Articles

[1] Mental illness can happen to anyone. Three years after my ordination as an ELCA pastor, I was diagnosed with an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in 1987. The OCD would manifest itself in washing my hands a lot and often checking to see if I had done everything correctly. It was controlled by medication and therapy. […]

The Journal of Lutheran Ethics (JLE) is in the midst of a season of significant change, and I want to share these changes with JLE’s many readers and friends. Beginning in September 2013, JLE will move from a bi-monthly to a monthly publication schedule. The journal’s hope is that monthly publication will be able to […]

[1] “How, then, do we hymn the Earth differently?” Larry Rasmussen asks, in a time when much of humankind has long grown deaf to the “hymn of all creation” (5). The motif of song, and a Song of Songs, flows lyrically throughout this work (81), as well as in the urgent call for us to […]

[1] Edward Adams has written an excellent introduction to the canonical Gospels. His introduction is at once easy to understand and yet sophisticated in its methodology. Building upon the emerging scholarly consensus that the Gospels, in terms of genre, are best understood as ancient biographies, similar to Plutarch’s Parallel Lives of Greeks and Romans, Adams […]

[1] On first glance, Ministry Among God’s Queer Folk seems dated (especially its title, doubtless inspired by the hip Showtime television series “Queer as Folk” running from 2000–2005). And perhaps unsettling is the term “queer people”—used constantly, almost interchangeably with “LGBTQ people.” Although the word’s use in our times is an attempt by sexual minorities […]

Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice Prologue I) The Church’s Vision of Creation God, Earth, and All Creatures Our Place in Creation II) The Urgency Sin and Captivity The Current Crisis III) The Hope The Gift of Hope Hope in Action IV) The Call to Justice Justice through Participation Justice through Solidarity Justice through […]

Copyright 2013, Lutheran University Press, reprinted by permission. This essay is one of the papers presented at the 2012 Convocation of Teaching Theologians. All papers are available in the Lutheran University Press book, Eco-Lutheranism. http://www.lutheranupress.org/Teaching-Theologians-books [1] The Lutheran tradition contains a host of theological perspectives that can and should form the foundation of a robust […]

[1] In a country that has historically adapted well to the world’s most pressing needs, it is no surprise to see an ecological consciousness emerging among U.S. citizens. The prefix “eco” is now joined with a variety of business endeavors, describing more sustainable business solutions. Green practices such as composting and recycling are widely taught […]

Consumption’s impact: A Chocolate Case Study [1] Some of the most significant environmental problems of our time result from the collective impact of individual consumption decisions. We decide what to eat, what to wear, how to heat and cool our homes, how to transport ourselves, and what products to buy. All of these add up […]

Copyright 2013, Lutheran University press, reprinted by permission. This essay is one of the papers presented at the 2012 Convocation of Teaching Theologians. All papers are available in the Lutheran University Press book,Eco-Lutheranism. http://www.lutheranupress.org/Teaching-Theologians-books – Editorial note: For the sake of clarity and ease, the author has chosen to simplify citations for two commonly-referenced works […]