Comments on: Pastor Matt Harrison reacts to ELCA’s decisions.

By: Paul Amann

Paul Amann — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:24:10 +0000

I wonder what Pastor Harrison’s comment would be on the hatred and vitriol being expressed here about our Christian Brothers? The scriptures are pretty clear about how God feels about these types of expressions.

1 John 2:9, “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.”

By: Ron

Ron — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:52:43 +0000

For denominations like the ELCA, theology has become a mattter of taste and not of truth (to borrow from Mortimer Adler). It’s painful to watch as churches accomodate themselves to the moral relativism of the larger culture. The very notion of “truth” is exclusive. It’s much more appealing and “civil” to assume that God’s truths are matters of personal taste and not objective truth. This tends to lead to a “democratization” of the value of opinions. Opinions are of equal worth, because everybody has a “right” to his or her own opinion, right? Wrong. Better a difficult truth spoken in love, than an “inclusive” falsehood spoken in misguided sincerity. It’s a time for all of us to pray for the church universal.

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:07:34 +0000

The problem is that these scoundrels, devils really, don’t believe the Bible in the first place! They malign and undermine the Scriptures at every opportunity. They deny the physical resurrection, they don’t believe in the virgin birth, they profess that EVERYONE will be saved, (universalism). The list goes on and on. One heresy leads to another. You would have to be living on another planet to not be able to recognize that we are living in an era of accelerating apostasy. As a former lifelong Lutheran, having recently decided to move on, my advice is to read the Bible and cut out the middle man. May God bless all the faithful Ltherans that are having to struggle with this blow.

By: John

John — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:14:12 +0000

That’s just flat out wrong. Greek is a requirement and Hebrew is offered.

By: Johannes

Johannes — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:29:49 +0000

Dear Friend from the ELCA–You have framed your comments in the light of disagreement. It isn’t just a matter of disagreement. Luther’s 95 theses and all that followed were not a matter of mere disagreement, or just his opinion. This goes far beyond opinion, feelings, and disagreement. Luther took his stand on Scripture, and that is where Pr. Harrison and others take their stand. Sadly, the decisions made at the ELCA Assembly were not made on the basis of Scripture, but on the basis of opinions and feelings. Scripture no longer carried much weight. If Scripture is no longer normative, then anything can be justified. “Apostasy” may not seem a very “nice” word, but it speaks the truth in love. It needed to be said.

By: Robert Shreckhise

Robert Shreckhise — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:23:13 +0000

The ELCA convention and our ELCA friend above both think sincerity of belief ( -or a conscience being bound by some belief- ) is all the justification needed to deflect criticism of the apostasy and unfaithfulness to the Lord demonstrated by these actions. This post modern attitude cannot accept the proposition that there is any objective truth. Ultimately anything goes if the belief is sincere. How different from Christ, who says, that not one jot or tittle (the smallest marks of Hebrew writing) will pass away until all is fulfilled. This includes the multitude of texts in Scripture that condemn sins including homosexuality, approval of the open sins by spiritual leaders, and apostasy. God help us all to repent and weep between the porch and the altar and cry out to God that He might spare his people (Joel 2:17). Or will we turn our back on the Lord as Ezekiel saw happening in his day (Ezekiel 8:16)?

By: C.S.

C.S. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:47:27 +0000

Friend from the ELCA,

You wrote,
“I simply want to comment on how sad I am when I hear comments such as Pastor Harrison’s. I fully expected to hear that he disagreed. Disagreement is fine; after all, there wouldn’t be separate flavors of Lutheranism if we didn’t have disagreements. What I didn’t expect is the level of condemnation. When you start tossing words like “apostasy” around aren’t you starting to get into God’s domain? Why not talk about what you believe instead of so harshly condemning the sincerely held beliefs of others?”

Rev. Harrison was very sorrowful and repentant over the apostasy of the ELCA as well as his own sinfulness and the sins of the members of his own synod. I would call his charge of apostasy a call to repentance, not condemnation. God is the only one who can condemn and Rev. Harrison knows that far better than most of us.

When you reject the word of God and the faith passed down through the Christian Church, what else do you call it but apostasy? The ELCA may have at one time been Lutheran, but it has changed to join with Methodists, secular humanists and others who hold false beliefs about Jesus. Its members are apostate no matter how sincerely they hold those beliefs.

Please consider this a call to repentance, not condemnation, for I am a sinner just like you in need of repentance and the gift of the forgiveness of sins won on the cross by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

By: Revfisk

Revfisk — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:11:15 +0000

>>When you start tossing words like “apostasy” around aren’t you starting to get into God’s domain?

Yes. God’s domain is His very own Word. When we deny his Word, we are apostate. This is not a matter of merely the homosexuality debate. This is a matter of all sins, and all catholic doctrine. If we shall ever confess anything at all as theology, then we are “speaking as one” God’s Word – this is to speak in his domain.

To confess that we cannot speak for God where God has spoken is the surest sign that one has not any flavor of Lutheranism, but a flavor of the wisdom of men.

My God grant you clear sight from the foot of the cross through the Words left us by the man who hung there for our sakes.

By: Norm Fisher

Norm Fisher — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:02:10 +0000

Another important point that Pastor Harrison makes — the original languages have no longer been taught in the ELCA seminaries in the last 40 years; we in the LCMS are starting down the same path in our attempt to make it easier to place pastors in our churches.

Once clergy no longer have the clarity to know the original language, to know what the text says, know the precise principles for interpreting the text, … without the original laguages, the retched dregs of pietism, whether liberal or conservative, take over and feelings get in the way, and sentiment drives the church.

By: Pastor Tim Rossow

Pastor Tim Rossow — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:46:20 +0000

Friend from the ELCA,

What will we find if we meet at the foot of the cross? The Bible says that there we will find the blood of Christ that has been given to forgive the sins of the world. Do you believe that?

I heard a lot of ELCA delegates mispeak about this at your Assembly. They describe life at the foot of the cross as a struggle over the confusing issues of the day, e.g. “is homosexuality a sin?” Is that what you find at the foot of the cross, confusion and moral struggle?