As St. Paul often mentioned believers by name and celebrated their faith, I would like to seize this opportunity to celebrate the faith of Paul and Barbara Borden of Zion Lutheran Church, Fallbrook, Calif., who lost everything but their faith in the 2007 Southern California wildfires. Paul and Barbara continue to be an inspiration to
I ask this question as a Roman Catholic who by way of marriage is related to many Missouri Synod Lutherans. I am, in fact, a eucharistic minister, and I have been asked by members of my extended family to commune elderly Lutheran relatives residing in assisted-living facilities. I have refused based on my understanding of
I have subscribed to The Lutheran Witness for many years. Of late, there are colored pages sometimes, and that is hard to read. Just thought you should know. I appreciate all the information and interesting articles. Name and address withheld by request Read More Letters to the Editor Send letters to “Letters,” c/o The
by Theresa M. Shaltanis God has blessed us with a son who is a hard worker, talented, and compassionate. He is also gay, and he has questioned why God made him this way. I told him I don’t know the answer, but that God doesn’t make “junk,” and that I will always love him. I
Thoughts for the New Year The most important thing in communication is to listen for the things not being said. Happiness comes through doors you didn’t know you left open. When someone says, “That’s a good question,” you can be sure it’s a lot better than the answer you’re going to get. Don’t expect God
by Rev. Jonathan C. Watt Read 2 Peter 1:16–18. He was an eyewitness. St. Peter said he saw the majesty of Jesus. The word majesty is a kingly word. It has to do with greatness and power. Glory is another word for majesty. That’s what Peter says he and the other disciples saw. He recalls
Despite its current economic or political clime, Bethlehem is still the place where Christ was born—where many still travel to remember a night long ago in this little town when the Light of the World came into its ‘dark streets.’
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? —Matt. 6:26 ESV
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.
I am reading my November issue of The Lutheran Witness, and what do my wondering eyes behold but a—what? A metaphorical homily-like piece about a cat? I have no quarrel at all with Rev. Genzen, and nothing he writes is doctrinally suspect. I also realize that the Lifeline article is often a personal refl ection.
Robert Droege (“Letters,” November 2008) quite rightly reminds us of our duty to offer aid to people troubled by hunger, poverty, homelessness, and the like. But to set abortion on moral par with these incidental adjuncts to human existence is to trivialize it. Apart from especially oppressive governments, no one sets out willfully to infl