Is Siemon-Netto the definitive source for this?
Are the congregation and the synod just clamming up?

Helen,

In these days I feel the congregation and synod would have to be somewhat cautious on any reply due to litigation from the family. I don’t think a reply could be blurted out without thought. (Now all you folks that know me pick yourself off the floor from laughing). However, now that the fact of his ex-communication has presented itself a statement could be in order.
I feel for most part that people in America they think a Catholic is a Catholic a Jew is a Jew and a Lutheran is a Lutheran, there are no distinctions within these groups. We all know that is not correct. Within Judaism you have Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed. Lutherans have LCMS, WELS and ELCA etc. Most will not care where he was a member or if he was ex-communicated or not.
I look at it this way. When we do a good work we try not to toot our own horn because it is a result of faith. As my father and grandfather would say you are expected to do the right thing. So when the Lutherans do something good it is back page as it should be. But when it is bad it will be front page. It is just people and sin. The damage is done. Renounce the actions of both the killer and the abortionist and keep preaching Christ crucified.

John Hooss

Mollie’s article concludes:

I can’t help but think that some enterprising reporter should look at how the two Lutheran church bodies handled Dr. Tiller’s occupation differently.

Or a story on how, of the two most famous ‘Lutherans’ from Wichita, the one who killed the most is now a ’saint’ and a ‘martyr’, while the one who killed .016% of Tiller’s total sits in solitary confinement, with a parole hearing not possible until 2180. If U.S. law were just, based on Dennis Rader’s sentence, Tiller would have been in jail for at least 1,750,000 years before being eligible for parole.

EJG

Pastor Stefanski the real story is how both are doomed to damnation no matter how many are murdered without repentance. Or if I lie or cheat or steal without repentance. In the end, it won’t matter if they were right or wrong in the eyes of man. Or how many years they spend in jail. Mans justice will never be truly just. Christ is the only salvation no matter what. That would be the rest of the story.
John

John, that’s always the rest of the story.

OTOH, the point is that we, as a country, systematically endorse the murder of the most vulnerable, which is not only the opposite of what God commands, but of what God does.

Will BTK repent? Maybe within his new environs he will have the opportunity to do so. Maybe during the long time between his killings he was actually kept from killing through faith in Christ. Does not enough of the Gospel remain in the ELCA for such to be a possibility?

For a rougher question, was Tiller remaining steadfastly impenitent in what he knew to be sin, or was he so convinced that his ELCA church was right in endorsing his sin that he did not realize it was a sin? Was he, outside of the murder that he didn’t understand as murder, penitent? Similarly, what of those whose sin is that they continue in fellowship with false teachers, but consider such fellowship to be in the best interest of the orthodox who are among/aligned with the false teachers or who say, “but where else can we go?”

From my perspective, there is much ‘impenitence’ among visible ‘confessional’ Lutheranism that is unseen by the Lutherans involved. But is it damning impenitence if they are taught that their sin is not sin? Is this not where David’s words–who can know his errors–come in and comfort the one who would wish to be free from sin, but knows that while he is in this flesh he never will be?

EJG