Thursday, November 3, 2011

Dare to Be Lutheran: Reviews of the Higher Things 2011 Youth Conferences

Many of you out there know that I encourage involving your kids in Higher Things. One of the many Christ-centered opportunities for them are the national Higher Things conferences, which do a great job of connecting them to Christ. This year’s conferences, Coram Deo, were held in Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Bloomington, Illinois. In case you, or someone you know, hasn’t attended in the past and would like input on the Higher Things conferences, here’s a list of blog posts from various laymen and pastors about their experiences at this year’s conferences.


Pastor Alan Kornacki: Higher Things 2011: Coram Deo

Pastor Alex Klages: Coram Deo!


Pastor Paul Beisel: Coram Deo Bloomington




Pastor Donald Engebretson: Coram Deo Conference - Part I

Pastor Donald Engebretson: Corem Deo Conference - Part II


Pastor Brian Kachelmeier: Coram Deo 2011


2 comments:

Tidbits of Torah said...

Are you aware of Luther's book

I had made up my mind to write no more either about the Jews or against them. But since I learned that those miserable and accursed people do not cease to lure to themselves even us, that is, the Christians, I have published this little book, so that I might be found among those who opposed such poisonous activities of the Jews and who warned the Christians to be on their guard against them. I would not have believed that a Christian could be duped by the Jews into taking their exile and wretchedness upon himself. However, the devil is the god of the world, and wherever God's word is absent he has an easy task, not only with the weak but also with the strong. May God help us. Amen.

http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/documents/luther-jews.htm

On the Jews and Their Lies is from Luther’s Works Volume 47. Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Funded through sales revenue, Augsburg Fortress is called to provide products and services that communicate the Gospel, enhance faith, and enrich the life of the Christian community from a Lutheran perspective.

Scott Diekmann said...

Hi Tidbits of Torah. Yes, I am aware of Luther's book, although I don't know what it has to do with this particular blog post. What Luther said towards the end of his life relating to the Jews was very unfortunate, and not something that Lutherans condone. Lutherans don't view Luther as somebody whom we have to agree with, no matter what he said. We sure don't condone his harsh words to the Jews that you reference. Luther became discouraged towards the end of his life because the Jews would not convert to Christianity. He was not an anti-Semite though, he was an anti-Judaist at that point. Quoting from Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto's book The Fabricated Luther: Refuting Nazi Connections and Other Myths:
“Luther was theologically anti-Jewish, and toward the end of his life, he expressed this sentiment in the most objectionable language. ...The cliché labeling Luther an anti-Semite ignores his 1523 treatise That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, in which he admonishes his fellow Christians ‘If the apostles, who were also Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles. Since they dealt with us Gentiles in such brotherly fashion, we in turn ought to treat the Jews in a brotherly manner in order that we might convert some of them…We should remember that we are but Gentiles, while the Jews are in the lineage of Christ.’ Elsewhere in this treatise, Luther writes: ‘If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a hog than a Christian.’”

Thanks for reading.