Thanks for the free copy of the January Lutheran Witness. Our former congregation’s pastor chose to discontinue the blanket congregational subscription offered through the New Jersey District in a cost-saving move. The savings are minimal, but I suspect this attitude is prevalent among many pastors and congregations. I feel this to be very foolish. The magazine’s tremendous improvement in style and approach, with articles that pertain to people in today’s society, is a “good witness” to our faith. We can now use such items as a response to those who knock on our doors, advocating other perspectives of religion or Christianity.
Paul Sparling
via the Internet
I find it ironic that in the very first paragraph of the article “A Hand of Life-Giving Love” in the January Lutheran Witness, it speaks about the Great Commission in Matt. 28:18–20 “being caught, thought, and taught . . . incompletely and even inaccurately” [emphasis added] when the article itself incompletely presents that very Scripture. Finger 4 on the outstretched palm and paragraph 4 both speak of baptizing and teaching everything that Jesus has told us. Jesus’ words recorded in Matt. 28:20 are “teaching them to obey [emphasis added] everything I have commanded you.” Certainly Jesus could have left “to obey” out of the Great Commission if He thought it unnecessary. The article’s point of these verses having been given a “heavy Law orientation” is not served well by simply deleting or ignoring words inconvenient to the author’s point.
Let us keep and teach Jesus’ words in their entirety and resist the common temptation to dilute them.
Beth Gehrke
Elgin, Ill.
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