Issue: October 2001

[1] As one of the thousands of ELCA pastors who struggled to find words to speak in their September 16 sermons, I found the scripture texts for that particular Sunday to be challenging but also profoundly helpful, reminding us we are all sinners dependent on the infinite mercy of God. That Sunday’s gospel parable of […]

[1] Having been literally engulfed in the dusk cloud created by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, I can attest to overwhelming sense of being encompassed by pure evil. Stephen Jay Gould wrote in the New York Times on September 26th, “The tragedy of human history lies in the enormous potential for destruction […]

The World’s Two Kingdoms (God or Satan; grace or sin) 1. God’s Kingdom. “God created humankind in his image.” (Gen. 1:27) [1] Insights from Christian Tradition. All persons made in their Creator’s holy and loving image are commanded to live in love as a universal human family in peace, justice and freedom under God. They […]

[1] The enemy in traditional warfare is a nation-state with military forces and an arsenal of weapons that threaten our national security. The tenets of just war thinking presuppose this traditional form of war-making, addressing such questions as a proper declaration of war, the obligation to refrain from mobilization until it is apparent that there […]

Books Adams, George C. A Christian Lawyer: a sketch of the life and work of Hon. Warren Currier. St. Louis: Commercial Print Company, 1893. Adams, George C. The Christian Lawyer: being a portraiture of the life and character of William George Baker. New York: Carlton & Porter, 1858. Allegretti, Joseph G. The Lawyer’s Calling: Christian […]

[1] Como todo conflicto humano, los atentados del 11 de septiembre poseen multiples dimensiones, obedecen a varias causas y tiene diversos actores con mayor o menor grado de responsabilidad. Seria un grave error interpretarlo y sobre todo resolverlo de manera simplista. Enumeremos algunos de esos factores : a) Desde la perspectiva de la Discriminación Racial […]

[1] Like all human conflict, the attacks of September 11 possess multiple dimensions, arises out of various causes, and have diverse actors with greater and lesser degrees of responsibility. It would be a grave error to interpret, and above all to attempt to resolve, this event in a simplistic way. Let me enumerate some of […]

Copyright © 1983 WORD & WORLD, Luther Seminary. Used with permission. From Word & World, Volume III, Number 4, pp. 382-390 [1] The popular view of Martin Luther’s teaching about Christian vocation is that it has to do with one’s occupation. That is, when one is “called” to follow Christ one’s occupation becomes the “calling” […]

[1] In her reflections on the recent terror, Karen Bloomquist writes, “An adequate response by the churches needs to begin with a clear theological naming of what is at stake.” That strikes me as insightful and fruitful for our shared deliberations. Of course these events came already named as acts of terror. Terrorism means targeting […]

[1] After the Gulf war, God dragged me kicking and screaming from an ambivalent absolute pacifism to an equally conflicted “realistic pacifism” something like that advocated by Martin Luther King, Jr. Even before September 11, my pacifism had become so “realistic” as to allow that military action in response to a terrorist assault might be […]

[1] The three Abrahamic religions all share hope for God’s peace on earth. For Jews, Muslims, and Middle Eastern Christians the word for peace is shared as well: the Hebrew shalom is, in Arabic, salaam. Arabic speakers often greet others with salaam aleik, “peace be with you,” followed by the typical reply, Allah i salmik, […]

Copyright © 1984 WORD & WORLD, Luther Seminary. Used with permission. From Word & World, Volume IV, Number 2, pp. 131-140. I. THE PROBLEM: RELATING SUNDAY TO MONDAY It is no secret that church members find great difficulty in relating their faith to everyday life. Several research reports given wide circulation document that problem.[1] Luther’s […]

[1] In the wake of the September 11, 2001 tragedies in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the subsequent “new kind of war” being waged by the United States and its coalition partners, it may be useful to review the statements relating to war and peace from the antecedent Lutheran church bodies of the […]

[1] Stem cell technologies represent a promising new area of medical research. The prospective benefits are astounding, with experiments demonstrating possibilities that just five years ago were science fiction. The current quest is for pluripotent1 stem cells that can generate any type of tissue needed by medical therapy. One exciting mouse experiment injected bone marrow […]

Copyright © 1995 WORD & WORLD, Luther Seminary. Used with permission. From Word & World, Volume XV, Number 3, pp. 272-278. [1] Luther’s teaching and practice of vocation has impacted women’s lives dramatically, but history’s jury is at odds over the results. Should we praise the doctor and his doctrine or vilify them? Is Lutheran […]

Copyright © LET’S TALK. Used with permission. From Let’s Talk, Volume 6, Issue 2 [1] Comparing our two moral traditions is probably a dangerous undertaking for a Roman Catholic (or for a Lutheran, for that matter). I shall therefore begin with words from a mentor, James Gustafson. In his important work, Protestant and Roman Catholic […]