[egarvue]

Yikes! Liberal Alert!!!!!! Please note that in the above post, all hyperlinks lead to the website of the liberal LCMS faction (I had to find the ruling in a hurry, and I didn't have my home links here at work, so I took it where I could find it, even from a liberal website). Just be aware that if you explore that site, it represents ONLY the extreme liberal view within the LCMS.

[RonF]

So, the offense here was not that the defendant offered any prayers or said anything that was in violation of his denomination's beliefs; no, it is held that his very presence and act of offering prayer at the same place and time that other religious leaders offered prayer was offensive to God. They think that by doing so he was acknowledging that these other Gods exist and are equal to the LCMS's concept of the Christian God. Do I have it right?

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

This link is loaded with information and articles about some of the turmoil and conflict within the Missouri Synod. Scroll down to the heading of "Unionism" to read any number of articles about Benke and related issues.

It may give you a better idea of why the suspension was indeed correct.