Accepting The Homosexual
By J. Patrick Fitzgerald*
We hear many voices today calling for the acceptance of homosexuality within Church and society. These voices would have us cast off our "homo-phobia" and affirm relationships of love and commitment.
It is a remarkable thing to watch. As the homosexual community comes out of the closet, numbers of church people are entering the closet! It appears that, as homosexuals come out, others become afraid to come out, afraid to call sin, SIN. While we can now hear a plethora of voices telling us that the Bible is wrong, there is a dearth of voices who will stand up for (he Bible's legitimacy.
It is true that we are a church of grace, where the sinner can rejoice in forgiveness. But we can not become a body which affirms and rejoices in sinning.
In our drive, indeed, our zeal, to be free from the strictures of law, paradoxically, it is still the law – both as curb and mirror – that serves to drive us to the cross. If we ignore God's law, soon even the clearest commandments will be denied because they were "only meant to apply to an ancient cultic way of life!" And the modern cult of self-satisfaction will become the ultimate standard.
The great heresies of the early church were recognized and forcefully denied. But it appears that this one, namely, that certain forms of practiced homosexuality are without sin, will even fail to be identified as a Christian heresy.
Does a certified percentage of homosexuals in any given population group, presently estimated as anywhere between one and 10 percent, certify that activity as a proper and acceptable lifestyle? We might as well argue that because even up to 100 percent of us suffer toothaches, we should bless and seek out such experiences because of their frequency.
In the ELCA document, "A guide for pastoral care in matters concerning homosexuality," Harold Skillrud and Richard Shaper begin their discussion quoting the Talmud (an interesting diversion!). "We do not see things as they are; we see things as we arc." This statement is true. We see things as sinful human beings.
At the same time we seek to be accepted, a need that is a very basic part of our human nature. God has shown us acceptance in Jesus Christ. It is our call to share that acceptance and affirmation with every person.
But while Jesus accepted al! people and died for their sins, He also rebuked those who used their faith to promote their own self-indulgent interests. Are we then really helping homosexuals to come to know God in a clearer way, by affirming their activities? Or are we rather tying a millstone around their necks – and our own as well – by telling them their activity is not only acceptable to God, but one that God affirms?
I am convinced our pastoral care of persons with homosexual tendencies should be caring, loving, and clear enough to say that homosexual practice is a sin, which should be resisted just as any other sin.
Yes, we need to care; yes, we need to reach out in concern; yes, we need to show love and compassion; yes, we need to put a stop to die belligerence, the prejudice, die put-downs, the psychological and physical attacks. And we need to do these things before wecan expect to be listened to, before we can help another of God's creation to deal with sin.
I am a sinner. I know this very clearly. I am reminded of it daily. Nevertheless I do not plan to arrive al this year's synod assembly with a fist full of documents that attempt lo convince die voting majority dial an acknowledged sin of mine (participated in by up to 90 percent of Americans according to surveys) is not a sin at all. I will not argue at the microphone that my sin, because of its frequency in the population, is a legitimate expression of human nature and that it should be affirmed whenever I participate in it publicly or privately – because that's the way I am.
Indeed, sin IS a legitimate expression of our broken human nature. It is the way we are. "If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us". We confess that truth during our Sunday worship hour. But instead of seeking sanction and approval for my sin, I will continue to fight the good fight and resist sin and the devil. That is what we are called to do in God's Word. And when I inevitably find again that I continue to need Jesus, I will also again turn to my Savior for forgiveness.
Those who promote homosexual practice as an alternative lifestyle tell us that until we throw the doors wide open to such behavior we will not be able to minister to homosexuals. Rather, it must be clear, as soon as we open the doors to them in the way in which they seek, we will have lost the ability to minister lo their need, that is, to recognize sin for what it is, namely, that brokenness which separates us from God. We will have los t the opportunity and denied our responsibility to call them to repentance, to turn to God to be restored in a relationship of wholeness.
How can we meet the needs of the homosexual community, making Hie church a safe place for them to express themselves and a place where they can find the answer for sin, the answer for the brokenness in which we all share? How can we be a warm and welcome place to those in need of our care and concern, and yet affirm and uphold the biblical standard which our ELCA professes to follow? That is the real question we ought to be answering. That is the issue we ought to be studying.
This is not only the issue for homosexuals. It is the very heart and soul of the church – to be the place for sinners to find forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
* Fitzgerald pastors The Berea Lutheran Church in Hilmar, California.
Leaping Theological Conclusions
by Bishop George Paul Mocko
Reading the section on homosexuality in the ELCA Draft on Human Sexuality, it seems to me that the authors proceeded thus: 1) they were convinced by the argumant that there are three kinds of sex which are ‘natural’ – hetero, homo and something in between; 2) then came the leaping theological conclusion that this is the way God made it and if so, it is good; 3) they then proceeded to search for a scriptural defense for this position.
This defense is accomplished by ignoring totally Genesis 2 and Matthew 19, which have always served as the basis for all our theologies of sex, and settling instead on Romans 13:8 ("Owe no one anything, except to love one another"), which verse is then given an antinomian and ‘cheap grace’ interpretation. Paul would never accept that. For then we are left in the sands of theological and moral relativism, where any behavior and any belief is acceptable if done in the name of love.
This approach is exactly backward. We are to begin with Scripture, derive our theology from it and then proclaim that to the world, whether the world likes it or not!
If we accept such abuse of Scripture, dismissing and distorting as cavalierly as this section does, picking and choosing what might be made to fit what we want to say, then ‘the Bible only,’ (sola scriptura, the motto for the Reformation) has come to mean nothing and no doctrine is safe, not our doctrine of salvation, not even our teaching about who Christ is.
The section on homosexuality must be completely rewritten. For us to accept this backward approach, this picking and choosing in order to be able to say what the world wants to hear, would be fatal to everything we proclaim.
We must begin where we have always begun – Genesis 2 and Matthew 19: mommy, daddy, baby. That is foundational. That expresses the purpose and intent of God in creating us as sexual beings.
Homosexuality, according to Romans 1 is one example, one evidence and expression of a fallen creation. In that context – it needs also to be said quite emphatically – the homosexual is not to be regarded as a particularly detestable sinner, but one caught in the power of sin. As we all are. His or her particular burden, or shackle, in this sex-obsessed society of ours will have its special pain, and that is to be grieved. The church should respond to that with compassion.
But there is no scriptural basis whatsoever for celebrating homosexuality. Such a thing we could not say – quite contrary to the draft's assertion – that celebrating homosexuality is "supported by responsible biblical interpretation". There is no biblical basis for such a radical departure from what has been said over the entire span of the church's teaching on this subject.
If we were to accept the methodology by which this radical conclusion is reached, it could only be concluded that in the ELCA the Christian faith no longer has any definable content. If this is accepted, then anything goes.
* BishopMocko heads the Delaware-Maryland Synod of the ELCA. As a letter, this article was substantively sent first to The Lutheran, and is reprinted by the author's permission.
Braaten Address Available on Video!
Your Fatter F.O.C.L. Point
F.O.C.L. accepts as a major responsibility, to provide educational guidance for better appreciation of our Lutheran heritage, and to return our church to its avowed loyalty to the Scriptures. We enclose a summary series of articles, THE CHURCH AND THE MORAL ORDER, first published and offered for our readers' use by the Lutheran Bible Institute in California, Anaheim. It can help us with the necessary biblical and confessional resources lo respond to the assaults on biblical Lutheranism are represented by the ELCA task force document. The Church and Human Sexuality.
Across the U.S., defenders of the faith have arisen to call the ELCA back to its Scriptural foundations. Among them are The Lutheran Forum arid Forum Letter, Great Commission Network, The Lutheran Commentator, and members of the Luther-Northwestern Seminary Faculty who have garnered more than 2000 signatures of concerned ELCA leaders and congregation members in support of their study, The Report of the Luther Northwestern Faculty Countering the ELCA Position Paper on The Church anil Human Sexuality. If you are a delegate to the Sierra Pacific Assembly, pick up a copy of these publications at the F.O.C.L. desk display.
The Church in Crisis
by Carl Braaten*
Remember, we have no "Lutheran" Christ, no Lutheran salvation. We are a Lutheran "movement.", a movement for the sake of the whole church.
We Lutherans have certain distinctive principles or banners we wave in order to describe our movement. You learned them in your catechism.
The first of these principles is SOLA GRATIA, grace alone. By grace alone we arc saved, saved by God's initiative, nol by our practice, feelings, or by our intellectually affirming true and proper doctrines.
Nothing we do brings us into the right relationship with God. By divine initiative alone a way of salvation for this world has been provided. Salvation is not conditioned by human goodness, intentions or good works.
The second principle is SOLA FIDE, faith alone. Nol faith without works, noi faith motivated by works, not faith brought about by accumulating good works. Faith aloneùit is the open hand that receives the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It means being opened up by the Spirit 10 receive what God pours into our hearts.
CHRIST ALONE is the third principle. Without it, the other two are meaningless. Christ is God, very God, God in the flesh. Some people are trying to push the idea that Christ is only Jesus, an earthly man who set a very good example, even to die point of dying for his beliefs. Indeed, the church has many heroes and martyrs, but Christ is not one of them. Jesus is God in the flesh, "Emmanuel".
Jesus Christ is very God, "of one substance with the Father" as the Creed says. lie is of the very same "stuff as God the Father, who created the universe. CHRIST ALONE is God's unique self-identification. When we look to Jesus, we sec the human face of God, and nol simply the wonderful presence of an extraordinary human being.
The fourth principle – SOLA SCRIPTURA, Scripture alone. When push comes to shove in die church, as is happening right now, we should go to the Scriptures. Consider this big debate on human sexuality. It seems Americans think about sex morning, noon and night; America is saturated and obsessed with sex. And now ihe church, our poor young little baby church, ihc Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), heard that the world is interested in sex. So t the ELCA says, "ME TOO!" We Lutherans are going to talk about sex – isn't that wonderful!"
Our parents never talked about sex; they just did it – or we wouldn't be alive. But we ELCA Lutherans are supposed to talk dutifully about sex, just like our culture tells us to. This little church says, "Let's have a task force and write about sex so we can titillate the imagination of all those secularists out there." And the rest of us poor Lutheran folk have to take the embarrassing rap for it all, under the gaze of the lascivious mass media.
Scripture Alone – it means that the sexuality ELCA task force should have had biblical theologians on it lo tell us what the Scriptures teach about human sexuality and morality, about marriage and family, about sin. But on that task force mere was one, and only one, lowly biblical theologian. Whether he knew anything about sex, nobody knows. But judging from the document, if this task force was right, then the church has been wrong – not Lutheran church, but Reformed, Catholic and Orthodox churches – all Christian churches have been wrong – for two thousand years!
How wonderful. Suddenly Lutherans have discovered something no other Christian in 2000 years ever thought of. They tell us to study the sexuality document. There's another alternative – flush it! Unless, of course, you're terribly interested in just plain sex.
Another principle, without which Lutherans would be indistinguishable from other religious cultures is, the CONFESSIONAL PRINCIPLE (as in your "Fellowship of Confessional Lutherans"). By confessional we mean that we subscribe to the three ecumenical creeds of the one holy catholic and apostolic church. Within them we have the firm confession of who God is, what He does, also for the world and for us, and what we can expect from Him in die future. Adherence to tin's principle means that Lutherans arc not going to invent a new Christianity but that we are a part of the universal stream of Christianity on earth. Many Protestants don't have (his principle, and accordingly, lack the firm guidelines or parameters within which dieir theology is to be worked out.
The next principle: WORD AND SACRAMENT. It's in the Word and Sacraments that Jesus promises to be with us – not in any old place, but in the living Word and in the bread and wine that have been consecrated as his body and blood. This is the importance of the church: it is where Jesus meets us in His Word. Lutherans at their best have maintained a massive and faithful concentration on the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments, it is still where Jesus Christ meets the world today.
The next principle deals with whether the proclamation from the pulpits of our congregations is true, or whether we're being treated to mere editorial opinions of some individual pastor. It is the principle of LAW and GOSPEL. The whole counsel of God is to be proclaimed, the whole Law, die whole Gospel, both dimensions, unadulterated and unabridged. Today pastors in many places try to preach the Gospel without the Law. They make God's grace cheap grace: "God loves you, so do as you please. He doesn't care because He's as full of love and understanding as you wish your parents would be." Nobody says no; nobody is there to set guidelines and hold the front against our desires and lusts.
Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral illustrates the issue. I le said die first big controversy in his church was whether there should be a cross in the sanctuary. Some of die lay liberals said no, because a cross is a very negative concept: the cross has to do with killing, with blood, and that turns people off.
Or think of this: some feminists are even saying that the cross is a case of "divine child abuse"! All because die Son was pul lo death in order to reconcile God the Father with the world, and the world with God.
Apply this principle to your worship when you leave die pew next Sunday. Ask if you heard both die Law of God and me Mercy of God. Yale University professor H. Richard Niehbuhr said, "Liberal pulpits preach a God without wrath, who brings people without sin into a kingdom without judgment, to a Christ without a cross." Sweet Jesus! That is not what our Lutheran tradition commands our pastors to preach. The PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS is the eighth principle. It means that every Christian has received the free gift of grace through baptism, and has thereby been commissioned to spread the good news of the Gospel everywhere in daily life. Simply put, it means "being Christian in your daily life." This principle releases lay people to "do their Christian thing", not only in the church, but also in the world.
The ninth principle is FAITH ACTIVE IN LOVE. Believers in Christ have been set free. Our real liberator is Jesus Christ. We do not have to liberate ourselves because the freedom we have in Christ is a gift, and we are to practice that gift, to unpack it and express it in all our relationships.
Faith active in love means there are two great words of our Lord to guide us: the Great Commission to spread the gospel to all creatures, and the Great Commandment that we arc 10 love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves. These two great words from our Lord free up the Christian life.
The final principle of the Lutheran movement we call THE TWO KINGDOMS. God rules the world in two ways, as king of a spiritual kingdom and as king of an temporal kingdom. They are not the same. What God is doing in the world for the world's salvation in Jesus Christ is different from what God is doing in the world through business and education and recreation and all other social activities. There is a distinction between what God is doing in the "order of creation" through human laws seeking justice and equality for all human beings in society, and what God is doing specifically and particularly through Christ for the salvation of each of us and of the world.
The TWO KINGDOMS are two ways God works in the world. In this manner God draws the proper distinction between the church and the world, between the Gospel and government, between the love of God and his justice, which is supposed to be implemented through common law.
These are the fundamental principles of Lutheranism. It is time for Lutherans to become more conscious of their heritage and to find ways of understanding it. practicing it. and implementing it.
* Dr. Braaten is director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. He gave this and the first part, published in the last issue of F.O.C.L. POINT, as an address at the annual F.O.C.L Reformation Rally, in Sacramento, in October 1993.
Vote for ?
by Rev. Gordon Selbo*
With the election of a synodical bishop this year and a presiding bishop for the HLCA on the agenda for 1995, it is in order for the church to devote some serious prayer and discussion to the office.
Bishop is one of the several designations for leaders in the early church. In the New Testament we read of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders and deacons.
The word bishop (Greek: episkopos ) literally means "overseer" or "guardian" – one who watches, looks over, and tends the flock of God. In one passage Jesus himself is called "the shepherd and bishop of your souls." (I Peter 2: 25)
Some of these New Testament terms were used interchangeably with considerable overlapping of responsibility. As the centuries went by, the role of bishop became one of oversight of a group of congregations in a given area. Such is the case today.
It is a "noble task," says St. Paul. Two classic Bible passages define the qualities to be sought in one occupying the position. They are: Titus 1: 7-9 and I Timothy 3: 1-7.
Personal traits are listed. They include integrity, common sense, dignity, hospitality, ability to teach, humility, temperate nature, self-control. A bishop is to be experienced, highly thought of, and a sound parent. Some negatives are mentioned also: not violent, arrogam, quarrelsome, or greedy.
In my mind an additional specific item stands out as super-important. "He must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able lo give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it." (Titus 1: 9)
The church can withstand minor quirks in personality. We are all gifted differently and, after all, who is perfect? But the church cannot endure the erosion of its faith without losing its identity. A bishop's first oversight is that of the gospel itself. With all due credit to personality, popularity and charisma, faithfulness to the Word is paramount.
The church in any age needs bishops who keep us focused with singular and unapologelic emphasis on that which makes us the church – the sure Word of God. We may sometimes be in need of the correcting hand of discipline for personal lapses, but the church cannot endure doctrinal deviations, since the Church cannot exist apart from the truth of the Word.
In today's climate of uncertainty in theology and practice, the apostle's words to Timothy are crucial: "Guard the truth that has been entrusted to you." (II Timothy 1:14)
Let's pray for our bishops and the process used in electing them.
* Pastor Selbo is President of the Fellowship of Confessional Lutherans, and farmer president of Augustana Academy.
Accepting . . .
What – the Devil?
Noting that cases of demon possession and their expulsion by qualified Christian exorcists were increasing in the Western world, Bishop Robert Jacobson of iheSynodof Alberta and the Territories of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, offered a full theological and pastoral analysis of the phenomenon to a fascinated audience of clergy and laity at the second annual Luther-and-the-Bible Conference, sponsored by the Lutheran Bible Institute in California, in January.
He addressed the psychiatrically substantiated problem of devil-possession as it has arisen in his bishopric, and as he has observed its occurrence in the Coptic Church of Egypt, by reviewing for his hearers the biblical description of the Christian's unremitting conflict with "The Evil One." Naming the four authentic signs of demon possession, the bishop also outlined the resources the Christian Church has in hand for a present-day ministry of healing, both of body and soul.
In two parallel lectures, the world-renowned Luther scholar, Dr. Heiko Oberman, laid out Luther's response to the unrelieved presence of evil in the earth. Luther saw the multiplication of evil forces and events, Oberman said, as being ever more sure stimulations of hope, rather than as occasions for despair.
Their presence signified for Luther that the "end-times" were imminently near, and that Christ was in the business of gathering the faithful for the blessed reunion with their Savior. History writers should not view Luther as a Reformer, Oberman insisted, because for Luther, culture and society are irremediable. Historians should rather view Luther's work as a "rediscovery of the Gospel", the good news that Christ will rescue his people, come what may.
LBIC's President, Clifton Pedcrson announced that the next annual Luther-and-the-Bible-Conference will feature Bishop Kenneth Sauer of the Southern Ohio Synod, Chair of the Conference of Bishops of the ELCA, andProfessorRoyllarrisville, well-known author and exciting lecturer from Luther Seminary in St. Paul.
The Conference is open to all, and is part of the Institute's accepted responsibility to offer a biblically based theological undergirding of lay and clergy members of the Lutheran churches in the West. Faculty Dean, Dr. Ben Johnson, former Dean of Faculty at Hamma School of Theology and of the faculty of Harvard University and Trinity Seminary, reports that he has assembled an adjunct faculty of wide recognition to help in this theological task.
Faculty additions include: Dr. Frank Seilhamer, author of 30 volumes in Old Testament studies; Dr. George For ell, celebrated historian of Christian Ethics and pioneer developer at the University of Iowa of graduate religious studies in the public universities of America, Dr. George Muedeking, former Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary professor and editor of the Lutheran Standard, Dr. Roy Harrisville of Luther Seminary, Ms. Itlella Moberg, widely appreciated Midwestern lecturer on the Christian's worship life; and Dr. James Bergquist, former theological professor and erstwhile head of the Division for Outreach of the Ev. Lutheran Church in America.
New Life in Argentina's Prisons
"Who lives?" inquires Pastor Avalos. "Jesus!" shout 700 prisoners. And startled pigeons scatter off the roof of Uie large chapel in the center of die Olmos "high danger" prison.
Later that day, two reporters from the Christian publication El Puente write: "The discipline of the jail is transported to the church. Or rather, the disciplined life of a Christian is transported to a prison, where Christian prisoners concentrate on their gathering As the message is shared, they follow with a keen look, a sporadic smile, and often assenting with their heads. At the time when they sing their praises, they all raise their hands, then they pray for the visitors, and jot their names on their prayer list. It is almost strange to see their faces, most of them peaceful, keen on listening, each one with their Bibles open on their lap, a small notebook and the songs recorded in their minds.
Olmos is nota white-collar, minimum-security prison camp. It is a miserable penitentiary where Argentina once locked away her worst and most violent criminals and forgot them. And the Bibles these "incorrigibles" now hold were given to them free of charge by the Bible Society. Many of the B ibles are already worn out from so much reading and handling. Speaking to a delegation from the United Bible Societies that included the American Bible Society president Eugene Habecker, the prison's deputy director declared: "Before the Gospel entered, Uiis prison had a permanent staff of 300 wardens. Today, we only need 30. Total prison population adds up to 2,940, of which 854 are Biblc-bclicving Christians. Their influence has transformed this prison. No revolt has taken place since 1987."
Later, Dr. Habccker said he was overcome by what he experienced. "The singing and praising God were intense, electric," he said. "I have never heard or seen anything like it. Here I was lo minister to these'prisoners,'and I was already being'ministered to and loved' by these brothers in Christ."
This same transformation is affecting inmates in more than 200 prisons throughout Argentina. It all began in 1957 when a man named Samuel Desitnone decided to visit die Olmos Prison to hand out Scriptures and share me love of Christ with the prisoners. Despite a cold reception, he persisted. Soon others followed in other prisons, and the Bible Society provided Scriptures for them to distribute to die inmates. At first, some prisoners used the thin pages as cigarette papers. But many read them and were converted. Soon the Bible Society began receiving letters, thanking them for the Scriptures and asking for more.
Bible studies began in prison patios. Prayer meetings formed in which – from midnight to 6:00 a.m., every night of the week – Christian inmates read the Scriptures and prayed for fellow prisoners. As inmates were released, government officials observed that only five percent of the Christians were rearrested, while 60 percent of nonbelievers returned to a life of crime.
Desimone was appointed by the Argentine government as national chaplain and given access lo every prison in the country. More churches were established behind bars, and chapels were built. A famous gangster was converted, and upon his release, traveled through the country drawing huge crowds who wanted to hear the testimony of how Christ changed his life.
According to Desimone's records, more than 2,000 men and women have come to faith in Christ and are now making a greater witness for Christ throughout their communities. Some have even become respected preachers of the Gospel. Thcprisons of Argentina areopcntotheGospelasnever before. Ten percentoftheeslimatcd 200,000 men and women in prison are giving their lives to God.
The great challenge before the Bible Society now is to try lo keep pace with what is happening. Wilhtlieconsiantlurnover of the inmate population and the high conversion rate, the Bible Society is being asked to provide 1,000 Bibles every month to new Christians in prisonùnone of whom have any money to pay for them. "This is the work of God, done through those who allow Him to use them," says Juan Zucarelli, pastor of a local church and coordinator of the church in Olmos Prison. "The Argentine Bible Society supports this ministry with Bibles, " Dr. Habecker noted. "In supporting them, we do too. It is an absolutely incredibly moving experience. I thank God that we are a part of it."
The El Puente article concludes: Within, the miracle is repeated. Men who are dangerous, hideous, and tired of life draw near to Jesus, impressed by the perfume of transformed lives radiated by Christian inmates who affirm, "Christ is the only hope. " – from ABS Journal, Fall, 1993
Reader Response
WE WANT FOREKNOWLEDGE
DEAR EDITOR:
We seem regularly to be caught off-base by the resolutions that come to the yearly synod assembly. Our delegates have not talked them over with us beforehand so (hat we can share our feelings before they vote. My Grace congregation has taken an action that may not only be of help to our church, but if followed through by odier churches would immeasurably raise the level of reasoned discourse on the floor of the assembly each year. We voted, "Whereas Grace Lutheran congregationhastheright and obligation to he informed about the matters concerning our Sierra Pacific Synod, that at least two weeks prior to each assembly, a time be set aside and announced in the Sunday bulletin and in the Grace Notes, for the purpose of discussing Ihe resolutions and elections to be acted upon at the forthcoming assembly." We commend our action to other concerned churches.
Lee Horn, Porlola Valley, CA
OUR COMMON HERITAGE
DEAR EDITOR:
I came across a copy of your Newsletter. Immediately it caught my interest. May the Lord strengthen and bless you inyourstandforcorifessionalandhistoricLulhcranismand our common heritage of faith (Jude 3: "contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.")
Pastor Bruce Adams, Glengowerie, South Australia
GROUNDED IN THE WORD
DEAR EDITOR:
We're glad you arc making this effort to keep our church grounded and centered in the Word.
Yula Hax and Alice Beilstein, Cupertino, CA
AXE-GRINDING
DEAR EDITOR:
Can we go beyond Braaten's axe grinding 10 a new dialog about some new theses to nail lo the Church's door?
President Emeritus Norman Fintel, Roanoke College, Virginia
CONGREGATIONAL HELPS
DEAR EDITOR:
I'm sending a check to cover the cost of Dr. Braaten's V11S tape. It would make an excellent adult forum presentation at my church. Also the Great Commission Network's VI IS tape of dieir press conference on the Sex Report, is another excellent forum discussion. [Editor's Note: Dr. Braaten tapes are still available for sale - see back page for details.]
Your publication has been an inspiration and encouragement to keep on fighting ihe good fight of faith within the ELCA, especially now that I am going to he interviewed by my parish's lay ministry committee for certification as an Associate in Ministry.
Keith Deschler
A "CONFESSING SYNOD?"
DEAR EDITOR:
Why don't you consider what Lutheran Forum had about a new "Confessing Synod" with something akin to a new BARMEN declaration [ Editor's Note; the first organized objection to Hitler's conquest of die church machinery, and now a part of the Presbyterian Church's Book of Confessions.] The ELCA is dead, but the remnant remains.
Winthrop Wilcox, MD Lancaster, PA