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Letters to the editor


A church affiliation story worth telling Tolerance, charity, assembly action stories, Marty column move readers


OCTOBER 2013 • www.thelutheran.org • $2.50 Good piece, but … ®


Beyond tolerance


Study guide 27


Safe in the circle 14 Gone fishin’ 16 Lutheran trump cards 28 All of us behind one 30 Peace in Joplin, Mo. 34


Living together in a diverse world 20


Kudos for “Beyond tolerance” (Octo- ber, page 20). It brought to mind Mar- tin Luther’s Small Catechism and his explanation that “we are to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain his actions in the kindest way.” Yet as the author writes: “Luther took for granted that both Muslims and Roman Catholics were enemies of Christ.” Then there is Luther’s treatise On the Jews and Their Lies. Where is


With stories about congregations leav- ing the ELCA since “the vote” in 2009, let me tell of one that joined. In October 2010, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Gilroy, Calif., began the process of dis- cerning its national church affiliation. We were with the Lutheran Church– Missouri Synod. We had several guest speakers come from both the LCMS and ELCA to preach and share their insights. After an advisory, nonbinding vote with only two dissenting, we began the formal process of switching from the LCMS to the ELCA. We took our deciding vote on Reformation Sunday 2011. I went through the candidacy pro- cess and the congregation adopted the ELCA model constitution, and we were joyfully welcomed into the ELCA at the 2012 Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly. We are very happy in the ELCA. We don’t look back, but welcome the new- ness and freshness of this relationship. In January we became a Reconciling in Christ congregation. I’m grateful for the welcome into the ELCA and wanted to


share our story. It’s a good one. The Rev. Ronald E. Koch Gilroy, Calif.


tolerance in our nation right now? The Rev. Luverne A. Jacobson Wilsonville, Ore.


Give credit where due


In case some readers missed it, a news brief (September, page 10) said that Britain’s “estimated 280,000 Muslims report giving more money annually to charity than Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews.” If this is true, then Muslims display better Christian and Jewish values than the rest of us. The Bible clearly teaches that it is the responsi- bility of the people of God to support and bring the poor up out of poverty. Let’s applaud the Muslim community


for that. The Rev. Ed Beckstrom Lake Martin, Ala.


Off the mark


As a retired robbery detective for the Dallas Police Department for 33 years, I found “Event tackles ‘The New Jim Crow’ ” (September, page 40) disconcerting. Almost all of the officers I worked with were color- blind when it came to enforcing the law. As a robbery detective I did deal with more black suspects than white


68 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


because they committed more of the offenses. I agree that many convicted felons (of any color) tend to re-offend because there is no support system for them when they are released. It also appears that some in the article would like to do away with incarceration of lawbreakers. A small-time drug dealer can hurt people as well as the big-time dealer. We should look for solutions for the user. There are not enough treatment facilities, but who should


pay for them? Duane Boy Dallas


Nothing but the facts


After reading the description of the Israel-Palestine action passed by the Churchwide Assembly (September, page 27), I read the actual text that was passed. The focus of the action is pretty clear—the ELCA is to dis- pel “stereotypes and caricatures” and work toward a better understanding of this conflict by hearing and learn- ing from both sides. The account in The Lutheran, however, seems not to convey the essence of the text and, instead, focuses unduly on a brief ref- erence to the Kairos Palestine Docu- ment, even adding verbiage about the “Israeli occupation” that in fact does


not appear in the action as passed. The Rev. Brooks Schramm Gettysburg, Pa.


Clerical word police Peter W. Marty’s “Talking about homosexuality” (September, page 3) was a tortured and shameful attempt to justify the homosexual lifestyle and to announce what is proper thought and speech on the subject. The article was replete with nonsensical arguments


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