?  BTW, my German ancestors came here in 1737 as did a lot of other Palentines.  Not all German immigrants came over from Saxony in the 1840's.

11

Your Turn / Re: Political/cultural/religious division

« on: April 29, 2022, 11:07:01 AM »

Dan: Maybe that's because you were an adult who had not thought of yourself as a "kid" long after that part of your life was over. 

12

Your Turn / Re: Calls For Pastoral Candidates at 2 LCMS Sems

« on: April 29, 2022, 10:17:20 AM »

I don't know if this unusual for me, but many of my closest friends are fellow pastors, active or retired.  I think it's a good thing, all in all, but it can lead to an "us" vs. "them" worldview too.  Adam Smith wrote in "The Wealth of Nations" that, whenever two people in the same business meet they will attempt to find a way to control that business.  Is it any different from pastors?  I don't know.  But it is good to have someone who knows what you're talking about.

13

Your Turn / Re: Political/cultural/religious division

« on: April 26, 2022, 08:32:13 PM »

Well, I was there in the '60's, except my energies were in the war itself for over 2 years.  The one thing I noticed was how much smaller the crowds were at the protests after they abolished the draft as it then stood. (wouldn't have done me any good anyway, my birthday number was pretty low).

And if there weren't a lot of anti-American people in the peace movement--just who was it that was chanting Ho-Ho- Ho Chi Min?

14

Your Turn / Re: Political/cultural/religious division

« on: April 25, 2022, 11:35:13 AM »

Once again, the IRS rules come from the so-called Johnson Amendment from the 1950's when Landslide Lyndon Johnson wanted to use the tax codes to protect himself from certain 501(c) (3) organizations run by his political enemies.  Churches were not the targets.  Neither the IRS nor the courts want to deal with this issue because the said Amendment is blatantly unconstitutional.  No matter how a court would rule on this it would lead to a major brouhaha in the country, so we'll all pretend to be concerned about violations, but nothing concrete will happen

BTW, I agree with Charles on this--a church touting political candidates is not acting as church.

15

Your Turn / Re: Russia and Ukraine

« on: April 16, 2022, 05:27:22 PM »

It seems that almost every year around this time there is some vile anti-Christian and or anti-Jewish article in one of the major MSM outlets.  Satan seems to think this works in some way.  He should turn to the back of the book to see the end.