Articles

[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] In 1525, Assa von Kram, a professional military officer, asked Martin Luther a question that had been weighing on his conscience: if I want to be a good Christian, do I have to quit my job as a soldier? Assa had good reason to be concerned – didn’t Jesus, after all, say that his […]

[1] President Bush’s recent decision regarding the government funding of stem cell research illustrated the dilemma we face rather than resolving it. Allowing research to go forward on existing lines of embryonic stem cells acknowledges the concern of many that we pursue the promising possibilities of therapeutic benefits resulting from this research. At the same […]

[1] Tiefel asks three questions of us: What sort of language we should use when speaking of stem cells outside of science, what place does the religious voice have in the public arena in this matter, and how can we speak of the moral ambiguity which has been called to our attention. Three questions about […]

[1] It was a year ago September during U.S. Senate hearings on embryonic stem cell research. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) took out a blank piece of paper, placed a pencil dot in the center of it, and held it up to Mary Tyler Moore. “This,” he declared, “is the size of the thing we’re talking […]

[1] I am shocked by today’s apparent terrorist attacks upon the people in the Eastern United States. I join with all of you in mourning these enormous human tragedies. Congregations, pastors and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are praying for the comfort of all people affected by these incredible acts. We […]

[1] Dreadful disasters such as we have just experienced create a renewed sense of solidarity among people. Certainly we have seen our nation come together in prayer, in mourning, in determined resolution, and in many acts of self-giving service on behalf of the victims. What other manifestations of solidarity may we hope for and pray […]

[1] The American law of self-defense, as a general rule, requires that a defender who kills show that she reasonably feared that she was in imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death. This rule embodies two important understandings consonant with Christian views of human nature and violence. One is implicit in the requirement that […]

[1] Six years ago our church adopted a social statement, “For Peace in God’s World,” intended to reflect the consensus view of how we as a Community for Peace should pursue that goal. As we reflect upon the horrible disaster of September 11, 2001, I believe it would do us all good to re-read that […]

[1] Reinhard Hütter has argued eloquently for a double center to Luther’s theology, suggesting that an Enlightenment view of “freedom” has badly distorted our understanding of the law in Luther’s work. George Lindbeck has similarly identified a kind of rabbinic appreciation for the law in Luther’s thinking, especially in his Catechisms, which represent the pastoral […]