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Did Christianity Steal the Date of Pagan Winter Solstice Celebrations? The Roman celebration discussed in this article is the multi-day festival of Saturnalia. The Mis-Use of Roman Sources: Saturnalia In these articles we have seen the texts from the early … Continue reading →
Pastor Charles Henrickson passed along this timely summary of a report given to the synod back in 1961 when structural changes were being considered. It was written by LCMS historian August Suelflow and is summarized for us here by Dr. … Continue reading →
I presented on this topic for the 3rd annual Wyoming District Men’s Retreat this past weekend. What follows are my thoughts which I expanded for the presentation. Sadly, the recording of this was lost due to technical errors. Being a … Continue reading →
Pastor Messer wrote this on his blog and submitted it to us for posting here: A few weeks back, I contacted Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller for information regarding the beautiful baptismal certificates I saw him advertising here. He responded quickly, … Continue reading →
Also found on facebook: Ecclesia semper reformanda est – I don’t know who coined that phrase, but it’s ever so true. And always has been – see Galatians. In this sense, there has never been a golden age and … Continue reading →
(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of five posts by Pastor Preus on Holy Communion.) In May of 2007, a graduate of the Ft. Wayne seminary named Clint Stark produced a paper based on a questionnaire … Continue reading →
The reasons for Communion every Sunday are surprising. The reasons Lutheran churches fell away from this practice also are surprising. Pr Klemet Preus, the author of the article republished below, was surprised about the reasons for and against. After visiting … Continue reading →
What I mention in this article is my opinion and thinking out loud. It was prompted by the Synod President’s comments after the same-sex marriage decision of the Supreme Court (see his interview with Issues Etc.). He stated that student … Continue reading →
(This is the final post of a five part series on worship in the LCMS.) What is the future of the LCMS in the aftermath of the last two decades of worship wars within our church? I’m going to … Continue reading →
Another great post found over on Gottesdienst Online: The president-emeritus of the LCMS, the Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, has written a blogpost expressing his “perspective” positing that the LCMS has a culture that is unfriendly to the laity. However, the title he … Continue reading →
(from Mollie) Gene Veith pointed the way to a few other bloggers who have been looking at the LCMS-specific numbers coming out of that massive Pew report on religion in America: The survey found that only 84% are absolutely certain … Continue reading →
In the comments section of Friday’s post by Pastor Rossow titled “Per DP’s Advice LCMS Pastor Cancels Participation in Joint Service but Still Supports Unionism,” arguments were made that having a joint worship service with congregations of other fellowships, such … Continue reading →
It was suggested in a comment by Pastor Paul McCain that we re-post this post of his published back in 2005 that includes an article written by Doctor Kurt Marquart: I was just in a conversation with two younger … Continue reading →
(from Mollie) Today we commemmorate Johann Sebastian Bach, the most wonderful composer of all time. Or, as the Aardvark put it last year: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is acknowledged as one of the most famous and gifted of all composers … Continue reading →
If you or your congregation are considering taking that “vote” to remove a pastor (or using such a vote to coerce his resignation), check to make sure that it is for legitimate reasons (persistent adherence to false doctrine; great public … Continue reading →
Forty years ago, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (hereafter LCMS) was in an uproar. Its Saint Louis seminary president, John Tietjen, was suspended in the January 20, 1974 meeting of the seminary’s Board of Control. On January 21st the majority of … Continue reading →
When my wife Karla and I were first married, over twenty years ago, I invited her to join me for the banquet at our annual LCMS district pastor’s conference. The food was great, but the banquet speaker was not. His … Continue reading →
This is a reposting of a pair of articles published last year on the origins of Easter and some Easter traditions. The sources are given so that the reader can better be able to debunk the popular “historical” nonsense about … Continue reading →
Thanks to BJS reader Rick Techlin for posting this pictoral review of the BJS conference on his blog, Light from Light: The Brothers Of John the Steadfast held their annual conference in Naperville, Illinois on February 20 & 21, … Continue reading →
My parents did not teach my siblings and me to be hymn-Nazis. Rather, they simply taught us good hymns and good theology, and they encouraged us to keep singing good hymns and to read good theology. So for my first … Continue reading →
A Pick in Exile I was too young to remember the struggles in the church during the 1970’s and I’ve never been too interested in diving into this part of LCMS history. But Pr. Scheer recommended a debate to me … Continue reading →
This particular claim toward pagan sources for Christianity and Christian Holy Days goes under various names: Jesus Myth Theory, Jesus Mythicism, Mythicism, Copy-cat Theory, and probably other terms. The basic claim is that Christ is a fake: an unoriginal copy-cat … Continue reading →
On All Hallows’ Eve 1517 a monk named Martin Luther posted a list of points for discussion and debate at the University of Wittenberg campus church. The campus church is named All Saints’ Church. The regular bulletin board for such … Continue reading →
One of the many points falsely claimed in Christ Myth Theory about the supposed dependence of Christ upon the legends of Egypt is the claim that Horus was born of a virgin. The claim is utterly false. Egyptian mythology is … Continue reading →
Many of you have observed the “Explanation of the Divine Service” pamphlets that are found in the pew racks at Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville while attending a conference or event there. The Brothers of John the Steadfast have worked … Continue reading →
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