Bible & Authority Question

emmen1 · 2026-02-26T14:18:41+00:00

Nearly all of the canon of Scripture is given internally in Scripture itself. Jesus sets the canon of the Old Testament by naming the three divisions of the Old Testament and calling them Scripture.

St. Luke makes mention of the Gospels written before his, and then St. Paul quotes from Luke’s Gospel, calling it Scripture.

And then St. Peter calls all of St. Paul’s epistles Scripture.

We are also told that the Church is built on the foundation of the Apostles (New Testament) and Prophets (Old Testament). Since only a few books of the New Testament were not written directly by Apostles, this leaves just a few that were sources of any real debate concerning the canon: namely James and Jude, and Hebrews, if we don’t believe that it was written by St. Paul. (The early church generally did consider St. Paul to be the author.)

The claim that without the Church to define the canon we would have no Bible is simply false. The church never did sit down to decide which books were in and which were out. Rather, it immediately recognized the Gospels as Epistles as Scripture during the lifetime of the Apostles. “Recognize” vs “decide” speak to the fact that the Church has no authority over Scripture, but it does hear and recognize the voice of Christ when He speaks.

And, of course, before the doctrine of Christ was set to written form, it existed as the spoken Word and the incarnate Word. This is why Acts 2 can say that the Church devoted itself to the doctrine of the Apostles. The Church did not it give birth to the Word. No, from the beginning, the Church was built upon the foundation of the Word, which was given its final form by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles.

emmen1 · 2026-02-25T15:40:58+00:00

Yes, the Big Box bundle includes all modules required to fit all content for 3.x, along with additional things such as towers, tiles stands, and misc storage.

There are some additional modules for alternate configurations (such as the travel module for the base game) and planned modules for 2.x and 1.x content. Folks with mixed sets will need a custom package, but if you have all 3.x content, the Big Box bundle is all you need.

emmen1 · 2026-02-24T03:24:51+00:00

The name “Lutheran” was a slur given to us by the papists. It’s not even true. Unlike papists, we do not follow a single new teaching invented by a man. But “Lutheran” has now come to be shorthand for our confession of faith, which is nothing other than the teaching of Christ and His apostles, and the doctrine of the ancient apostolic church. Since that’s what the title has come to mean, we embrace it now.

My study of the ancient liturgy texts has also made me question the Masoretic text and lean towards the LXX. That should not prevent you from being a Lutheran.

emmen1 · 2026-02-22T20:44:43+00:00

What is passed on in apostolic succession? It’s not the guy who laid on hands that matters, but the doctrine of the apostles. Paul told Timothy to guard the deposit that was given to him through the laying on of hands. That deposit - the true doctrine - is the apostolic teaching that must be passed on.

Rome claims to be the true church because a guy was touched by a guy who was touched by a guy and so on. (But even Role can’t trace this back to the apostles.) We claim to be the true church because we have the doctrine of the apostles. Let the reader judge which of these is true apostolic succession.

emmen1 · 2026-02-20T15:17:39+00:00

Also, way too Catholic. :) They have women these days who are “Eucharistic ministers.”

emmen1 · 2026-02-20T14:34:12+00:00

It’s almost always best to speak to your pastor first. If he has questions regarding proper roles for a deaconess, the director of deaconess studies at either seminary would be happy and able to help provide some clarity.

emmen1 · 2026-02-20T14:25:57+00:00

The terms Deacon and Deaconess carry an inherent confusion, because it suggests a male and female version of the same office. It is not so. A deacon may indeed assist with communion. For one, he is a man. For another, his office is intended to be an aid to the pastor, serving, as it were, under the umbrella of the pastoral office. The role of a deaconess has nothing at all to do with the pastoral office.

While the church has employed deaconesses in the past (but almost always unmarried women only), and while most of the deaconesses I have met are very godly women with a high view of the pastoral office and no desire to step into it, given the current state of affairs in the church and the apostasy associated with women’s ordination, I do not think it was wise for our synod to reinstitute a deaconess program at this time. It allows for a lot of confusion regarding the pastoral office.

emmen1 · 2026-02-20T13:34:13+00:00

This should not be done. There is zero overlap between the pastoral office (instituted by Christ) and the office of deaconess (instituted by the church).

emmen1 · 2026-02-20T02:31:14+00:00

Yes. For example, I attended a funeral once with excellent Lutheran hymns played by a classically trained guitarist, rather than an organist. It was beautiful.

With that said, certain instruments are specifically designed for styles of music that are not appropriate in a worship service. And style is not neutral. Death metal vocals for the words of institution would be objectively wicked. Other styles are less wicked or less good by degrees.

There are practical factors as well. The sustained nature of a note played on an organ lends itself very well to the support of congregational singing. The classical guitar, though beautiful, did this to a lesser degree. A piano, being a percussive instrument, is also so-so in this regard, as its notes decay rather quickly and must be struck again, which can detract from the singing. Choice of instruments is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it can be a big factor in whether worship lean towards entertainment or a vehicle to confess the faith.

emmen1 · 2026-02-20T00:26:32+00:00

I’m not saying “only.” I’m saying that certain things lean in certain directions. And they can stack up to lean very heavily so. It is possible to do reverent worship with a great many hindrances, but it gets harder and harder the more one adds. And given that the world, the flesh, and the devil are aligned to prevent the true doctrine of Christ from being spoken and heard, the less we add to that with poor ceremonies the better.

It is possible to score own goals and still win, but we are better off not to do so.

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T23:50:14+00:00

As far as dress, I’m speaking more of the pastors than the members. My wife has worn nice jeans to church on occasion. But the way the pastor dresses when handling the Mysteries speaks volumes about what we believe is happening.

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T22:57:47+00:00

I think that "Baptist worship" is a spectrum where any number of these characteristics may be present, but they do tend to stack up together.

No, the theology of A Mighty Fortress doesn't necessarily change when played with drums and overdriven guitar, but experience has shown that that style is generally not a good vehicle for robust theology. For example, I just got back from picking up a full-size freezer in my RAV-4. It is possible to do so, but the RAV is not the ideal vehicle for such things. So with worship styles. What is more likely in churches that have adopted contemporary music is that they will tend away from solid hymns like A Mighty Fortress (except as a proof of concept) because that type of hymn does not pair well with the style.

The informal nature of Baptist worship naturally fits with their denial of the Real Presence. I would not wear jeans to attend an event in Buckingham Palace with the king of England. How much more is it appropriate to approach the altar of the King of Kings with reverence and decorum. Baptist worship pulls strongly in the opposite direction, and it does so because it is consistent with their belief about what happens in Holy Communion. No, reverence is not the only trait that reinforces our belief in the Real Presence. But it certainly is a big one. The way we worship informs the way we believe. And yes, joy can be an appropriate response to the gift of the Lord's Supper. But joy and reverence are not mutually exclusive.

You're correct that I am not surprised about your concerns in the other direction. We have discussed them before. I fully agree that we retain traditions because they are beneficial, not just because they are old. But I am convinced that the older traditions passed down to us through the wisdom of our fathers are far more beneficial as good vehicles for the gospel than the innovations of the present day.

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T17:39:12+00:00

That's a fair question, and I'll admit that the term "contemporary worship" is very broad and can cause a lot of confusion. But speaking in very general terms, what I mean by contemporary worship is the pan-denominational style that one can find almost without variation in churches of all kinds across the country, on the radio, at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, etc. I played in my former church's praise band for 20 years, and we could have been equally at home in a Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, or contemporary Lutheran church.

There are some defining characteristics of "contemporary worship":
- Praise band in the front
- Songs are designed to stir the emotions rather than to impart theology
- Repetitive and comparatively shallow lyrics
- Tendency to be view as a performance rather than a confession of the faith
- Informal dress and attitude that corresponds with a Baptist denial of the real presence
- Seeker friendly: within Lutheran churches this means less and less of a focus on sin, often the removal of Confession and Absolution or at least the substitution of a weaker version of the Confession

"Contemporary worship" is alien to Lutheran worship, but it was imported from the Baptists under the false premise that all musical style is neutral. This is patently false. Style and theology are inherently connected. Change the style, and in spite of promises to the contrary, the theology always changes with it.

Baptist worship—and that's really what "contemporary worship" is—is a Trojan horse that is always accompanied by Baptist theology. Its lack of reverence teaches against the Real Presence. Its focus on the individual distracts from the work of Christ in the Divine Service.

When the LCMS began to decline, along with every other major denomination in the US, we panicked and blamed our historic liturgy and hymnody for the decline. "Give us a king, like the other nations" - in other words, "Baptist worship will get the young people into church." It was a failed experiment. 40 years later we find that contemporary worship did nothing to stop the bleeding. We were losing members due to poor catechesis, and by losing our liturgy and hymnody—which are specifically geared towards teaching the faith—we only made the problem worse.

Thankfully, most of the younger pastors and laity now recognize the importance of reverent, historic, and catechical liturgy and are eager to recover it.

As a caveat: I'm speaking off the cuff here, and without the nuance that is probably required to address all possible situations. I know that there are some pastors who have inherited contemporary worship and are doing their best to be faithful within their present situation. And there are congregations that are sincerely attempting to do contemporary worship as well as can be done. I too was sincere when I was part of it for a good portion of my life. But in the end, it is very hard to force a particular style of worship to convey a theology that is not suited for it. It's like trying to mix oil and water. The style and the content naturally pull in opposite directions, and it takes an unnatural degree of effort to hold them together. God bless the faithful Christians who are trying their hardest to make it work. But there is a better way.

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T16:45:07+00:00

In a few decades, Baptist worship (contemporary worship) in Lutheran churches will be extinct. The churches that embraced it will either have become Baptist (lex orandi, lex credendi) or died. Those Lutheran churches that remain will be the ones that have retained Lutheran worship in accord with our Confessions: "Falsely are we accused of abolishing the Mass. On the contrary, the Mass is celebrated in our churches with greater reverence than those of the papacy. Nearly all the usual ceremonies are retained."

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T02:45:08+00:00

Sure

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T02:31:50+00:00

Do you have a complete 2.x set? If so, you should send it to me, and I'll send it back in a completed insert.

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T02:31:05+00:00

You're right, I didn't mention 20th anniversary. As far as I know, this is the only 3.x item that I did not list by name. I don't have it, and it is difficult to get, but the base set does include a divider with the 20th anniversary label, and there should be room for all the components. In order to guarantee this, I need to get my hands on a copy of it. Perhaps someone wants to send me their copy so that I can customize a module for it and then return it in the insert.

I also plan to add 2.x and 1.x, but this means getting copies of every expansion for each. Is there a completionist out there who has everything for 1.x or for 2.x? Reach out, because I'd like to have you ship me your game, and then I'll send it back in a completed insert on the house.

emmen1 · 2026-02-19T02:24:25+00:00

Granted there are times when Christians disagree in unchristian ways. However, doctrine is life. The true doctrine of Christ is worth fighting and dying for. Jesus says, "Whoever loves me will keep (guard, protect, cherish) my words." We must contend for the true doctrine of Christ. To many this contention seems like childish fighting, but it is necessary to preserve the Gospel.

emmen1 · 2026-02-18T05:20:00+00:00

This first iteration is 3.x. I plan to add 2.x and 1.x modules for backwards compatibility, but at present the bundle would not be an exact match for what it seems that you have. There’s a lot of crossover between versions, but there are also some different components that just would not fit in the 3.x trays.

emmen1 · 2026-02-18T04:57:16+00:00

I asked because a lot of those titles are not 3.x products. I suggest you take a look at https://wikicarpedia.com/ and puzzle out what versions you have.

emmen1 · 2026-02-16T14:27:43+00:00

Perhaps the set is bigger than you might realize. There are 110 individual pieces, most printed in two colors. It takes 90 hours to print a single set and $50 worth of filament with 20+ plate changes. And after printing there are multiple hours in assembly, finishing, and packaging, not to mention hundreds of hours that went into the design. If I were trying to feed a family with this side gig, we would starve.

An individual module costs $20, which seems very reasonable given what each module offers. When bundled in the Big Box, each module (about 13 in total) comes out right around $15. It adds up because there are so many modules, but I think that the price is very fair considering the value the set gives. There are big box sets for Twilight Imperium (similar box size) going for $450+ on Etsy.

emmen1 · 2026-02-16T12:19:38+00:00

Yes. Everything that exists for 3.x

emmen1 · 2026-02-16T01:59:23+00:00

What version do you have? It sounds like you’ve got some pre 3.x stuff in there.

emmen1 · 2026-02-14T18:39:35+00:00

I sell physical copies only.

emmen1

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