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	Associate Prof. From William&Mary Writes "News Bulletin" to focus on the "Bigger Picture"
Home For Members For Pastors/Leaders Helpful Secular Sites Contact Us Suggest New Links Our Purpose Advertise on L/C Frequently Asked	Some of your respondents have asked for evidence that what President Benke did was scripturally sound. The attached "news bulletin" is a tongue-in-cheek attempt to address our need to focus on the "bigger picture" -- the Great Commission. The parody may offend some, and for that I apologize, but I encourage readers to look at the book of Acts, and apply Dr. Schulz' yardstick for syncretism and unionism to the Apostle Paul's witness. My conclusion was that either President Benke was right, or Paul was wrong. And I know who I'm siding with. In Christ, Jim Olver James M. Olver Associate Professor School of Business The College of William and Mary Williamsburg, VA  NEWS BULLETIN Saint Louis, MO, July 02: The Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod rocked the Christian community today by suspending Paul of Tarsus from membership in the LCMS. The grounds for his dismissal were “syncretism, unionism, and the willful violation of the First and Second Commandments.” The LCMS spokesperson, a Senior Vice President, informed reporters that Paul would also be suspended from his office as Apostle to the Gentiles. If he does not appeal within 15 days, he will be expelled from the Synod. The spokesperson acknowledged that Paul’s death some 1,800 years before the founding of the LCMS is “problematic,” insofar as it affects both his presumed membership in the LCMS as well as his ability to appeal the revocation of that membership. Nonetheless, he asserted, “a close reading of Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the Constitution and By-laws of our Synod provide clear and convincing evidence that Paul of Tarsus would have been a Missouri Synod Lutheran had he known about us. To keep him from misleading the faithful and pagans, it’s important that we directly confront his syncretism and unionism, and his willful violation of the First and Second Commandments.” The spokesperson provided the following details of the charges against Paul: 1. Paul preached repeatedly in Jewish synagogues and occasionally even in pagan Roman venues, both places where nonbelievers and priests of different faiths were brought together. Paul participated in their worship by witnessing in these venues. Thus, the allegation of syncretism is substantiated in fact. These offenses are documented to have occurred in Damascus (Acts 9:20), Salamis (13:4), Pisidian Antioch (13:14), Iconium (14:1), Perga, and Attalia (14:25), Phrygia and Galatia (16:6), Troas (16:8), Philippi (16:13), Thessalonica (17:1), Berea (17:10), Athens (17:17), Corinth (18:4), Ephesus (18:19), Macedonia and Greece (20:1-5), Jerusalem (21:27), and Rome (28:23), among other places. 2. Judean Christians claimed that Gentile Christians must be circumcised (15:1). This is clearly not Lutheran doctrine, so these Judean Christians, unlike Paul, were not Lutheran. While Paul disputed this contention at the time , he later circumcised Timothy to appease the Jews (16:2). Further, Paul himself engaged in Jewish purification rites in Jerusalem to mollify the Jews (21:26), thereby clearly and convincingly demonstrating unionism with the Christian circumcisers, as well as syncretism with the Jewish faith. 3. In Ephesus, Paul preached at the same time and place with Apollos, who “knew only the baptism of John” (18:19). Clearly, Apollos did not follow the Bible-based Lutheran teachings of regenerative baptism. By preaching in the same venue with Apollos, Paul gave the public impression that he and Apollos agreed on all basic doctrines of Christian faith. Such a confused public witness displays a lack of integrity, something that other denominations and even the secular world deplores. 4. Eyewitnesses provide compelling testimony that when preaching in Ephesus, Paul did not adequately condemn idol worship: 19:35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash. 37You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. By not “blaspheming” Artemis, Paul gave a crystal-clear signal to others at the event, and to millions of others reading about the event in the Holy Bible. The signal was: While there may be differences in how people worship and pray, in the end, all religions pray to the same God. 5. Worse yet, on at least two occasions, Paul was considered a god by pagans: first in Lycaonia (14:11), and then in Malta (28:5). Although it is acknowledged that Paul did take pains to convince the Lycaonians that he was not a god, there is no evidence that he took similar pains in Malta. To quote a first-hand observer: 28:6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. There is no evidence in the Scriptures that Paul condemned this idolatry as he had in Lycaonia: subsequent testimony merely states that he stayed with one Publius. Thus, it is clear that Paul didn’t condemn this idolatry. The clear signal to those at the event, and to millions of others reading about the event, is this: Paul has obviously set himself up as a god. 6. According to witnesses, Paul told the Athenians that they were “very religious” (17:22). Clearly, anyone listening to such words would conclude that Paul agrees with their religion. His further assertion that their “unknown god” is in fact the True God confuses the faithful and pagan alike, thus deceiving in the name of God. According to the spokesperson, “Paul’s actions demonstrate a clear pattern of violating both the First and Second Commandments. Thus these allegations of the complainants in this case are substantiated in fact. Further, since our LCMS Constitution clearly states in Article VI that unionism of “every description” be renounced and, since Paul clearly and publicly worshiped with those who deny, and even teach against, Bible-based Lutheran teachings which come directly from Christ Himself, the serious allegation against Paul of unionism is substantiated in fact. Oh yeah, and ditto for that thing about ‘syncretism.’”