HITLER SATAN'S SOCIALIST MESSIAH - BOOK TWO: The False Pride of a Nation The Allied Crusade To Peace

By Clive Dennis Louden

RISE AND FALL OF CIVILIZATIONS

Arnold Toynbee "A Study of History" 1934-1961 12 volumes

1. The vision of the initial creative minority begins to decay.

2. The majority of the civilization's people gradually withdraw their allegiance.

3. Social decay follows.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clive Louden
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087995304

Book preview

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Calvary Presbyterian Church Trinity Sunday

Indiana, PA— Jimmy Stewart’s home church June 3, 2012

Rev. David J. Hanna

THE ORDER OF SERVICE FOR THE WORSHIP OF GOD

Welcome to worship at Calvary Church. We ask that you take the time to prepare your hearts and minds for worship.

Chapel of the Fallen Angels Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum

Carillon Dedication Honoring Dr. & Mrs. William Clark, Jr. May 16, 2003

WELCOME LT. GEN. C. G. SHULER, JR.

REMARKS JUDGE BEN SMITH

PLAQUE DEDICATION

REMARKS & DEDICATION Dr. S. William Clark, III, Dr. James D. Clark, sons

Dr. and Mrs. S. William Clark, Jr. were tireless supporters of the Chapel of the Fallen Eagles. The project was dear to their hearts. Funding for the Chapel’s carillon was made possible by their generous gift. Today, we proudly honor Mrs. Clark and remember Dr. Clark with this dedication. Pooler, Georgia a Savannah suburb.

What Are the 95 Theses of Martin Luther?

GOT QUESTIONS Internet

Answer: The 95 Theses were written in 1517 by a German priest and professor of theology named MARTIN LUTHER. His revolutionary ideas served as the catalyst for the eventual breaking away from the Catholic Church and were later instrumental in forming the movement known as the Protestant Reformation. Luther wrote his radical 95 Theses to express his growing concern with the corruption within the Church. In essence, his Theses called for a full reform of the Catholic Church and challenged other scholars to debate with him on matters of church policy. One of the major issues that concerned Luther pertained to the matter of church officials selling indulgences to the people as a means of releasing them from having to exact PENITENCE for their misdeeds. Indulgences were also claimed by the Church to limit the amount of time the purchaser’s loved one would have to spend in PURGATORY. [This is based on a passage in Macabees in the inter-testament Apocrypha accepted by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches not the mainstream Protestant churches because it is not an accepted canonical writing. Jesus Gospel is a FREE gift to faithful believers. YOU CAN’T BUY YOUR SALVATION through wealth or your self righteous works. However, through your faith in JESUS’ GOSPEL one is asked to do good works in Jesus’ spirit.]

CHURCH DOGMA: As soon as the penny [pnenning] jingles into the money box, the soul flies out (of purgatory). Luther felt that these church officials were teaching people that they could literally buy their way into the kingdom of God or buy God’s favor. His belief was that the papacy had deteriorated to the point that people were being led to believe in man-made doctrines. The Pope had the power to limit or do away with penances imposed by the clergy, but he did not have the power to bring about the interior contrition that leads to salvation. Only God could do that. Indulgences are positively harmful, according to the Theses, since they induce a false assurance of peace, and cause the recipients to neglect true repentance."

AN IRONIC OXYMORON OR PROVIDENCE? The Pope promoted indulgences to obtain money from the poor German peasants to build the magnificent ST. PETER’S Cathedral in Rome which they could never visit. When I was 15, in July 1958, my German Lutheran mother Elisabeth Frank took me and my brother Paul Thomas into St. Peter’s Cathedral. A beautiful humanistic symbol of Michelangelo’s vision of the creation of Adam in God’s image.]

Luther published his 95 Theses fully realizing that he faced excommunication and even death for protesting the traditions and beliefs of the Catholic Church. To do so was considered heresy against God. Luther’s 95 Theses became highly sought after by the populace and were soon translated into German [from Latin] for the common people to read. The [new] printing press then enabled the wide distribution of the Theses, provoking in people more disenchantment with the ways of the Catholic Church.

[A monk, across the Elbe River in another district, named Tetzel drew people to his dramatic Hell fires show. Luther’s Theses brought HOPE to the peasants and Tetzel returned to Rome and was rebuked by the Pope for his failure to allow the Germans to become a heretical insubordinate free-willed people.]

In 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church and declared him a heretic. Luther was so despised by the church that a death warrant was issued, giving anyone permission to kill him. However, Luther was given protection by PRINCE FREDERICK OF SAXONY, a staunch defender of Luther. [He was very wealthy and possessed one of the largest collections of Christian relics which he renounced after receiving the first native tongue German language BIBLE not in Latin. Luther hidden in the Wartburg Castle translated the New Testament from Greek into German in a providential 10 months.] Hidden in one of Frederick’s castles, Luther began producing a translation of the Bible into the German language. Ten years later it was finally completed." [This included the longer Old Testament Hebrew Torah and Tenach prophetic HIStories.]

It was in 1529, some 12 years after Luther had nailed his Theses to the church door, that the word Protestant became a popular term describing those who supported Luther’s protests against the Church. These opponents of the Church declared their allegiance to God and protested any loyalty or commitments to the emperor. Thereafter, the name Protestant was applied to all who argued that the Church be reformed. Luther died in 1546 with his revolutionary Theses forming the foundation for what is known today as the Protestant Reformation. [Luther was a Biblical reformer and didn’t want to create a Lutheran denomination. This would have been anathema to him. Luther would have been distressed to learn that today there are more than 15,000 denominations. This is in America where religious tax free status can be obtained easily including cults like Scientology which became wealthy tax free entities. A PARADOX of FREEDOM OF RELIGION? Some churches have become mega-churches and some have become fraudulent to their faithful believers. Jesus spoke of Apostasy in the END-TIMES when there will be false Christs and Messiahs who would deceive even the ELECT. Many denominations have mostly members of the same nationalistic, ethnic or racial similarities. This is not the biblical fellowship which Jesus preached about having his disciples go throughout the world and bring the Good News Gospel to all people throughout the world ———————THE GREAT COMMISSION.

PERSONAL BELIEFS: I was confirmed on my 15th birthday at Emanuel Lutheran church in Hudson, NY in May 1958. My mother convinced our Lutheran pastor Grissliss, who was Lithuanian and had been in a Communist jail, to have an unorthodox joint communion with my brother who was 12 1/2, because we were going to Germany in June. My mother may have also known that I had difficulty memorizing and we had to recite some of Luther’s creed. My brother Paul Thomas had a good memory and even acted in plays. In college in southern Maine a French Catholic area my roommate talked me into singing in the Baptist choir with his French/Canadian Catholic girl fiend Esther. In Air Force I went to Heidelberg Army chapel with a Baptist girl from Lake Oswego, Oregon who lived with civilian cousins who worked for BUNKER REMO at the Army HQ. She had lived in Philippines jungle with IGORET headhunters! Later, they were in the movie APOCALYPSE NOW who MARLON BRANDO lived with. Sheri also served in a missionary in India and Israel. After being discharged from the Air Force in April 1969, I didn’t attend my local Lutheran church because at my grandmother’s funeral and burial in Old Chatham the pastor asked me why I didn’t attend church services? He had previously called my mother and asked her if I could take his daughter to her senior prom because her boyfriend couldn’t attend? As they say in the military services NEVER VOLUNTEER! The worst date I ever had a pastor’s daughter. OY WEH. He was not the pastor who confirmed me. I liked Pastor Grissliss, I believe my mother said he went to Trinity College in Hartford, CT and then Duke University? I dated several Catholic girls because of my Italian-American roommate at Andrews AFB in 1965-66 who was from Bayonne, NJ. I went to some Italian weddings where they married Jewish doctors and lawyers. I was invited to be part of a wedding party of his high school friend Jerry Tackas and his red haired Irish wife. I had dated her Irish-American Barnard college maid of honor Joanne Lynch from Middletown, NJ. The wedding was at Infant Jesus Catholic Church in Port Jefferson on Long Island. Recently, I asked a fellow employee where he was from and he said Port Jefferson. He said he and his wife were married in that Church! We both live near Fredericksburg, VA. I asked James if he knew where Setuaket, Long Island was and told him that TV/film actor KEVIN JAMES lived there. He said we both went to St. James high school not at the same time. Small World. Jerry the groom and his wife Valerie told me they met at Geordie’s Disco in the upper East Side of Manhattan. I had been to other discos in Westchester and Connecticut. Geordie’s is where I met my future Jewish wife Sandy. I later found postcards from Germany to my mother 1935-1939 and one in 1935 showed she lived in the exact same area for awhile before going to a refugee home in Amityville, Long Island. The upper East Side 80s was the Yorkville German section of New York City.]

I have attended weddings and services in almost all denomination churches except Mormon. Then after my son’s Sabbath Bar Mitzvah on Nov. 10, 1990, on Luther’s birthday we left Temple Beth Shalom in Fredericksburg, VA. I had attended a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church in Triangle, VA, not far from where I worked. My first day at the Concordia Lutheran Church was on the day of Pentecost May 1989. PROVIDENCE. The day before Saturday my wife, son and daughter had visited the Children’s Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Today, I drive the 39 miles only on big Lutheran holy days. I attend a multi-denominational Bible church 3 miles away in my community now for about five years. The Lake of the Woods Church its pastors, Bible study, congregation, 25 member choir, pipe organ and smaller praise chapel are AWESOME!]

I believe this synopsis of Luther’s Reformation by GOT QUESTIONS would be considered KOSHER by my Missouri Synod Lutheran Church which strictly maintains Luther’s original 95 Theses and Augsburg Confession. In the early 1800s some German Lutherans came to America after the Reformed-Lutheran state evangelical church was formed. This became today’s Lutheran Church Missouri Synod begun in Missouri.

I am now a Judeo-Christian as my testimony and witness reveal.

A CONFESSING CHURCH

"Today is an important date on the Lutheran calendar, even though it isn’t well celebrated. It is the 488th anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession of Faith, one of the most influential documents of the Reformation. On this day in 1530, this confession was read before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in Augsburg, Germany

Called a founding manifesto of the church, it was written by Philip Melanchthon with Martin Luther’s approval (Luther could not attend because he was under a ban of the empire and subject to arrest.) Its 28 articles consist of 21 statements of doctrine and 7 declarations of abuses in the church and demands for reforms.

As the beating Gospel heart of Christ’s mission. It states,People cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight. (Article IV) PorTals Prayer

THE LUTHER ROSE

Letter to Lazarus Spengler, Coburg, July 8, 1530

Grace and peace in Christ!

Honorable, kind, dear Sir and Friend! Since you ask whether my seal has come out correctly, I shall answer most amiably and tell you of those thoughts when (now) come to my mind about my seal as a symbol of my theology.

There is first to be a cross, black (and placed) in a heart, which should be of its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that Faith in the Crucified saves us. For if one believes from the Heart he will be justified. Even though it is a black cross, (which) also should hurt us, yet it leaves the Heart in its (natural) color (and) does not ruin nature; that is, (the Cross) does not kill but keeps (man) alive. For the just man lives by Faith, but by Faith in the Crucified One. Such a Heart is to be in the midst of a WHITE ROSE, to symbolize that FAITH GIVES JOY, COMFORT, AND PEACE; in a word it places the believer into a White joyful Rose; for (this Faith) does not give Peace and Joy as the world gives and, therefore, the Rose is to be in a Sky-Blue field, (symbolizing) that such Joy in the Spirit and in Faith is a beginning of the future Heavenly Joy; it is already a part (of Faith), and is grasped through Hope, even though not yet manifested. And around this field is a Golden Ring, (symbolizing) that in Heaven such blessedness lasts forever and has no end, and in addition is precious beyond all Joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable and precious metal.

May Christ, Our Dear Lord, be with your Spirit until the life to come. AMEN

[Spengler, Nuremberg Reformation leader wrote hymn All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall]

The LUTHER SEAL or LUTHER ROSE is a widely recognized symbol for Lutheranism. It was the seal that was designed for [pastor] MARTIN LUTHER at the behest of Prince JOHN FREDERICK, in 1530, while Luther was staying at COBERG FORTRESS during the DIET OF AUGSBURG. LAZARUS SPENGLER, to whom Luther wrote an interpretation below, sent Luther a drawing of the seal. Luther saw it as a compendium or expression of his theology and faith, which he used to authorize his correspondence. Luther informed PHILIP MELANCHTHON on September 15, 1530 that the Prince had personally visited him in the Coburg fortress and presented him with a signet ring, presumably displaying the seal. Wikipedia

Luther’s interpretation of the Seal—In a July 8, 1530 letter to Lazarus Spengler, Luther interprets his seal: Grace and peace from the Lord. As you desire to know whether my painted seal, which you sent to me, has hit the mark, I shall answer most amiably and tell you my original thoughts and reason about why my seal is a symbol of my theology. The first should be a black cross in a [RED] heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. For one who believes from the heart will be justified (Romans 10:10). Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should cause pain, it leaves the heart its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17) but by faith in the crucified. Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. In other words, it places the believer into a white, joyous rose, for this faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives. (John 14:27). That is why the rose should be white and not red, for white is the color of the spirits and the angels (cf. Matthew 28:3; John 20:12). Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in the spirit and faith is the beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed. And around this field is a gold ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end. Such blessedness is exquisite, beyond all joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable, most precious and best metal. This is my compendium theologiae [summary of theology]. I have wanted to show you in good friendship, hoping for your appreciation. May Christ, our beloved Lord, be your spirit until the life hereafter. Amen Wikipedia

Components of the seal connected to Luther earlier than 1530—A single rose had been known as Luther’s emblem since 1520 when WOLFGANG STOECKEL in Leipzig published one of Luther’s sermons with a woodcut of the reformer. This was the first contemporary depiction of Martin Luther. Luther’s doctor’s ring displayed a heart like shield, the symbol of the HOLY TRINITY. Wikipedia

Use in Byzantine Rite Lutheranism—Churches of Byzantine Rite Lutheranism, the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, use the Luther Rose with an Orthodox Cross in the center.

Use in Coats of Arms—there are 8 German/Austrian coats of arms with Luther Rose.

In June 2017, after the READING, PA, WORLD WAR II Air/Army reenactment I drove to Indiana, Pennsylvania actor JAMES STEWART’S birthplace. I left Reading after the Swing Fever Big Band finished playing the songs the bands played during the war. At the end of the music many of the men and women dressed in military uniforms including American, British, Canadian, Russian, Serbian and even German, and civilians in period clothing joined hands in a large circle in the General SPAATZ hanger. General TOOEY SPAATZ was commander of the 8th Air Force his home is in BOYERTOWN, PA, 10 miles from Reading. When the war in Europe ended he was sent to the Pacific and his 20th AAF ended World War II, with General CURTIS LEMAY’S firebombing of Japan’s cities and the use of two atomic bombs. In 1947, SPAATZ became the first chief of staff of the newly created Air Force.

The final song the Swing Fever band plays is WE WILL MEET AGAIN which is sung by all in memory of the departed veterans of World War II. At gas station I met a man related to JAMES STEWART who gave me directions to Indiana, PA, his hometown.

PERSONAL SMALL WORLD STORY: I arrived at Indiana, PA about 3 AM and stopped at a 24 hr. store. I meet two students there and told them I was going to visit the JAMES STEWART museum and go to his Presbyterian church in the morning. I told them I had been at the Reading World WAR II airshow and was finishing a book about ADOLF HITLER trying to destroy Christianity.

One of the young men told me a remarkable story how his mother’s very distant German relative named KRUG was related to the man who painted the LUTHER ROSE for MARTIN LUTHER! He told me he was considered a heretic by the Roman Catholic church and like Luther had to go into hiding to protect his life. I didn’t know the HIStory of the Luther Rose then and checked the Internet and found the letter from Martin Luther to LAZARUS SPENGLER.

After I said I had many World War II stories the other boy asked me if I was going to have anything about KURT VONNEGUT who was in the DRESDEN FIRE BOMBING RAID, as an American soldier prisoner there, which he tells about in his best selling book SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE—The Children’s Crusade? I said yes, I tell his amazing providential story. He then asked. Will you put his extraterrestrials in your book? I said, I have included the extraterrestrial’s question to Billy Pilgrim, According to the Gospel of Matthew the man named Jesus said he was for the brotherhood of Humankind and said don’t hate your neighbor or enemies. Why do Christians kill each other? This is a paraphrase not actual text from Vonnegut’s book. In the movie FOOTLOOSE actor KEVIN BACON questions why Christians were banning the book SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, a ‘classic. The town preacher, JOHN LITHGOW is against dancing, rock music, the main theme of the film, because of an earlier fatal accident.

I attended a service at Stewart’s beautiful Presbyterian church with a Tiffany stained glass window with the Roman Centurion JONATHAN and a disciple?

SMALL WORLD STORY: A young man Matthew, now an Elder, in my Concordia Missouri Synod Lutheran church in Triangle, VA. I meet his father who graduated from Indiana University, PA. He said he was stationed in Germany in the US Army. He was attached to a liaison unit with the small Luxembourg Army. He and his family and his son, as a child, lived at Bitburg AB housing in 1991, 22 years after I left. Matthew graduated from Kent State University.

Lutheran-Missouri Synod Communion Registration Card

Concordia Lutheran Church Triangle, Virginia

Take eat, this is my Body…Drink it all of you, this is my Blood

Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.

These words from Luther’s Small Catechism express our belief and teaching about: Holy Communion:

HOLY COMMUNION IS the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, given with bread and wine, instituted by Christ; Himself, for us to eat and drink.

THE BENEFITS OF THIS SACRAMENT are pointed out by the words, given and shed for you for the remission of sins.These words ensure us that in the sacrament: we receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. For when there is forgiveness of sins there is also life and salvation.

Fasting and other outward preparations serve a good purpose, however, a person is well prepared and worthy who believes these words:

Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.

All who believe these words are invited to participate. But, anyone who does not believe these words, or doubt them is neither prepared nor worthy, for the words FOR YOU require simply a believing heart. - Martin Luther

If you believe the above statements, please sign below and come forward at the direction of the usher (children are welcome to come forward with a parent)

When Jesus says, This IS MY body, He is using a special form of grammar. Normally in Koine Greek, one would assume the verb TO BE and simply say, "Thus He is drawing special attention to a reality. He is saying for emphasis:

THIS REALLY AND TRULY IS MY BODY!

PERSONAL ANALYSIS: It’s so simple. Why do people question this? In the sixteenth century Zwingli and Calvin said that the LORD’S SUPPER is ONLY SYMBOLIC. Even Melanchthon, Luther’s best friend, caved in to pressure and published an altered version of the Augsburg Confession that was acceptable to the Reformed. By the 19th century, Lutheran congregations were being pressured—even forced—to accept compromise on the LORD’S SUPPER for the sake of HARMONY. [After Napoleon’s defeat the German Lutheran church merged with the Calvinist/Reformed church becoming the State German Evangelical Lutheran church. Some Lutherans left the mother church in Germany moving to Missouri forming the Missouri Synod keeping Luther’s and original Augsburg Confession beliefs also rejecting the Reformed concept of COMMUNION.]

Many Lutheran churches chiseled U.A.C. on their cornerstone. It stands for UNALTERED AUGSBURG CONFESSION. It is a way of saying, We teach that CHRIST IS TRULY PRESENT in the LORD’S SUPPER. HIS BODY AND BLOOD TAKE AWAY SINS. COME AND EAT!

COMMUNION CARD GOSPEL CONCLUSION

‘We are really sinners. We need the REAL FORGIVENESS that comes with the REAL BODY AND BLOOD of the REAL CHRIST that are given to US in the LORD’S SUPPER.

And that is what we have THANK GOD!

LORD JESUS, thank you for coming to us in bread and wine of HOLY COMMUNION. AMEN"

[As written in Lutheran-Missouri Synod PorTals of Prayer Nov. 13, 2017. Read Matthew 26:26-29 & Psalm 51:1-10 Jesus said, Take, eat THIS IS MY BODY!]

[The very precise Greek language was used in JUDEA during the Roman occupation because it was the language of trade brought there under ALEXANDER THE GREAT of Macedonia’s rule. Latin was used only by the Romans. The local Jewish language was Aramaic. Hebrew was used by the Temple pharisees, priests and rabbis because it was the written language of the TORAH and TENACH and the prophets in their HOLY SCRIPTURES OLD TESTAMENT.]

PERSONAL STORY: When I took several nighttime lessons to become a member of my Lutheran-Missouri Synod church Concordia I was with two ladies Joyce was born Catholic, then Baptist. I don’t know Charlie Charline’s religious background. One lesson by Pastor James Knill was about Communion. He explained that in the Missouri Synod church we believe literally what JESUS revealed to his 11 Disciples at the LAST SUPPER was that his BODY AND BLOOD taken in HOLY COMMUNION was not symbolic but was Jesus actual presence! My pastor explained the Greek definition of IS which really meant IS! I remarked, President Clinton had just made the word IS a national and world wide word of providence. In his Congressional impeachment testimony Clinton testified, It depends what the definition of IS IS!" HIStory? [ISIS?]

My pastor said the Missouri Synod is the ONLY CHURCH denomination professing this Biblical truth! I questioned him on this unbelievable truth. He said the Roman Catholic also believes this but they only give the BODY not the BLOOD. Their dogma considers the round thin wafer as JESUS’ BODY which also contains HIS BLOOD? I have been to Catholic masses and do recall only the priest drinks the BLOOD from the cup of wine. Does anyone read the Bible? Hollywood has often portrayed the LAST SUPPER based on the true Biblical GOSPEL. My church uses kosher Manechevitz wine. Grape juice is also provided and today gluten free wafers are provided. I believe most Christians believe that their Communion service is real not a symbolic ritual. I HOPE. Jesus knows what is in a believer’s heart and doesn’t care about church denomination dogma. Jesus biggest enemy was not Romans or Pontius Pilate, whose wife had a dream about Jesus, and told Pilate to free Jesus. Pilate, a brutal governor, did not find the pharisees case against Jesus a reason for a death sentence. Then the mob probably Jewish Zealots, who realized Jesus wasn’t the conquering Messiah, maybe some were motivated or paid by the pharisees, maybe some were the angry pagan money lenders and pagan Moabites and Amorites who may have believed that Jesus may have been just a devout Old Testament Jew who was speaking against their idolatry and miraculous healings and raising people from the dead which their idols couldn’t possibly imitate. So they shouted, CRUCIFY HIM! Then Pilate, to avoid rioting, invoked a Hebrew Passover law which allowed freeing a prisoner. The mob yelled free BARABBAS, a zealot who had possibly killed Roman soldiers! Not a Hollywood ending? The Old Testament has some 140 scriptures related to Jesus life’s SUFFERING MESSIAHSHIP! Isaiah 53. The epitaph CHRIST KILLER!’ is an OXYMORON. Jesus death was DEICIDE. It was pre-ordained PREDESTINED by GOD THE FATHER. Read Jesus THE HUMAN SON’s FINAL PRAYER in the Getsemeny Garden praying to HIS FATHER to relieve him from his painful human future death. Then the Temple guard came and arrested Jesus after JUDAS kisses JESUS to identify Him for his 30 silver coins as prophesied in the Old Testament which began JESUS PASSION OF THE CROSS. The New Testament GOOD NEWS GOSPEL tells the rest of the story."

Even Hollywood films know or knew this.

HOLY COMMUNION SERVICE

Lake of the Woods multi-denomination Bible Church

INVITATION Pastor

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (UNISON)

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and what we have left undone.

We have not loved You with our whole hearts; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. Forgive us all that is past; and grant us Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

MOMENT OF SILENT PRAYER All

PRAYER FOR PARDON Pastor

COMFORTING WORDS Pastor

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION Pastor

PRAYER OF HUMBLE ACCESS (UNISON)

O Merciful Lord, we do not come to this table trusting in our righteousness, but in Your great mercy.

We are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under Your table, but let us partake of this Sacrament of Jesus Christ, so that we may grow into His likeness, and dwell in Him, and He in us. Amen.

DISTRIBUTION OF ELEMENTS

(Please hold the elements [wafer and cup] until all of the congregation can partake of the Communion together. Note that grape juice is in the center ring and wine in the outer ring of each tray.)

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING (UNISON):

Eternal Father, we give You thanks for Your gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of Your Holy Spirit to give ourselves to others and to serve You with gladness of heart, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Boy Who Brought GOD to Hollywood HIS Day in Church

THE ONE AND ONLY

I believe with all my Heart that if YOU were the ONLY PERSON on EARTH, the LORD JESUS CHRIST would still have descended to this planet, been born of a VIRGIN, and DIED on the Cross for YOU. That’s how very special and unique you are in His Heart.

Pastor David Jeremiah Turning Point

When the famous Hollywood producer CECIL B. DEMILLE, was a boy of 10, his father sent him off to attend a special Christian service at their church, It was a small church, and in an effort to stimulate interest in the community, the church leaders had announced holiday services every morning for a week during the Christmas season. Since the church didn’t have a full-time pastor, guest ministers were recruited. Young Cecil braved the wintery weather and walked into the small wooden chapel to discover he was the ONLY parishioner who had shown up. He was the congregation. He took his seat with some anxiety, and at the appointed hour the minister walked to the pulpit.

The man had a strong, kindly face and a prominent red beard. He looked down at the boy, smiled, and commenced the service as if the church were packed. He read the lessons, and Cecil read the responses to the liturgy. The minister preached a short Sermon and talked earnestly to the boy. When the time came for the offering, Cecil stepped into the isle and dropped his nickel into the collection plate. That’s when something happened that Cecil B. DeMille never forgot. As he offered his coin, the preacher stepped off the platform and placed his hand on the boy’s head. I can still feel the thrill and sensation of his gentle touch. DeMille later wrote. IT WON MY BELIEF AND STRENGTHENED MY FAITH. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH WAS IN THE CHURCH WITH US THAT MORNING. A Boy’s Finest Memory, by Cecil B. DeMille in THE GUIDEPOSTS CHRISTIAN TREASURY (Carmel, NY; Guidepost, 1973}

Sometimes we feel like we’re the only one feeling as we do, sitting in our pew, going through our particular season of life. But on the first Christmas, the Lord Jesus stepped off Heaven’s platform, came down to where you were, and placed His hand of Grace on your head. Had you been the only one on the planet, He would have still made the trip. And as we love and worship him this season, we can feel the thrill and sensation of His gentle touch, as gentle as the softly falling snow. TURNING POINT DAVID JEREMIAH

SMALL WORLD STORY: I met a lady from Washington, North Carolina whose father was a pastor there and knew this story about Cecil B. DeMille.

LUTHER: A MOVIE FOR OUR TIME

The Lutheran Witness Missouri Synod magazine September 2003

Luther To Open Nationwide Sept. 26

Luther, the new motion picture about the life and times of Martin Luther, is scheduled for release Sept. 26 and will open in more than 300 movie theaters nationwide."

HOLLYWOOD PROVIDENCE: British actor JOSEPH FIENNES was chosen to portray the monk/pastor/reformer MARTIN LUTHER. Fiennes confesses, At that time MY GOD was soccer/football! I believe Jesus and Martin Luther will bless him for his remarkable acting portrayal of Luther. Sadly, few people even Lutherans saw the movie. Fiennes later is chosen for RISEN (2011) portraying the centurion Roman soldier Pontius Pilate orders to find Jesus’ missing body. His character allegedly had seen Jesus on the cross and ordered a soldier to pierce Jesus Heart proving JESUS was deceased. Gaius Cassius Longinus, a German Centurion, historically actually did this fulfilling two Old Testament prophecies of the Jewish suffering messiah. Fiennes is later stunned when he sees Jesus alive with His disciples. As a faithful Roman soldier he had hoped to leave hot, dusty Israel to retire to a beautiful villa near Rome. Fiennes goes AWOL from the Roman army. Is this acting or a strong belief, conviction about his role’s message? Providently, Fiennes made a film THE LAST RACE about Scottish Presbyterian pastor ERIC LIDDELL, who in the film CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1980) about the 1912 Paris OLYMPIC GAMES, refuses to run his 100 meter race because it is scheduled on the Sabbath/Sunday. His story gets front page headlines and national support. Would it today? The British Olympic committee and even King of England tell pastor Liddell he must honor king and country. He refuses, choosing his GOD JESUS. Another track teammate offers Liddell his more difficult 300 meter race which Liddell hadn’t trained for. Liddell wins the Gold medal, for Jesus. Joseph Fiennes in THE LAST RACE (2017) portrays pastor Liddell returning to his birthplace China as a missionary. The film ends with a starved and sick Liddell in a Japanese army prison camp being offered freedom. He refuses his pardon telling the commander to release a pregnant mother instead. Liddell passes soon afterward on February 22, 1945. My German mother’s birthday was February 22,1915, 30 years old. George Washington’s birthday. The Episcopal church has made February 22, a feast saints day in pastor ERIC LIDDELL’s memory.

IS THE HANDMAIDEN’S TALE SACRILEGIOUS?

JOSEPH FIENNES largest role is in the three season TV series as a commander in a futuristic dystopian United States. The HANDMAIDEN’S TALE was written as a book by a Canadian woman check Wikipedia. After all of Fiennes great Christian roles as MARTIN LUTHER, the Centurion who finds Jesus alive, and missionary Olympic winner ERIC LIDELL who in the LAST RACE dies in a Japanese prison in China. Providentially, the film was only shown in Communist China as a propaganda film for China’s still great hatred towards Japan for killing some 20,000,000 Chinese people mostly civilian. Fiennes is an actor and I doubt from his previous roles he identifies with his character.

PERSONAL CONNECTION: Actress ANN DOWD portrays the stern but caring head mistress of her hand maidens. She tased one for insubordination. In the film AMAZING ANIMALS she is the head librarian at TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY where a rare AUDUBON bird paintings is on secure display. In the movie she resists college thieves who tase her and she pees in her pants. What goes around comes around? ACTING. Dad graduated there in June 1942, I visited the library in 2017, and was given a card by the librarian who was tased! This was before the film and I didn’t know about the rare book. HOLLYWOOD STORY: Dowd’s husband was LADY GAGA’S movie acting coach.

PROVIDENTIAL REST OF THE STORY: I checked Wikipedia to read about the film THE LAST RACE and was surprised to see it wasn’t shown to the Western world? Apparently, the Chinese Communist government took control of it! Providentially, not to eliminate a story about a true example of what Jesus wants Christians to become, NOT JUST PASTORS. The Chinese Communist government is using Pastor/missionary ERIC LIDDELL’s MARTYRDOM story as propaganda to show how evil the Japanese were in World War II. It is believed 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 Chinese were killed by the Japanese army in the war. Most of those who died were from military forces, biological weapons, starvation and diseases. They were civilian women, children and the elderly. I read a historical email that revealed today "half’ of China’s TV shows are still showing Japanese atrocities revealing a continued hatred for the Japanese, 75 years. History

Fiennes, you must know this? His wife is Spanish and he is now Catholic. His earlier films were ENEMY AT THE GATES (2001) portraying a Communist commissar during the cataclysmic battle of STALINGRAD. His love interest was fellow Communist RACHEL WEISZ who loved Russian sniper JUDE LAW, in ELIZABETH as JOHN ROLFE. Today, JOSEPH FIENNES has as an actor gone to the other extreme as a sinister commissar leader in a dystopian America in the HANDMAIDEN’s TALE.

Also as a young SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE with new, young actress GWYNTH PALTROW, chosen by ME-TOO predator producer HARVEY WEINSTEIN. She was dating young actor BRAD PITT at that time. Brad you should have punched Weinstein out like you wanted to do. Many in Hollywood knew this and one actress even said it during the ACADEMY AWARDS. Is anyone listening? Brad you were THELMA AND LOUISE’s young male hero. Your former wife ANGELINA JOLIE would have kicked Weinstein where it really hurts that would have ended it. Angelina’s dad JON VOGT would have killed Weinstein. Loved Angelina as LARA CROFT in two TOMB RAIDER films with her dad JON VOGT. I heard on ET, Entertainment Tonight, you did aerial acrobatic scenes even stunt men couldn’t do. Talented Swedish actress ALICIA VIKANDER was also amazing as LARA CROFT. I spent a night in her hometown GOTEBERG in late June 1973, when I shipped my new SAAB 99 EMS to America. Read my BITBURGER PILS story about your IRISH husband FASSBENDER, MAGNETO, born in Heidelberg, drinking a BITBURG PILS and then he kills three Nazis. Evil Nazi experimental doctor actor KEVIN BACON who is happily married to KIRA SEDGWICK, a Jewish American actress. Sedgwick was TOM CRUISE’s high school girl friend in the movie BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY based on my Long Island Massapequa/Amityville neighbor RON KOVIC’s sad Vietnam experience. Read my personal story about Kovic. Cruise, born on July 3, should have won the best actor Academy Award Oscar. Don’t feel bad Tom legendary actors KIRK DOUGLAS and PETER O’TOOLE also didn’t win an OSCAR with many nominations. The voting system may not always be fair but sometimes I do agree.

Read my providential connection to the SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION of KEVIN BACON through his many Hollywood films. I can connect to where it started in Pennsylvania. Love WIKIPEDIA and its HYPER LINKS connections amaze me. FOOTLOOSE dancing started BACON’s career. It is interesting to see the TNT channel commercial for Hollywood great moments film clips with its great dancing scenes including Bacon in FOOTLOOSE. Ironically, the infectious raucous background dancing music is unknown except for being used as a raucous London street dancing opener for zany comedian MIKE MYERS spy spoof THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME. A big band record fan, I bought this song SOUL BOSSA NOVA in college in 1963, when the gentle Bossa Nova was very popular. BIG BAND BOSSA NOVA was recorded by the great QUINCY JONES big band. I just found this album in my 2,000+ LP collection and enjoyed playing it. I was disappointed by many clicks and pops from dust. My large CD collection is pure music. Jones was an early friend of RAY CHARLES, who inspired him to form his own tremendous big band. JAIME FOX you deserved the Academy Award for your portrayal of RAY CHARLES. Charles passed just before the film’s premier, but must have HEARD your outtakes. Of course, he couldn’t have SEEN the movie. I saw and heard Ray Charles in the Portland, Maine concert hall in August 1962. The audience was 95% white. He had THREE top 10 chart hits I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU, BORN TO LOSE, and YOU DON’T KNOW ME toping even the BEATLES! Charles tells the ABC/Paramount record company executives he wanted to record a COUNTRY AND WESTERN album with his big band and chorus. They retorted: ‘Ray that is not your type of music. Ray Charles, Jaime Fox, retorts, It doesn’t say that in my contract! I heard Charles again at a WOLF TRAP concert just before he passed. Have many of his albums,a music legend. Charles was popular during a time when both the North and South were still very racist and prejudicial. Ray Charles cancels his sold out appearance in Atlanta, Georgia, because the audience was segregated not allowing any Negroes to attend. Charles rendition of GOD BLESS AMERICA is a classic. CHARLES being blind could not racially profile his avid music fans. Born again, wealthy slave ship captain JOHN NEWTON wrote one of the greatest Christian hymns AMAZING GRACE testifying ONCE I WAS BLIND NOW I CAN SEE.

I became a devoted LES & LARRY ELGART, both Jewish, big band fan in March 1960, when my dad bought me my first LP THE BAND OF THE YEAR 1954, Elgart album featuring the BANDSTAND BOOGIE which was ABC TV’s DICK CLARK AMERICAN BANDSTAND theme song broadcast across America to America’s young ROCK AND ROLL dance enthusiasts waiting to hear all the new singers at 4:00 PM. My dad knew well the American Bandstand theme song because as ABC’s New York City’s senior Master Control room engineer (1949) he connected the show from ABC’s Philadelphia Dick Clark’s dancing studio affiliate. I visited the Dick Clark music museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and took photos of all the pictures of Dick Clark with all of America’s popular singers who owe him their breakouts. The barn museum has been torn down because of the NOISE of visiting band performances. I saw an unmarked big bus turn into the Clark museum road on July 4, 2007, the night CHARLIE DANIELS band played there. It was next to Dollywood Theme park. My wife and I watched the fireworks at nearby Gatlinburg and heard county bands and Rocky Top recorded nearby.

Read my story of how I almost knocked DICK CLARK down in the ABC basement hallway where I got his autograph in August 1960. I didn’t tell my dad that I almost accidentally knocked down ABC’s and America’s most beloved personality.

RACHEL WEISZ married DANIEL CRAIG JAMES BOND in 2011.

Brad Pitt was Paltrow’s boyfriend in SEVEN with detective MORGAN FREEMAN. They both pursue the elusive SEVEN DEADLY SINS revenge murder KEVIN SPACEY. My dad went to Nantucket Island in the 1970s, to hear his friend Roger Johnson play the Hammond organ at CAPTAIN TOBY’s restaurant. They capture Spacey and then Pitt receives a Special Delivery package with Paltrow’s decapitated head inside it. In REVENGE Pitt shots and kills Spacey completing the 7th DEADLY SIN REVENGE! Receiving an ACADEMY AWARD MERLE STREEP holds up her OSCAR and shouts Harvey Weinstein you are my god! Hollywood this is not a parable. Jesus loves everyone but Jesus wants you to be careful who you choose as gods (God’s 1st Commandment), choose your friends wisely, beware of drugs, including prescription, MICHAEL JACKSON and ELVIS, and alcohol and marijuana/cigarettes can diminish your rationality. JOHNNY DEPP, a good child actor and an enigmatic adult actor. Were you using drugs or alcohol when you slurred your words saying When is the last time an actor killed a president? But, I’m not an actor, I LIE for a living. Today, is this your script? You and LEONARDO DICAPRIO were good kids in WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE? You should portray GOETHE’S DR. FAUSTUS who sold his soul to the devil for PRIDEFUL FAME for 23 years. He was able to reverse" his deal in the last minute. Jesus will allow TRULY repentant sinners forgiveness. However, don’t take his Grace in vain because HE will know your TRUE HEART on JUDGMENT DAY.

LUTHER MOVIE TELLS WHY HE BEGAN REFORMATION

The motion picture is bound to cause higher visibility for MARTIN LUTHER and for Lutherans, and that’s wonderful, says Rev. Tom Lapacka, executive director of the Synod’s Board of Communications Services.

Shot on at least 10 sets in 20 locations around Germany, italy and the Czech Republic, Luther was co-produced by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Neue Film production of Berlin, Germany.

The films stars JOSEPH FIENNES (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, ELIZABETH, ENEMY AT THE GATE) as MARTIN LUTHER, ALFRED MOLINA (FRIDA, CHOCOLAT), as indulgence seller TETZEL, and two-time Academy Award winner Sir PETER USTINOV (SPARTACUS, TOPKAPI). The movie’s director is ERIC TILL.

SPECIAL EDITION BOOK: As complements to the film, Concordia Publishing House is producing a number of resources including a special edition of LUTHER: BIOGRAPHY OF A REFORMER., by Frederick Nohl. A 224-page hardcover book at $14.99.

CPH interim President and CEO Paul T. McCain describes the book as a very clear, direct and simple biography, with many full-color pictures from the movie, that will fill in many gaps and articulate much more clearly the essential truths the movie covers.

McCain said that he is convinced that this movie is convinced that this work really will open doors for people interested in Lutheranism, wanting to learn more about Martin Luther. his life and work. It will provide a valuable tool for years to come to help portray the essential truths of the Lutheran Reformation. —Joe Isenhower Jr.

A MAN FOR THIS SEASON

by Uwe Siemon-Netto—UPI religion editor

LUTHER—MARTIN LUTHER’s discovery of a merciful God comes through in a new film that’s also riveting entertainment. Photo: Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes) translates the Bible into German [from original Greek not Latin] while hiding out in the Wartburg castle. Luther portrays events with attention to detail and considerable historical accuracy.

"It’s a pity that the title A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS is taken (a brilliant movie about Sir THOMAS MORE, a Roman Catholic martyred at the hand of King HENRY VIII). It would be a perfect title for the first full-length feature film in half a century about Martin Luther, which opens in 300 theaters nationwide on Sept. 26.

Ah well, let’s call Luther a Man for This Season then—the right man for our manic era, a time of cafeteria religion, an era whose statement of faith seems to be HERE I STAND—and here, and there, and here.

So, to whom shall we turn to guide us out of post-modernity’s labyrinth of creeds? This marvelously fast paced film suggests the person who ranked third on A & E’s and LIFE magazine’s lists of the most influential people of the last millennial [1,000 years]—even though 78 per cent of Americans don’t know who he was: Dr. Martin Luther. Hence the actual, very simple title of this new film, Luther.

HERE I STAND

It so happens that the same quality that cost Sir Thomas More his life is what makes Luther so important for us. Both men’s faith did not permit them to waffle. The relationship between God and man does not allow for choice, there is but one option. As Luther, played superbly by English actor JOSEPH FIENNES (Shakespeare in Love), said in 1521 before the Imperial DIET OF WORMS, risking death at the stake: Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason…my conscience is captive to the Word of God: I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."

MARTIN LUTHER DEFENDER OF WESTERN DEMOCRACY

Maybe Luther added, Here I stand"; maybe that’s just something pamphleteers edited into their reports immediately after WORMS. It doesn’t really matter. These words sum up who LUTHER was; that’s why the filmmakers, thankfully, inserted them into their amazingly accurate and detailed account of the Worms standoff without which WESTERN DEMOCRACY AS WE KNOW IT WOULD NEVER HAVE DEVELOPED.

HERE I STAND—by GOD, these words churn up one’s guts and send shivers down one’s spine! Even if this was a dreary documentary, this brief scene would still win over hundreds of thousands.

But LUTHER is anything but dull. It is so fast-moving that some who previewed it wondered if it might confuse the audience, which I doubt. It is breathtakingly filmed. It has humor and charm and wonderfully authentic aphorisms (Luther: In ROME you can buy sex and salvation) [shows unmarried celibate" priests with prostitutes]. It keeps you on the edge of you seat, wondering at first— to be reassured later-about Luther’s sanity.

"It also makes you wish dolefully that we were governed by men like those German princes, who toward the movie’s end bowed their heads to Emperor CHARLES V at the AUGSBURG DIET of 1530—no, not in deference, but showing their readiness to be decapitated for the sake of the Gospel. O that in these decadent days, when the dirtiest fingers fumble with the words of God presuming to conform it to their own foul desires, we would hear dialogue like this:

Emperor Charles: YOUR MINISTERS WILL NOT PREACH AND YOU WILL OUTLAW THESE BIBLES IN THE COMMON LANGUAGE AND DECLARE ANYONE WHO POSSESSES ONE AN ENEMY OF THE STATE."

PHILIP OF HESSE: We will not stop our ministers from PREACHING THE WORD.

JOHN OF SAXONY:We will not outlaw the new Bibletranslated by Luther into German.

CHARLES: As a sign of your loyalty to ME, tomorrow you shall march in the CORPUS CHRISTI procession to the Cathedral and worship. All of you—in the Roman manner.

GEORGE OF BRANDENBURG: We will not, my Lord.

CHARLES: You… shall know my sword!

GEORGE OF BRANDENBURG: Before I let anyone take away the Word of God and ask me to deny my belief, I will kneel and let him strike off my head…

At this point, a filmmaker mindful of his audience’s stereotypical pangs, might have gone out in Augsburg’s streets break in LUTHER’S ANTHEM, A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD. Director ERIC TILL doesn’t do that. In fact, he only hints at Luther’s musical accomplishments, which later influenced BACH and all the classical German composers. Yes, somewhere in the movie a group of worshippers sings ‘OUT OF THE DEPTH I CRY TO YOU. But that’s it. Clearly, Luther is not about Luther the musician.

Nor is it about Luther the family man, although a hint at the immense influence of the Lutheran parsonage on Western civilization might be particularly welcome at a time when there are suggestions in some quarters that it might be OK for the parsonage to be inhabited by a him and a him or a here and a hereafter.

But Luther the musician, or Luther the family man, would make great topics for separate films or installments of a television series, as would, alas, the old and sick Luther’s against the Jews. Let’s rejoice that this movie ends at a point when, with PHILP MELANCHTON’s presentation of the AUGSBURG CONFESSION, the Reformer was at the pinnacle of his ministry and in the loving arms of a still youthful KATHARINA von BORA, played superbly by CLAIRE FOX, also English.

Thankfully, Luther’s chief message was that of the Gospel (which for some inexplicable reason played only fifth fiddle in an uninspiring Luther documentary on PBS this summer). Doubtless there are also other reasons to revisit the FATHER OF THE REFORMATION—the magnificent realism of his two-kingdoms theology, for example which would bring some sanity to postmodern times. But that HIS DISCOVERY OF A MERCIFUL GOD should come across what is also excellent entertainment—therein lies the filmmaker’s genius.

I have often wondered what effect great men of faith might have on artists who played them or performed their works. Thomas Quasthoff, the crippled German base-baritone, once said when he sang Christ’s part in BACH’S SAINT MATTHEW PASSION he stopped being an agnostic. JOSEPH FIENNES, WHOSE CHURCH IS BY HIS OWN acknowledgment SOCCER, was made to ponder his own faith while acting Luther.

You can’t get away from it if you embrace this man, Fiennes told an interviewer. I have found faith to play a big part in my life. This comes across forcefully in the way he masters the massive, threefold task of showing Luther’s discovery of his personal relationship to God, the application of this discovery as priest and professor, and his concern with how much his accomplishments would last after his death. FOR LUTHER FULLY EXPECTED TO BE MARTYRED."

A POWERFUL JOURNEY

If you think this kind of heavy-duty stuff can never be turned into a riveting film, stand corrected. In the opening scene YOU WILL LITERALLY BE SUCKED INTO THE TERRIFYING THUNDERSTORM THAT MADE A SCARED MARTIN LUTHER VOW TO BECOME A MONK, IF SPARED. Later you are tempted to identify with his fellow Augustinian monks, sniggering at Luther, shaking with fear over his sinfulness, spills the altar wine during his first consecration of the EUCHARIST. Then you see him in Rome, that circus sewer and brothel clerics, stumbling disgustedly across whoring monks.

You—yes, you! will experience with Luther the wise guidance of his Superior, JOHN von STAUPITZ (BRUNO GANZ), who makes him discover the liberating message of salvation by God’s Grace through faith in Christ.

PROVIDENTIAL HISTORY: Staupitz was Luther’s JOHN THE BAPtTIST anointing him on his unknown mission. Bruno Ganz born in beautiful ZURICH, Switzerland March 22, 1941, was Germany’s greatest actor. In the film DOWNFALL (2004) his bunker portrayal of ADOLF HITLER, the year after portraying STAUPITZ, is the most realistic sorry Sir ANTHONY HOPKINS THE BUNKER, you are Welsh not Germanic. DOWNFALL was nominated for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE film at the 77th ACADEMY AWARDS. His portrayal of Hitler’s rage after his generals failure to obey his orders spawned a series of INTERNET MEMES. I have the DVD its plot is based on Hitler’s longtime secretary TRAUDL JUNGE’s personal diary of Hitler’s last days before Hitler’s and his mistress EVA BRAUN’s suicide on WALPURGIS Devil’s NIGHT April 30, 1945, 10 days after Hitler’s 56th birthday.

Ganz was a HOLOCAUST survivor law professor in the movie THE READER (2008) where KATE WINSLET is imprisoned for a Holocaust war crime she didn’t commit, because she couldn’t read and wouldn’t admit this fact because of her pride. One of Ganz’s students RALPH FIENNES, had been her teenage lover who read to her an older woman. He knows her truth but as a law student cannot help her. RALPH FIENNES, is Joseph’s brother. His most notorious role was as the inhumane SS DEATH CAMP commandant in SCHINDLER’s LIST. Schindler was portrayed by Irish actor LIAM NEESON. Fiennes also was evil and demented in the movie RED DRAGON.

Ganz portrayed a Nazi cloning doctor in the movie THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (1978).

GREGORY PECK portrays evil Dr. JOSEF MENGELE trying to clone another Hitler also using home environment euthenics. The only evil role beloved actor Gregory Peck played. Sir LAURENCE OLIVIER portrayed a Nazis hunter based on SIMON WIESENTHAL, who located and captured ADOLF EICHMANN in Argentina.

Ganz in UNKNOWN (2011) is a former STASI German communist agent who helps LIAM NEESON, a doctor whose wife disappears in Berlin. Nesson befriends a German taxi driver DIANE KRUGER. She was born in a little German town near Hannover/Hameln about 10 miles north of where my German grandfather is buried in the World War I section of the cemetery in Gronau. I visited his grave in June 1968, coming from Hannover and passed near Kruger’s birthplace. Wikipedia her many films. HELEN OF TROY was great but not in $. Sorry BRAD PITT, ORLANDO BLOOM, ERIC BANA.

Ganz in FAUST. His last role before his death was in A HIDDEN LIFE, as a Nazi judge.

You will, like Luther recoil, recoil during the magnificent scenes of JOHN TETZEL’s sale of indulgences. You will sit among the superbly costumed congregants in Luther’s church, having eye contact with him as he thunders from the nave—which is historically incorrect (he would have not used the pulpit) but cinematographically very effective—against this perversion of the Gospel. You will laugh with his Wittenberg students as he ridicules the folly of collecting relics: 18 of the 12 apostles are buried in Spain alone!"

Sometimes dramatic films have to take some liberties with history, and Luther" has some of those. As Luther hides in the WARTBURG [Castle] translating the NEW TESTAMENT into German, for example, two appalling events—the 1521 iconoclast riots and the 1525 PEASANTS’ WARS—seem to flow into one. But the message comes across clearly. Luther’s struggles and deep remorse over this film he horrors his REFORMATION have triggered, including the slaughter of 50,000 to 100,000 rebels.

But that’s precisely the point of this film: What history courses and even the most wonderful books cannot accomplish, succeeds here. In two gripping hours, you literally become part of one of the most dramatic biographies in Human History, a tale with enormous heights but also great lows most of us would shy away from. Within minutes you switch from breathlessness as you partake in the wild boar hunt of the extravagant Pope LEO X, who excommunicated Luther, to the calm and wily warmth of Saxony’s prince elector FREDERICK THE WISE, who saved his little monk, as he called him, and thus changed History.

The inexorable Sir PETER USTINOV plays this ruler with so much allure and humor that he seems a prime candidate for an OSCAR AS BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR. In one of the movie’s loveliest scenes, Luther enters Frederick’s study to hand him the first print of the New Testament in German. As he engages the prince in dialogue, the aged Frederick impatiently snaps his fingers, asking with a childlike smile, Do you think I can have my present now?"

PERSONAL USTINOV STORY: My dad said one night leaving the ABC TV Master Control room he had to take a cab because it was cold. He said Peter Ustinov got out of the cab. Dad said the seat was still warm. Ustinov, a Russian Baptist, in SPARTACUS took KIRK DOUGLAS baby and wife to safety and pass by Spartacus crucified on a Roman Cross. I AM SPARTACUS! When a child I saw QUO VADIS where Roman Emperor NERO portrayed by Ustinov burns Rome, to rebuild it, and blames it on the Christians who then puts Christians in the Coliseum where the Romans watch them killed by hungry lions. The Romans gave the people bread and circuses in the Coliseum Circus Maximus. Is America becoming like Rome? Rome was a Republic.

This film’s all about this gift’s magnitude—it is a drama about the Gospel of Christ made available not just sages but to all, which is why Luther’s deed enthralled all of Germany and the rest of Europe in the 16th Century. Such are the vagaries of History, though, that in much of Germany, Luther is recognized merely as a historical giant, while his true significance as a Christian prophet seems widely forgotten.

But here comes yet another twist: So catastrophic is Germany’s spiritual decline of the last decades that its Roman Catholic Church has joined its Protestant sister in promoting this film about the Father of the Reformation. As Cardinal KARL LEHMANN, chairman of the German Conference of Catholic Bishops, once told me, We, too, recognize Luther as a great teacher of the faith."

Ironically, in the much more religious United States, a leading film distributor told Dennis Clauss, executive producer of the film and corporate projects leader with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, the movie’s sponsor: Great! I’ll handle this,——-

IF YOU LEAVE OUT THE CHRIST STUFF.

It is amazing how confused movie moguls can be! CHRIST STUFF"— THAT’S WHY WE WANT TO SEE THIS FILM; that’s why you want to fret, smile and rejoice with Luther, and do battle on his side; that’s why he is the MAN FOR THIS SEASON. HIS RENAISSANCE