A growing number of LCMS officials, District Presidents, the LCMS pastors
aliened with "Jesus First" and now the Synodical President are
either openly agreeing with or acquiescing to Werning's blasphemy of the
Trinity.
The "Lutheran Cyclopedia" (page 98) defines blasphemy as
"speech, thought, writing, or action manifesting irreverence toward God
or anything sacred. (Ps. 74:10, 18, Is. 52:5, Rev. 16:9, 11, 21)"
Doctor Waldo Werning's book "Health and Healing For the LCMS"
directly attacks the Trinity on pages 33-34. The Athanasian Creed teaches the
only "three" in God are the three persons in one divine being. Any
addition to or deletion of this teaching results in eternal damnation. The
Athanasian Creed states:
"Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he
hold the catholic [i.e., universal, Christian] faith. Which faith except
everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish
everlastingly."
"For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and
another of the Holy Ghost." ". . . they are not three
Eternals," "three Uncreated nor three Incomprehensibles,"
"not three Almighties," "not three Gods," and "not
three Lords." "So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say,
there be three Gods or three Lords."
"He, therefore, that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity. . .
This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe faithfully and firmly,
he cannot be saved."
In defiance of the Athanasian Creed, Werning teaches that in the Triune God
there are: "three forms of address 'You shall!, ' 'You may!,' 'You
can!'" Man experiences, "God in a three-fold manner." There are
"three manners of being (God above us, God among us, God in us)" and
that "God revealed Himself in three ways."
Pieper writes, Vol. I page 383, "a. The names Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost can denote only three self-subsisting persons. No one who hears these
names of God will think of three modes of appearance or three activities of
the same."
The church has always condemned Unitarians, who claim God has revealed
himself in three persons. "The Modalists of the third century held that
God is Unity and therefore uniperonsal. This unipersonal God has revealed
Himself successively in three different modes, or forms: In the Father as
Creator, in the Son as Redeemer, and in the Holy Ghost as Sanctifier."
(page 382)
The church has also always condemned the Tritheism, which teaches three
divine essences or natures in God. (page 384)
Werning sent his blasphemy to every delegate of the Convention, teaching
three revelations, experiences, manners of being, and communications in the
Trinity!
The South Wisconsin District President, the Fourth Vice President, and
Werning's Circuit Counselor all published their support for Werning's
position, and they all support "Jesus First." The Michigan District
President, in his latest correspondence to this writer, treats the entire
matter as a personal issue in Dispute Resolution, as if the correct teaching
on the doctrine of the Trinity in the LCMS is my personal issue and not his
sworn duty to teach, confess, and defend. He took the same approach with those
who rewrite the Creeds. The new Synodical President, who is fully apprised of
the matter, also treats Werning's blasphemy and false doctrine idolatry as a
personal matter between two LCMS pastors.
It is little wonder that LCMS President Kieschnick openly supports and
encourages Atlantic District President Benke's participation in a joint prayer
service with Jews and Moslems. Kieschnick's practice in fellowship explains
why he, the chief doctrinal officer of the LCMS, views a dispute between two
LCMS pastors on the doctrine of the Trinity as a personal matter.
At the 2001 Convention, hundreds of delegates with "Jesus First"
buttons kept applauding during a standing ovation when Kieschnick announced
his resolve to enforce the Eighth Commandment in the LCMS. He appears to be
more concerned about what people say about him and others in the Synod than
what is said about the Trinity.
Hence, under the Kieschnick regime, my complaining about Werning's false
doctrine on the Trinity sent to every Convention delegate in his book has
resulted in Werning charging me with breaking the Eighth Commandment. If
Werning is correct, he should be charging me on what he believes to be my
false teaching on the Trinity instead of what he believes is my slandering of
him. I teach that anyone who discovers more than three of anything in the
Trinity but three persons in one divine being will burn with the devil for all
eternity.
Now, under Kieschnick's presidency, LCMS pastors can openly pray in prayer
services with anyone. Yes, I will meet with Werning to battle over the
"personal issue" of the Trinity in the LCMS. It can't be slander if
it is false doctrine. Even if Kieschnick is not going to publicly state that
Werning is teaching false doctrine about the Trinity, my soul is in the
balance, as well as the faculties of both seminaries and the LCMS Council of
Presidents. They all have a public responsibility to speak the truth and
condemn error on the doctrine of the Trinity in the LCMS.
We should remind President Kieschnick that the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas also
claimed that keeping the Commandments was their primary agenda.
Are we now dealing with the Babylonian Captivity of the LCMS? Are true
believers in the Synod under the yoke of Synodical officials who say they love
Jesus but do not condemn false teaching in the Synod on the Athanasian Creed?
The facts are clear, according to the Athanasian Creed. Anyone who teaches
and defends Werning's invented "three's in God" has no salvation and
is eternally damned, even if they are on the LCMS clergy roster or the rolls
of an LCMS congregation.
There is no doubt that every one of these LCMS officials publicly supports
t he Athanasian Creed, just as Werning claims he does. However, is their
support for the Athanasian Creed similar to the Pope's, Mormons', Jehovah
Witnesses', and Unitarians' who all say they believe the Bible? These LCMS
officials must all condemn Werning's modalism and his invented "threes in
God" if they really believe, teach, and confess the Athanasian Creed.
Some Lutheran clergy have already pointed out the problems of Atlantic
District President Benke's participation in a joint worship service with
Moslems and Jews because the only prayer that God listens to must be prayed
with faith in the Trinity alone.
This is important, but it is a matter of practice! What about the doctrine?
What is the point of maintaining the correct practice in prayer fellowship
when LCMS officials will no longer defend the correct teaching on the Trinity?
Does the LCMS still teach that God damned all people to hell over one man
who was not supposed to eat a piece of fruit and that only through the correct
faith in the Trinity will any human being be saved?