Letters
Magazine’s look draws ire, praise Lutheran
Readers weigh in on ‘mainline,’ savior, ad, puzzle, cartoon, column JANUARY 2014
www.thelutheran.org $2.50 ®
Work of the church
STORY PAGE 20
STUDY GUIDE PAGE 26
to create a new political party a cen- tury ago (probably because I am non- partisan). The name for his short- lived party was the Progressive Party. Personally, that term really resonates for me: a person advocating or imple- menting social reform. How about “progressive Protestants”? God bless you in the work you do. Andrea Puck Santa Clara, Calif.
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38 Path of renewal
Retirees see increases We are all geeks What’s in a name? House for homeless
Missed something Twenty-eight years and two logos ago, the editors of The Lutheran saw fit to incorporate a cross into the let- ter “t” in the word Lutheran on the cover, thereby solidifying Christ as the center of the publication and our Lutheran identity. Of all the changes being made, this one is certainly a downgrade. I find it a poor decision for the publication of a denomination already riddled with revisionist the- ology and cheap grace. The Rev. Nathan D. Hooks Burlington, N.C.
Looks good Love the new look. Thanks for all your hard work. Suzanne C. Swanson Menasha, Wis.
Make that progressive Regarding a new term for “mainline Protestant” (December, page 12), I have been thinking a lot recently about Theodore Roosevelt’s attempt
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Trouble with words The “mainline Protestant” article saddened me. The church doesn’t need to try to become presentable to the world; the world is to become presentable to the church. This is our message. We are a community of believers in Christ. He came to set us free. We welcome the world into our midst to experience this with us. A social justice Christian is a word- play morass that only adds another problem to mainline churches’ slow demise. Christianity is defined in three Rs: restoration, relationship and revelation. It is knowing Christ’s words, walking with him in the power of the Spirit through all our daily affairs, that draws people into our communities. Once experienced, the world falls in love with Christ and will never leave. George Neitz Sun City West, Ariz.
Love of God The authors of “Jesus the savior” (December, page 18) struggle might- ily to be inclusive with Jesus’ state- ment: “No one comes to the Father except by me.” But what if we read these verses as Jesus being the love of God incarnate in a human being?
Now it reads that this kind of love is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to God except as one who incarnates the love of God. When we act as the true church, the body of Christ, we incarnate this love. All those who incarnate Jesus’ kind of love are also welcomed by God. David Fry Los Alamos, N.M.
No loafing The otherwise timely and penetrat- ing conversation of theologians in “Jesus the savior” was marred by the use of “salvific” (twice) and “Christo- logical missiology” (yikes). C’mon, editors. Do your job. Larry Speicher Gaithersburg, Md.
Take a stand To “insult” Judaism labels a person an anti-Semite. If a person drops a Koran or somehow denigrates Islam, the government trembles and apolo- gizes. Major denominations are jelly- legged conspirators in the ascending and increasing attack on Christian- ity in this country. We can spend millions to fight AIDs in Africa. Oh that our leadership would spend a fraction of that to hire effective legal counsel to sue as a hate crime every moviemaker using Jesus’ name as a swear word. That would at least be a start in ending the current insane capitulation, permitting militant minorities to rule speech. James Kallas Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Calling all organists I am Lutheran born and raised, and also a church organist. While look-
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