Sceleratissimus Lutheranus

Gregorian Chant - Venite Exultemus Domino, Psalm 94 (Psalm 95)

2010-12-08T03:48:00.000-08:00

This Gregorian chant corresponds to "Oh, Come, Let Us Sing To The Lord" Christian Worship.

Reformation Theology: Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will

2010-11-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

A good collection of Luther quotations from The Bondage of the Will.

Reformation Theology: Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will

Decided to Stay in WELS

2010-10-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

"I swear my loyalty to Holy Mother Synod, for She cannot err. She is infallible in all her pronouncements on faith and morals."

I have decided to stay in WELS.

- Gregory L. Jackson ‎"Each time I think I'm out, they pull me back in!" The Godfather.
  October 5 at 6:30am ·

Yes, Dr. Jackson, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse... just kidding.

I Am Leaving The Wisconsin Synod

2010-09-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

After much thought and consideration I have decided to leave the WELS due to the direction Church and Change is going. This group has repeatedly sought direction and instruction from false teachers such as Bill Hybels (http://www.willowcreek.com), Craig Groeschel (www.lifechurch.tv), Andy Stanley (http://www.northpoint.org) , and Leonard Sweet (http://www.leonardsweet.com) to name a few. I have little confidence that WELS will enact any kind of church discipline to bring Church and Change into line with genuine Lutheran doctrine and practice, but I pray God's Word will do its work and lead those teaching, inculcating, and promoting false doctrine to repentance.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are two of the world's poorest men

2010-06-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Warren Buffett “Agnostic,” Bill Gates Rejects Sermon On The Mount, Not “Huge Believer” In “Specific Elements” Of Christianity

In his interview with Charlie Rose on Public TV, Bill Gates has said he is “doubly blessed” to have worked at Microsoft and now at his Foundation. But, “doubly blessed” by whom? By what? What is the religion of Bill Gates? What is the religion of Warren Buffett?

Well, in a succinct email to me, Debbie Bosanek, Assistant to Warren Buffett, says: “Mr. Buffett is agnostic.”

And Bill Gates? In a November 1995 interview of Gates by David Frost, this exchange took place:

Frost: Do you believe in the Sermon on the Mount?

Gates: I don’t. I’m not somebody who goes to church on a regular basis. The specific elements of Christianity are not something I’m a huge believer in. There’s a lot of merit in the moral aspects of religion. I think it can have a very, very positive impact.

Frost: I sometimes say to people, do you believe there is a god, or do you know there is a god? And, you’d say you don’t know?

Gates: In terms of doing things I take a fairly scientific approach to why things happen and how they happen. I don’t know if there’s a god or not, but I think religious principles are quite valid.

On January 13, 1996, in a “Time” magazine profile of Gates by Walter Isaacson, there was this exchange:

Isaacson: Isn’t there something special, perhaps even divine, about the human soul?

Gates: I don’t have any evidence on that.

Isaacson wrote: “Gates face suddenly becomes expressionless, his squeaky voice turns toneless, and he folds his arms across his belly and vigorously rocks back and forth in a mannerism that has become so mimicked at Microsoft that a meeting there can resemble a round table of ecstatic rabbis.”

Isaacson also quotes Gates as saying: “Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.” – J.L.

http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=649

Rome Just Ain't What It Used To Be

2010-06-09T04:06:00.000-07:00

This video is a good example of liberal Roman Catholicism.

Johann Heermann - If Thy Beloved Son, O God

2010-06-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia article on the Lutheran hymn writer and poet Johann Heermann.

1) If Thy belovèd Son, O God,

Had not to earth descended,

And in our mortal flesh and blood

Had not sin’s power ended,

Then this poor, wretched soul of mine

In hell eternally would pine

Because of its transgression.

2) But now I find sweet peace and rest,

Despair no more reigns o’er me;

No more am I by sin oppressed,

For Christ has borne sin for me.

Upon the cross for me He died

That, reconciled, I might abide

With Thee, my God, forever.

3) I trust in Him with all my heart;

Now all my sorrow ceases;

His words abiding peace impart,

His blood from guilt releases.

Free grace through Him I now obtain;

He washes me from every stain,

And pure I stand before Him.

4) All righteousness by works is vain,

The Law brings condemnation;

True righteousness by faith I gain,

Christ’s work is my salvation.

His death, that perfect sacrifice,

Has paid the all-sufficient price;

In Him my hope is anchored.

5) My guilt, O Father, Thou hast laid

On Christ, Thy Son, my Savior.

Lord Jesus, Thou my debt hast paid

And gained for me God’s favor.

O Holy Ghost, Thou Fount of grace,

The good in me to Thee I trace;

In faith do Thou preserve me.

***

Hymn #375 The Lutheran Hymnal

Text: Gal. 2:16

St. 1-4, Johann Heermann, 1630

St. 5, author unknown, 1661
Translated by: composite
Titled: Wenn dein herzliebster Sohn, o Gott
Composer: Martin Luther
Tune: Nun freut euch

In Paradisum - Sung by Fiona Jessica Wilson

2010-06-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

May angels lead you into paradise; upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you and lead you to the holy city of J erusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, the poor man, may you have eternal rest.

Greek and Latin Parser Tool from Perseus Digital Library at Tufts University

2010-06-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

Any of you Latin and Greek scholars out there might appreciate this parser tool from Perseus Digital Library at Tufts University. Simply enter your desired word to find what part of speech it is.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=

Increasing Blog Margins

2010-05-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

If any of you operate a blog with the type of Blogger template I use, I edited the HTML code to increase the margins so stuff fits on the page better.

The TXT file can be downloaded here.

State Run Media Outlet ABC News Equating Christians with Muslim Extremists

2010-03-30T04:35:00.000-07:00

The Process of Crucifixion

2010-03-29T04:35:00.000-07:00

After a prisoner was arrested, he was held in a cell then brought before a court which decided what to do with him. If he was found guilty of the charges and condemned to die by crucifixion, he was often flogged beforehand.

Flogging involved stripping the prisoner and tying his hands to an upright post. A soldier stepped forward with the flagrum in his hand. This was a whip with a short wooden handle and leather thongs with small pieces of metal attached to the end of each thong. The whip fell repeatedly on the condemned man's head, shoulders and body.

The metal pieces on the flagrum first bruised, then cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.

Finally the skin of the back would be gaping open and the entire area would become an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. This flogging was meant to punish, terrify and weaken the condemned man.

When it was time to go to the place of execution, a heavy beam of wood, the crossbeam, was placed across the man's shoulders, probably attached there by leather straps to prevent the weakened man from dropping it. The route taken by the procession of soldiers and condemned man was along a crowded street, so that his suffering was evident to as many people as possible - crucifixion was used as a deterrent to other citizens who might be tempted to commit the crime for which the condemned man was being punished.

At the place of execution, the condemned man was stripped naked, a further humiliation, and the beam across his shoulders was lowered to the ground. This threw his body backwards, because the straps or ropes tying him to the beam would still be in place. A soldier drove a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist, deep into the wood. When both wrists had been nailed, the beam was lifted into place at the top of posts already lodged upright in the ground.

Many condemned men were left in this position, with their legs tied to the upright beam, but Jesus seems to have had his feet nailed to the woodas an extra punishment. It made his death more brutal, but it also made it quicker, since the additional agony sent him into shock, while also making it more difficult for him to push his body upwards, to breathe. He also lost more blood, weakening him further.

Since he was effect hanging by his arms, his chest muscles began to go into cramp. He could breathe in, but it became increasingly difficult to breathe out. Carbon dioxide built up in his lungs and in the blood stream. He was horribly dehydrated. The pericardium, the sac surrounding his heart, filled with fluid, compressing his heart, and he died of heart failure and suffocation.

http://www.bible-archaeology.info/crucifixion.htm

Christians To The Paschal Victim - Victimae Paschali

2010-03-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

Johann Rist - O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid (Oh, Darkest Woe)

2010-03-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Funny Berlitz Commercial

2010-03-10T03:08:00.000-08:00

The United States is Broke

2010-03-02T04:53:00.001-08:00

Catholic Polka Mass

2010-02-23T23:22:00.001-08:00

LOL!

***

Lutheran vs. Reformed - The Two Are Not Compatible

2010-02-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

The following is from a Reformed website.

***

http://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=31

For starters, my frank personal opinion and pastoral advice to you is that the ELCA is not a good church for any Christian family. As a denomination, they have for a long period of time moved away from Scriptural truth. Of course, within every denomination, you may have individual local churches and their pastors that have remained faithful. But when one supports a local ELCA, they are also supporting the work of the broader denomination in its unbiblical practices. In my opinion, between the ELCA and the LCMS, the LCMS is a much more viable option - hands down.

Now, the second part of your question concerns similarities and differences between Lutheran and Reformed. Such a discussion would require a treatment far beyond the limits of this e-mail (and even my own personal knowledge!). However, I will highlight some major points below. Before I do that, I would simply point you to one resource I know which does comprehensively compare the two systems. If you like reading a lot, you will like this book. Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology is where I learned the differences between the various systems of theology. I do not personally know of any other resources that are as comprehensive.

That said, lets begin with the similarities between Lutheran and Reformed:

1. Emphasis on the "solas". Both Reformed and Lutheran affirm that Scripture is the Christian's authority alone, that a person is justified by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, and all to the Glory of God alone.

2. Both believe in the baptism of infants.

3. Both maintain a high view of the church (at least higher than what is held by the general evangelicalism that is so popular today in America).

OK, now for some differences:

1. The Lord's Supper. Lutherans generally believe that somehow Christ is bodily present at the sacrament, a view often times referred to as "consubstantiation," alhhough I have heard some Lutherans reject that term. The Reformed, on the other hand, believe that Christ is present at the Supper by his Spirit (and is not bodily present). This means that that the Supper is more than just a memorial and a real means of grace (for those who receive the Supper by faith, God strengthens them spiritually). While Christ is not bodily present, there is a "Real Presence" in that He is present spiritually.

2. Baptism. I have understood that the general Lutheran view of baptism is regenerational. In other words, by the administration of the sacrament a person is regenerated and made to be "born again". The Reformed, however, believe that, certainly, God is able to regenerate a person at baptism, but He does not necessarily do so.

In other words, God is not so restricted that He must regenerate a person at baptism. He may regenerate a person whenever He wants - before, during, or after baptism. Of course, another option is that God may decide not to regenerate a person at all! The Holy Spirit is sovereign, and like the wind, He may blow when and where he pleases (see John 3).

3. The Law/Gospel distinction. Lutheranism tends to draw a very distinct and pronounced divide between Law and Gospel (as well as between Old Testament and New Testament). The Law is generally seen as an oppressive thing by Luther. The Law, for him, only seems to have one primary purpose; i.e., to act as a schoolmaster to lead a sinner to Christ, faith, and repentance.

The Reformed, while affirming fully this purpose of the law, also teach other uses of the law. For instance, the Law is a guide even for the unbeliever. Luther seems to dismiss this use of the law. He also seems to believe that since the Christian is free from the law for his justification, somehow he is also free from the law for his sanctification.

Calvin believed that the Law was a way in which God administers his common grace, using the law to suppress wickedness even among pagan peoples, and also promoting righteousness and social orderliness. And for Calvin the third use of the law is the "principal use, which pertains more closely to the proper purpose of the law [and] finds its place among believers in whose 'hearts the 'Spirit of God already lives and reigns" (Calvin's Institutes, II. vii. 12). This is in keeping with the Psalmist's statements, "I find my delight in your commandments, which I love" (Psalm 119:47, English Standard Version) and "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psalm 119:97, ESV), and with the Apostle Paul's statement, "I delight in the law of God, in my inner being" (Romans 7:22, ESV).

So, to summarize this point, for Luther the covenant God make with man seems to be completely one way. God makes covenant with man to save him and that's it. The covenant has no stipulations for man, whereas in Calvin's view of the covenant, it is a two-way street. Yes, God sovereignly administers his covenant to his people by grace alone, but every covenant has obligations. Every covenant has, in other words, Law AND Gospel. So the Reformed tend not to separate Law and Gospel as dramatically as do the Lutherans.

There is more we can go into, but I'll end it here. Again, I think you'll find Berkhof to be an indispensable resource for this. He not only gives you the Lutheran view and how it differs from the Reformed on various points of doctrine, but he does the same for Roman Catholicism and Arminianism as well.

Minnesotans For Global Warming Song (If We Had Some Global Warming)

2010-02-13T13:30:00.001-08:00

WELS Church and Change Summed Up in 35 Seconds

2010-01-25T17:12:00.001-08:00

http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/sbotwlassman01-15.mp3

Rachmaninov Opus 37 All Night Vigil (Vespers) - Blagoslovi Dushe Moya Gospoda (Bless the Lord, O my soul)

2010-01-18T10:23:00.000-08:00

Christos Anesti/Paschal Troparion

2009-12-27T11:26:00.000-08:00

This beautiful song is sung by Divna Ljubojevic.

Christ is risen from the dead,

Trampling down death by death,

And upon those in the tombs

Bestowing life!

This translates the Greek:

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν,

θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας,

καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι,

ζωὴν χαρισάμενος!

Transliteration:

Khristos anesti ek nekron,

Thanato thanaton patisas,

Kai tis en tis mnimasi

Zo-in kharisamenos!

Doctrine of the Trinity

2009-12-11T04:17:00.000-08:00

Johann Gerhard's Sacred Meditations - An Exercise of Repentance from Our Lord's Passion

2009-12-10T18:08:00.001-08:00

How We Got Our Alphabet

2009-12-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

MLC's Charlie Chaplain

2009-12-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

Myths about the Council of Nicaea

2009-12-09T04:50:00.000-08:00

The following series of videos was produced by an Eastern Orthodox and it is presented from their perspective, but I thought there was some good material in regards to refuting false ideas about the Council of Nicaea.

***

Every Cent You Make (I'll be taxing you)

2009-12-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

This is my Name - יהוה and אהיה

2009-12-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

I found this to be a helpful presentation on the Divine name in the Old Testament.

Luther’s Dunghill

2009-11-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

The following excerpt was taken from The God Who Justifies by Dr. James White, p. 119-123.

***

I doubt Martin Luther any longer cares that he is remembered as a beer-drinking, pretzel-eating theologian whose illustrations were often more earthly than the sensibilities of many modern readers can allow. Hiding behind his gruff exterior was a sharp intellect and a sensitive heart that could express itself in the most surprising ways.

One of Luther’s most famous illustrations comes from the rural farms of Germany. Farmers, needing a way to fertilize their fields, would collect the refuse of their farm animals into piles to be spread out on the fields when the weather demanded. These “dunghills” would at times dot the landscape and were, of course, anything but attractive to either see or smell. Drawing on this commonplace occurrence, Luther once attempted to demonstrate the difference between justification and sanctification. He likened our sinful state to a dunghill: ugly and offensive, it has nothing in and of itself that would make it pleasing to anyone, let alone to God.

This is what we are like in our sin. There is nothing that would recommend us to God, nothing that is acceptable, nothing that merits His blessing. We are foul and repulsive in our sin. As I said, Luther’s theological illustrations were earthy, brutally honest, and, in this case, perfectly true.

Justification, he went on, is like that first snowfall of the approaching winter, the one that covers everything in a blanket of pure white. Unlike later snowfalls, where man has shoveled and plowed and otherwise worked to clear a path for himself, that first snow is clean, beautiful. Everything is covered in the same uniform blanket – even, Luther points out, those piles of dung. What was once foul is no longer. The smell is gone. That repulsive sight is gone. All is white and clean and pure.

This is how justification differs from sanctification. In justification we receive the pure and spotless righteousness of Christ, a blanket that covers over our sin in the sight of the Father. The dunghill is still, intrinsically and internally, a dunghill – that hasn’t changed. What has changed is its relationship to an external standard – God’s standard.

That first snowfall, the righteousness of Christ, an alien righteousness, the righteousness of another, is imputed to us, covering us and removing our offensiveness before God the Father. We do remain sinners inwardly; it is the work of sanctification that changes us internally, conforming us ever closer to the image of Christ.

Martin Luther did not deny the renewing work of the Spirit in regeneration – the fact that we are given a new heart, for example. His purpose in this case was solely to show how and why justification differs from sanctification.

Luther has taken his lumps over the years for this illustration. It is common for many to bring up this story and say, “See, Luther and those who follow him in their understanding of justification don’t really believe that God changes us. We can just go on sinning and all will be well.” Do such objections have merit? Do they carry weight? Is the view of Luther and his followers a legal fairy tale?

I have found the best way to defend Luther on the issue, aside from biblically demonstrating the nature of justification via the imputation of Christ’s righteousness and the non-imputation of sin, is to turn the illustration around. How do other religious movements believe that pile of dung can ever hope of be pleasing in God’s sight?

The primary teaching of the religions of man is that when a person is “saved,” he is made internally and intrinsically pleasing to God. To bring it into Luther’s context, when the pile of dung is “saved,” it is internally changed from a pile of dung into a pile of… gold! A fine, shiny pile of gold that would, of course, be desirable to anyone, including God. God would surely like to have this pile of gold in heaven with Him, so long as the gold remains what it is – intrinsically pleasing to God – it will enter into His presence.

But man’s religions cannot bear a perfect work of salvation that gives no place to man. The very nature of these religious systems requires that salvation be conditional upon continued works on the part of the followers. The idea of failure, falling away, has to be held over the heads of those you wish to control through religious power. So in our illustration, there must be some consequence to failure (sin) on the part of the pile of gold as it goes through life.

Since Roman Catholic apologists are those who most often raise objections to Luther’s view…, let’s put the pile of gold into that context. (This is also fair to Luther, who was reacting to the Roman Catholic doctrine to begin with.) In the Roman Catholic system our dunghill would become a pile of gold through the “laver of regeneration,” baptism. It would then be internally changed and made pleasing to God.

However, the pile of gold may commit sins during the course of its life on earth. Some sins, it is said, do not destroy the grace of justification that has turned the dunghill into the pile of gold. These are called venial sins. But there are punishments, temporal punishments, that come with such sins. We would liken those to flecks or globs of dung that appear on the surface of the gold. They are not enough to cause the gold to be rejected by God en toto, but some mechanism for cleansing the gold must be envisioned. This leads to the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory, the idea of a place of cleansing (or purgation) after death but before entrance into the presence of God.

But what about those serious sins that do, in fact, destroy the grace of justification? These “mortal” sins would instantaneously turn the pile of gold back into a pile of dung. The dunghill must then rely upon other remedies to regain the grace of justification (the sacrament of penance, in this particular case) and again become a pile of gold. Yet there can be temporal punishments for mortal sins as well, so even though the dunghill becomes a gold pile, it’s not a perfect gold pile – it still must be concerned about self-purification.

The worst thing with such a system is this: the pile never knows whether it’s gold or dung. Since there are requirements that must be fulfilled to obtain justification and maintain it, one can never know if everything that needs to be done has been done.

And so the real issue of this entire study comes to the fore. Is salvation the work of God? Does God save, perfectly, completely, in accordance with His own purpose and grace? Or is the gospel a “maybe,” a “do this and live.” Is it a matter of “done in Christ Jesus,” or is it “do with help and assistance from God”?

Perfect Savior, Perfect Salvation

Clothed in the righteousness of Christ that is ours by faith and faith alone – this is the hope of the believer. Why should God bring you into His presence if you were to die today? So many, when asked this question, respond with talk of works, deeds, or attitudes. Even those who call themselves Christians will speak of things they have done: giving to church, attending regularly, helping in the nursery.

In reality, there is only one answer to the question that is biblically correct: God will accept me because I am clothed in the perfect righteousness of His Son, a righteousness imputed to me by faith and faith alone. I make no other plea, for none is necessary. I am accepted in the Beloved One, the Son, whose death in my place removes all my sin, and whose perfect righteousness, imputed to me, allows me to hear the words of the Father: “Not guilty. Enter into My presence.”

What kind of righteousness is yours? What is the object of your faith? Do you trust in the God who justifies, or do you trust partly in this work, partly in that sacrament, partly in those religious ceremonies? Do you hope that grace will help you to do things that will allow you to merit eternal life? Or do you know, with the assurance of faith, that only Christ and His righteousness can avail for you? There can be no greater treasure in this life than to have the certainty of acceptance with God. Do you have this treasure? Only you can answer that question. None other on earth can truly know. But it is a vital inquiry you cannot afford to ignore.

God has been called many things by man down through the ages. The Bible uses numerous phrases and titles attempting to bring out the grandeur and majesty of Yahweh. But the most precious are those that describe Him as the God who is faithful to His promises, faithful to His covenant of salvation. His Word has given us the most precious title of all – precious, at least, to the one who knows intimately the sin that is his, the guilt, the righteous judgment that hangs over his head – and that title is, “the God who justifies.” He is the god who declares righteous by the redemption found only in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the just and holy Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. All glory and honor and thanks go to Him. Let the redeemed of the Lord boast in Him, and in Him alone.

The Fuzzy Mass

2009-11-06T02:00:00.000-08:00

What do they do if a monkey steals the consecrated host? Give it an indulgence?

Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will

2009-10-20T05:34:00.001-07:00

This audio recording of Luther's Bondage of the Will is from the Calvinist site SermonAudio.com and was produced by Still Waters Revival Books (www.swrb.com). The audio quality is not that great, but I thought the reader did a good job.

Luther considered this one of his best works along with the Galatians commentary and the Small Catechism.

***

A Lutheran Jacques Migne

2009-10-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:

Jacques Paul Migne (25 October 1800 - 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a universal library for the Catholic priesthood.

Migne had become convinced of the power of the press and the sheer value of raw information widely distributed. In 1836 he opened his great publishing house, Imprimerie Catholique, at Petit Montrouge, in the outlying 14th arrondissement of Paris. There he brought out in rapid succession numerous religious works meant for the use of the lesser clergy at popular prices that insured a wide circulation. The best known of these are: Scripturae sacrae cursus completus ("complete course in sacred scripture") which assembled a wide repertory of commentaries on each of the books of the Bible, and Theologiae cursus, each of them in 28 vols, 1840-5; Collection des auteurs sacrés (100 vols., 1846-8); Encyclopédie théologique (171 vols., 1844-6).

The three great series that have made his reputation were Patrologiae cursus completus, Latin series (Patrologia Latina) in 221 vols. (1844-5); Greek series (Patrologia Graeca), first published in Latin (85 vols., 1856-7); with Greek text and Latin translation (165 vols., 1857-8). Though scholars have always criticised them, these hastily edited, inexpensively printed and widely distributed texts have only slowly been replaced during a century and a half with more critically edited modern editions. Though the cheap paper of the originals has made them fragile today, the scope of the Patrologia still makes it unique and valuable, wherever modern editions do not yet exist. It is a far more complete collection of Patristic and later literature than anything that has appeared subsequently or is likely to. To create so much so quickly, Migne reprinted the best or latest earlier editions available to him. In the PG the Latin translations were often made in the renaissance before any Greek text had been printed, and so do not necessarily match the Greek text very accurately. The indexes themselves are useful for locating references in the patristic writings. The collection is now available on CD-ROM at some research libraries and an electronic version is online as a subscriber service.

***

My goal is to one day be a Lutheran Jacques Migne by putting together an online database of works by the Lutheran fathers in their original languages.

“The Midnight Lion”—Gustav Adolf

2009-10-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

Gustav Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus) was the
Swedish king whose intervention in the
Thirty Years’ War was instrumental in preventing
Roman Catholic forces from
crushing the Lutheran Church.

http://www.repristinationpress.com/Repristination_Press/Current_Catalog_files/Books%20May%202008.pdf

WELS Church and Change for Dummies

2009-09-12T18:52:00.001-07:00

Once to Every Man And Nation

2009-09-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.

By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calv’ries ever with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

Johann Reu - Luther and the Scriptures

2009-09-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

I scanned and uploaded Johann Reu's book Luther and the Scriptures, so feel free to download it.

Johann Reu - Luther and the Scriptures (low resolution - 23.3MB)

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

2009-08-20T01:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.csntm.org/Home/About
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM), under the umbrella of The Center for the Research of Early Christian Documents (CRECD), exists for the following purposes:

To make digital photographs of extant Greek New Testament manuscripts so that such images can be preserved, duplicated without deterioration, and accessed by scholars doing textual research.

To utilize developing technologies (OCR, MSI, etc.) to read these manuscripts and create exhaustive collations.

To analyze individual scribal habits in order to better predict scribal tendencies in any given textual problem.

To publish on various facets of New Testament textual criticism

To develop electronic tools for the examination and analysis of New Testament manuscripts.

To cooperate with other institutes in the great and noble task of determining the wording of the autographa of the New Testament.

CSNTM is a non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status
(incorporated in Texas on September 13, 2002). All
donations are tax-deductible.

Why Digital Photography?
Below are sample photographs of Greek New Testament manuscripts. Two are taken with microfilm, two with digital technology. The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts desires to take high-resolution digital photographs of Greek New Testament manuscripts, preserving the treasures of the ancient Church and making the images accessible for scholarly research.

Rorate caeli desuper

2009-08-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

This beautiful song is based off of Isaiah 45:8.

Rorate, cæli, desuper,
et nubes pluant justum ;
aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem,
et justitia oriatur simul :
ego Dominus creavi eum.

Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam. 2005 (Ed. electronica) (Is 45:8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Complete Hebrew O.T. and Complete Greek N.T. on Audio

2009-07-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

I spent a great deal of time looking for a quality recording of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament and I came across this website:
http://audiohebrewgreekbible.com/english
http://www.bibletorrent.com/product_info.php/products_id/89

The recordings are done by Dr. Louis Tyler.

"Dr. Louis Tyler is a Baptist minister and has taught Hebrew, Greek, English, Spanish, German, and Bible. He holds a BSE from the University of Texas at Austin (1970) with teaching certification in English, Spanish, and German; the M.Div. degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1974); an MA in Hebrew (Greek minor) from the University of Texas at Austin (1981); and a Ph.D. in Foreign-Language Education-Hebrew (second language: Aramaic), also at UT Austin (1988). He currently teaches at the Río Grande Bible Institute in Edinburg, Texas."

Church and Change Christmas in July

2009-07-16T17:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De47fjH6RKY

Issues Etc. - Pastor Mark Schroeder on "Lutheranism in America"

2009-06-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Vespers or Matins Service During the Week

2009-05-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

I was recently thinking of whether it would be a good idea to have a vespers or matins service two or three times during the week. It would not be anything major like a Sunday service with a sermon etc., just reading some passages out of the Bible and singing a few hymns. I always feel refreshed after corporate worship and parting of the sacrament with fellow believers.

Konzerte in der Frauenkirche Dresden

2009-05-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

This gave me goose bumps! A small glimpse of heaven.

Hi-Fi Hymn Book

2009-05-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.hifihymnbook.com/

There are a lot of nice hymns on this site and they are adding more all the time.