Lutheran Carnival XXXVII

Welcome to Lutheran Carnival XXXVII. This week has been somewhat more hectic than expected for me, and I have not had the time to do any reaserch for the "Lutheran you should know but probably don't" section of my carnival entry. I am certainly not the first person who has not included this section, and I am undoubtedly not going to be the last.

Although I do not have a person, I do have a piece of music of which you may like to be aware. The fifth symphony by Felix Mendelssohn. Those of you unaware of this piece may wonder what it has to do with being Lutheran. Although I am unaware of Mendelssohn's beliefs, and he was certainly not a Theologian, he was baptized in the Lutheran church, and he did have enough admiration for Luther to pay tribute to him on the 300th anniversary of the protestant reformation. He did this in his D-minor symphony, which in fact has now become known as the "Reformation" symphony. It has been given this name because its final movement is based on Luther's hymn, "A Might Fortress is our God." The movement is very enjoyable, and I suggest that anyone who enjoys classical music should check out this splendid piece of music.

Anyway, on to the submissions.

Aardvark Alley got "Martinized" as Aardie commemorated the birth of Martin Luther and the life of his father confessor Johann von Staupitz. He also profiled Lutheranism's "Second Martin" with a biography of Martin Chemnitz and included a hagiography of their namesake from the early Church, Saint Martin of Tours.

What does a maturing Christian do with his old, unchristian ink? Walter Snyder of Ask the Pastor takes up this question, talking about Pagan and Christian Tattoos and how to deal with them in a manner that is both God pleasing and financially possible. He also works with a student who grew up lying as a defense mechanism against an abusive parent in Seminary Student Struggles with Truthfulness.

In his relatively new blog Random Intolerance, which he contributes to along with his new bride the intolerant one, Daniel discusses marriage and looks forward to working through his own.

You're a confessional Lutheran running for public office. A journalist asks you if you regard the Roman Catholic pope as the Antichrist. What would you do? Dan, from Necessary Roughness, explores this and what it means to be Antichrist, according to the Defense of the Augsburg Confession. See his post Who is Antichrist?

Confessional blogger Favorite Apron of reviewed Ole Rolvaag's novel The Boat of Longing for the Luther Library. Fave provides a good summary that could draw others into a fascinating part of Norwegian-American-Lutheran history.

The Friends of Mercy, a missionary organization partnered with the LCMS and the Evanglical Lutheran Church in Kenya has provided us with a breif overview of their work in Kenya. Specifically dealing with their meeting with the local Maasai leaders.


Jake Danger presents How to Become a Religious Hypocrite in 10 Easy Lessons posted at Lunatic Wisdom - The World According to Jake Danger.

Praveen presents Christmas Music posted at My Simple Trading System.

A small collection for this carnival, but some good reading none the less. I hope you enjoyed it.

Soli Deo Gloria