Articles

[1] In August, my daughter and I flew into Boston for a brief vacation in Western Massachusetts before I drove her to a university in Rhode Island. We spent one night in a town called Revere, not far from the airport. The next day, we began our journey to a vacation village in Hancock, a […]

[1] In this edition we include two singular book reviews that deal with a constructive proposal for Christian Ethics and social engagement, and a guidepost for examining the church’s place and role in the world. [2] Jason Mahn’s review of Angela Carpenter’s Grace and Social Ethics: Gift as the Foundation of Our Life Together, offers […]

[1] On Sunday, July 20, 2025, my Lutheran congregation sang these lines from “Lord You Give the Great Commission” (ELW #579): Lord, you show us love’s true measure: “Father, what they do, forgive.” Yet we hoard as private treasure all that you so freely give. May your care and mercy lead us to a just […]

[1] Chad Lakies’s argument in his book How the Light Shines Through: Resilient Witness in Dark Times challenges the church to take seriously the pluralistic secular age we live within and approaches theology and faith in a new way but does not encourage the church to lose its own identity in the process. This book […]

[1] Martin Luther said that parenting was holy work. He also admitted it was hard work. He was not a single parent, but Katie was after he died. Not only did she care for her own children, but those Martin and Katie had adopted children who were orphaned. This article is about the difficulties of […]

[1] The Wedding of Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther on June 13, 1525 was an event that re-formed the understanding of marriage and family.  This issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics explores what this wedding meant to Luther, to Bora, and to us today. [2] The first essay is an abridged version of […]

For Congregational Discussion: This year marks the 500th anniversary of the wedding of Katharina Von Bora and Martin Luther. We at the Journal of Lutheran Ethics invite congregations to celebrate this event and discuss its meaning. Below is a four part series meant to help those organizing adult education in congregations to embrace this anniversary […]

Introduction [1] How should a paper on the marriage of Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther begin? You might expect it to begin with the colorful and well documented escape of twelve nuns, including Katharina, on Easter Eve, April 4, 1523, from the Cistercian convent of Marienthron, near Grimma, about 100 kilometers from Wittenberg, which […]

[1] In 1525, Martin Luther encountered both the horror of the Peasants’ War and the joy of marriage. In his work, he acknowledges this—this constant presence of evil in the world and the comfort and joy of a loving home. This article presents lessons from Luther on the importance of acknowledging the existence of real […]

Introduction [1] For many years, I’ve been doing training about safe and healthy relationships in our ELCA churches. Often when I ask, “Who taught you about safe and healthy relationships?” I hear a lot of stammering “…uh…my parents, kinda…my teacher in health class…TV…the internet?”  This was my experience as well, although we didn’t have the […]