Spirit of Envy Prevails Among Conservatives

Pastor Jack Cascione wrote last week in “Opposition to False Doctrine – The LCMS Mark of Cain”: “The Mark of Cain in the LCMS is to be against false doctrine. The quickest way to be viewed as a narrow-minded intolerant dweeb is to question the scriptural basis of what another LCMS Lutheran does, says, or writes. Today they say judging doctrine was for the middle ages.” Professor Kurt Marquart wrote in an article on “Envy” in a series on the Seven Deadly Sins that “In the Church, To Envy Raises its Ugly Head.” Marquart’s entire article is in this issue.During its early years Christian News published many articles by such great theologians, now deceased, as Paul Burgdorf, Robert Preus, Henry Koch, Kurt Marquart, Tom Hardt, August Brustat, Peter Krey, Siegbert Becker, William Beck, Raymond Surburg, and others. In recent years, Pastor Jack Cascione has been one of CN’s most frequent contributors. None were ever paid for their work. Why is it that Cascione is not invited to speak by either LCMS seminary, the Association of Confessional Lutherans or any of the organized conservative groups? Cascione was recently interivewed for a half hour by a major U.S. newspaper. Issues, Etc. interviews many Lutherans and non-Lutherans. Why has Issues, Etc. not interviewed Cascione? Both LCMS seminaries publish in their theological journals and promote in their symposium liberal theolgians. Why do they never invite Cascione to contribute?This issue includes the names of some of the many articles Cascione has written for CN. The list mentions that Cascione was invited to speak to a group of scholars in Italy. The article listing some of his writings also mentions his work as a pastor and evangelist. How many of his Romanizing critics have been as active in this area?Why do most of the confessional Lutheran bloggers seldom mention anything written by Cascione, including his recent stories about the four women being personally sued by the LCMS’s California-Nevada-Hawaii District for the property of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Oakland, California? “56 Filings Totaling More Than 1,149 Pages of Litigation Have Been Filed by Attorney to the LCMS Board of Directors, Sherri Strand” (CN, July 5, 2010).Read the list of Cascione’s articles in this issue (pp.9-11). What an amazing variety of topics Cascione has covered. The man is obviously a brilliant, talented, courageous, active pastor and theologian constantly on the go. But he has the LCMS Mark of Cain: Opposition to False Doctrine.Any fair-minded person who reads William Beck’s An American Translation of the Bible will soon recognize that it is the best and most accurate translation in modern English of our day. Beck’s New Testament AAT was first published in 1963 by CPH. It was widely hailed in the LCMS. However, a spirit of envy developed among professors at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where Beck had taken over William Arndt’s courses in historical criticism when Arndt died.Beck’s close student and friend, Louis Brighten, wrote at the time of Beck’s death: “One cannot help but make a comparison with Luther. No Lutheran since Martin Luther had made a translation from the original language of the Bible into the language of the people.” The liberals at Concordia Seminary were determined to get the LCMS and CPH to use the Revised Standard Version, the work of liberal scholars, most of whom denied the deity of Christ. The ESV is 91% the RSV copyrighted by the liberal National Council of Churches. The liberals wanted to get the LCMS involved in the ecumenical movement with the NCC. If the LCMS published the entire AAT it might de-rail their movement. Few of the organized conservatives ever promoted Beck’s AAT even though an LCMS convention voted to ask CPH to publish the entire AAT.Envy in the church was a primary reason, besides fearing the ecumenical plans of the liberals might be slowed down. The same attitude of envy is one reason why Cascione has the LCMS’s Mark of Cain. The Romanizing anti-Walther pro-Loehe men in the LCMS have praised Father Richard Neuhaus, a former LCMS Lutheran who denied the inerrancy of the Bible, justification by faith alone, and was a universalist who said Jews, Muslims and others would go to heaven even if they did not trust in Christ. Neuhaus said no one was in hell. He had words of praise for Bultmann’s demythologizing. The Romanizing Lutherans praised Arthur Carl Piepkorn, who denied the inerrancy of the Bible and the historicity of the Genesis creation account.The June 28 Christian News had a perceptive review by Cascione of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Cascione had words of praise for the museum.Cascione wrote: “The galleries and display monitors in the Museum present convincing facts, evidence, artifacts, and photographs that other museums refuse to display. Their stock in trade is exposing the dirty little secrets the Ph.D evolutionists know- namely that they have grossly overstated their case, withheld opposing data, and are presenting more religion than science.”How many of the Romanizing hyper-euros have published articles commending the Creation Museum, which now has had more than a million visitors?The hyper-euros and critics of Cascione and Christian News contend that Cascione and Otten are living in the past and are not speaking to the issues of the day. What utter nonsense! Study the record. Read what Cascione has written.Cascione can proudly wear the “The LCMS Mark of Cain” placed on him by the Romanizers who despise Walther’s defense of the rights of laymen and congregations.