[As it seems that no one else wants to touch this (even the 'Brothers
of John the Steadfast' site, having been asked by others to comment,
is, instead, so consumed with the sale of a property by one erring
board of directors that they, apparently, don't have the time to
devote to the *continued* drift of their church body into unionism and
syncretism and the lack of any concrete evidence of anything being
done about the same), we will post a little article in this space,
with my 'rebuttal' commentary following it. EJG]
- - -
Pres. Benke, the ELCA, the LCMS, and 10 Years after Yankee Stadium
Posted on Facebook by Caroline Oncken on Tuesday, September 20,
2011 at 8:23pm
My husband made the following observations in an e-mail to some friends
and family. He's given me permission to re-post it here to share with
others.
------------------------------
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," and the apathetic
response to such gross perversions of the Church are the 'gas
stations' along the way: <http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=5162
>
District President Benke told the LCMS administration he was going to
do this before it happened. He even invited President Harrison to
join him. After all the chaos and false teaching that Benke's previous
actions caused in the Missouri Synod, how can this man be tolerated
after doing it again? And will the Missouri Synod even bother trying
to discipline him this time? Or will it just ignore all the hassle?
Why is it necessary for this to be a "service", done in public
connection with the denominations and their representatives? Why
couldn't these folks just have an event as neighbors, New Yorkers, and
Americans? The answer: because they *want* these two denominations to
be recognized as connected.
The Missouri Synod has co-worship with those who reject the
Scriptures, and it upholds false teachers in the office of pastor and
bishop (District President). Is this mockery of Christ and His
teachings (even as the Missouri Synod dishonestly claims to uphold
historic, confessional Lutheranism) really a "lesser evil" than the
ELCA's open acceptance of Sodomites as clergy? The ELCA has the
courage of its convictions, as skewed as they may be. The Missouri
Synod, on the other hand, continues to talk as though it is
"confessional" and "conservative", while it ignores and even hides its
gross faithlessness from the people in the pews who desire to hear
God's Truth.
The Church is called to boldly confess all that Christ has commanded.
Just as each Christian is called to repent of his sins and hold fast
to the Word of God in Jesus Christ, the same has to be true for those
denominations that claim to serve the one Christian and Apostolic
Church. The Missouri Synod has been called to repentance many times,
yet it says it has not sinned. Where is the truth?
"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and
offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their
own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the
hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all.
Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what
is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you. Amen." --Romans 16:17-20
Christ's blessings to you all,
Rev. Dcn. Anthony Oncken
Grayslake, IL
St. Philip Lutheran Mission
LakeCountyLutheran.com
ELDoNA.org
- - -
RESPONSE:
The 'funny' thing in all of this is that, while the event you cite was
absolutely wrong, the request Benke made is *absolutely right,* since
the LCMS has has declared his previous actions NOT to be "absolutely
wrong." That is, since Benke was exonerated, there's no reason why
Harrison--with whom he communed at the 2010 LCMS convention--should
not participate with him. How can it be wrong for two men who are in
fellowship to participate in something that their fellowship has
declared to be okay? How can anyone within that fellowship complain
against either of them for such participation if they do not see it as
divisive of fellowship? To do so would be to try to have their pudding
without eating their meat, and how can you do that?
Rev. Eric J. Stefanski (ELDoNA)
Holy Trinity Evangelical-Lutheran Church (UAC)
P.O. Box 2612
Harrison, Arkansas 72602-2612
http://HolyTrinityLC.com
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