The 8th commandment, by the Lutheran and Catholic numbering system, is:
16 What does this mean?
This comes up for me this morning because I read a response from Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod about the uncalled for, unjust and improper removing of the program "Issues Etc." from KFUO. You can find the whole letter on the Augsburg1530 blog, the part that got me going this morning is this:
So, the proper use of the 8th commandment is, as far as Dr. Kieschnick is concerned, is to stifle all dissent, to force people to accept what are obvious lies as truth just because they deny they are lies, to shut up and sit down and mail in those darn checks!
Under his interpretation if my neighbor, who is upset with me for some reason or other, brings a load of 12 tons of bull manure and deposits it on my lawn I'm supposed to thank him for the fertilizer?
Please. This whole "best construction" stuff is very prone to abuse as far as I can see. The only time I hear it bandied about is when there is a case of plain bull manure deposition that the perpetrators want to get away with, like this whole thing of destroying the ONLY really Lutheran and confessional radio (which today includes podcasts) witness to the world, for the quite obvious reason that the rulers of the "synod" (that word really doesn't apply to the LCMS these days) are not Lutheran, not confessional and barely Christian. They are corporate church growth marketing types who take their examples not from the universal (catholic) traditions of the one Holy and Apostolic Church but from pop American Evangelicalism. You know, those churches that have ditched the cross in favor of self help sermons!
I say we ought to send the load of manure back where it came from and stop allowing liars to abuse scripture to defend themselves. It's time to call things by their right name. BS is BS.
----------------------------
Note, after the letter from Pope Jerry posted on Augsburg1530 there were a number of other posts, some of which did address the misuse of the 8th commandment, do check them out if you are interested.
The Eighth
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
The small catechism of Luther says:
16 What does this mean?
Answer: We should fear and love God, and so we should not tell lies about our neighbor, nor betray, slander, or defame him, but should apologize for him, speak well of him, and interpret charitably all that he does.
In other places Lutheran frequently use the phrase, "Put the best construction on everything," when describing what this means. I really have a problem with that, or at least in the way that it is frequently used by perpetrators of wrong to prevent anyone saying a word against them.This comes up for me this morning because I read a response from Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod about the uncalled for, unjust and improper removing of the program "Issues Etc." from KFUO. You can find the whole letter on the Augsburg1530 blog, the part that got me going this morning is this:
Some have interpreted the decision to discontinue “Issues, Etc.” as being theological or political in nature or purpose. Such interpretations have no basis in fact.
As president of the Synod, I respectfully request and pastorally encourage all in the Synod to be patient and charitable regarding this matter, putting the best construction on actions and decisions connected therewith.So, the proper use of the 8th commandment is, as far as Dr. Kieschnick is concerned, is to stifle all dissent, to force people to accept what are obvious lies as truth just because they deny they are lies, to shut up and sit down and mail in those darn checks!
Under his interpretation if my neighbor, who is upset with me for some reason or other, brings a load of 12 tons of bull manure and deposits it on my lawn I'm supposed to thank him for the fertilizer?
Please. This whole "best construction" stuff is very prone to abuse as far as I can see. The only time I hear it bandied about is when there is a case of plain bull manure deposition that the perpetrators want to get away with, like this whole thing of destroying the ONLY really Lutheran and confessional radio (which today includes podcasts) witness to the world, for the quite obvious reason that the rulers of the "synod" (that word really doesn't apply to the LCMS these days) are not Lutheran, not confessional and barely Christian. They are corporate church growth marketing types who take their examples not from the universal (catholic) traditions of the one Holy and Apostolic Church but from pop American Evangelicalism. You know, those churches that have ditched the cross in favor of self help sermons!
I say we ought to send the load of manure back where it came from and stop allowing liars to abuse scripture to defend themselves. It's time to call things by their right name. BS is BS.
----------------------------
Note, after the letter from Pope Jerry posted on Augsburg1530 there were a number of other posts, some of which did address the misuse of the 8th commandment, do check them out if you are interested.
Comments
Post a Comment