Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Dr. Nestingen on the ELCA

During the September 23 Issues Etc. program, Pastor Todd Wilken asked Dr. James Nestingen, Professor Emeritus of the ELCA’s Luther Seminary, a rather pointed question:

Has the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, at least in this action [dropping the ban on openly gay clergy and approving of gay marriage], forfeited, properly, the name “Christian Church?”

Dr. Nestingen’s response:

Oh, it’s, of course. I mean, God did not call us to be judges of the Word. He called us to be proclaimers. He didn’t call us to vote on whether or not we consider His sexual limitations viable or desirable. I mean, He said, He did not say “Here are the ten options,” or “the ten values waiting for clarification.” I mean all of this stuff is just clear as the nose on your face, and the pathetic thing, of course, the ruefulness in my laughter, and the pain in my laughter is the people I belong to have betrayed their heritage. This is not a church any more, it’s a joke, it’s a religious pretense, you know, a pious fraud, as if another one is needed.

Listen to the whole show:

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