R. We are called into many relationships in our lives. Martin Luther talked about these as some of the vocatio (vocations) we have been given. All of us have a vocation as daughters or sons. Some of us are privileged to be called to the vocation of father, mother, spouse. Each of these relationships, these… Read More »
Q. How will I know how I am to serve, what service I am to do, and when I am to serve?
The word most often translated as “serve” is the Greek word diakonos, which is where we get the word Deacon- our title for the rostered lay ministry of the ELCA. That word appears 37 times in the New Testament. It means something like servant, minister, one on the move actively waiting on others. You ask… Read More »
Q. Why do I sometimes feel I don’t deserve God’s love? Yet I know God loves me?
R. What you describe is the best definition of God’s grace that there is – we who don’t deserve God’s love are loved by God. This can be a hard thing to accept sometimes, mostly because that’s not how we as humans respond. But it is true. What do you do in those times when… Read More »
Q. Why some prayers take years and not seem to be answered at all and others so or right away. Q. When you are sad and you are praying to God why doesn’t he give you an answer or a sign?
Prayer is conversation with God. It is a dialogue with us doing both speaking and listening. We do wonderfully at the speaking. We don’t always do so well with the listening and, sometimes, God doesn’t speak for a while. We see examples of this in scripture. God promises Abram and Sarai a child and that… Read More »
Q. What will happen to the people of other religions or no religion? Will they be forgiven or get to heaven?
R. You ask a very common question. God can act in any way God wants to save people. After all, God is God! However, the only way to salvation we are told of in Scripture is through belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).… Read More »
Q. Why are there so many denominations of Christian faiths?
R. A great question. Almost from the beginning, while we as Christians have agreed with each other on the big things (Jesus rose from the dead), we have disagreed about the details (How, exactly does this free us from sin?) This is one of the reasons we have four different Gospels in the canon. Each… Read More »
Q. Why did God make suffering?
R. Read Genesis 1-2 again. You’ll note that the creation God created was not just good, but very good! Animals, humans, plants all coexisted peacefully. God was so close to us he used to walk through the Garden in the cool evening breeze (Gen. 3:8). Suffering is not present in this good creation. Suffering comes as… Read More »
Q. Why do people let teenagers have access to guns and kill so many people?
I wonder… As we live in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting at an American school, I ask for a point of personal privilege this month as we diverge from the questions from Doubting Thomas Sunday 2017. Q. Why do people let teenagers have access to guns and kill so many people? There… Read More »
Q. What is the Holy Trinity?
R. A great question and one appropriate for the month in which we will celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday (May 27). The understanding of God as Trinity exists from the earliest days of the church and their attempt to figure out who Jesus was as the Son of God. There have been many attempts to explain… Read More »
Q. Who is right; science or religion? I’m not implying that I don’t believe, I’ve just gotten confused before.
R. This is a pretty big question. Also, right about what? Most Lutherans believe that science and religion are looking at the same kinds of issues from two different perspectives. The ELCA teaches that: “Science and technology are expressions of the human responsibility to learn and predict, imagine and invent for the sake of… Read More »
