Articles

[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 […]

Twenty years ago, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted a social statement entitled Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice. As a growing and strong consensus emerges in our world that climate change is endangering the planet, this issue of JLE focuses on the environment. The social statement is reintroduced and various articles explore […]

From start to finish one can read Jurgen Moltmann’s Ethics of Hope as a call to action. His ethical expression feels very Lutheran. Like the explanation of the Ten Commandments in Luther’s Small Catechism, Moltmann focuses on what we are to do instead of what we should not do. Ethics in this sense is “the principles of conduct governing a person or group.

Joseph Girzone first came to the public’s attention as the writer of simple, allegorical novels about a modern day itinerant carpenter named Joshua living in upstate New York. The difference is the main character is Jesus in modern incarnation instead of an angel on a mission to earth. Girzone’s Joshua was a combination gentle friend to all and mysterious, mystical presence whose touch healed and whose presence seemed continually graced by inexplicable coincidence and miracle. It is not surprising that the Jesus presented in this book bears a striking resemblance to Joshua the carpenter. After his novels became popular, with sales in the millions, Girzone created the Joshua Foundation, “an organization dedicated to making Jesus better known throughout the world” (back cover). This book is a part of that effort​.