Praise God for Dr. James Lamb and his dedication to life! (“Life Issues: Renewing the Three R’s,” September). His simple three R’s formula to renew our church’s commitment to life issues is one that can be implemented by every one of us.
I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Lamb that our churches are responsible for raising awareness of all life-related matters, and that the message we hear from the pulpit is paramount. Silence must not reign in this arena. His comment, “The value the Gospel gives to life from the moment of conception needs to connect with us all again and again,” resonates especially withme as a Christian mom. Life matters are vital, relevant, and foundational. Fortunately for our busy pastors, there are a myriad of resources currently available for their congregations from Lutherans For Life. Bulletin inserts can be a starting point. I pray each of us can share in a new “revival” for life, within our own families of faith and beyond—today.
Pamela Clare
Bedford, Mass.
In his September “Life Issues” article, Dr. Lamb makes the point that, although beginning and end-of-life issues are political and controversial, they are spiritual at their core. He is right about that, and he is right to state that the Church has the responsibility to address these life issues from the pulpit.
But limiting “life issues” to abortion and euthanasia, as Dr. Lamb does in his article, leaves out other important life concerns. These include issues of poverty, homelessness, lack of health care, need for adoption support, etc. In addition to beginning and end-of-life issues, the Church should also address these issues from the pulpit and suggest how church members might become advocates on these issues in the public square.
As Dr. Lamb states, “The Gospel is the most powerful and positive pro-life message in the universe, and it is tailor-made for issues of life and death.” But let’s be completely pro-life and proclaim that message to defend human life wherever it is threatened throughout the lifespan.
Robert C. Droege
Rockville, Md.
I take issue with the September issue of The Lutheran Witness and with its timing in publishing “Life Issues: Renewing the Three R’s.”
It is disappointing that Lutherans For Life, and Dr. James Lamb find it necessary to “renew” these issues just prior to our country’s national election, carrying with it political overtones.
Do I believe in the “Right to Life”? Yes, for all, including the newborn, grandmothers, and the infirmed. God has given gifts to each of us to use to His glory, including the ability to properly develop stem-cell research, so others may have “the right to life,” and including physicians who’ve been given the ability perform organ transplants, because all have “the right to life.”
Eight years ago the religious right, the Moral Majority, and right-to-life organizations used religious rhetoric and millions of dollars to entice and convince their members and others that “right to life” was the only meaningful issue.
And sad to say, they were successful.
It produced an administration of selfishness, lies, deceit, manipulation, immorality, rendition, and torture. It also caused and cost thousands of needless deaths. Was their “right to life” ever considered?
God teaches us His lessons all year long, and prayerfully He will give us an open heart, a clear mind, and spiritual conscience to make decisions based on what we’ve learned.
Frederick Hoge
Jacksonville, Fla.
I could never accept abortion as an answer to a predicament. It goes against everything I ever learned about the sacredness of human life.
As a former teacher of little children, as a mother of three and a grandmother of 10, I realize what a blessing it is to have the gift of life growing inside your body.
Sometimes the panic of circumstances causes one to lose faith, and I try to believe that is what happened to my parents. I cannot judge my parents for choosing abortion, because at 19, my mother already had two babies. It was 1934 and the Depression. Dad was employed but money was very tight.
After Dad died in 1961, I was told about “the lost child.” Of course, I was shocked. In 1939, my brother was born. As the eldest child, I was never close to my brother, the much-pampered son. He grew up, married twice, but there were no children. He is the last male in our family line. There are no heirs, and his is the end of a family that was here in the United States before the Revolution. Is this God’s punishment for ignoring His commandment?
As for me, I am now 76, and I would have appreciated another sibling, as my sister died many years ago. How sad it is. Somehow I have learned God always cares for us. We should never take human life for granted.
Carol Lockhart
Chewelah, Wash.
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