In many respects, the issue of The Lutheran Witness you hold in your hands offers an international perspective. In these pages our authors range from Palestine (Bethlehem and the West Bank) to Brazil, Iran, and finally back to our own U.S.
Peculiar. Today, when we use that word in conversation, our implication is
often pejorative. But as Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr. points out in our cover story, there is an older tradition regarding the use of peculiar, too, a sense that means special, unique, and yes, different in a good way.
The dynamic Luther portrait on the cover of the October 2008 issue was never more penetrating because it cuts through the cults of power and pathogens that confront our world. Blessed by our Lord to have reached 75 years and having carried Luther’s legacy through his Catechism for about 70 years, I am convinced that
Within the Christian community, Lutherans are unique–peculiar–in the best sense of the word.
Receive God’s gifts! Study the Word! Know your doctrine! Tell your story! Share your faith!
Lutherans rejoice in being a ‘peculiar’ people, with a distinctive interpretation of Scripture that we use in bold mission to serve Christ.
More than historic relics, our Lutheran confessions identify who we are, connect us to the Church of all ages, and keep the Gospel at the heart of our life and proclamation.
When you picture “a Lutheran,” whom do you see?
When it comes to sin, Christ is our eternal weight-loss plan.
by Rev. Jonathan C. Watt Read Matthew 2. It is a common picture this time of year: three kings, decked out in kingly robes, crowns and all, surrounding the baby Jesus in the manger to present their kingly gifts; three wise men on bent knee worshiping their Savior. But maybe this picture is not that
It’s become clear that ongoing vigilance is required if traditional marriage is to be protected and preserved for future generations.
It was a great joy to read “Through the Ages” in the November Lutheran Witness. The wonderful centenarian told her pastor something I had learned as a child and my parents before me had also learned. I belong to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in the little town of Strasburg, Ill. Grace Church had a young