On the Pope as the "Anti-Christ" and the "the Jews and Their Lies"

Mark Neumann's rightwing ideology and intolerance is pervasive in his politics, and his rigid religion drives him, so says Neumann, to his credit.

Go to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and use Roman Catholic as a search term (upper-right search engine), or gay or Jew.

Some examples from Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS):

- "Our confessional writings from that period, still the official position of our church body today, address the papacy with unmistakable clarity and vigor. Perhaps the dearest statement is in Luther's Smalcald Articles: 'The pope is the real anti-Christ who has raised himself over and set himself against Christ.' "

- We recognize the Pope as the Anti-Christ by his false teachings and by his matching the traits of the Anti-Christ as revealed in Scripture, not by the alleged symbolism of something he wears or carries.

- (Luther) had hoped that the Reformation with its clear preaching of the pure gospel would convert the Jews. Luther himself provides examples from the Talmud in 'On the Jews and Their Lies' (Luther's Works 47:226-228): 'Their Talmud and their rabbis record that it is no sin for a Jew to kill a Gentile, but it is only a sin for him to kill a brother Israelite. Nor is it a sin for a Jew to to break his oath to a Gentile. ... '

- Christians must take care during their lifetimes not to regularly associate with any group or organization that would take their focus off Christ alone as their salvation.

- We must warn the impenitent that homosexuality, like all sins, excludes people from eternal life (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The church, therefore, must not, bless same-sex marriages or unions, since these are contrary to the will of God. The church must not place into nor retain in the public ministry of the Word people who defend, condone, or persist in words or actions that are contrary to God’s law.