Bad Terminators and Confessional Lutherans

Yeah I don''t feel much like blogging tonight, I feel like sitting back, relaxing, and watching TV. I watched the season premiere of Survivor tonight and was sucked in again. It's hard for me to explain, but I'm interested in these fame-seekers. They always seem to get some weird ones in there. This year, there was an insane English Teacher lady, but she got voted off the first day. I felt sorry for her, but it's probably good she got voted off now and avoided become America's punchline.

There are way too many good looking people, though. At least it's a little easier to tell them apart this time, because none of them look alike. My wife and I miss Dolly.

Work Keys in Crisis: Day Two Update.
My key now works in the door to my closet, but not in the door to the room that my closet is inside. We're halfway there! More details will be posted as I get them.

I found a bunch of Confessional Lutheran Blogs and they really got my shorts in a wad. If I were going to be a racist against something, it would be that group of people.* The thing is, I pretty much share all of their beliefs, I just can't stand what they emphasize -- doctrinal purity over love, Lutheran Confessions over the Bible, calling other people hypocrites over recognizing their own hypocrisy. Those who know me know that hypocrisy is not a word I use lightly -- I am always railing against misuse of that term. People today use it to mean, "those who draw a distinction between moral and immoral in a certain place." The most familiar misuse came into full focus when Janet's boob happened, and lots of people were called hypocrites for just saying they don't want star boobs on tv.

The people in question are hypocrites because the second they can they are attacking the other side -- the "conservative" Lutherans -- for not being loving towards them. And they themselves are cold, baby. All they do all the time is rail against the "conservatives", often in terms that imply that they're dumb, evil, wanton, etc. Seriously, I have heard what is said behind closed doors. They demonize the opposition (in their minds) like nobody I've ever seen, even in politics. In their minds, they are just speaking the truth, and therefore hold the moral higher ground, I suppose. Speaking the truth gives them the ability to be a total A------- about everything, for Jesus' sake, apparently.

I'm being intentionally vague here, I have a history with these people that's causing this reaction. They're like that Bad Terminator, you can't reason with them. They are Doctrine Machines. Can you imagine Jesus talking about doctrine all day? Now, the sad part is, Confessional Lutherans would probably claim that he was talking about doctrine when he said things like, "I am the way and the truth and the life." But that's not all doctrine, that actually implies something to those who believe it. People try to tell that message to others, and sometimes they can get the particulars wrong, but at least they're trying something out of love. Doctrine becomes an object of worship for these people -- it's doctrine glasses that they view the world through, instead of Jesus glasses.

Of course, some people go the opposite way and come up with whatever doctrine they want to. That's way worse, but I'm not going to discuss them right now.

America, I'm afraid Jesus doesn't have a preferred worship style. I'm sorry if that ruffles any feathers out there. I'm no Theologian, but I've read the Bible and had a lot of training, and I'm confident that this is true. It's incumbent upon us to find ways to worship God that are pleasing to Him, and if we come with a desire to worship, I believe God loves that and even works in and through it. So there.

This went on too long. Shorts in a wad, indeed.

*If one of them ever comes across this rant, you can be darn sure they will discount anything I say because I don't love them enough. See next paragraph for an explanation of why that's absurd.