I wish to respond to the member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who was concerned about conservatives usurping the term "evangelical" (Readers Write, Jan. 14) Evangelical usually means someone who emphasizes the teachings and authority of the scriptures as opposed to the institutional authority of the church itself. However, the use of the word "evangelical" in conjunction with the word "Lutheran" may not mean the same thing. The German word 'evangelisch' simply means "Protestant."
Having said this, the ELCA member might have a point. Not everyone agrees on just what the teachings of the gospel are. And I'm not sure just how the Southern Baptists came to be called evangelicals. I always thought of them as fundamentalists. GARY GLASER, HUTCHINSON, MINN.
Letter of the Day (Jan. 17): Evangelicals
January 17, 2012 at 2:52AM
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It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.
