Werning Continues to Blaspheme Trinity With Support of LCMS Officials
By Rev. Jack Cascione

 

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?


Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

October 10, 2001