Friday, December 21, 2007

Top 12 in the Whole World!!!

Believe it or not, sometimes Shrimp wonders every now and again if one of our posts occasionally crosses the line from pointed satire to just plain rude meanness. And if truth be told, the close of our most recent post was one of those that, even after putting it up, raised second-thoughts along those lines.

Then a few moments ago, an ELCA pastor forwarded the following that appears to have been sent to every ELCA rostered leader whose e-mail address is included on the roster. Note: all emphases are from the original.
From: "David Swartling, ELCA Secretary"
Date: December 20, 2007 6:03:05 PM CST
To: [Name deleted to protect Shellfish source]
Subject: ELCA in CBS Prime Time Special, Dec. 23

Please feel free to include the following in your announcements on Sunday, December 23:

Tonight the CBS television network will air a two-hour prime time program entitled "In God's Name." This special will feature extraordinary footage of 12 of the world's most influential religious leaders, including our very own Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation.

Tune in at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific), 8:00 p.m. (Central) as these diverse and powerful voices offer provocative, compelling and enlightening perspectives on issues in our post-9/11 world, including the rise of terrorism, fanaticism, intolerance and war. For more information go to http://www.elca.org/ingodsname .
Never mind.

(Did Lowell Almen ever send an e-mail like that?) Shrimp out.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know which is more depressing/upsetting:

a)That he is thought of in some circles of being "in the top 12 influential religious leaders in the world

b) That Hanson is "our very own"

Biting satire this is not...that is, me, not Shrimp...

The way I understand it, Samuel Clemens had his moments, too

Anonymous said...

I downloaded the 46m video file on this. I have to say, it has caused more serious thoughts in regards to leaving the ELCA. Why? This man, as leader of one of the largest protestant congregations, is deemed to be one of the world's 12 most relevant religious leaders. He therefore has been provided a platform to speak on subjects ranging from the United State's War on Terror, to homosexuality, to the Wall in Israel, to global debt (which again leverages Leviticus 25... but apparently 18 no longer applies), to global warming, to feminism... on my behalf. All of which I totally disagree with!!!

I then see my little cash strapped Church paying ~5% of our budget so that these Apostates in the E*CA's Ivory Tower can continue espousing this garbage.

Bottom line - it's getting harder to keep my wife & family focused on the fight to bring our leaders back to Sola Scriptura when the evangelical Churches are so alive, so Christ focused (and actually refer to Him as a "him"), and so Biblically sound. I'm on the cliff... I may need to be talked down. ;-)

God Bless all you Faithful Servants… I pray for you every day,
Lost_in_Chicago

Anonymous said...

Don't jump yet. Besides, we share more in common with Common Cause than generic evangelicals (not that we have anything against whatever that is ;-)
Better to start a CORE chapter.

Anonymous said...

Thank You Cap'n Bill... and all you other faithful leaders & Servants. I do believe the Living God would have us stay here and fight the good fight.

In regards to CORE, yes, we've been sending a portion of our tithes to Word Alone / Lutheran Core. I hope other lay people reading this will consider doing likewise. What could be more profitable for the advancement of His Kingdom than correction of the those who would change the grace of our God into a license of immorality? ;-)

May God bless this mission,
Lost_in_Chicago

The good ship ELCA...

The good ship ELCA...
Or the Shellfish blog...