The LCMS Has a 'Not See' Problem
The Left has a hackneyed, but apparently still-effective strategy to bully conservatives and traditionalists: name-calling. It doesn’t matter if the accusations are true, of course. Nearly all of the time, they aren’t. But some names are so egregious that even the accusation, even the whiff of an accusation - even if there isn’t a lick of truth to it - can threaten one’s ability to make a living or live at peace in polite (or impolite) society. Some accusations by the Left are designed to intimidate, and even to threaten or to actually result in physical harm.
The extreme Left exploits this reality of our fallen world and flesh by luridly and shamelessly referring to those on the right-of-center socially, politically, economically, or theologically by a rather predictable set of epithets, including alt-right, fascist, and the tried and true Nazi. Indeed, according to the results of Godwin’s Law, the Left believes that mentioning Hitler “wins” any argument. It certainly tends to call the question on any real debate or discussion.
Sadly, some conservatives seem to be falling for this tactic.
It is important to understand that no matter how much this accusation is demonstrably untrue, no matter how hard we protest, no matter what resolutions we pass, no matter how welcoming our churches are to everyone, no matter what our history is as a synod in evangelizing all ethnic groups, no matter how many events and associations we have dedicated to minorities, no matter how many people we excommunicate for holding certain racial views or attributing Christianity to Hitler, we are, and will be, tagged with the usual Label Litany of the Left: misogynists, homophobes, transphobes, white supremacists, white nationalists, Christian nationalists, etc. along with the political and economic accusations of being right-wing extremists: haters, alt-right, fascists, and of course, Nazis.
We are not dealing with people who are concerned with the truth. We are dealing with a ruthless philosophy in which the ends justifies the means. They are POGs: People of the Guillotine and the Gulag. Don’t think you can play the reality card with people who believe that men can give birth. Ontology is so 2014.
If you believe, teach, and confess what the Bible teaches, you will be subject to these labels. It doesn’t matter how many black parishioners you have, how many of your friends are Jews and Muslims, how much you say that you believe women and men are equal in dignity before the Lord, or that you love people with such “burdens” (or as theologians of the cross call it: “sin”) as same-sex-attraction, gender dysphoria, or pedophilia, and want them to have eternal life. Unless you repent of your biblical confession and come around the the “one true faith” as preached by political Leftists and their allies in society, government, mainstream churches, and media, you will still be accused of goose-stepping your way to the communion rail and secretly replacing the words of Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken with a certain other anthem.
The “one true faith” of the world is that our churches should “ordain” women and support infanticide as “women’s health,” “marry” and recognize same sex couples, embrace gender ideology, and uphold Critical Race Theory - including repenting of the “original sin” of “whiteness.” We must also renounce free markets and embrace Marxian economic central planning and redistributionism. And to achieve all of this, we must love the state in its endeavors to achieve Utopia by force. In short, we must convert from where we are to where the world wants us to be: Woke and Socialist. Because right now, we are rebels, traitors, and insurrectionists - who deserve to have our schools invaded by armed transgenders.
It doesn’t matter that these attacks are factually untrue. Our Lord said that such things would happen. Indeed, our fathers and mothers in the faith were abased for their “hatred against mankind” (Tacitus, Annals, 15.44). Or as the pop philosopher saith: “the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”
And Lutherans in particular will at some point be called upon to pinch incense to Wokeism by tearing down our statues of Martin Luther (you read it here first) and to revisit the name of our ecclesiastical confession and church bodies on account of the accusation that Luther was a pre-Nazi, that there is a straight line from Luther to Hitler, and that according to the social methodology of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, we 21st century Lutherans are all the equivalents of concentration camp guards. It’s right there in black and white.
Two recent articles in the left wing media have frightened many of our people into a fear of something that simply doesn’t exist: an LCMS Nazi Problem. First was a series of blogposts by an avowed Antifa member who describes the LCMS as holding “a staunch conservative theology; forbidding women in leadership, maintaining virulent opposition to LGBTQIA+ folks, and adhering to a loud anti-choice stance on abortion.” Second, there was this Rolling Stone piece, in which our synod is referred to as being in the midst of a pitched battle to avoid becoming a “bastion for fascism,” because our synod “takes an activist role against reproductive rights, condemns gay marriage, and does not allow women pastors.” They call our views “traditional” in scare quotes - and it is our values that make us “vulnerable” to infestation by fascists. And, of course, their narrative is that we are in the midst of a takeover attempt by, to hear them tell the tale, thousands of literal stormtroopers. Yawn.
The reality is that this sideshow is a tempest in a teapot that has been seized upon by those who hate us. The reality is that we don’t have a Nazi problem; we have an actual and large “Not See" Problem.
Nazi Problem?
After the release of the LCACA, one of the people sharing criticisms online was a certain LCMS layman named Corey Mahler who posts edgy views regarding race and society on Twitter - including, among other things (apparently, I have not read his actual posts) praising Hitler, arguing that Hitler was in fact a Christian, and that we should expect to see him in heaven. As to historiography, this flies in the face of Hitler’s own statements concerning religion, as well as his heavy-handed treatment of Christian churches and oppression of Christians. Can a Lutheran layman be wrong about matters of historiography and still take the sacrament? And should we not hope that in his last moments, Hitler repented and is, in fact, in heaven? Should we even allow the possibility of repentance?
I’m reminded of the prison chaplain who ministered to mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. He believed that Dahmer repented and claimed to have committed his crimes under the influence of demons, from which he was delivered. After Dahmer was murdered in prison, the chaplain wrote that he was certain that Dahmer died a Christian and was in heaven. The chaplain received vitreolic hatemail for saying this.
I don’t know of any evidence of Hitler’s repentance, but we certainly don’t know a lot about his last hours. I think it foolish to make unsubstantiated assertions without any historical evidence. That said, we do know that several convicted Nazi officials received pastoral care from an LCMS chaplain, and they apparently repented before their executions. Others did not repent. Shouldn’t we hold out hope for every sinner as the rope is placed around his neck, as he lies in a hospital bed, or as he ages comfortably at home having “gotten away” with murder?
But what exactly is a Nazi?
Nazi is a contraction of National Socialist. More accurately, a person belonging to the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP in German: “Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei"). As is indicated in the title, this was a left-of-center political party and movement that was politically nationalistic and economically socialist. One of the best analyses of both National and International Socialism can be found in the appendix to Ludwig von Mises’s 1922 Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. The 1951 printing and its 2009 reprinting includes a 1947 essay (originally entitled “Planned Chaos”) by Mises that covers National Socialism on the heels of Word War II. It is notable that Dr. Mises was Jewish, and that he fled Austria, leaving behind his library and papers, and subsequently also fled Switzerland for the United States as the German expansion continued during the war. The book and its epilogues are available for a free download here. I highly recommend this work.
Both International and National Socialism are leftist economic isms, as they both oppose capitalism and free markets. The former believes in the state owning all land and capital and other means of production, while the latter allows for nominal private control, though heavily regulated and subject to central economic planning. Both are statist, and it is the state, not the individual human soul, that is the highest value. Historian and Economist Thomas DiLorenzo recently gave a paper asserting that the German National Socialists nationalized outright about 50% of the economy, and regulated the other 50%.
That said, it is popular to refer to Nazism (and more generally fascism) as right wing, while holding that International Socialism (Communism,) is left wing. While I disagree with this right wing - left wing paradigm to describe both Socialisms, that is the commonly accepted viewpoint that is often accepted uncritically by both the Left and the Right.
The German Nazis held to a nationalized and socialized economy and a racial hierarchy. They were also authoritarian, which has given way to popular expressions, such as “liturgical Nazi” and the comedic “soup Nazi.” And this pop-culture broadening of the term “Nazi” has led to where we are today: where anyone who disagrees with the self-appointed guardians of popular culture is a “Nazi.” It is a way to dehumanize one’s opponent by label.
Unscriptural Views
As far as those who hold unscriptural views, we are going to have them in the LCMS. And this is simply by definition. There are nearly two million members of churches that are members of the LCMS. In a sample of two million anything - people, ball peen hammers, redwood trees, Buffalo nickels - anything, there will be a bell curve of distribution of traits. The vast majority of members of the LCMS will hold mainstream, if right-of-center, views: socially, politically, economically, and theologically.
And while the (per popular thinking) “right” end of the bell curve of the LCMS has been emphasized in recent articles, resulting in the excommunication of the particular layman who is the object of these pieces, and while President Harrison himself wrote about it - including the suggestion that for those holding right-wing extreme views that violate scripture should be excommunicate - there was no such reasoning, or even recognition, about the left side of the bell curve.
The best construction is that President Harrison and the various leaders of our church body do “Not See” any left wing views that violate Scripture in our midst.
A young LCMS layman, Nathan Koenig, recently wrote about what is Not Seen in the LCMS. His article is worth a read - whether you agree with his conclusions or not. His point is well-taken that the left side of the bell curve often gets a free pass.
The bell curve is a mathematical reality. There will be, by definition, folks on either end of the bell curve who are out of touch with the mainstream, and those at the extreme ends being even more so. And by definition, at a certain point on both sides of the curve, those subsamples become statistically insignificant. If a man named Smith decides that he is, in fact, a chicken, it would be odd indeed to write an alarmist response that those with the last name of Smith are plagued by a problem of members clucking and crowing at sunrise. Those who praise Hitler in our church body are not exactly in the statistical mainstream. And if they are, let’s see some proof. What are the hard numbers?
All that said, we do have a lot of laymen (some 46%) - and apparently some pastors - who are pro-abortion. Is that not an unscriptural view? Is the slaughter of the unborn not a modern-day holocaust? Why is no-one excommunicated or defrocked or removed from the roster for advocacy of this left-wing unscriptural view? The best construction is not that our leadership believes that it is a scriptural position to hold, but that they simply do Not See it - not unlike the famous image of the three monkeys: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil. Ironically, people are seeing an infestation of so-called Nazis, when in reality, it is more like one guy who has been excommunicated and a dozen anonymous Twitter accounts. It should be noted, for what it’s worth, that this layman with the “right wing” extremist views describes himself as a monarchist rather than as a national socialist.
We have folks on the roster - pastors and teachers - who advocate for women’s “ordination.” Hopefully, this is the extreme end of the bell curve to the left. But such people are there. And year after year, nothing happens to them. Is belief in women’s “ordination” simply an acceptable social and theological view that is compatible with the Bible? Or is it rather that we in the LCMS not practice it because it is unscriptural? Do we simply Not See these members of synod - let alone the laity - who hold this position? Has anyone, besides a certain Valparaiso professor (after years of roadblocks), been removed from the roster for this? Have any of our clergy or laity been excommunicated? Is it simply the case that they are Not Seen?
We recently had a situation of a vested deaconess not only leading worship and preaching, but officiating at a confirmation and “absolving.” Only after this situation was “seen” was it addressed. There was apparently contrition and confession for this. Even that was Not Seen because, unlike the scandal, it was not public. But had there not been repentance, would this person have been removed from the roster, or excommunicated? I have had colleagues complaining about this particular deaconess overstepping her boundaries - with full knowledge of her then-District President - for many years. This was, until recently, a Not See problem. Those who condoned this for years have not, to my knowledge, been removed from the roster or excommunicated. They are simply Not Seen.
I recently ran across an LCMS layman whose wife was an “ordained pastor” in the ELCA for decades. She has since passed away. This man was defending women’s “ordination” and calling those of us who do not believe in it “bigots.” He intimated that his LCMS pastor is not a “bigot.” This is another case of our Not See problem. We all know that nothing will happen to this layman or his pastor.
Just a few months ago, there was an LCMS congregation whose website said that they had a female pastor. I was asked not to write about this, even though others had seen this publicly and posted it to social media, as it was “being handled.” The website remained unchanged for weeks. When this claim was finally removed, there was no public mention of this, no public explanation from the DP, or public apology by the individuals in question. It just disappeared down the memory hole. Is this woman still serving in some capacity? Was there genuine repentance by the entire congregation, its senior pastor, and the lay leadership? Have they actually changed their minds? All of them? At once? And since the infraction was public, why wasn’t the response public? Was there any threat of excommunication? Since the website was changed, this issue has become Not Seen.
The Atlantic District “consecrates” female “deacons” and vests them in albs and stoles - and has done so for many years. This is a gross scandal - not only to members of synod, but to many of our international brethren who have suffered for the sake of their confession regarding women in ministry. But once again, what does our leadership have to say? They must simply Not See it.
I cannot say this with absolute authority, but I have heard from reliable folks that it is contrary to the ethics and practice of the Concordia Deaconess Conference for members to participate in the officiation of liturgies of the church, such as reading lessons and bidding prayers at the altar. And of course, this happens, and apparently with impunity. This too seems to be part of the Not See problem.
A few years ago, a pastor retired whose daughter did a university project of making a kind of bio-pic of her father’s life. He intimated that he retired out of frustration that the LCMS would not change its position on same-sex relationships. He admitted that he became a pastor in the first place in order to change us. The video was removed within a few days after a furor erupted. He remains on the roster. Again, only the tiny handful of those on the other end of the bell curve are Seen. Those who advocate for a redefinition of marriage are simply Not Seen.
There is also another rostered retired pastor whose rostered wife was the head of an organization publicly calling for the LCMS to “ordain” women. Both husband and wife enjoyed an entire career, whose unscriptural teachings and beliefs were apparently part of the Not See problem.
Some five years ago, one of the LCMS districts had a presentation by an LCMS pastor whose nickname is “the gay pastor” - even though he denies being homosexual. His presentation, however, encouraged LCMS pastors who have members in same-sex relationships not to preach the Law to them and not to place them under discipline, since unlike heterosexual violators of the Sixth Commandment, these folks do not believe that they are sinning, and they have a different biblical hermeneutic. We all know that nothing has, or will, happen to him. Not only will there be no discipline, he is praised and lauded. This is another part of the Not See problem.
And it seems that we have a large number of laymen in our churches that are pro-homosexuality - 34% of boomers and 32% of Gen-Xers. Isn’t this unscriptural? Does our leadership Not See this? Where are the excommunications? I do Not See anyone addressing this with formal church discipline.
Years ago, one of our Concordias (now defunct) presented an award, ironically called Servus Christi, to a recent graduate who was not only the president of the New York BLM, but who was considered so radical by the national organization that his membership was not recognized. As Koenig’s article points out, we have had LCMS rostered personnel participate in BLM marches, even singing the praises of one of the founders of the Marxist “liberation theology” James Cone. This also seems to be part of our Not See problem.
And then there are the problems that are indeed more mainstream, but unscriptural nonetheless: things like open communion, using grape juice and calling it the blood of Christ, and the use of questionable or even openly heretical music and liturgies in LCMS services. Maybe if we could get open communion grape juice users to wish Hitler a happy birthday, we could finally count on our leadership seeing what is today Not Seen.
Now the predictable response is that we are decentralized. Our leaders can, of course, shrug and say that, because of our congregational polity, they can do nothing about these problems, even if they did see them. However, it did not take long at all for the LCMS at the top levels to mobilize and get involved with the statistically insignificant right-wing (so-called) extreme end of the bell curve once it hit the media. Given our system of ecclesiastical supervision, if a member of synod is engaged in any unscriptural teaching or practice, the person’s District President should handle it. And if the District President won’t handle it, the Synod President should compel the District President to handle it under threat of removal or excommunication.
How often is a District President threatened with removal if he will not do his job and make sure members of synod are in line with the Scriptures and the Confessions? How about top-down pressure for excommunication of members and removal from synod for errant congregations? Does this ever happen to the Left instead of to the Right?
And speaking of Not Seen, the Rev. Dr. Gregory Schulz is apparently the invisible man. It has been more than a year since he has been suspended, banned from campus, unable even to retrieve his books, unable to teach his classes, all because he blew the whistle on the wokeness, trying to take what is Not Seen and make it visible. Even President Harrison agrees that there is a wokeness problem at Concordia University Wisconsin. What has been, and is being, done to Dr. Schulz, is abominable. Will anyone be excommunicated? Fired? Even get a letter of reprimand? Other than Dr. Schulz, that is.
Does anyone Not See that they have literally been paying his salary for a year - not to work? How is this good stewardship to the students, their parents, or to the other professors who have had to pick up the slack? Will anyone get so much as a verbal dressing down for this, or even asked pretty-please not to do it again - other than Dr. Schulz, that is? Do we Not See that we should encourage whistleblowers and not persecute them? Dr. Schultz deserves an apology and a commendation. I’m sure that I will Not See that come to pass. Not in this life, anyway.
The big complaint that I hear about Dr. Schulz is that he went to Christian News. Well, that explains it, doesn’t it? Is this really a case of synodical and corporate vindictiveness about CN? That is another part of our Not See problem. We apparently do Not See that the late Rev. Herman Otten deserves a posthumous apology and certification from the St. Louis Seminary that he saved. He and his family deserve an apology and the thanks of a grateful synod for his role in beating back the liberal assault on our institutions. Does anybody Not See the you-know-what show that the Evangelical (sic) Lutheran (sic) Church (sic) in America has become? Many of those radicals would have remained in the LCMS were it not for Otten and Christian News. We all know it, even if many in our midst pretend to Not See it. Too bad more of our LCMS liberals weren’t pushed out the door.
Like many others, I had my share of spats with Pastor Otten. And yes, I know that many of his journalistic techniques were less than stellar. He was also no fan of Gottesdienst. All that said, the man deserves his due. And we owe him a lot. He phoned me up out of the blue about a week before his death. We had a wonderful conversation. I am glad that I told him that I believe synod owes him an apology and should put him on the roster, should officially reconcile with him, and thank him. Of course, lumbering bureaucratic organizations with lots of massive personalities seldom ever do such things. Well, at least one member of synod said to him what needed to be said.
As the prophet Isaiah wrote: “O Lord, Your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see Your zeal for Your people, and be ashamed” (26:11).
Let us open our eyes and honestly deal with what is Not Seen in our synod. Let us repent, and not take our marching orders from left wing extremists like Antifa and Rolling Stone. Let us deal honestly with those holding unscriptural views, whether they are political extremists to the Right or the Left, with those who hold worldly instead of biblical views, and with false teachers or deviant congregations on our roster. Let us respond not out of personal vengeance, but based on love for Christ and His church, and zeal for what is right and true. Let us encourage those who call us to look at what has been Not Seen, and to do something about it - other than appeasing the world and shooting the messenger.
Let us not simply play “monkey see, monkey do,” but let us open our ears, eyes, and mouths.