Preachers that displace a Christianity with new philosophical principles... of such is now Germany full, and locally in the united synods one finds such also here and there.Hmmm, this sounds a lot like Pastor Martin Noland, a well known "conservative" pastor in the LC-MS who said (in honor of Walther no less!):
A better way out of Lessing's Ditch is suggested by American philosopher Alvin Goldman, professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. Goldman is a leading proponent of "reliabilism," which posits "degrees of reasonableness" instead of the false dilemma of either certainty or uncertainty. Also useful is the work of Richard Swinburne, professor of philosophy at Oxford, who has demonstrated that the existence of God is the most "reasonable" explanation for the universe, though it cannot be "proven" by traditional logic or scientific means.Hmmm, sounds like Walther's targeted false teachers are now also alive and thriving in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the LC-MS.
Underlining follows Walther's emphasis in original. Hypertext links have been copiously added for reference to original sources and on several subjects. Highlighting is mine.
= = = = = = = = = = = = Part 31: Pages 90-92 (1880) = = = = = = = = = = = =
(cont'd from Part 30)
The Lutheran Doctrine of Justification.
[by C.F.W. Walther]
Should the question be raised here by someone how the truth that there is no God outside of Christ harmonizes with the article on the Trinity? thus is to be answered to it: There is no difference in the nature of the three persons of the Godhead, which is why it also cannot be divided. Nevertheless, what appears three times in the Trinity, namely the personhood, occurs only once in Christ. Whoever but for this cause still wants to acknowledge God apart from Christ, removes the consubstantiality between Son [W1859-62] and Father and must take several gods or deny the real essence of the complete fullness of the divinity [Essays1-61] in Christ [see Col. 2:9]. When Christ lay in the manger and hung on the cross, there was no other God than just whom was in the crib and on the cross. Admittedly one may not come here with mathematical calculations; when the mystery of the Trinity should cease being a mystery to us, we must first understand what the words "born" and “assume” mean as used of the persons of the Godhead. If one objects against us, how the Godhead could have become so small as to live in the flesh [incarnate] in the man Jesus? so we answer: No change went on in the Godhead through the personal union with human nature: it did not thereby become smaller, but human nature became greater. Human nature did not take on the divine nature, but conversely, the divine nature has taken on the human nature. When, however, Zwingli did not want that the Word became flesh [John 1:14], but held that it only meant that: “the Word is the flesh that it has become” (das Wort ist gewordenes Fleisch), i.e., through the incarnation of Christ he ceased to be God, and his divinity was, so to speak, transformed in Jesus into humanity (for only so was He said to be able to die), and only after that did He again become great and God: so here we hear today’s ill-formed theology.
[Q] In view of the Reformed doctrine of God’s gracious will and call of grace, at last it becomes also quite clear that [1880-91] every thought must vanish of an essential unity of the Lutheran and Reformed Church, of which so many today let themselves dream. A Calvinist surely overturns the doctrine of justification and can give no afflicted one certainty of divine grace, but must according to his teachings and so far as is in him, leave one to despair. If it is not certain that Christ has redeemed all, then can the individual not without extraordinary direct revelation become certain of his personal redemption as, conversely, if Christ has redeemed all, then also everyone can confidently make use of it for himself.
[R] There could be a great historical work written about how the consciousness that the Evangelical Lutheran Church alone was entrusted with the doctrine of justification has dwindled even within this our church, beginning with the period right after Luther’s death, just as he also foretold that the shameful ingratitude over against the gracious revelation of the Gospel would turn God’s grace into anger. And from there on, how an always growing apostasy has occurred, awakened again only now and then by God's grace. Here we should meanwhile give just those reasons for this which everyone can see without having to take the word of others.
It needs no special proof that now initially at the beginning about 100 years ago when reigned such preachers of our church which paid homage to rationalism and supernaturalism, almost all the voices of orthodoxy fell silent. Their number has, thank God! since 1817 and especially since 1830 rather abated; but there still are too many such rationalists and supernaturalists, especially in Germany, and here as the main constituent in the united synods. [W1859-63]
[S] Preachers that displace a Christianity with new philosophical [1880-92] principles and leaven it with old heresies are now the so-called believers where the “reason faith” of rationalists is simply too unreasonable. And they therefore trim down a Christianity to that which will please even the philosophers, whereby they use biblical words to dazzle the poor people. Of such is now Germany full, and locally in the united synods one finds such also here and there.
[T] The “United” people cry over us that our mouth is always full of praise for purity of doctrine and not first of all for love. They want to reap love from among their people without spreading the seeds of pure doctrine, from which alone it can grow, indeed, without considering that true love, above all, wants to save his neighbor, and that this, in turn, can be done only through the pure Word of God. Their constant talk of works shows that they have fallen away from Christ. At the same time they themselves sin so grossly against love that they condemn our persons, whereas we condemn only all false doctrine, and in reference to doctrine cannot forgive, because it is not our property, but God’s, and we gladly hold everyone as pious while recognizing ourselves for poor sinners. A United preacher is like a man who has been placed as steward by a rich man over his goods, and then steals from the goods entrusted to him and most generously distributes them in order to be praised by the people as exceedingly caring. The entrusted treasure is the Word of God, dearly bought by the blood of Christ. The preacher is accursed who draws at his pleasure from this treasure to be pleasing to men! He will stand at the last day as the wicked servant, because he has declared that it is indifferent whether one understands this or that word one way or another. After our flesh we also would indeed [1880-93] prefer the people’s approval, rather than have their displeasure.
= = = = = = = = = cont'd in Part 32 = = = = = = = = =
Walther is attacked today by those who oppose Universal, Objective Justification (UOJ) also on his person (ad hominem). He addresses those types this way:
At the same time they themselves sin so grossly against love that they condemn our persons, whereas we condemn only all false doctrine.
But it is more than his chief attackers that Walther concerns himself with, it is also the pastors of his beloved (German) Missouri Synod and so he gives them this stern warning not to trifle with God's Word "in order to be praised by the people as exceedingly caring" and that those who do trifle with it, will
... stand at the last day as the wicked servant, because he has declared that it is indifferent whether one understands this or that word one way or another.If that does not sound like Martin Luther to you, then you don't know Luther. Walther said above that
...the gracious revelation of the Gospel... [is] awakened again only now and then by God's grace.Those in attendance at this convention in 1859 and the old (German) Missouri Synod as a whole were truly experiencing that awakening by God's grace the same as Luther's Reformation.
In the last Part 32...
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