Considering I earned a partial religious scholarship to attend college, one would surmise that I'm familiar with all the quirky differences between Protestant denominations. I simply don't care. But I appreciate when one of you kind folks explains such matters.
Well, I was raised in a Lutheran church, specifically the theologically conservative Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. So I'm a bit more aware of US Lutheran denominations than many/most in the US (who pretty much don't need to be). My first clue, though, was that she has been a pastor. The LCMS and the even more conservative Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod don't have women pastors, so that left ELCA, the third and largest (currently) of the three large US Lutheran denominations.
The LCMS and WELS have been shrinking some, slowly, in recent years, but ELCA has been leaking congregations and people pretty steadily since it was formed, from a merger, in 1987. ELCA's steadily broadening functional rejection of the Bible's teachings has lost hundreds of thousands of believers.
Back to this Congress Critter, she really should read the Qur'an, with the realization that reeealy faithful Muslims believe it and believe it should be obeyed. Her first problem in understanding it (besides its excessive use of pronouns and it being an insomnia cure) is that it has contradictions, which Allah said he would do as he decided to do. The early "peaceful" verses are overridden ("replaced") by verse written later. If Garriott read the Qur'an (multiple English translations are available) and took it seriously, it might scare the something-or-other out of her.
Guess who found a Koran at a used bookstore and read it after 9/11. I wanted to learn somewhat about why those Muslims wanted to kill me. BTW, I have and do work with Muslims, over the decades. Many do not go with the bloodier and hateful parts of the Qur'an, and they won't be on the evening news or newspaper front pages. They are invisible unless you work with them or they are your neighbors.
