Stem cells are viewed under many lenses. Beyond the laboratory lens, the political lens and the moral lens offer their scrutiny. We gratefully acknowledge scientists like Dr. Robert Weise and Dr. David Prentice who keep us updated on all such perspectives.
A Memorial Service for the Pre-born Killed Since 1973 is a somber but meaningful service remembering the victims of abortion. Best suited as a separate service apart from Sunday morning worship—perhaps on the eve of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.
The movie, Luther, surprised many people including Lutherans! Perhaps many of us who were taught about Luther in catechism class forgot what we learned. Or, perhaps, we never really understood how the man who trusted God’s Word influenced the culture of his day. During this Bible study we will become more familiar, not just with the man Martin Luther, but with the ways that he helped change western civilization through the use of God’s Word.
Instead of merely “standing with” people in the midst of their problems we also need to have the love, boldness, and courage to speak to the issue of sin.
How does Lutheran theology serve the issues of life, especially in regard to the pro-life position in opposition to elective abortions? For Lutherans there is only one source for Truth and that is God’s holy Word, the Bible. Unlike newspaper editorials that have only one person as both writer and author, the Bible has many writers (prophets, apostles, etc.) but only one Author: God Himself.
As I placed my hands on his head, forgave him of his sins, and uttered Luther’s words, “Go, you are free,” he shook almost uncontrollably. For him, justice had been served.
“We need to train pastors to deal with these issues,” commented someone at an LFL planning meeting. I disagreed. We don’t have to train them. They already have what it takes—the theology they learned at seminary. The Lutheran understanding of biblical teaching makes their theology “tailor made” for life issues …
Is in vitro fertilization morally acceptable or not?
A sign in the Holy Land reads, “Here the Word became flesh.” You will not find this sign in Bethlehem, but in Nazareth. There the angel announced to Mary, not just that she would bear a son, but also that she would conceive a son. By the power of the Holy Spirit, through the words of the angel spoken in Mary’s ear, the Son of God took on human flesh as a tiny embryo. This Scriptural truth is part of our confession. “We believe that the Son of man according to His human nature is really exalted to the right hand of God because He was assumed into God when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in His mother’s womb and His human nature was personally united with the Son of the Most High.”2 The path to Calvary began, not in a manger, but in Mary’s fallopian tube and womb! The Word of God, incarnate as an embryo, gives value to all embryos! Today, nine months before Christmas, we contemplate the beginning of our Savior’s humiliation.
I recently had a conversation with a doctor who volunteers his time at my Care Net office to perform ultrasounds for women in crisis pregnancies. He mentioned that his wealthy, very prestigious, church had been abandoning specific ministries for hurting individuals. The church had individual pastors for children, youth, and young adults, but there was no one to reach out to divorced families, single parents, etc. He concluded with the statement, “You know what it is? The church really doesn’t want to have people with problems.”