Cyberbrethren: A Lutheran Blog

Gun Control: Why We Must Have It

I know the second ammendment of the United States Constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms for the purpose of maintaining a well-regulated militia. Have you drilled with your local militia lately? No, neither have I.

And from what I can tell, there sure-as-shootin', ain't been well-regulated militia since the 1800s. Today, a bunch of armed thugs and nut-jobs threaten me and my family, one of whom recently decided to take the law into his own hands and killed people because he did not like the fact that he could not park his construction vehicles on a public right of way in his neighborhood. Solution? Kill the mayor and his staff, and he gave it a good try.

I do not believe that the second amendment gives anyone the right to go out and buy any firearm they want, whenever they want it, for whatever reason they want it: period. The amendment clearly was intended to provide for a well-regulated militia. Last I checked, we have more than enough weapons to destroy this planet ten times over. And I say all this as a person who did at one time belong to the National Rifle Association, who qualified on several weapons as a teenager, and won certificates and medals, who loves firearms, and has had many pleasurable hours shooting them: pistols, shotguns, rifles, you name it. Note well: I'm in favor of concealed carry laws. I have no problem with gun ownership. I would kill anyone who tried to enter my home to attack my family, with an absolutely clear and clean conscience.

Having said that, I see no reason why it should be more difficult to receive, and continue to hold, a driver's license, than it is to purchase and own a firearm. The killing in Northern Illinois underscores the fact that something is definitely broken in this nation when it comes to guns. The facts are clear: the USA has more gun related crime, killing and other horrible social problems than any other industrialized nation on earth: period.

Read this chilling statement from the story on the recent killings and tell me why it is that a person should be allowed to stroll into a store and simply buy firearms.

Police said they learned that a week ago, on Feb. 8, Kazmierczak walked into a Champaign, gun store and picked up two guns — the Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun. He bought the other two handguns at the same shop — a High Point .380 on Dec. 30 and a Sig Sauer on Aug. 6.

Why should we not require people purchasing firearms to produce evidence that they are not being treated for a psychological disorder? Why should we not have extensive background checks and a waiting period? Why should we not require people buying firearms to take, and to pass, an extensive, and intensive, series of classes on gun ownership, gun safety and the like? Why should people who own guns not be required to register their ownership, just like I register my car? Why should I not be required to pass tests to continue to maintain my gun license, just like I do my car license? It makes no sense to me.

OK, go ahead, fire away at me, so to speak, and tell me how I'm a deluded liberal who doesn't realize that guns kill, people do, that the right to bear arms is in the Bible and that the the only reason we will ever be a free nation is if every one has the right to go out and buy his own arsenal. Go ahead, I've heard it all. I've read it all. But I believe it is warmed over baloney. And the consequences are tragic.

Fighters Over Us

I'm trying to decide if it makes me feel safe more than it frightens me when the local Air National Guard fighter wing buzzes our subdivisions from time to time, like just now. There is nothing quite like a flight of F-15 Eagles blasting over your house at low altitude to cause the adrenalin to start pumping. They are out on training maneuvers and it is heavily overcast today. It always reminds me of 9/11 when all day long flights of fighter planes were zipping over the city.. God bless all those in uniform who are putting their lives at risk to keep us safe from the Islmafascist terrorists who want to destroy us. Many Americans wish we could just somehow close our door, go jump in our cozy beds, pull the sheets over our head and play make-believe and pretend there really are not nations and groups out there plotting to kill us. I'm very glad that our armed forces are out there and doing whatever it takes to kill them before they kill us. It is the reality of life in a sin-filled world that it is necessary to kill and destroy when there is no other alternative.

Person of the Year: You!

Looks like an interesting article. TIME magazine has chosen you, and me, and them, and us, and that guy...as the person of the year. Why? To underscore the explosion of information sharing and communication around the world made possible by the Internet. Oh, yes, did anyone notice what computer they use on the cover to make their point? 'nuff said.

An Act of Treason, Dishonesty and Sin

The resignation of John Fenton in the Detroit area from his call, and his announcement that he is joining an Eastern Orthodox church has elicited interesting responses across the Lutheran blogosphere. Some have expressed their "admiration" for his "honesty" and lauded his great leadership on liturgical issues in The LCMS. I have a far different perspective.

Joy!!!!

It was a great series, even if the Tigers' pitchers set a record of most errors ever in a World Series. Ouch. That truly has to hurt.  [Detroit fans: demand an investigation into this. Did they intentionally throw the game? That's the best construction possible here!].

The pitching duels were wonderful.  Well, except for the final game where the Tigers' pitcher fell apart.

The baseball was old-school "small ball" in many cases. The conduct of the players, with one notable exception, was exemplary.  It is a shame that Rogers brought disgrace on himself and his team as he did. But overall, a great series.

Kudos to Jim Leyland, manager of the Tigers. He is one class act! Congratulations sir. I've never seen a manager be so forthright, honest and handle himself with such aplomb and integrity. Class act! What a refreshing change. Larussa and Leyland-really showing the best of baseball! Thank you gentlemen. Congratulations to the Tigers on a remarkable turn-around in their season. Oh, the joys of First Article gifts.

My bottom line on any world series is that any series the Yankees haven't bought their way into with their salary advantage, is a good series.

Luther at the Movies: Lutherans Riot, Midwest Set Ablaze

Dr. Luther has a blog site, did you know that? And here he reports on something I had not heard of. Shocking behavior for Lutherans. Thanks to friend Mr. S. for alerting us to this.

Lutherans Riot, Midwest Set Ablaze.

More Televisions than People

More televisions in most American homes than there are human beings. . .anyone ever read Farenheit 451? Remember the future that Bradbury predicted? People staring at huge flat panel screens? That future is quickly becoming now.

Link: BREITBART.COM - More TVs Than People in Average Home.

The average American home now has more television sets than people.

That threshold was crossed within the past two years, according to Nielsen Media Research. There are 2.73 TV sets in the typical home and 2.55 people, the researchers said.

With televisions now on buses, elevators and in airport lobbies, that development may have as much to do with TV's ubiquity as an appliance as it does conspicuous consumption. The popularity of flat-screen TVs now make it easy to put sets where they haven't been before.

Disappearing Tattoo Ink

Perhaps there is hope after all for those who permanently inscribe somebody or something on to their skin. Now it seems that there is soon to be available a tattoo ink much easier to remove. This is apparently being received as high-heresy among body art Old Believers.

I've Been Wondering About Believing In and Worshiping the One True God

The story about the man who may be executed in Afghanistan for his conversion to Christianity got me to thinking. I found myself wondering why it is that if Christians and Muslims actually do believe in and worship the one, true God, a person can be put to death for worshipping Christ, intead of Allah in Muslim nations that follow strict Islamic law? And for that matter, if Muslims do in fact believe in and worship the one, true God, why should we be concerned if people are Muslim instead of Christian? Sometimes we hear people say something like this: "The Muslim God is also the true God (there is only one true God, right?) but worshiped in an inadequate way."

Finally I had to ask myself, "Was Jesus wrong when He said 'You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also' "(John 8:19; ESV)? If it is true that Jews do worship and believe in the one true God, though they deny Christ as Messiah and Lord, then Jesus must have been wrong. If it is true that Muslims and other non-Christians actually do believe in and worship the one true God, even while rejecting Jesus Christ, then Jesus was a liar.

The operative words here are "believe" and "worship" and "one, true God." Let this much be clear, as one would hope it would be. Muslims absolutely do not believe in, or worship, the one true God. To say this is not in any way to deny the natural knowledge that there is a god. But as Paul makes clear in Romans 1, this natural knowledge is corrupted by sin and men turn to the worship of false gods (Romans 1:21 "Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened"). This is precisely what happens when you believe in and worship any god other than the One, True, God. In other words, the corruption of the natural knowledge of God is dramatically evident when people do not worship the Most Blessed and Holy Trinity, but turn to false gods, such as the Muslim "Allah."

Here are a few Luther quotes on the subject that I find particularly instructive:

"When the Turks go into battle their only war cry is “Allah! Allah!” and they shout it till heaven and earth resound. But in the Arabic language. Allah means God, and is a corruption of the Hebrew Eloha. For they have been taught in the Koran that they shall boast constantly with these words, “There is no God but God.” All that is really a device of the devil. For what does it mean to say, “There is no God but God,” without distinguishing one God from another? The devil, too, is a god, and they honor him with this word; there is no doubt of that. Therefore I believe that the Turks’ Allah does more in war than they themselves. He gives them courage and wiles; he guides sword and fist, horse and man. What do you think, then, of the holy people who can call upon God in battle, and yet destroy Christ and all God’s words and works, as you have heard?” (American Edition 46:183).

“All people who say that they mean the true God who created heaven and earth are lying. They do not accept His work and Word but place their own thoughts above God and His Word. If they truly believed in a God who created heaven and earth, they would also know that as Creator this same God is also above their thoughts and possesses the same authority to make, break and do as He pleases. But since they do not let Him be the Creator above them and their thoughts in so small a matter, it cannot be true that they believe [Glaube] Him to be the Creator of all creation.” (Walch 10.I.1:241)

“It does Jews, Turks, and heretics no good to profess a very great devoutness and to boast against us Christians that they believe in the one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and also call him “Father” with intense earnestness. For all that, their worship consists of nothing except futile and useless words that they use to take the name of God in vain and misuse it, against the Second Commandment. . . Here you see that when they do not know who God is; and when they call Him “Creator” and “God” and “Father,” they don’t know what they are actually saying…Therefore they have no God, but they misuse the name of “God” in sin and shame and invent their own god and creator, who is supposed to be their father and whose children they profess to be.” (St.L 3:1932)

“Jews, Turks, and Tartars all esteem Christ and His mother Mary very highly. But they do not believe [glaube] that He is the Son of God, in whom one must believe and through whom all are saved. . . .  Therefore, the faith of the Jews and the Turks is nothing but sheer blindness, for they exclude the Son and want to retain only the Father. This is the chief article of our Christian faith: that the Son is eternal and true God, and also true man, sent into the world for its salvation. This article annuls the belief [glaube] of the Jews, the Turks, and all others who renounce the Son and thus worship another god and look to another source for help. The Turk is not able to pray the Lord’s Prayer or the articles of the Creed. Faith, to which God alone is entitled, is the chief type of worship. For we are not to believe in angels, prophets, or apostles. No, this divine honor is due the Son alone; for He is true God with the Father. John treats this article very intensively. . . . If I earnestly believe that Christ is true God and that He became our Savior, I will never deny this but will proclaim it publicly against the Turks, the world, the pope, the Jews ,and all the sects. I will confess that it is true. I would rather forfeit my life or jeopardize my property and honor than disavow this. Wherever faith is genuine, it cannot hold its tongue; it would rather suffer death. Such faith will also confess God’s Word before tyrants. To be sure, it will encounter all sorts of trials and temptations from the devil, as the martyrs amply demonstrate.” (AE 22:392-393).

“Turks and Jews boast a lot about God and claim to have a better faith than we Christians. They say they cannot be wrong. They say that they believe [Glaube] in one God, who created heaven and earth and everything else. This kind of faith certainly can not be wrong, they think. Christ, however, here concludes: ‘He who hates Me, hates my Father.” Now, since Turks and Jews hate Christ and persecute His Word, they certainly also hate the God who has created heaven and earth. They do not believe [Glaube] in Him and they do not honor Him. For Christ is the same one God.” (StL 13a, 1285).

Here are some quotes from Luther's Large Catechism on the subject:

“As I have often said, the trust and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust are right, then your God is the true God. On the other hand, if your trust is false and wrong, then you have not the true God.” (Large Catechism, Tappert, p. 365).

"You can easily judge how the world practices nothing but false worship and idolatry. There has never been a people so wicked that it did not establish and maintain some sort of worship. Everyone has set up a god of his own, to which he looked for blessings, help, and comfort... Everyone made into a god that to which his heart was inclined. Even in the mind of all the heathen, therefore, to have a god means to trust and believe. The trouble is that their trust is false and wrong, for it is not founded upon the one God, apart from whom there is truly no god in heaven or on earth. Accordingly the heathen actually fashion their fancies and dreams about God into an idol and entrust themselves to an empty nothing. So it is with all idolatry. Idolatry does not consist merely of erecting an image and praying to it. It is primarily in the heart, which pursues other things and seeks help and consolation from creatures, saints, or devils. It neither cares for God nor expects good things from him sufficiently to trust that he wants to help, nor does it believe that whatever good it receives comes from God.” (Large Catechism, Tappert, pp. 366-377).

“Whoever knows that in Christ he has a gracious God, truly knows God, calls upon him, and is not, like the heathen, without God. For the devil and the ungodly do not believe this article concerning the forgiveness of sin, and so they are at enmity with God, cannot call upon him, and have no hope of receiving good from him.” (Tappert, p. 44).

“For pagans had something of a knowledge of God from the law of nature, but at the same time they did not truly know him nor did they truly honor him (Rom. 1[:19-32]). (Kolb/Wengert, p. 585.)

Let's let God's Holy Word have the final say here:

“We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.” John 8:41

Again, Holy Scripture: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you.” John 17:25

Again, Holy Scripture: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ Rom. 10:14-15.

Again, Holy Scripture: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” I Cor. 2:14

Again, Holy Scripture: “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God-or rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” Galatians 4:8-9

Again, Holy Scripture: “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)- remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13

Again, Holy Scripture: “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do
not know God. I Thess. 4:3-5 

Again, Holy Scripture: “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. I John 2:22-23

Again, Holy Scripture: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does
not know us is that it did not know him.” I John 3:1

Again, Holy Scripture: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” I John 4:1-3

Again, Holy Scripture: “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” I John 4:6

Again, Holy Scripture: “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true-even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” I John 5:19-21

“Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me." John 7:28-29

Again, Holy Scripture: “Then they asked him, "Where is your father?" "You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” John 8:19 .

 

Anglican Communion Could Rupture

Ecumenical News International 
Daily News Service 
06 March 2006 

 

Anglican Communion could rupture over gay clergy, says Williams 
ENI-06-0219 

Geneva, 6 March (ENI)--The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan
Williams, has warned in a television interview that the worldwide
Anglican Communion may "rupture" over the issue of homosexuality.

 

Anglicans have been riven with division since the election in
2003 of V. Gene Robinson, who lives openly in a same-sex
relationship, as a bishop in the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church,
and the introduction by a diocese in Canada of a rite for
blessing same-sex unions.   

Many Anglican churches, particularly in Africa, condemned
Robinson's election and several have cut ties with the US church.

 

Interviewed by veteran broadcaster David Frost for the BBC in
Sudan, where he is visiting aid projects, Williams was asked if
he could imagine the Anglican Communion becoming a looser
federation to accommodate Anglican churches with widely differing
stances on  homosexuality. 

"If there is a rupture, it's going to be a more visible rupture,
it is not going to settle down quietly to being a federation,"
said Williams, the leader of the more than 70-million strong
Anglican grouping. "My anxiety about it is that if the communion
is broken we may be left with even less than a federation."   

In 2004, the "Windsor Report", produced by an Anglican commission
set up after Robinson's election, requested the US church to
adopt a moratorium on any candidate for bishop in a same-sex
union until a consensus had emerged in the communion. It also
urged the US and Canadian churches to apologise to other
believers within the Anglican communion who they had offended by
their actions.   

Still, among five nominees to become the new bishop of the
Episcopal diocese of California are a lesbian and a gay man, US
media have reported. Both homosexual candidates, Bonnie Perry of
Chicago and Robert Taylor of Seattle, are in same-sex
relationships, the reports stated. 

The diocese will vote on the candidates in May, with the
bishop-elect requiring ratification at the Episcopal Church's
general convention in Columbus, Ohio, the following month. The
Episcopal convention is also scheduled to elect a successor to
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. Three of the nominees are
reported to have voted in favour of Robinson's consecration as a
bishop. One opposed it. 

Meanwhile, in an article in the Washington Post, the Episcopal
bishop of Washington DC, John Bryson Chane, struck out at
Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, a prominent opponent of the
election of Robinson. 

Akinola, wrote Chane, "is perhaps the most powerful member of a
global alliance of conservative bishops and theologians,
generously supported by foundations and individual donors in the
United States, who seek to dominate the Anglican Communion and
expel those who oppose them, particularly the Episcopal Church
and the Anglican Church of Canada". [456 words] 

All articles (c) Ecumenical News International 
Reproduction permitted only by media subscribers and 
provided ENI is acknowledged as the source. 

Ecumenical News International 
PO Box 2100 
CH - 1211 Geneva 2 
Switzerland 

Tel: (41-22) 791 6088/6111 
Fax: (41-22) 788 7244 
Email: eni@eni.ch 

The Duke Must Be Rolling in His Grave

Not that anyone should care a bit about what I think, but hey, since when does that stop a blogger? The movie Brokeback Mountain totally grosses me out and disgusts me. I knew the minute I read about it that it would receive lavish praise from the media and movie critics and no doubt many awards, starting with the Golden Globe. No doubt it will receive an Oscar. I could write a lot about how it is typical of our homoerotic obsessed culture. It is. But it just really makes me angry that they would take the genre of John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and all the rest and use it for this garbage. But, like a friend of mine in Montana recently said to me, "Out here the men are men and the sheep are nervous." So, I don't know....maybe there is something to this. But I still can't help thinking of what the Duke or Clint Eastwood would have done had they found these two bunking down on a cold night. Are there really a lot of gay cowboys? Have we been so wrong for so many years?

Martin Luther King Day

It is time once again for me to make my annual comments about Martin Luther King day. Sadly, every year when I do this I get the same sort of responses, no matter how hard I try to be clear on why this day is so important to so many of our African-American brothers and sisters, and in fact, why it is so important for our whole country.

Sure enough there are those quite happy to entirely ignore the point of my post and wax on about how Martin Luther King was this, that, or another thing, about how his theology was bad, or how he was 'liberal' and on and on.

I will again however say that such comments display an astounding lack of sensitivity and concern about the feelings of our fellow Americans who look to Martin Luther King as a significant figure in advancing civil rights in this nation. And please do not, please, do not say, "Some of my best friends are Black." Oh, really? Then try to be a bit more sensitive, please. Some of my best friends are left handed, but I don't go out of my way to offend left-handed people by denigrating honoring a left-handed person whom they have high regard for. But, seriously, some of my best friends are left-handed. I even married a left-handed person. See how hollow that sounds?

I do wonder how many of us with pale skin have ever shared a table with a Black person, actually spoken at length with them as people, not as "Blacks." Similarly, how many Blacks have had Whites into their homes and hosted them for a meal and spoke to them as people, not White? I know the problem cuts both directions, but on MLK day, this is not the appropriate time for White folk to go on and one about their gripes with Black folks.

And then, I hear from people telling me how terrible the civil rights movement has been for African-Americans, and how it has only led to what is now a permanent underclass in this country, etc. etc. There is plenty to talk about here. But that the Civil Rights movement was a good thing in many ways is undeniable.

Would you have preferred the continuation of Jim Crow laws, lynchings and telling people they can't drink from certain water fountains, use certain bathrooms or ride only in the back of the bus or not be served a meal just because their skin is dark? Would you feel the same if the laws were in reverse and it was the white-skinned who could not do these things? "Good Christians" are not immune are they? I still have a vivid memory of angst being expressed by some members of my home congregation when Black folks showed up once for Holy Communion, from the common cup! And that was only in the late 1960s, not that too far long ago.

After the Civil War and well into the 1960s many, many African-Americans were still treated nearly like slaves in so many place. Despite the Civil War, many states made it impossible for blacks to vote and via indentured servanthood [aka sharecropping] created a serfdom across the South? Can we be a bit sensitive to the bitter, hard and long struggle of a people brought to this country as slaves?" [Yes, yes, I know blacks sold other blacks into slavery in Africa...and yes, African-Americans can be as prejudiced against others because of race as anyone else].

So, I apologize for what appears to be a gloomy post, but it is always sad that whenever anyone tries to say anything about Civil Rights, particularly on MLK day, we have to have a litany from white folks criticizing, whining and complaining, thus quite entirely missing the point of MLK and his meaning for our nation and for so many of our fellow citizens.

I'm actually seeing signs that the times they are a changing. When I was a kid it was inevitable that we would refer to other kids as "that black kid" and no doubt they would refer to us "as that white kid." My own kids have delighted me in that they have spoken of friends by name and never once have referred to them as "that black kid" or "you know, my Chinese friend." They've had friends over to the house that we have heard about from school for weeks and I've been delighted to find they are African or Chinese, and not once did our kids refer to them by race, but by their qualities as persons. A good sign indeed and this is where we need to be. No, it is unrealistic to believe we will ever be "color blind." That's not what I'm suggesting, but it would be great if we would not always jump to race as the first way to describe a person.

Recently in an interview on 60 minutes one of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman, laid it out in a blunt way. He just wants to be referred to as a person, not a black man, but as a man. And he thought the notion of a "black history" month to be absurd, and even insulting, trying to suggest his "history" could be reduced to a month on the calendar.

I believe it is a necessary and good thing in the kingdom of the left, to work for that day when across this great nation people will be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. And I suspect that if people's skin tone was a bit more dark than it may be now they might have some better sense of why this is a dream worthy of our full support, and sympathy. So, I say, "Happy MLK day."