Thank You for the Kind and Generous Book Reviews

Amazon directed me to Author Central, where I could read the book reviews. I was touched by the number and variety. Thank you. They are very encouraging.

More is brewing with the second edition of The Bible Book - "More pages. Fewer typos!" Yesterday I was editing and improving when I ran into an imaginary writer's block. The block was real but the facts were an illusion. I drank some pour-over coffee (Costa Rican) and set up a new place on the hard drive for a series of edits. (Never use the extension - final - because it never is.) I number them, then change by adding norma, then the almost final janie, because Norma A. Boeckler provides the beautiful art and Janie puts the final edit through. There can be 30 versions as I go along because I had an early Luther's Sermons volume that became corrupted at the end of the process. I had 350 pages gone forever, until I remembered sending it, without art, via DropBox. I retrieved that and put the art back in.

I could do the last steps for publishing, but I would only be finishing on my second book now. Frustrated perfectionists never finish  writing and they often never start. Besides, Janie is exceptionally good and I could never match her speed and perfection. Norma Boeckler's art speaks for itself, and we all love it.

In order:

1. The second edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God. New Year's.
2. The I AM Sermons of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel, early 2022.
3. Another Biblical book. 

Starting Now - The Second Edition of The Bible Book

 

I now have most of the books I ever wanted on the Greek New Testament. Those authors are fortunate - no one reads them. If the public read those efforts to bury the Majority (Byzantine) text of the New Testament, the scholars would be laughed out of academe.

But surprise! There are some good authors who understand and appreciate the Bible as God's Word, unique and inerrant. They also have the skills to examine claims and expose false assertations with little or no warrant (evidence) for their acceptance.

The revised version - how the irony abounds - will be clearer and have annotated lists of books, good and bad, on the Bible.

The I AM Sermons of Jesus Christ, 

Found Only in John's Gospel

After the second edition is finished, I will write a book on the I AM sermons in the Gospel of John. Some of my Old Testament students have been especially stunned and in awe of the Gospel of John/Old Testament connections.

Publishing Plans - Lutheran Christina Is Now in Print and on Kindle

 Helen - 
"Is this the face that launched a thousand ships,
That burnt the topless towers of Ilium?"
Homer's Iliad inspired Marlow's poem, where these words came from.

 

Lutheran Christina: Memories about a Pastor's Wife is now in print and on Kindle. I am sending copies to the usual suspects.

After that will be the second edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.

Following that will be the I AM sermons of John's Gospel.

I am thinking about a book on the Biblical hymns, the favorites and the overlooked ones.

I plan to publish lectures on the KJV, etc.

l.

The New Lutheran Christina - At Janie Sullivan's Finishing DeskNext Is The Bible Book, Second Edition

 

The last week was a daily round of finding more photographs and editing...just one more time. Janie Sullivan has the material now.

 At Kermit and Maria's wedding, 44 years ago, Christina is on the left. Some of the first cousins are on the left and right. 

 Sassy wore her Christmas sweater for Christina's first walk after surgery.

Christina (left) and Maria sat for a portrait. In the cedar trunk, less than 1% of the photos are good for publishing. Professional photos last better and print better.

 Nothing is quite as much fun as a personal book. Some recent ones via Lulu Press are  Andrea's Love, Joy, and Faith, one on the Creation Garden, another one on the Meyer family.

 This is the back cover of Lutheran Christina.

Second Edition of The Bible Book

Still arriving at homes - first edition of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God.

Most people can edit better from the print copy, so that will serve to improve the next edition.

The topic has so much history and variety that this second edition will give me a chance to fill in parts that I omitted, neglected, or rendered obscure and confusing. This will also improve the value of the limited first edition.

I never bought first editions but I noticed they were almost always plain Janes, inexpensive printings and covers. However, I held a Tom Sawyer worth $40,000 and heard about a Princess Bride for $160,000 (in a safe).

The NIVs, RSVs, and ESVs being sold today are a swindle, no matter what the sales pitches say.

The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God

Yes, a second, improved edition is already planned for The Bible Book. That will include: more information, 

• more information,
  possible maps, 
• error correction, 
• maybe indexing too. 

Post settings Labels The Bible Book The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God, Include more letters to see label suggestions Published on 6/29/21 12:46 PM Permalink Location Search Description Options

Yes - The Bible Book Is Already Arriving in the Mail.

One reader already received his copies of  The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God. Not I!

The Kindle edition of The Bible Book is available too, for $1.99. Everything is free or non-profit.

Another reader -who took advantage of the free PDF of The Bible Book available on the masthead - found mistakes!

The first printers had the same problems of all printers and writers. The first edition of any book will have goofy mistakes, no matter what. One early KJV was called The Wicked Bible because the Sixth Commandment was missing the necessary not. The printers were severely fined.

I have already considered a second, enlarged edition, so people can email me mistakes that I could fix in that new edition. Or, they can mark a printed copy as they go along, and mail it to me. I will gladly replace it. 

 The Bible Book is finally done!
But the Bible Book has mistakes!
So did the first KJV Bibles!

At the Editor's - The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God

I sent The Bible Book to our gifted finishing editor, Janie Sullivan - yesterday. She is already working on it this morning. She is familiar with my shortcomings, so she sandpapers the rough places so we get a book with the looks of one from the big publishing houses. Not only that, but Norma A. Boeckler always gives the book a special artistic flair, from the covers to the extra graphics - our modern stained glass windows.

Virginia Roberts was eager to edit the final version and adjust the final details, without the qualms and delays of the author. I can spot my own errors easily - after they are in print.

 Janie Sullivan does exactly what I need in finishing the book.

I was mollified to learn how many typos were in the first King James Version. The Wicked Bible is known for the printers leaving "not" out of the Sixth Commandment. Originals are rare and expensive.

 Virginia Roberts loves to find fault with my typos.
She is also a good indicator of what is worthwhile in a Lutheran book.

Westcott-Hort raged against the Majority (Stephanus) text, also called the Received Text. After 140 years - when the duo posted their barbaric, dishonest Greek New Testament, which is now "The Standard Text" (Kurt Aland), the KJV is still the dominant Bible read, far exceeding the  NIV and ESV.

 These are a few of the 110, inexpensive print editions from Alec Satin - The Lutheran Librarian, plus 275 online books - The Lutheran Library - provided for free.

All Our Media at Bethany Lutheran Church, Springdale, Arkansas

Christian Art

Norma Boeckler's Christian Art

Norma Boeckler's Christian Art Books

Books 

Alec Satin's Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry - Over 275 Free PDFs

Alec Satin's Printed Books on Amazon - More Than 110 Titles

Pastor Jackson's Printed Books on Amazon and Lulu

Classic Lutheran Books on Facebook - Group Page for Those Who Join

Audio Ministry

Travis and Lauren Cartee - Subscribe to Audio Gutenberg YouTube Recordings

Audio Gutenberg Blog Posts the Recordings - Convenient for Listeners

Many Extra Links Are Found Here

Free PDFs, Locations of Luther's Works in Various Languages, Lenski PDFs

Saved worship files and Greek lessons are at the live worship link.

Essential Lutheran Books - List

Dropbox links to free public domain books, Lenski Commentaries, Keil-Delitzsch, Luther's Sermons,plus free books edited and written by Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Now the Firevorks Begin!

My flute teacher was raised in Germany and came over after the war. He never lost his accent, so whenever fast and complicated music came up, he said, "Now the firevorks begin!"

I thought of that teacher as I reached the Luther section of The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God. 

As Tolkien might have said, "By chance, if it was chance, the Gutenberg Press was invented at the right time to publish everything Luther wrote. And Luther fed the printing presses of Europe with a volume of writing never matched since the Reformation."

Luther and the printing press arrived so powerfully that the Church of Rome could not kill, torture, imprison, and enslave Evangelicals fast enough to stop the Reformation. The Beast was mortally wounded and never recovered its full strength in promoting error in the name of Mary, Purgatory, the Mass, and the power of the pope.

Finishing The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God

The approximate plans for The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Love the Word of God include:

Part One

• Basics of the Bible (Efficacy of the Word, Inerrancy, etc)
• The Gospel in the Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms
• Abraham in the New Testament
• Apologetics

Part Two - The History of the Bible

• The Old Testament, Hebrew and Greek
• The Greek Christian Byzantine Empire
• The Ottoman Empire and the Fall of Constantinople
• The Renaissance

Part Three - the Reformation Translators

• Waldensians
• Erasmus
• Luther
• Tyndale

Part Four - The King James Version

• English Bibles Inadequate
• The Call for One English Bible
• The KJV Translators
• The KJV Today and Bad Excuses
• The KJV Family of Translations

Part Five - Bible Apostates Take Over - Dishonest Text Criticism Precedes Doctrinal Corruption

•  Tischendorf
• Wescott and Hort
• Kurt Aland - The "Standard Edition" (Hort)
• The Ending of Mark Dumped

 Their prejudicial and irrational editing changed the New Testament.

Review of Understanding Luther's Galatians by Dr. Eric Rachut

The print version of Understanding Luther's Galatians can be purchased here.

Free PDF -> Understanding Luther's Galatians

ERIC RACHUT M.D.

5.0 out of 5 stars Luther's Commentary of the Heart and Soul of Christianity

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

Martin Luther's favorite book, it is said, was Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, because it laid out so clearly the essential doctrine of Christianity, Justification by Faith - Alone! His commentary was transcribed from lectures - in 1531 and in Latin - to his students, quickly translated into the vernacular (German) and, by Theodore Graebner, into mid-twentieth century American English, with KJV scripture. The original Latin text, a compressed language, was translated to a full-length vernacular edition; this is the shorter version (260 pages). 

I was amazed again and again that there is no redundancy here, in a lengthy review of six short chapters of the Greek epistle. Luther examines the letter as if he were holding a jewel up to the light and using every viewpoint. He tells us that the false teachers, who opposed Paul's doctrine with the Galatians, were undoubtedly well-spoken, well-educated men, something approaching an angel of light, but false teachers they were and for that, accursed. Particularly in his expatiation on this topic in the third chapter, Luther achieves deep spirituality and a pastoral comforting of tortured consciences, and opens this up for the reader - you share his, and Paul's, vehemence. The remainder of the epistle sees Paul's re-establishment of Christian cordiality with the Galatians, still using every means possible to encourage their loyalty to this essential doctrine. 

Interspersed among the commentary by Luther are short observations by Dr Jackson on the modern heresies and misjudgments which are new challenges - particularly "objective justification" and Church Growth. No mincing of words in either author of the commentaries! You may have read the Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession. This should be next on your reading list.

 Free PDF -> Understanding Luther's Galatians

Customer Review of Understanding Luther's Galatians

Understanding Luther's Galatians

This is the download link to the free PDF.

Customer Review of Understanding Luther's Galatians

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R35YSP01JV7M4I/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1716384125

Purchase the book or get the free PDF below.

This is the download link to the free PDF.

Customer Review

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent re-issue of Graebner's shorter translation of Luther's Commentary on Galatians

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book is a re-issue of Dr. Theodore Graebner’s shorter translation of Martin Luther's “Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians.”

In his forward, Dr. Graebner expressed his reason for his translation of Martin Luther's work:

“The importance of this commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents, like no other of Luther's writings, the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone.”

Dr. Gregory L. Jackson added an introduction along with comments, which he embedded within the text. He enclosed his comments within boxes, in order to separate them from Luther's words.

In his introduction, Dr. Jackson wrote that:

“By stealth, Lutherans have steadily eroded the Biblical doctrine of the Reformation (justification by faith alone), which established them as Evangelicals and Protestants, by now allowing others to use those names and surrendering to the worst inclinations of Calvinists, Pietists, and Roman Catholics. The uniting cause, to soothe every worldly conscience, is to declare that God in his grace has already declared the entire world absolved of all sins. … God declared the world righteous through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…”.

Dr. Jackson quoted from the work of the 18th century theologian Georg Christian Knapp to show the false doctrine that flowed from universal absolution without regard to faith.

“This is conveniently expressed by the terms Objective and Subjective Justification. Objective Justification is the act of God by which he proffers pardon to all through Christ. Subjective Justification is the act of man by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the Gospel.”

In a comment on page 56, Dr. Jackson succinctly elucidated the error of those who adhere to the doctrines of Objective and Subjective Justification:

“The false teachers reverse what Paul and Luther taught. The Objective Justification fanatics lay hold of universal forgiveness and make faith in Jesus irrelevant. Faith in Christ has nothing to do with their divine declaration of forgiveness. Secondly, their subjective justification is not faith in Christ, but rather trust in the truth of universal forgiveness.”

As a Lutheran layman, I know that the idea that God forgave the sins of every member of the human race upon the death or resurrection of Christ and this made them righteous is not what Paul taught. Rather, he taught that God declares a person righteous after God imputes the person's sins to Christ, and he imputes the merits of Christ’s sinless life and perfect obedience to the person. Faith is the means by which a person receives righteousness. Is righteousness simply the forgiving of sins, as the Objective justification proponents claim? No. Righteousness requires God to impute the sins of the sinner to Christ, and the merits of Christ's sinless life and perfect obedience to the sinner. Only after this double imputation is a sinner righteous in God's sight.

The idea that “we need to accept the pardon offered by God” is not found in Paul's teaching. It brings to mind the famous Arminian preacher Billy Graham and his call to “Make a decision for Christ.”

I would recommend this book to someone who wishes to read a condensed version of Luther's Commentary on Galatians. It is an excellent introduction for someone who is unfamiliar with the Apostle Paul's doctrine on justification by faith alone. Dr. Jackson's comments highlight key doctrinal points in the text. His comments also illustrate the degree to which the doctrines of present-day confessional Lutheran churches have diverged from the plain teachings of the Apostle Paul and Martin Luther.

Dr Jackson discusses the problems of present day Christian denominations on his internet blog. Google ichabodthegloryhasdeparted for the URL. He conducts a weekly traditional Lutheran worship service via the internet, the blog has a link to the broadcast site which also has archived broadcasts.

Upcoming Books - The Bible Book Is the Next Major Publication

"No other Gospel" has become "any old gospel will do."

The Bible Book Will Be My Next Big Project

I will post the Galatians adult study when Lent is over, so others have something for teaching Luther's Galatians. That will probably be a Lulu project, color, with a print version and a free PDF. 

The Bible Book has been changing names slowly. The current iteration (corporate for "version") is The Bible Book: The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God. I am following the basic rule of the main title followed by a subtitle defining the title. As the NPH editor told me, "The subtitle sells the book." 

Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure : 

The Poisoning of American Christianity and the Antidote

When Liberalism came out at NPH, WELS made a concerted effort to get rid of me.
The late DP Robert Mueller admitted at our council meeting that I did my work and taught correctly. But he and Kuske and Floyd Luther Stolzenburg never stopped - two of them have passed on to their reward already. Wally O., too.

The Bible Book: 

The KJV Reborn for Those Who Love the Word of God

I may make the subtitle a wee bit shorter, but that is the main, positive message of the book. I am aiming at complete coverage, so I expect to reach 200 pages or more, all in color. OK, that is not complete, but it will be thorough coverage with a lot of sources used. I am having fun tracking down useful and relatively inexpensive books for people to use.

I AM Sermons

The next book will deal with the I AM sermons in the Gospel of John. That can serve as a kind of commentary on the Fourth Gospel but mostly as an emphasis on Jesus' sermons in John.

They censor the interesting news.

Future books will be Biblical topics rather than history of doctrine. The same is true of most posts on the blog. The "conservative" Lutheran synods are shameless clones of ELCA now, and impervious to correction. The clergy and laity of the LCMS-WELS-WELS-CLC are too docile and lazy to do anything more than go down with the ship.

The Concordia was wrecked on the shoals by a captain who vamoosed immediately.

The LCMS ran out of men. Strict discipline followed - the story was erased!

"Oh God, if there is a god. Please make me a Roman priest with all the bells and whistles."

Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies Has Been Sent to WELS-ELS-LCMS Seminaries

Some services take a photo of the delivery and send it to me, so keep your porches clean! WELS, LCMS Concordias, the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie, and Lutheran School of Chicago in Chicago got copies. Christian News received or will receive two copies of Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies. Galatians was locked up or thrown away at CN formerly Lutheran News.
I am glad to send free review copies to anyone who actually reviews a book. One WELS pastor asked for a free review copy of Thy Strong Word, kept it, denounced me, and wrote no review. That is what WELS friends are like - imagine the enemies in that sect!

Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

"Justified before we were born!" - Edward Preuss. The Objective Justification Enthusiasts eat that up. Walther thought that little book by Preuss was way cool, and the Synodical Conference still adores it, even thought that passage - cited by Dr. Robert Preus - is so close to Calvinism that you can taste the sulfur.
Walther, The American Calvin: A Synod Built on Felonies

Reviews - Calvin Ruined the Protestant Faith

Calvin Ruined the Protestant Faith

From the United States

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars The corrosive effect of rationalism on the Christian faith

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2019

Gregory L Jackson PhD is a confessional Lutheran theologian, pastor, and teacher. He received a STM degree in Biblical studies from Yale in 1973 and he earned a Master's degree and a PhD in theology at the University of Notre Dame in 1982.

In this book, Dr. Jackson shows how the false doctrines found in the teachings of John Calvin have led to the apostasy we see today in Reformed Protestant denominations and in Lutheran Church bodies which have inculcated Calvinistic ideas.

The Reformation began in 1517 with Martin Luther. It was based on acceptance of the Scriptures as the plainly revealed Word of God, and in the power of the Holy Spirit acting through the Word of God, both the written Word in the Bible and the physical Word in the Sacraments.

In his book, Dr. Jackson showed how the writings of Heinrich Zwingli and John Calvin, contemporaries of Luther and the fathers of Reformed Protestant theology, disagreed with Luther's faith in the Scriptures. Zwingli and Calvin pretended to agree with Luther, but instead came up with another way to view the Scriptures, which can be summarized as 'rationalism'.

To illustrate how rationalism affects one's understanding of the Bible, Dr. Jackson included a reference from Siegbert Becker's book “The Foolishness of God” regarding the methods man can use to study the Bible:

Ministerial reason – use one's intellect to understand God's Word
Magisterial reason – use one's intellect to judge God's Word

Zwingli and Calvin taught from the perspective of magisterial reason that man is the ultimate judge on all passages in the Bible. The result is that people feel they can select a few verses, or even a part of a verse, to establish dogma outside the context of the Scriptures as a whole. This explains why Reformed Protestantism has split into hundreds of factions. Zwingli and Calvin also taught that the Holy Spirit doesn't come to man through the Sacraments bringing grace through faith. Instead, people are predestined either for salvation or damnation.

Luther taught from the perspective of ministerial reason. He accepted what is written in the Scriptures and he maintained a consistent advocacy for the plain meaning of the Bible as the judge of all books. He taught that the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God, as recorded in the Bible. People are saved through the work of the Holy Spirit by God's grace, through faith.

Dr. Jackson showed how the corrosive effects of Calvin's rationalistic doctrine were manifested in the teachings of Philipp Spener in the 17th century, Halle University in the 18th century, Friedrich Schleiermacher in the 19th century, right through Paul Tillich and Karl Barth in the 20th century. And how their ideas resulted in the great falling away from faith, which we see today in the Protestant denominations.

Dr. Jackson provided a “List of Books for Additional Study” for one to use to learn more about the errors of Zwingli and Calvin.

At the end of his book, Dr. Jackson offered a “Simple Program to Expel Calvinism from the Protestant Faith”.

Dr. Jackson discusses the problems of present day Christian denominations on his internet blog. Google ichabodthegloryhasdeparted for the URL. He conducts a weekly traditional Lutheran worship service via the internet, the blog has a link to the broadcast site which also has archived broadcasts.

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Be.G.H.

5.0 out of 5 stars proper response is anger

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2019

This book ties together a brief survey of how the unclear thinking of Calvinism has infected Protestant churches, particularly weak Lutherans. Without an anchor in God's Word, modern churches chase every whim, delivering despair from self-assurance instead of delivering Christ's promises through the Means of Grace.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Norma Boeckler.

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Glen

5.0 out of 5 stars A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2019

The effects of Calvinist human teaching against the Holy Scriptures have effected numerous congregations and spread as deadly poison. A must read type of book to understand the effects the corruption of false doctrine has throughout the world.

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