A gift for my son's first communion

DaVinci's Last Supper

Recently, the confessional Lutheran blogosphere has been debating the value of pastor-led confirmation programs. There have been side arguments of the appropriate age of confirmands and the usefulness of confirming all kids at the same time. These arguments have intrigued, yet irritated me. Probably because our household has been steeped in confirmation for the past three years.

For the past month or two, I've been busy preparing for our son's confirmation. We cleaned our house out and up, remodeled the bathroom, and prepared to feed a crowd of 40. We enjoyed very warm fellowship with family and friends, several of whom drove a couple of hundred miles to join us. For my son's part, he spent the past two years memorizing verses and doctrine. Two Sundays ago, he sat in front of the congregation with his 21 classmates and answered questions from our pastor. He was declared ready to become a member of our church. Last Sunday, he donned the white gown, red carnation and kneeled at the altar. He attested that he'd like to become a member, stated the reason for the joy that is in his heart and was received into our congregation with a blessing. This coming Sunday, a very special but much more subdued event will take place. My son will join the rest of his family at the communion rail.

As a communicant member of our congregation, my son will partake in the Lord's Supper, drinking the blood and eating the body of Christ as Christ himself commanded. He will then receive the forgiveness and strengthening given to him by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This opportunity for forgiveness and strengthening means more to me than the actual confirmation service.

Being 14 years old seems to be difficult for all kids and as a parent there is only so much I can do to help. Our pastor has encouraged us to proclaim God's Word to him, faithfully bring him to God's house to hear the Word preached and to not neglect our responsibilties as parents. There are many times in the past year or so that I have wished that my son could partake of the Lord's Supper. However, as parents we are not called to commune our own children and it is our synod's tradition for the first communion to happen after the confirmation of the child. So, this Sunday will be a particularly joyous day.

Truth be told, the preparation began three years ago when we switched Lutheran synods to give our children (and ourselves) a formal Christian catechism. Our former church had abandoned any formal catechism years ago, based on parents' complaints that their children were bored. The program was replaced with "Wednesday Night Live!". How sad for those kids. The year we left was the first year they confirmed a class of kids who had never had formal instruction in Luther's Small Catechism. Our timing was purposeful. Both our children, along with ourselves, had two years of rigorous Christian education taught by our pastor. While we still remain sinners, I am confident that the truth has been taught and that future decisions and behavior are much more likely to be based on scripture.

My son recently asked me if he gets a gift for his first communion. I think that his sincere, but immature question was a pretty clear illustration of why we wait until after puberty to confirm and commune our kids. Lots of kids younger than 14 are very smart and can answer catechism questions with the best of adults, but do they really understand how doctrine applies to their own lives? I happen to agree with our synod's practice of waiting until an age when most kids can understand difficult concepts at an adult level.

I also believe that, in general, confirmation should be taught by the pastor. Parents should be learning along with the confirmands, but it is the pastor who is the most educated in the many areas of Christian teachings. Also, I think that since our pastor is the one called to shepherd the congregation, he should take the lead in seeing that scripture is taught by parents to the children. Confirmation is one good way to accomplish this. Will all parents comply? No, but it will be very clear to the pastor which families are in need of loving counsel, exhortation and/or instruction. In a perfect world, each father would teach these things to his children. I hope that happens in many families. However, in many families the leadership of the pastor is needed. In our family, making the move to a confessional Lutheran church right as our children were entering confirmation ages demanded that my husband and I needed to have instruction alongside our children. I'm not going to waste valuable time feeling guilty that my husband didn't instruct our children himself. We have become a well-catechized family.

And about my son's request for a gift for his first communion - I was able to remind him that he would be receiving a far better gift than any human could ever give him. To receive the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by His own command, is to receive forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith. What a gift! My son's answer was, "I already know that, Mom." Of course he does!

Lutheran Carnival XIX

Lutheran Carnival XIX

I am most privileged to host this nineteenth issue of the Lutheran Carnival. This issue has over 30 posts from Christian blogkeepers who maintain a quia subscription to the Book of Concord. What does that mean? They believe that the Book of Concord is a right and proper exposition of the Word of God. Their posts are written on many topics, as long as they are written from a confessional Lutheran perspective.

For this carnival, I would like to introduce you to a forefather of my beloved Norwegian Synod: Jakob Aall Ottesen. Bethany Lutheran College Professor Erling Teigen stated in his presentation to the 150th gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (formerly the Norwegian Synod) in 2003,

"Of the three fathers (Preus, Koren and Ottesen) who have been shaped into a sort of holy trinity for the Norwegian Synod, the “forgotten” or less visible person of that trinity might be Jakob Aall Ottesen...What is of chief interest to us in this essay is the theological legacy, especially the Reformation, confessional Lutheran legacy Ottesen left on the immigrant church he helped organize. One part of that legacy is fellowship with the Missouri Synod, which led to the formation of the Synodical Conference in 1872."

Jakob Aall Ottesen

Who is Jakob Aall Ottesen? The answer is not short, except there are few short bios on this good man. His name is not on the lips of many Lutherans, but his life was dedicated to our service. The details of his life's work are more suitable to a college course, but I'll attempt a brief summary. My information comes from the Ottesen Museum, located between the campuses of Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) and Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mankato, Minnesota; from a lecture, The Legacy of Jakob Aall Ottesen, given by BLC Professor Erling T. Teigen commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Synod and an excellent geneological website by Ms. Dixie Hansen. We'll start with his obituary, since it is the earthly sum of his life:

PASTOR OTTESEN IS DEAD
One of the founders of the Norwegian Synod lays down his pilgrim's staff

A Life of Sacrifice

The old pastor, Jacob Aal Ottesen, one of the pioneers and veterans of the Norwegian Synod, died about 12 o'clock Saturday night, and his death did not come unexpectedly, neither for himself nor for those nearest to him, as he had been in poor health for a long time.

Pastor Ottesen was born in the Fet Parsonage in Norway 11 June, 1825, and he therefore got to be 79 years and 5 months old. His father and grandfather had been ministers in Fet for about half a century. The family belongs to one of the oldest ones in the country, and there have been approximately 50 ministers among Pastor Ottesen's kin.

Following his graduation with distinction from the university, Ottesen for three years was a teacher at Nissens Latin og Realskole (Nissen's Latin and High School) in Kristiania. However, Norway was not where our Lord had decided for him to work, and since many of his compatriots had emigrated to America, he accepted in 1852 the call from a congregation, which had been formed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. After his ordination by Bishop Arup, he left with his young wife, Katarine Doderlein, a daughter of School Principal Døderlein of Kristiania Katedralskole (Cathedral School) for the unknown America. Ole Bull had just started his disastrous colony, Oleana, in Pennsylvania, and Pastor Ottesen was requested to go and preach the gospel for his compatriots there. His parish in Manitowoc consisted of three organized congregations in and around the town as well as a mission field in the area from Green Bay to Milwaukee. This was truly mission and pioneer work that not only called for a sincere love for the Lord and His work, but also required much bodily strength and perseverance. Most of his time was spent traveling, especially on horseback in all kinds of weather and through thick forests without roads. Pastor Ottesen traveled that way, often 30 to 50 miles a day, and picked up a bad case of rheumatism, which resulted in permanent damage to one of his legs. In 1853 he was one of seven ministers who met in Koshkonong together with 42 representatives from 28 congregations to consider the question of establishing the Norwegian Synod. Its constitution was adopted here, and then later at the Synod Conference in October, 1853, got voted in after having been presented to the congregations.

Pastor Ottesen was the Synod Secretary for many years. The old pioneers had a keen eye for how to succeed with their work. They had to get their pastors educated in this country, and Pastors Ottesen and Brandt were sent in 1857 as delegates to visit the Lutheran schools in St. Louis, Columbus and Buffalo to see what could be done to get the Norwegian ministers educated at one of these schools. Based on the report that the two delegates brought to the Synod, the Seminary of the Germans in St. Louis was chosen, and a professorship was filled by theNorwegians, and a hand of friendship given tying the Norwegian Synod to the Missouri Synod. This has lasted until this day. In 1860 Pastor Ottesen was called to Koshkonong, where he served the three congregations: Eastern and Western Koshkonong as well as Liberty Prairie until 1891.

From 1861 to 68, he and Pastor H. A. Preus edited Kirkelig Maanedstidende (Monthly Periodical for the Church). In 1877 he was appointed Professor of Theology at Luther Seminary, which had just been established, but he declined the appointment. That same year, he was also selected as the first chairman for the Eastern District. The Synod was divided into districts that year. He also turned down this position. He was a member of the Synod's Church Council for many years.

During the tragic church controversy that broke out in the Synod during the 80's, Ottesen and his congregations suffered much, and in 1891 he stepped down as a minister and moved to Decorah, where he has since lived. Last year during the jubilee for the Synod here, as one of the few original ministers, he was present and spoke to the Synod. A short time before the Synod Conference, he and Pastor H. A. Stub received from King Oscar the Order of Knight of St. Olaf for long and honorable service to the church. Pastor Koren was made Commander of the Order of St. Olaf. Pastor Ottesen for more than a generation has carried the burden that goes with a large parish, although he was not strong physically, and this was in addition to all the work that the community had him do. However, he had a good education in the classics, sharp judgment, and was a competent writer, and more than anything else he had an intense love for his Lord and His work and was willing to offer everything for it. Although Pastor Ottesen's work has not attracted the attention of the big world, because it was done quietly among the members of his own congregation, he often did some really heroic deeds. He lived a life of self-denial at all times and that should be known in wide circles. We all owe an invaluable debt to men, who like Ottesen, just lived for one reason, namely to break bread for others and to take the gospel of Our Savior to as many as possible. Bless the memory of them!

Pastor Ottesen had a happy family life. Ottesen had a sharp and witty mind, and there are many who carry happy and amusing memories from the parsonage at Koshkonong. Pastor and Mrs. Ottesen had six children; three of them died quite young. A daughter, Diderikke, married to Professor Dr. H. G. Stub, left at her death two sons, who now are ministers. The two children who survive him are: his son, Pastor Otto Christian in Rio, Wisconsin, and his daughter Hanna Cathinka, who has stayed with him all the time here and who faithfully and lovingly has cared for him. An adopted son, Olaf Mandt, died young after serving as a minister in Baltimore for a short time.

From 1894 to 1896, Ottesen was the minister for the Synod congregation here in this town after Pastor Hove moved to Mankato and before Prof Stub became the minister here. He has otherwise, except for the last two years, preached off and on. His last task as a minister, as far as we remember, was the ordination of his daughter's son, Jacob Stub, to the holy work as a preacher in the fall of 1902. Ottesen has written and translated much. He wrote Kort Uddrag af Synodens Historie (A Short Excerpt of the Synod's History), which was presented at the World Exhibit in Chicago. At the request of the Synod, he rewrote the Catechism and translated Gynter's Symbolik from German.

Professor Erling Teigen illuminates some personal facts of Ottesen's life. First of all, he was known as having a keen mind, he avoided the spotlight, he worked tirelessly and suffered rheumatism and depression from it, and he raised children who contributed to the faith and to society in future generations.

Ottesen was one of the seven pastors who organized the Norwegian Synod in 1853 (C.L. Clausen, H.A. Stub, A.C. Preus, G.F. Dietrichsen, H.A. Preus, Nils O. Brandt, and Ottesen), having just arrived in 1852. Aside from his long service as a parish pastor, Ottesen’s contributions are in the form of theological writing, particularly polemical articles in the church paper, first called Kirkelig Maanedstidende, but Luthersk Kirketidende after it became necessary to publish semi-monthly and weekly. He served several times in the early years as secretary of the synod, but a most momentous and far-reaching assignment for this young pastor came in 1857 when he was sent by the Synod (the resolution was passed at the 1855 convention) with Pastor Nils Brandt to visit some Lutheran seminaries in the U. S. The mission was to find a place to train pastors for the Norwegian immigrant church. From 1859-1868, he was co-editor with H.A. Preus of the church paper, Maanedstidende, which was the platform for a large part of his writing, much of it doctrinal and polemical. He wrote a brief history of the Norwegian Synod (to be distributed at the Chicago Exposition in 1893), as well as a series of articles entitled “A Look at the Missouri Synod.” He translated Guenther’s Symbolik from German to Norwegian, as well as Walther’s The Evangelical Lutheran Church: God’s True Visible Church on Earth.

Ottesen had one son who entered the ministry, Otto Christian Ottesen, who did not outlive his father by many years, dying in 1917. Two grandsons, Hans Andrews Stub and Jacob Aall Ottesen Stub also became pastors, and had notable service in the merged Norwegian Lutheran Church in America after 1917. Their mother, Diderikke Aall Ottesen, was married to H.G. Stub, who led the Norwegian Synod into the 1917 merger. The young mother died in 1879, soon after the birth of her second son. The first daughter born to the Ottesens was named Hannah, but she died soon after birth, as did another girl. Including Diderikke, the young mother, the Ottesens left three children buried at Koshkonong. (Nils Brandt was married to a Diderikke Ottesen, who apparently was a sister of J. A. Ottesen.) One daughter lived to adulthood, also named Hannah, who lived with the Ottesens until the death of Mrs. Ottesen (Cathinka) in 1899, and Pastor Ottesen in 1904. Ottesen also had a foster son, Olaf Mandt, who lived with the family in Koshkonong for confirmation instruction, and then was sent by Ottesen to Luther College, and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. After his ordination, he served in Baltimore, where he died after two years in the ministry.

But that was not all the sorrow Ottesen left at Koshkonong. On August 10, 1891, the Ottesens were taken to the depot in Stoughton and took the train to Decorah, Iowa, where they would spend the rest of their lives. Ottesen’s friend Halvor Halvorson notes that in the ensuing 13 years, Ottesen traveled some, coming as close to Koshkonong as Spring Prairie, (where he performed the wedding of his niece Cathinka Hjort to pastor J. Strand), but never visiting there. He was invited by the congregations often, and always sent a greeting for festival occasions, but never visited. It does not seem that this reluctance to return to the place where he had served as pastor for 31 years was rooted in a circumspect pastoral ethic to stay away from places one has previously served.

While serving the three-point parish, West and East Koshkonong, and Liberty (near Deerfield), Ottesen confirmed about 3,000 young people. From that number, one can project an even larger number of baptisms, as well as a great number of marriages, and funerals. And there is a great deal of evidence that Ottesen was a dearly loved pastor among his people. In the late ‘70s, he was permitted to leave for several months to visit Norway, which included the final visit with his father.

But Ottesen had health problems. Early on, there is mention of his being sickly, and not always able to carry the full load of his ministerial duties. Certainly the East and West congregations on Koshkonong Prairie as well as Liberty congregation to the North grew rapidly, and one wonders how one man could keep up with that work.

George Orvick reports what may be the recollection of Julia Reque:

Ottesen traveled a distance of 30-50 miles a day on horseback, in summer heat and winter storm. As a result of these strenuous journeys, Ottesen contracted chronic rheumatism which worked havoc with the nerves of his legs, so that it was difficult for him to talk or stand long. Because of this Ottesen was often forced to sit in the pulpit when delivering his sermons.

This condition may have exacerbated another condition—there is some evidence that Ottesen suffered some depression, which might today be called depression and anxiety. In any case, even before the outbreak of full-scale doctrinal warfare, because of Ottesen’s illnesses, the congregations hired a “kapellan,” a curate or assistant pastor, which would have serious repercussions in the controversial years to follow.
The election controversy which began in 1877 took a toll on his condition. Ottesen wrote in 1885:
But I will add that in the last four to five years, I have been under a great deal pressure from sorrow and distress, both because of physical illness, namely, an often painful nervousness [nervøsitet], and also because of the emergency I saw in the congregation during the bitter controversy, which has gone on here in these years. No one will be surprised that during all this have often been more despondent [modløs] and irresolute [radløs, indecisive] than I would have been otherwise.
What he describes, mentioned also by others, appears to be an already existing condition exacerbated by unusually stressful circumstances.

In reading through the life of Rev. Ottesen, I was struck by the accounts of others of his daughters: Didrikke Aall Ottesen Stub and Hannah Cathinka Ottesen. Didrikke died following a short illness while visiting her parents. Her son (and Ottesen's grandson) Jacob Aall Ottesen Stub, writes:

My mother - Diderikke - I cannot remember. I am told she was a tall and queenly woman. combined with her woman's love of home and dear ones was a keen interest in life in general. She was well educated, loved books and music, but also the out-of-doors. One of her friends, who knew her well, has told me that she was an excellent driver and utterly fearless. In corroboration hereof she showed me a newspaper clipping which tells of her stopping a runaway team, and preventing what would probably have been a serious accident. She did not live to see her two little boys grow beyond babyhood. Blessed be her memory!

His other surviving daughter, Hannah, never married but lived to age 70. She cared for her parents until their deaths and enjoyed learning from her father and the many intellectuals who visited their home. She willed several family heirlooms to the ELS. This Ottesen collection, together with other artifacts, comprises the holdings of the Ottesen Museum. It was the women of the synod who provided the impetus for establishing the Ottesen Museum. As the synod was preparing, at its 1941 annual meeting, to celebrate its 90th anniversary (1943), which also would mark the 25th year of the re-organized synod (1918–1943), a group of women began to discuss the possibility of establishing the Ottesen Museum. Sixteeen women met at Bethany Lutheran College on June 16, 1941, and determined to organize the museum.

On to Lutheran Carnival XIX!!!

That Rev. Ottesen encouraged his daughters in the faith and educated them well reminds me yet again of why I love my Norwegian Synod so! In the few short years that I have been a member of my church, King of Grace, my interest in scriptures has been encouraged and supplemented by our pastors and elders. I had my same interests in the twenty years I spent walking through American Evangelicalism, but instead of getting much of an education I received a series of trends topics and incomplete truths. In the spirit of truly embracing our God-given roles and in the expectation that we all become well-catechized, I am pleased to offer the many good posts by women and men of the confessional Lutheran blogosphere.

In her paper titled, Women & Scriptures, Sandra Ostopowich, of Higher Things and keeper of the blog, Madre's Missives, does a great job of summarizing how women are valued, educated and held in such high esteem in the confessional Lutheran church. In a humorous account, she describes how she - a Lutheran seminary student- was asked one day: "Why do you want to be a pastor? Women are way too important to God to be pastors!" She was mad and incredulous at that question, but took the challenge of studying scripture for a good response.

Sola Gratia of Living Stones offers a post entitled Crucifixaphobia. It discusses fear of the crucifix among some evangelicals. New Carnival contributor, Lora of The Rebellious Pastor's Wife, posts The Confessional Consumer. And another new Carnival contributor, Rebecca of Musings of a Saint and Sinner, offers two posts. In My Battle with Lent , Rebecca writes, "In my teenage years, I became an obsessive freak, trying in every which way to please God and make myself acceptable to Him. I never felt like I succeeded. When I heard Martin Luther's story, it was like I heard the message of grace for the first time. But my struggle with Lent is that emotionally it feels like going back to those old teenage years." In Ash Wednesday she talks about her strange love of Ash Wednesday, primarily because of its fundamental honesty. "There are few times in life when we are able to get down and gritty and admit these two things: I am a sinner and I am going to die. When we get honest about our brokenness, God hears our confession and moves in to bring healing. Then the Great Exchange happens where Christ takes all of our sin, brokenness, and death and gives us His life, health, resurrection, and righteousness."

In a commentary on Ash Wednesday, Scottius Maximus reviews one of my favorite books, the wonderful daily devotion book, The Lord Will Answer- A Daily Prayer Catechism. I highly recommend Scottius Maximus for a daily dose of humor, baseball and Lutheran commentary!

Ryan of Wretched of the Earth blog, posts A good architect is important. Ryan reflects on the foundation of the Church, even as the foundation of his apartment is about to crumble.

The wise professor, CPA of Three Hierarchies, looks at the "Crunchy Con", finding many valuable lessons in good living, but offering historical perspective and warning against tendencies to merging the two kingdoms, and utopianism. His series of articles are:

• Crunchy Con Anthem
• Who cares what's really conservative?
• Free market, pro-growth, and pro-growth: aren't the same thing
• More Thoughts on the Crunchy Con debate
• The Crunchy Con Debate translated

British Lutheran blogger, John H. of Confessing Evangelical, contributes to the carnival with Lent for Evangelicals. John looks at contrasting attitudes towards Lent among Augsburg and
non-Augsburg evangelicals, and quotes Bo Giertz on what truly distinguishes evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism.

Kletos, blogkeeper of Amor et Labor posts Cage Stage Lutheran? Kletos wonders aloud if he is stuck in the 'cage stage' of development in Lutheranism. On the third day, is the post of Richard of dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

Married blogkeepers, Mr. and Mrs. Terrible Swede, one of the newlywed sweethearts of the confessional Lutheran blogosphere, find time to post interesting pieces. Mrs. Swede, keeper of Journalistic Jargon blog, offers us "Roe v. Wade for Men" Following a report on ABC Nightly News, Mrs. T. Swede shares her commentary about a controversial move that one man is attempting to make: Asking that Roe v. Wade be revised to include the rights of fathers to "opt out" of fatherhood. Mrs. Swede says that Roe v. Wade should not exist in the first place, and with that said, the issue of men having rights equal to those given in Roe v. Wade is a moot point.

Mr. Swede, affectionately known to us as the Terrible Swede, reminds us of Luther's Disputation on the Divinity and Humanity of Christ that was published in 1540. Of all the theses, the Swede's favorite is "1. This is the catholic faith, that we confess one Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man." He encourages Lutherans to read the preface as well. You can find this post, It's Either Today or Tomorrow, at The Terrible Swede, the "Earthy" Lutheran Blog

Another newlywed blog, Love and Blunder, posts Meditations of Sin and Children. Devona wisely writes, "We believe, as Lutherans, that everyone is guilty of sin. Even the 14 week old fetus I'm currently incubating will go to Hell if not for the grace of God offered in Christ. This is a hard teaching that we do not want to accept."

Another favorite Lutheran Blogosphere married couple, Pastor Alex Klages and his wife, writer and artist Kelly Klages both submit posts to this carnival. Kelly's Blog offers The fun of reading stuff into the ending of The Fellowship of the Ring! She writes, "How does an ending moment in the movie The Fellowship of the Ring relate to the Nunc Dimittis? In what way do the shadows of Elijah and Elisha also lurk in Parth Galen? Only a nutcase LOTR fan and a very geeky Lutheran could have come up with this post. Mea culpa." Kelly's husband, Pastor Klages, turns to one of his favorite pastimes, watching hockey, and unveils his plans for how to make Canada's international hockey chances better. He posts, On Hockey in Canada: A Modest Proposal, at his blog, A Beggar At The Table.

The confessional Lutheran blogosphere's first known cyber sweethearts and founders of this beloved carnival, Random Dan and Intolerant Elle, both take a break from their nightly cyber talks to offers posts. Elle, in The Value of the Law, critiques a woefully inadequate tract left at her door by one of the largest churches in the state of Alaska. Daniel of Random Thoughts of a Confessional Lutheran waxes poetic about "The Good Old Days" there were only 10 Confessional Lutheran bloggers in the world. This post meant much to me because as a new confessional Lutheran I was seeking out kindred souls and his is the first I found on the internet. If he and his friends hadn't begun blogging, I don't know that I would have had any reason to continue blogging about my faith. He also offers Blogging is Hard.

I will wrap up this Carnival with two workhorses of the confessional Lutheran blogosphere: Dan of Necessary Roughness and Pastor Snyder! Dan of Necessary Roughness offers Teaching a Variety of Students in Faraway Places. He offers up a description of his vocation as instructor. He identifies some of the problems involved in teaching computer to people with a wide variety of computer knowledge. In Roman Church vs. State in Los Angeles , Dan comments on a Cardinal in Los Angeles who is ordering his priests to ignore immigration law. Dan points out that this might not be the best way to address immigration from the church's point of view. First Person Life takes aim at the immigration proposal itself in Criminalizing Mercy. In Evidence Speaks for Itself, Dan points out fictional and nonfictional consequences of using scripture to come to conclusions about practice or leaving out biblical evidence so that opinions may be bolstered.

Dan has also scoured the blogosphere and has brought back some great posts. He points us to:

• Pastor Borghardt's great Ash Wednesday sermon preached in Conroe, TX (available in print online and by mp3 file) and his humorous No Video Consecration
  
• Pastor Chryst's Answers to some questions about Lent
• Julie Martinez' The Fireside on The theology of infant baptism by Wade Turner

Over at Aardvark Alley, the Aardvark, self-appointed keeper of the ecclesiastic calendar, provides a pair of posts with background material, readings, and prayers. The first, Ash Wednesday, deals not only with the day itself but also with the observance of the Lenten season. He also introduces Saints Perpetua and Felicitas and their three companions in martyrdom.

This past fortnight saw two new reviews published on Luther Library. The first, a guest submission by Sam Powell of Nerd Heaven , examines Worship, Gottesdienst, Cultus Dei, a study of the theology of worship in light of the Lutheran Confessions. Dan (of Necessary Roughness fame) provides the second review. He looks at Anne Rice's dramatic shift from the blood and evil of vampires to the expression of her new faith in the novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, set during Jesus' seventh year.

Current observations say there are no such things but Pastor Snyder (Ask the Pastor) opines that based upon the testimony of Job 41, Biblical Dragons (whom the Lord called Leviathan) once lived, and likely terrified all who encountered them. He then responds to the question, Should Christians Pray with Non-Christians? Rather than give away the answer, we'll let you read it for yourself.

A new blogger as of this past Monday, Pastor Paul Beisel of One Lutheran ... Ablog! lost no time in providing quality material for our edification. Check out his Catechism on Church Attendance, which he wrote to answer delinquent members' frequent question, "Why do I need to go to church?"

Don't miss this thoughtful study of the expression common to readers of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. The author rebukes "feminist idolatry" as she shows how the Daughters of Eve live as new creatures in Christ at the Alliance of Evangelical Lutheran Laypeople .

Jakob Aall Ottesen

I would like to introduce you to a forefather of my beloved Norwegian Synod: Jakob Aall Ottesen. Bethany Lutheran College Professor Erling Teigen stated in his presentation to the 150th gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (formerly the Norwegian Synod) in 2003,

"Of the three fathers (Preus, Koren and Ottesen) who have been shaped into a sort of holy trinity for the Norwegian Synod, the “forgotten” or less visible person of that trinity might be Jakob Aall Ottesen...What is of chief interest to us in this essay is the theological legacy, especially the Reformation, confessional Lutheran legacy Ottesen left on the immigrant church he helped organize. One part of that legacy is fellowship with the Missouri Synod, which led to the formation of the Synodical Conference in 1872."

Jakob Aall Ottesen

Who is Jakob Aall Ottesen? The answer is not short, except there are few short bios on this good man. His name is not on the lips of many Lutherans, but his life was dedicated to our service. The details of his life's work are more suitable to a college course, but I'll attempt a brief summary. My information comes from the Ottesen Museum, located between the campuses of Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) and Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mankato, Minnesota; from a lecture, The Legacy of Jakob Aall Ottesen, given by BLC Professor Erling T. Teigen commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Synod and an excellent geneological website by Ms. Dixie Hansen. We'll start with his obituary, since it is the earthly sum of his life:

PASTOR OTTESEN IS DEAD
One of the founders of the Norwegian Synod lays down his pilgrim's staff

A Life of Sacrifice

The old pastor, Jacob Aal Ottesen, one of the pioneers and veterans of the Norwegian Synod, died about 12 o'clock Saturday night, and his death did not come unexpectedly, neither for himself nor for those nearest to him, as he had been in poor health for a long time.

Pastor Ottesen was born in the Fet Parsonage in Norway 11 June, 1825, and he therefore got to be 79 years and 5 months old. His father and grandfather had been ministers in Fet for about half a century. The family belongs to one of the oldest ones in the country, and there have been approximately 50 ministers among Pastor Ottesen's kin.

Following his graduation with distinction from the university, Ottesen for three years was a teacher at Nissens Latin og Realskole (Nissen's Latin and High School) in Kristiania. However, Norway was not where our Lord had decided for him to work, and since many of his compatriots had emigrated to America, he accepted in 1852 the call from a congregation, which had been formed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. After his ordination by Bishop Arup, he left with his young wife, Katarine Doderlein, a daughter of School Principal Døderlein of Kristiania Katedralskole (Cathedral School) for the unknown America. Ole Bull had just started his disastrous colony, Oleana, in Pennsylvania, and Pastor Ottesen was requested to go and preach the gospel for his compatriots there. His parish in Manitowoc consisted of three organized congregations in and around the town as well as a mission field in the area from Green Bay to Milwaukee. This was truly mission and pioneer work that not only called for a sincere love for the Lord and His work, but also required much bodily strength and perseverance. Most of his time was spent traveling, especially on horseback in all kinds of weather and through thick forests without roads. Pastor Ottesen traveled that way, often 30 to 50 miles a day, and picked up a bad case of rheumatism, which resulted in permanent damage to one of his legs. In 1853 he was one of seven ministers who met in Koshkonong together with 42 representatives from 28 congregations to consider the question of establishing the Norwegian Synod. Its constitution was adopted here, and then later at the Synod Conference in October, 1853, got voted in after having been presented to the congregations.

Pastor Ottesen was the Synod Secretary for many years. The old pioneers had a keen eye for how to succeed with their work. They had to get their pastors educated in this country, and Pastors Ottesen and Brandt were sent in 1857 as delegates to visit the Lutheran schools in St. Louis, Columbus and Buffalo to see what could be done to get the Norwegian ministers educated at one of these schools. Based on the report that the two delegates brought to the Synod, the Seminary of the Germans in St. Louis was chosen, and a professorship was filled by theNorwegians, and a hand of friendship given tying the Norwegian Synod to the Missouri Synod. This has lasted until this day. In 1860 Pastor Ottesen was called to Koshkonong, where he served the three congregations: Eastern and Western Koshkonong as well as Liberty Prairie until 1891.

From 1861 to 68, he and Pastor H. A. Preus edited Kirkelig Maanedstidende (Monthly Periodical for the Church). In 1877 he was appointed Professor of Theology at Luther Seminary, which had just been established, but he declined the appointment. That same year, he was also selected as the first chairman for the Eastern District. The Synod was divided into districts that year. He also turned down this position. He was a member of the Synod's Church Council for many years.

During the tragic church controversy that broke out in the Synod during the 80's, Ottesen and his congregations suffered much, and in 1891 he stepped down as a minister and moved to Decorah, where he has since lived. Last year during the jubilee for the Synod here, as one of the few original ministers, he was present and spoke to the Synod. A short time before the Synod Conference, he and Pastor H. A. Stub received from King Oscar the Order of Knight of St. Olaf for long and honorable service to the church. Pastor Koren was made Commander of the Order of St. Olaf. Pastor Ottesen for more than a generation has carried the burden that goes with a large parish, although he was not strong physically, and this was in addition to all the work that the community had him do. However, he had a good education in the classics, sharp judgment, and was a competent writer, and more than anything else he had an intense love for his Lord and His work and was willing to offer everything for it. Although Pastor Ottesen's work has not attracted the attention of the big world, because it was done quietly among the members of his own congregation, he often did some really heroic deeds. He lived a life of self-denial at all times and that should be known in wide circles. We all owe an invaluable debt to men, who like Ottesen, just lived for one reason, namely to break bread for others and to take the gospel of Our Savior to as many as possible. Bless the memory of them!

Pastor Ottesen had a happy family life. Ottesen had a sharp and witty mind, and there are many who carry happy and amusing memories from the parsonage at Koshkonong. Pastor and Mrs. Ottesen had six children; three of them died quite young. A daughter, Diderikke, married to Professor Dr. H. G. Stub, left at her death two sons, who now are ministers. The two children who survive him are: his son, Pastor Otto Christian in Rio, Wisconsin, and his daughter Hanna Cathinka, who has stayed with him all the time here and who faithfully and lovingly has cared for him. An adopted son, Olaf Mandt, died young after serving as a minister in Baltimore for a short time.

From 1894 to 1896, Ottesen was the minister for the Synod congregation here in this town after Pastor Hove moved to Mankato and before Prof Stub became the minister here. He has otherwise, except for the last two years, preached off and on. His last task as a minister, as far as we remember, was the ordination of his daughter's son, Jacob Stub, to the holy work as a preacher in the fall of 1902. Ottesen has written and translated much. He wrote Kort Uddrag af Synodens Historie (A Short Excerpt of the Synod's History), which was presented at the World Exhibit in Chicago. At the request of the Synod, he rewrote the Catechism and translated Gynter's Symbolik from German.

Professor Erling Teigen illuminates some personal facts of Ottesen's life. First of all, he was known as having a keen mind, he avoided the spotlight, he worked tirelessly and suffered rheumatism and depression from it, and he raised children who contributed to the faith and to society in future generations.

Ottesen was one of the seven pastors who organized the Norwegian Synod in 1853 (C.L. Clausen, H.A. Stub, A.C. Preus, G.F. Dietrichsen, H.A. Preus, Nils O. Brandt, and Ottesen), having just arrived in 1852. Aside from his long service as a parish pastor, Ottesen’s contributions are in the form of theological writing, particularly polemical articles in the church paper, first called Kirkelig Maanedstidende, but Luthersk Kirketidende after it became necessary to publish semi-monthly and weekly. He served several times in the early years as secretary of the synod, but a most momentous and far-reaching assignment for this young pastor came in 1857 when he was sent by the Synod (the resolution was passed at the 1855 convention) with Pastor Nils Brandt to visit some Lutheran seminaries in the U. S. The mission was to find a place to train pastors for the Norwegian immigrant church. From 1859-1868, he was co-editor with H.A. Preus of the church paper, Maanedstidende, which was the platform for a large part of his writing, much of it doctrinal and polemical. He wrote a brief history of the Norwegian Synod (to be distributed at the Chicago Exposition in 1893), as well as a series of articles entitled “A Look at the Missouri Synod.” He translated Guenther’s Symbolik from German to Norwegian, as well as Walther’s The Evangelical Lutheran Church: God’s True Visible Church on Earth.

Ottesen had one son who entered the ministry, Otto Christian Ottesen, who did not outlive his father by many years, dying in 1917. Two grandsons, Hans Andrews Stub and Jacob Aall Ottesen Stub also became pastors, and had notable service in the merged Norwegian Lutheran Church in America after 1917. Their mother, Diderikke Aall Ottesen, was married to H.G. Stub, who led the Norwegian Synod into the 1917 merger. The young mother died in 1879, soon after the birth of her second son. The first daughter born to the Ottesens was named Hannah, but she died soon after birth, as did another girl. Including Diderikke, the young mother, the Ottesens left three children buried at Koshkonong. (Nils Brandt was married to a Diderikke Ottesen, who apparently was a sister of J. A. Ottesen.) One daughter lived to adulthood, also named Hannah, who lived with the Ottesens until the death of Mrs. Ottesen (Cathinka) in 1899, and Pastor Ottesen in 1904. Ottesen also had a foster son, Olaf Mandt, who lived with the family in Koshkonong for confirmation instruction, and then was sent by Ottesen to Luther College, and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. After his ordination, he served in Baltimore, where he died after two years in the ministry.

But that was not all the sorrow Ottesen left at Koshkonong. On August 10, 1891, the Ottesens were taken to the depot in Stoughton and took the train to Decorah, Iowa, where they would spend the rest of their lives. Ottesen’s friend Halvor Halvorson notes that in the ensuing 13 years, Ottesen traveled some, coming as close to Koshkonong as Spring Prairie, (where he performed the wedding of his niece Cathinka Hjort to pastor J. Strand), but never visiting there. He was invited by the congregations often, and always sent a greeting for festival occasions, but never visited. It does not seem that this reluctance to return to the place where he had served as pastor for 31 years was rooted in a circumspect pastoral ethic to stay away from places one has previously served.

While serving the three-point parish, West and East Koshkonong, and Liberty (near Deerfield), Ottesen confirmed about 3,000 young people. From that number, one can project an even larger number of baptisms, as well as a great number of marriages, and funerals. And there is a great deal of evidence that Ottesen was a dearly loved pastor among his people. In the late ‘70s, he was permitted to leave for several months to visit Norway, which included the final visit with his father.

But Ottesen had health problems. Early on, there is mention of his being sickly, and not always able to carry the full load of his ministerial duties. Certainly the East and West congregations on Koshkonong Prairie as well as Liberty congregation to the North grew rapidly, and one wonders how one man could keep up with that work.

George Orvick reports what may be the recollection of Julia Reque:

Ottesen traveled a distance of 30-50 miles a day on horseback, in summer heat and winter storm. As a result of these strenuous journeys, Ottesen contracted chronic rheumatism which worked havoc with the nerves of his legs, so that it was difficult for him to talk or stand long. Because of this Ottesen was often forced to sit in the pulpit when delivering his sermons.

This condition may have exacerbated another condition—there is some evidence that Ottesen suffered some depression, which might today be called depression and anxiety. In any case, even before the outbreak of full-scale doctrinal warfare, because of Ottesen’s illnesses, the congregations hired a “kapellan,” a curate or assistant pastor, which would have serious repercussions in the controversial years to follow.
The election controversy which began in 1877 took a toll on his condition. Ottesen wrote in 1885:
But I will add that in the last four to five years, I have been under a great deal pressure from sorrow and distress, both because of physical illness, namely, an often painful nervousness [nervøsitet], and also because of the emergency I saw in the congregation during the bitter controversy, which has gone on here in these years. No one will be surprised that during all this have often been more despondent [modløs] and irresolute [radløs, indecisive] than I would have been otherwise.
What he describes, mentioned also by others, appears to be an already existing condition exacerbated by unusually stressful circumstances.

In reading through the life of Rev. Ottesen, I was struck by the accounts of others of his daughters: Didrikke Aall Ottesen Stub and Hannah Cathinka Ottesen. Didrikke died following a short illness while visiting her parents. Her son (and Ottesen's grandson) Jacob Aall Ottesen Stub, writes:

My mother - Diderikke - I cannot remember. I am told she was a tall and queenly woman. combined with her woman's love of home and dear ones was a keen interest in life in general. She was well educated, loved books and music, but also the out-of-doors. One of her friends, who knew her well, has told me that she was an excellent driver and utterly fearless. In corroboration hereof she showed me a newspaper clipping which tells of her stopping a runaway team, and preventing what would probably have been a serious accident. She did not live to see her two little boys grow beyond babyhood. Blessed be her memory!

His other surviving daughter, Hannah, never married but lived to age 70. She cared for her parents until their deaths and enjoyed learning from her father and the many intellectuals who visited their home. She willed several family heirlooms to the ELS. This Ottesen collection, together with other artifacts, comprises the holdings of the Ottesen Museum. It was the women of the synod who provided the impetus for establishing the Ottesen Museum. As the synod was preparing, at its 1941 annual meeting, to celebrate its 90th anniversary (1943), which also would mark the 25th year of the re-organized synod (1918–1943), a group of women began to discuss the possibility of establishing the Ottesen Museum. Sixteeen women met at Bethany Lutheran College on June 16, 1941, and determined to organize the museum.

You can't underestimate the value of a caffeine buzz and a good cupholder (longer version)

You can't underestimate the value of a good cupholder.

Have you ever stopped by your favorite coffee shop before church and then had to leave half of it in the car because you can't bring it into church with you? Why can't I bring a cup of my favorite "medium dark roast with half steamed skim with sugar free vanilla" into church? Is there a sign on the door of our church that says I can't? No. I just know that I am there to worship God and walking into worship with a cup of coffee kind of screams that I'm not really focused on worshipping God at the moment.

Besides, where would I put the cup of coffee. I'd surely kick it over when I stood to sing, reached for the hymnal or rose to join in the liturgy. No, coffee wasn't really meant to be brought into church. I'm not even sure that I like five year old munching on Cheerios in church, although I am not opposed to one little piece of gum or a roll of lifesavers. (Once I caught myself munching on my kids' Cheerios in church and then quickly looked around to see if anyone saw.)

That's what is so great about the postmodern movement. They aren't bound by such things as denying yourself a cup of coffee during worship (breakfast is surely the next step). A church in Minnesota has designed itself to be consumer friendly, complete with cupholders in the chairs (no pews, though!) , but without those annoying hymnals or bibles. The pastor even advocates the value of a caffeine buzz during worship. Anything to make worshippers comfortable.

Last night, Pastor Brooks preached a message on how the gospel isn't comfortable to anyone. He used one of Luther's confirmation questions to illustrate his point. It asks, "What is the Gospel?" The confirmand's answer is: The Gospel is the Word of God which reveals the salvation Christ has won for all people." (ELS Catechism, 2001, p. 35) Pastor Brooks went on to give three reasons why this answer is offensive. First of all, it is offensive because it speaks of us needing a savior. The fact is that we are in sin and are headed to hell without our savior. The gospel is also offensive because it implies that we need a savior who is not ourselves. Saving yourself is a popular message today, from modern culture to most churches. Finally, the gospel is offensive because it contains the word "Christ", which is rapidly being removed from our culture and even our churches. While I won't suggest that the gospel is not preached at this new church, I know I won't visit it to find out. I've been there and done that with huge slide shows, bands, no hymnals, no offensive creeds, etc. I left because I couldn't hear the gospel from all the other distractions. Maybe if I have been drinking coffee, I might have been able to stay pumped up for Christ.


By emphasizing 'comfy' on a grand scale, Minnesota's newest megachurch building attracts record-setting numbers of worshippers.

BY BOB SHAW

featured on Pioneer Press.com on 2-7-06

Inside, the sanctuary looks like a large theater, with comfortable movie-style seats with armrests. The razzle-dazzle services include comedy sketches, rock music from an 11-piece band and staging that would fit right in at the Guthrie Theater. There are no pews, no Bibles, no hymnals, no stained-glass windows.

The church is designed to feel homey. Which brings us to the cup holders.

"Our little coffee shop is humming on Sunday mornings," Anderson said. "It's a huge hit."

But church leaders figured it was difficult to stand, sit or praise the Lord with your hands in the air while worrying about dumping a hot latte onto fellow Christians. So they decided to add cup holders — anything to boost their reputation for putting people at ease.

"You can't underestimate the value of energy and buzz," Anderson said. "Those things bring people through the door."

Baptism dialogue

Dr. Gene Edward Veith's Cranach blog, that great spot for cultural debate, is currently featuring an excellent thread on baptism. The television show, Lost, spurred the discussion, but that show was soon lost in the discussion of what baptism really accomplishes.

Instead of focusing on what I said, I'd like to feature key dialogue and responses. I am not trying to highlight my witty responses (as if), but I want to remember how to address very common objections made by those who have decided that God cannot possibly work faith in the hearts of baptized infants and children. I made these same claims for nearly 20 years before looking more closely at scripture.

Below is the dialogue, so far. I've left off monikers because that would detract from the discussion. Keep in mind that this discussion took place on a confessional Lutheran website, Dr. Gene Edward Veith's Cranach Institute blog, so it is natural that the Lutherans would rise to the defense of their practice infant baptism as a way that God works to create saving faith. I want to post this as an educational tool for explaining my faith in Christ as full substitutionary atonement for the sins of all with no strings attached, my faith in God to work through His Word and the Holy Spirit to draw us to Himself, creating and sustaining faith and my faith that we are powerless to save ourselves and are very capable of rejecting God's gift to us.

Point A: I agree - Instead of being the response to a repentant heart and faith in Jesus Christ, baptism was depicted on "Lost" as some kind of magical ceremony where salvation is conferred on the recipients by going through "religious" actions. Why any Christian would be happy about this is beyond me. I know the Lutherans at this site have no problem with infant baptism, but I sure do.


Point B: Speaking as one of those Lutherans, we do NOT believe that baptism is just the response from the heart. As if the heart is the source of faith. Is the Word of God, the message of the Gospel, a response from the heart? Or is it the external stimulus that God uses to create that faith in the heart? We believe that what makes Baptism effective is, in the words of Luther's catechism, "not simple water only, but the Word of God which is in and with the water, and faith, which trusts such Word of God in the water."

Furthermore, according to 1 Peter 3:21, "Baptism now saves you." I don't understand how other Christians, while having other theologies about it, can dare say--as I've heard it said in Reformed baptismal rites--that "baptism does NOT save you." Baptism saves not as a magical rite. But when we are given remission of our sins, are buried into Christ's death, raised with Him, and when we "put on Christ"--that saves--and that's what happens in Baptism (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3, Gal 3:26-27). Infants can't believe? Neither can unregenerate adults. But Baptism is the beginning. Afterwards, just as infants can love and trust their parents, they can certainly love and trust God.


Point A: You don't have to be baptized to be saved. You're saved by grace through FAITH. Unregenerate adults believe and then are regenerated. "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Baptism is a public declaration of the regeneration that has already occurred when one trusts in Christ.

You left out part of the "baptism now saves you" scripture - the part about it being the pledge of a good conscience toward God. Until repentance occurs, the conscience isn't good. How can an infant repent without the capacity to acknowledge sin? It can't.

Luther was making a heroic effort to escape the bad doctrine of the Roman Catholic sacramental system where grace is dispensed by merely performing a ritual. He made a great start, but didn't go far enough.


Point B: So infants can't have faith?

Ps 8:2 (cf. Matt 21:16)
"Out of the mouth of infants and suckling babes You have prepared praise for Yourself."

Ps 22:9-10
"Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother's breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb."

Matt 18:6
"... these little ones who believe in Me ..."

Luke 1:44
"For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy."

Hebr 11:23,24:
"By faith Moses when he was born..."
"By faith Moses when he had grown up..."

Lutherans do not deny that the saving benefits of baptism are received by faith. We simply believe by the witness of the Scriptures that God gives infants faith as easily as He gives stubborn old adults faith.


Point B: 1 Peter 3:21-22 reads, "There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him."

This means that baptism is not the washing of dirt from the flesh but the cleansing of the conscience so that we can now come to God with a clear conscience despite our sinful nature. This happens through Christ's death and resurrection, not by anything that we do.


Point B: What I think I hear some saying on this thread is, "Some human ritual can't save us. Faith alone saves." And, as a confessional Lutheran, I respond: AMEN!

Absolutely right! The Sacraments do not save "ex opera operato" (by the doing of the work). They save because of the promise of God.

And God attaches all sorts of promises to the washing waters of baptism!

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is promised in baptism. Further, it is promised to "you and your household." That would involve even little babies! And let's not forget what Paul says to Timothy, "from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures." Exaggeration? Not if you read the passage as the Church has from its very beginning.

One passage Luther thought was important in this was Titus 3:5ff, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Is this apart from faith? No, of course not. If baptism saves... If it is a washing that regenerates... If it gives the Holy Spirit... If it is for the forgiveness of sins, then surely God gives all of these gifts in Baptism through the gift of faith that comes in Baptism.

Baptism is not some human ritual that gets us a get out of hell free card. It is God's washing us through water used in accord and with God's Word. It makes us children of God, just as Jesus teaches Nicodemus in John 3.


Point A: Interesting scriptures.

So how do you discern which infants truly have the faith to warrant baptism? Do you mean to tell me that all the infants being baptized in all the churches that practice infant baptism are going to spend eternity with God? I seriously doubt it. If not, then it isn't really the baptismal ceremony which saves them at all. It has to do with whether or not God has predestined them to be justified through faith in Christ.


Point B: Please read the text from 1 Peter a bit more closely, perhaps in the greek if you are able, and take note of how the language flows and what refers to what. (BTW, The idea that either faith or repentance is just an intellectual exercise is not biblical). But back to the text, Peter says "baptism now saves you". Ok, therefore, the matter is settled, baptism is a means by which God has chosen to apply his grace to us. It does not come to us *because* we do something, anything, as if we could obligate God to act, or do something because we are doing our part. Rather, we come to God's promise to act, to save, in this way, and He acts, because He is faithful. Our actions do not and cannot make anything happen. We come, as Luther said, as beggars, and wait in faith for Him to act as He has promised and through the means He has chosen.

But now to your attempt to misread the phrase that follows saves. Literally it reads, "not the removal of dirt of the flesh, but the *answer/promise* of a good conscience before God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" Please note the way in which the word, which you take to be a human *pledge", does not mean that at all. It is not *my* pledge, but rather God's promise of a good conscience. (what, after all would God care if I pledged Him a good conscience? This makes no sense at all. The only one who can ease the burdens of my conscience is Christ). How? "Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ". What does this mean? That God, being satisfied with Christ's work on the cross for me, has *baptized me into Christ* (note the voice-passive in Romans 6, something is BEING DONE TO ME), and because of Christ's resurrection, we know that the work is done, sin is paid for and we, along with Christ, arise to a new life. I have a good conscience, NOT because I pledge something to God, but because God has promised me that in Christ, the one into whom I have been baptized, I have been saved, rescued, delivered from the condemnation which I deserved.

The ironic thing about those who think that Luther did not go far enough from Rome's magical thinking, actually mimic the same kind of thought when they disconnect God's grace from the means. Then all we know about God and his work is that he somehow, in some way, falls upon us for no rhyme or reason, or worse, they stumble into Rome's more serious errors, in which they claim that God's spirit will act upon us *because* we have pledged, repented etc...that is salvation comes to us because of something we do, rather than man dependent on God's faithful work, which He has tied to his means. Rome and these folk answer the question why some are saved and not others in the same way...(not because of God's grace), something man does...makes a decision, applies himself to grace, etc.


Point B: I think that some are confusing faith and belief. We can believe something or not, but we cannot have faith. Even the language is such that faith is not something we can do. It is not a verb, not an action. It is given to us, worked in us by the Holy Spirit.

You may believe, but do you always? If you search your heart, don't you have to admit that sometimes you doubt? If there are times that we don't believe, does that mean that we don't have faith? And if it means that we don't have faith, does that mean that we are not saved?

I think the answer is that we often doubt because we are human, but we still have faith and still are saved because faith is a gift from God, not something that we do for God. Faith comes with Baptism, when we receive the Holy Spirit. We can reject the gifts God gives in Baptism, but we cannot obtain those gifts by any action on our part.


Point A: The events that took place when Peter visited the household of Cornelius indicate the the Holy Spirit is received prior to baptism, and that in the early church some measure of belief in Christ was required before someone was baptized.

Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.


Point B: "Do you mean to tell me that all the infants being baptized in all the churches that practice infant baptism are going to spend eternity with God? I seriously doubt it."

Unfortunately, your statement here is true. Not all of those who were baptized as infants will spend eternity with God. Similarly, not all of those who participate in an altar call or pray the sinner's prayer will spend an eternity with God either.

The sad fact is that many who once had saving faith will reject that faith and turn from God to their sinful rejection of Him again.

A person's faithlessness to God does not negate His faithfulness to him or her in His doings. The fact that a pig, once washed, rolls around in mud again, does not negate the efficacy of the first washing.

Can you discern with confidence whether an adult person has true faith or not when he is standing at the precipice of the baptistry? He or she may be faking their faith - or, as was the case during childhood, he or she may be going forward simply because all of his or her friends are getting baptized.

The fact that some are baptized without faith does not negate the wonderful gifts that God gives in baptism to them that receive them in faith - forgiveness of sins, life and salvation - Christ as clothing, a burial with Him, a participation in His death, &c.


Point B: Someone early in this thread wrote about their "conversation" with the TV:
"Seal the deal. You're getting so close to presenting the Gospel! Go all the way! Come on, tell her the Gospel, tell her that baptism won't mean anything until she repents and seeks the mercy of Christ!" I'm sorry, the Gospel is what, exactly...? The Good News is that I have to save MYSELF?


Point B: You have misinterpreted Acts 10 & 11. Peter clearly saw the reception of the Holy Spirit prior to baptism as quite strange...which is why he hurries to get them baptized! This is NOT the NT norm.

The NT norm can be deduced from these verses...

In our baptism, God does the following:

1) forgives our sins (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16)
2) washes us clean (Eph 5:25-6; Titus 3:5)
3) buries us with Christ (Rom 6:3-4)
4) clears our conscience (1 Pet 3:21; Heb 10:22-3)
5) gives us the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7; 1 Cor 6:11)

In short, in our baptisms, God saves us.


Point B: We Lutherans confess, together with the Church, spread throughout time, that we believe in "one Baptism for the remission of sins." The Spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters, and God says, "Let there be light."

How can simple water accomplish these things?

"Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So [Naaman] turned and went away in a rage."

"And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?"

Baptism is not simply water only, but water comprehended in God's command and connected to God's Word.


Point B: "So how do you discern which infants truly have the faith to warrant baptism"

That's the whole point. You can't discern. You can't discern in adults either. None of us is able to create saving faith on our own, even those of us who could speak the words might not "really" mean it in our hearts (anyone heard of chronic altar calls responders?).

You can deny that God cannot possibly create saving faith in the heart of an infant at baptism, but that doesn't make your denial into truth. There is no mention of age limits in scripture, regarding baptism. Please consider taking Jesus at His Word. God's Word guarantees this in baptism:

become a disciple of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19);

be born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-5);

have his sins forgiven (Acts 2:38) and washed away (Acts 22:16);

be baptized into Christ, into His death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4);

become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17);

put on Christ (Gal. 3:27);

be cleansed and sanctified by the washing of water with the word (Ephesians 5:25-26); and

be saved by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)

We cannot possibly save ourselves due to sin. That is why God sent us an atoning sacrifice for our sin. He washes us new in baptism and sustains our faith through the Holy Spirit, the Word and holy communion (I imagine you might deny that, too.)

I do agree with you that not all baptized infants (or adults) will be in heaven. It is very possible to lose one's faith after being saved through sin and rejection of God's Word. The burden falls onto the parents to make sure that the child is raised in God's Word, but ultimately any soul can choose to reject God. They just can't choose to be saved - the Holy Spirit does that.

Good discussion all.


Point B: It never ceases to amaze me how people who supposedly believe in the authority of Scripture can miss the point that Scripture clearly, unambiguously, and without any possibility of misunderstanding (save by letting a purely human philosophy which precludes God acting by way of means)say concerning baptism as a means by which God bestows the Spirit and- not to put too fine a point on it- saves us.

2 Peter, of course, asserts that last in so many words.

Of course we're saved by faith- and faith alone. Faith in the promise God makes in baptism! Substituting a purely human piece of works righteousness "the sinner's prayer" (as if there were any other kind!) or a "decision for Christ" (as if those "dead in trespasses and sins were capable of making such a decision) or "asking Jesus into one's heart" (as if one could do so if He were not already there) is hardly an improvement on the locus Scripture gives for the incorporation of a new believer into the Body of Christ: "the washing of water thorugh the Word."

No one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless he is born again. How are we born again? "Of water and the Spirit." How much more plainly could Jesus have made the point? And by the way, folks, we'd better hope that infants can have faith. Otherwise they're damned! No infant "prays the sinner's prayer!" Conversely, what more eloquent testimony could there be to salvation by grace alone than infant baptism- the baptism of one who can contribute literally nothing of his own! Baptism- unlike the "sinner' prayer" and other such wretched works-righteousness, is God's act, not ours. And that's why infants- the best qualified of all candidates for admission to the Kingdom- are brought to Jesus in the Lutheran tradition, and why we refuse to be numbered among those who forbid them to come.

Who, of all possible candidates, are most qualified to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? "Unless you become like little children... (Greek: infants). To say that Scripture doesn't clearly teach the baptism of infants, and specifically baptismal regeneration, is possible only by completely ignoring what Scripture says, and presumptuously superimposing one's own rationalistic philosophical presuppositions on the text, allowing it to dictate in typical Reformed Evangelical fashion what God's Word is going to be allowed to say by human philosophical presuppositions!

Hey, guys. It's not a surprise that that the Anabaptists of the Sixteenth Century were the first Christians in history to question the validity of infant baptism (even Tertullian urged only that it be delayed until the child could "take in something of the mystery-" that being the very mystery today's baptismal rationalists reject). It's not a surprise that the separation of baptism from the gift of the Holy Spirit and of faith and of salvation is a relatively recent development in church history. It's an innovation, a novum... and a rationalistic heresy.

Jesus doesn't mince words. Neither do His apostles. And they leave no doubt as to what they unanimously taught: baptism saves. It's where God locates His offer of salvation. Granted,
people who hear the Gospel proclaimed are brought to faith by it, and merely have God's promises confirmed (and the gift of His Spirit strengthened) in baptism. Granted, people who believe, but in good faith misunderstand Scripture's clear and consistent teaching about baptism, still are believers, and are still saved. Augustine's dictim applies here: "It is not the absence of baptism, but contempt for it, which condemns." But nobody who understands the biblical teaching, and still declines to be baptized, can possibly be a believer.

Sure, Cornelius believed before he was baptized. Nobody has suggested that the Spirit *only* works through baptism! But where people believe through the proclaimed Word, they are still directed to God's promise in baptism! And it never ceases to amaze me how the rationalist


Point B: miss the point that it was precisely the unusualness of the separation of the gift of the Spirit from baptism in Acts 8 (the Samaritans) and Acts 10 (the Gentiles)which draws the attention of the Apostles to the subsequent bestowal of the Spirit- and the point that both groups are fully acceptable to God in Christ.

The testimony of Scripture is plain and consistent: baptism saves. It is a means thorugh which the Spirit is bestowed. It is meant for infants, too- and if it's not the means by which infants believe, then infants cannot believe, and so are lost.

To deny that baptism saves is the sheerest rationalism, and the utter repudiation of the teaching of Scripture as universally understood through the first sixteen centuries of the Christian era- and still understood today by those who value the testimony of the Word above that of human philosphy and rationalistic presumption.


Point B: Though not a viewer of "Lost," I'm pleased to hear that sacramental theology has found its way onto the tube. The last time I saw a good sacramental discussion on TV was a great episode on the Lord's Supper on "Northern Exposure."

This blog discussion has been great, though like the Alito confirmation hearings, it is divided mostly along partisan lines. That tends to happen when dogma runs ahead of exegesis.

As a professor of mine once said, "The opposite of an error is not the truth but the opposite error." Seeking to avoid the Roman ditch of opus operatum, radical Protestantism drove straight into the oppostie ditch of fideism and synergism, tossing out both the baptismal bath water and the baby. (Classic Calvinism also baptizes infants, albeit for different reasons than does Lutheranism.)

"Sola fidei" does not mean bare faith in faith (fideism), but faith in the promise of salvation won in the death/resurrection of Jesus which is offered, delivered, and applied to the individual by the external Word, with Holy Baptism at the fore. Faith and its external object are always together.

In addition to the verses amply cited by others extolling Holy Baptism as the gift and work of the Triune God and not simply our act of testimony and obedience, I would add these words from our Lord:

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16)

Notice that Jesus keeps faith and baptism together as one. Note also that there is no temporal sequence implied - both "believes" and "is baptized" are aorist participles describing the one who will be saved. Note finally that "is baptized" is an aorist passive participle. Baptism is something done to you, not something you do.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Mt 28:19-20)

The mandated activity of "discipling" ("make disciples" is the only imperitive in this verse!) is accomplished by "baptizing" and "teaching." Again no temporal sequence is implied by the two present active participles in this verse. They are simply the two activities that go into the one divinely mandated activity of "making disciples." Infants are baptized into teaching; adults and older children are taught into Baptism. Same result, either way.

For a Lutheran, Holy Baptism applied to an infant perfectly depicts the central article of the justification of a sinner by God's grace (undeserved kindness) through faith (trust in the promise of salvation in Christ) for Christ's sake.

As for "infant faith," Luther refused to speculate on things he could not know. Who can really know what an infant trusts? Baptism gives the person, whether infant or adult, something tangible to trust. It's nice to know that Christ died to save the world. It's even better to know in Baptism that He died "for you." The words "for you" require all hearts to believe.

I'll even dare to speak personally. (Yes, Lutherans have personal testimonials too!). I was baptized when I was five weeks old, was nurtured in the Liturgy, catechized by my parents and pastor, etc. As a result, I do not have a single conscious moment in my life when I did not know and trust Jesus Christ as my Savior. That's why I can't relate to "Amazing Grace" when it sings "I once was lost but now I'm found." I have to believe from the Scriptures that I once was lost, but I have no such memory or experience. I've always been found in Jesus.


Point B: I'd like to add that I spent 20 years, as an evangelical, questioning my own infant baptism. All because evangelicalism taught me that one must CHOOSE to be baptized. I even kept my own children from the saving waters of baptism - but not the saving grace of God's Word, which saved them anyway - because of my own doubts. I finally relented to have them baptized, reassuring myself that they had finally chosen it at ages 9 and 7, due to the continual request of my former old-school ELCA pastor. (I say old-school because the rest of the staff had thrown out Lutheran doctrine and education for Baptist teachings and curriculum.) How great was my joy, and how deep regret, to be convicted by the Holy Spirit that God had already acted for me in providing a way of salvation and that it was never up to me. The validity of my first baptism in the triune God immediately came rushing at me. We have a jealous God who created us, loves us, sustains us, provides salvation for us and seeks us out.

This is the joy of the gospel that Madre spoke of earlier. The gospel is the good news that we are saved through no action of our own. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God proclaim. The Holy Spirit works through the Word to draw us to the Father. For anyone to think that they can choose to believe has to spend a lot of energy denying God's omnipotence. Lutheran doctrine and practice has shown me a picture of God that is unimaginably more powerful, terrifyingly holy and relentlessly loving that any picture of God that evangelicalism ever showed me.

This thread has been very helpful to me. We should always be ready to give account for the joy that is in our heart!

I would like to add that I think the debaters maintained civility. For myself, I need to work on presenting my case of what scripture says without using labels that might inflame and detract from my point. Sometimes, though, labels appear to be necessary to explain myself. I'm still working on that.

The ugly sides of justification and sanctification

My first blog, the one that evolved into Katie's Beer, was always meant as a journal or record of the days that my family exists on this earth. At the very least, I will print up the pages and put them in a scrapbook which waits for the day when my children will be interested in their history. This blog, Be Strong in the Grace, was also meant as a journal of the spiritual life of my family. It was born of a small amount of anger at the false teachings we fell prey to in earlier days, but a greater sense of joy and urgency in making a permanent record of being retaught Christ's doctrines and laying them on top of man's doctrines we had chosen to follow in the past.

The one good thing of coming from a pietistic life to a life of grace is the removal of the large sack on my back; the sack which contained the good works which proved that I would be found in Christ on judgment Day. To say that a weight was lifted off my back on that day, the day I was convicted by the Holy Spirit of the futility of my own efforts to sanctify myself, is a gross understatement. To realize that I had been forgiven long ago and had been given salvation long ago was a bittersweet joy. How many days of my life had I wasted following man's teachings on how to be a better Christian! Days of self-imposed suffering that I could never have back.

Once the heavy load was removed by Christ, I sometimes was overwhelmed with freedom. I listened to secular music, amazed by the depth and beauty of many songs. I could watch movies and television shows, weed through what was good and bad, and be prepared to discuss a popular show's merits with friends and co-workers. I didn't fall into a trap of listening to or watching today's seedier fare; my well-honed aversion to offensive material remained in place. I enjoy my freedom to participate in what is good in today's culture, while being able to identify faith-harming offerings. My kids are another matter...

My two children were raised by a pietistic mother up until they were of confirmation age, 5th and 7th grades. Up to that point, I had carefully controlled what they watched, listened to and did. They obeyed me, most of the time, because they wanted to be found good Christians. I had observed that kids easily pick up on pietistic motivation, but that often backfires in the teenage years. Now that we have abandoned pietism for a life of faith and grace, our daily life hasn't changed that much, but our theological perspective has changed. My kids are teenagers now. They have both attended confessional Lutheran schools and gone through rigorous catechismal training. They have gone from self-centered praise sessions with little gospel preached to balance the law-based sermons, to more reverent and liturgical divine services with law and gospel rightly proclaimed. Both of them are able to explain to their friends concepts I never knew at their age - justification, sanctification, law and gospel, liturgy, etc. They are loving and wonderful children and I have every confidence that they will happily grow into Christian adulthood.

Yet from these two well-educated and well-loved souls sometimes comes gossip, slander, anger, coarse talk, and other sins. They sometimes defend television shows, movies and music that are completely incompatible with Christian doctrine. When I witness these acts, my old pietistic voice shouts at me that I've failed as a mother and as a Christian. Then I'm faced with the choice of beating down their spirits in an indignant and angry voice while waving God's Word in my hand or confidently running to Christ for the grace to calmly and lovingly point them to the cross.

This week, I was blessed, reassured and challenged by Reverend Paul T. McCain's post, Walk in Christ, As Christ Loved Us. He writes:

We have been buried with Christ by baptism into death, and raised to new life in Him. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, purchased and won from sin, death and hell by the precious blood of Christ. How then are we to deal with popular culture that surrounds us with vile and degrading speech, sexual impurity and all manner of sinful behaviors, which are rewarded, praised and idolized by so many?

Sadly, there are some who believe that they are free to consume the sinful pollution pumping out of the sewers of popular culture. Some Christians are so confused about what lives of sanctification are all about that they mistakenly think that concern about such things is somehow "pietism" or that striving to lead holy and pure lives marks one as a Pietist. This is wrong. This is error. This is sin.

The Gospel is never an excuse. Justification is about justifying sinners, not sin. The Gospel is about forgiveness of sin, not license to sin. We are set free to live new lives in Christ, not remain in the muck and mire of sin. We are not to think that we can do whatever we want just because we can run to church on Sunday to be forgiven.

We all need to keep a close guard over what comes our out of our mouths, and what we permit to fill our eyes, and our ears. We are to be serious about lives of Christian sanctification. No excuses. No avoiding the subject. We say, "No" to anything that is contrary to God's will in our lives, and say "Yes" to the upward calling of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. Lord, have mercy on me for those times I've forgotten, and neglected, my calling in Christ! Read on...

Still, I am sometimes bothered by my teens', and sometimes my own, immature understanding of grace and forgiveness. Too often they talk and act with the false confidence that they are already forgiven for whatever they might do. Is this what confessional Lutheranism has brought us, I wonder? Then I am reminded that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, pietists and Lutherans alike. We each have our areas of weakness. The Pietists grow to depend on salvation by works and Lutherans are tempted to flaunt their grace. Still, the Holy Spirit comforts me with God's Word proclaiming grace, forgiveness, peace and power.

The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning, I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly that we preach to save those who believe. . . We preach Christ crucified. . . Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Cor. 1:18-25