Recently, here on BJS, and others have stated that our churches get out of the state marriage business.  I concur.  This is in response to the onslaught of gay advocacy for pseudogamy and the possibility of the government sanctioning the same on the federal level, especially in the next four years. The prospect of government insistence of churches to preside at pseudogamous weddings looms. The best outcome may be the Supreme Court declaring that marriage in not listed in the enumerated powers of the Constitution and according to the 10th amendment, therefore, marriage is left to the states, including pseudogamy.    More…

In four years, we will be celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation.  For these five centuries, the Reformers have been accused of dividing the Church in 1517.  Not so. First, the Church is more than the church in the west, see eastern Orthodox Churches,  and so the presumption and assumptions of Rome in that THEY are the Church is patently false and so is the accusation against the Reformers that they divided the Church. But secondly, immediately following the first reason,  and most importantly:  the Church was divided in 1054 by Rome when the Bishop of Rome asserted supremacy   More…

LUTHER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING HIS WITHDRAWAL Posted: Thu, Mar 7, 2013 7:15 PM Dr. Mark Hagerott, the finalist for the job of Luther College president, has issued this statement in the wake of his decision to withdraw his candidacy…see the rest the article here.   Luther College, Decorah, Iowa is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  A statement on their website declares they are dedicated to “liberal learning” which is not the same as liberal arts.   It was announced in the local newspapers that as of February 24th he was the single finalist to replace  President   More…

  From the novel, Love in the Ruins by Walker Percy (1971), the narrator, Dr. Tom More reflects: Saint Francis was Doris‘s favorite saint, not because he loved Christ but because he loved titmice… My poor wife, Doris, was ruined by books, by books and a heathen Englishman, not by dirty books but by clean books, not by depraved books but by spiritual books. God, if you recall, did not warn his people against dirty books. He warned them against high places. My wife, who began life as a cheerful Episcopalian from Virginia, became a priestess of the high places. I loved   More…

The last  pope to resign was in 1415, little over a century before the start of the Reformation. For us Americans who now think from cyber moment to cyber moment the talk of centuries sounds equivalent to geologic time and we just go, wow. I do. It is mighty impressive to think that in the West, this is longest enduring institutional succession…from Peter…well…for almost 2,000 years.   Nevertheless, for 6 centuries plus, the pope has died in office. Just think back to John Paul the II’s last days…as with many a pontiff, the shuffling crowds in St. Peter’s Square, in all   More…

The problem with which we have to deal is how to save the Christian community at this moment from the danger of being thrown into the same pot as the world: that is to say: it must keep itself distinct from the rest of the world by virtue of its “saltiness.” How does Christ’s community differ from the world? We have come through a time of peril – and we are not finished with it yet – when we were told: “Everything will be quite different when you as a Church cease to have such an entirely different flavor –   More…

Head of Luther Seminary in St. Paul resigns amid financial woes Article by: ROSE FRENCH , Star Tribune Updated: December 11, 2012 – 9:42 PM School announces search for new president after losing nearly $4 million last school year. The president of Luther Seminary in St. Paul has resigned amid rising maintenance costs and declining enrollment. Considered the country’s largest Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) seminary, the school wants to “take a fresh look going forward” after losing nearly $4 million last school year, Luther’s board chairman Jim Lindus said Tuesday. The seminary announced Monday that Richard Bliese stepped down from the job   More…

Here in our town, the local Episcopal Church blessed their brand-new labyrinth catching up to a spiritual trend begun in the late ’90s.   For those  who are joyfully not on the cutting edge of new spiritualities, you may be wondering:  What is a labyrinth?  For those who know but do not know the history, here is the part of the history and my  reflection on labyrinths.  In an excellent 2000 Touchstone article, “The Maze Craze” by Mark Tooley, he answers: It’s the latest fad in spirituality. Labyrinths, or maze-like circular walking paths intended for meditation, are appearing in hundreds   More…

On Tuesdays two retired pastors and I get together for a Bible study on the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel reading.  In our past Tuesday’s general discussion, I said, “I just heard that the Episcopal Church…”  At saying “Episcopal Church”, both our brothers rolled their eyes and started chuckling.   The Episcopalian Church-United States of America (ECUSA) considered this week at their General Convention dropping their canon law requirement that one needs to be baptized in order to receive the Lord’s +Body and +Blood. This resolution  caused a controversy but it failed to pass.  I read  two on-line reports on this, (here and   More…

From The Constitution of the United States of America, Article 2, Section 1:  “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: ‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’” The oath for a military officer:  “I, _____ having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm)   More…

In the 29 June, 2012 edition of The Week, the following editorial appears.  Now The Week only has this one small text box for their own editorials and this one is quite packed.  Mr. Graff takes on the topic of “good works” and salvation as it relates to a couple of current news stories. Needless to say, it’s appeal to an orthodox Lutheran is self-evident.    I reproduce it in full and then I have a couple of comments on it:               I don’t know whether good works will get you into heaven. But there’s plenty of   More…

As Patrick was a missionary bishop to Irish people, sent from the Catholic Church in Englandby the Bishop of Rome (the pope), so was the English Boniface sent by the Bishop of Rome to the German peoples.  Boniface was martyred June 5th, Pentecost, anno Domini 754. He had returned to Frisia (present-day Holland), one of his previous mission fields.     At sunrise, while reading the Gospel to a group of the newly Baptized, a band of pagan Frisians attacked Boniface and the neophytes.  Boniface and the neophytes were massacred.  In Fulda, Germany, are the remains of Boniface along with the   More…

A dear colleague, friend and mentor, Rev. Arthur J. Henne is a ’57 graduate of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP).  He is a retired ELCA pastor.  In the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), a predecessor denom to the ELCA, he served many years as a missionary in the Caribbean.  We have known each for about fifteen years and one of our frequent discussions is the demise of his alma mater, LTSP  and his profound sadness over its condition.  It no longer has a Lutheran only professorship.  Art gave me for my 25th anniversary of Ordination The Conservative Reformation by   More…

Our family reads cover-to-cover The Week. For those who do not know The Week, as it’s name states, it is a weekly news magazine.  The Week is a compendium of hard-news, opinion and view points from articles of major daily and weekly publications and on-line sources in our nation and from around the world, with few ads. This article caught my eye today followed by a quote from it:  “TheVatican’s Reprimand of American Nuns”, excerpted from an article by Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times, in The Week (May 11, 2,012)   “Nuns rock,” said Nicholas Kristof. The female clergy   More…

A month ago a well-known Biblical scholar, Marcus Borg gave two lectures at Lexington Presbyterian, “Lex Pres”, here in Lexington,Virginia. Lexington is home to Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute.  Lex Pres is one of the historic churches in our fair city.    A former member (a not-so-retired, 83 year old, Presbyterian pastor with LCMS sensibilities, now serving an ELCA congregation) told me that many professors are members. Its claim to fame is that one of its members was none other than VMI Professor, later General, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.    I did not attend the lectures but my wife was   More…