March 11, 2002
[1] Justification lies at the heart of Martin Luther’s theological contribution. But the radical freedom it entails leads to questions, questions Roman Catholics and Reformed Christians have asked Lutherans and Lutherans have asked themselves: Can Lutherans be ethical? How is Christian freedom related to love and the law? [2] William Lazareth attempts a response by […]
Christian Living, Discipleship, and/or Spirituality, Martin Luther (incl. Luther's Writings), Sanctification
Part 2 of a 2 part series. From Christians in Society: Luther, the Bible, and Social Ethics by William H. Lazareth, © 2001 Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission. For the first part, click here. Priesthood of the Baptized [86] Luther’s theology of sanctifying love in vocation was further reinforced by the ethical doctrine of the […]
Asian Continent, Government (Civil), Military, War, Armed Conflict
[1] The recent controversy concerning the status of treatment of Taliban and al-Qaeda detainees at the Guantanamo base in Cuba offers an occasion for reflection about the seriousness with which our government undertakes its legal obligations. [2] When the U.S. signed the Geneva Conventions in 1949 which govern, among other things, the treatment of persons […]
[1] The Enron scandal is a painful example of what can go wrong in American business. Fundamentally, the American style of capitalism depends on trust. It needs to be able to depend on promises made, on reports being truthful, on facts being facts. To be sure, occasional relatively small mistakes, short delays, or little lies […]
Ecumenical and/or Inter-religious, Muslims and Islam
[1] The question is whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Muslims would say that they do. For there is but one God, and to worship anything but that one God is not to worship God at all. Since Christians, Muslims, and Jews all worship the God who created the world, who called Abraham […]
February 11, 2002
Christian Living, Discipleship, and/or Spirituality
Part 1 of a 2 part series. From Christians in Society: Luther, the Bible, and Social Ethics by William H. Lazareth, © 2001 Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission. For part two, click here. [1] This chapter will summarize the ethical dimensions and/or implications of Luther’s multifaceted doctrine of justification by faith. While virtually all of […]
Globalization, Government (Civil), Preaching
[1] Kofi Annan, the General Secretary of the United Nations, recently received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the U.N. In his speech at the award ceremonies Dr. Annan observed that humankind is entering the 21st Century through “a gate of fire.” He was referring, of course, to the calamitous events of September […]
January 11, 2002
Government (Civil), Military, War, Armed Conflict, Muslims and Islam
Originally published in The Dispatch, Moline, Illinois, January 20, 2002. Used with permission. [1] In Mere Christianity, a widely-read book published shortly after World War II, C.S. Lewis suggests that we should forgive everyone, even the Gestapo, Hitler’s hated secret police viewed by many as the most wicked of the wicked. [2] For many today, […]
Copyright © 1994, Word & World, Luther Seminary. Word & World, Supplement Series 2, pp. 83-95. First published in Luther and Culture, ed. George Forell, Harold Grimm, and Theodore Hoelty-Nickel (Decorah, Iowa: Luther College Press, 1960) and delivered first as a lecture presented at the 1959 “Luther Lectures” at Luther College. Used with permission. [1] […]
Copyright © 1994, Word & World, Luther Seminary. Word & World, Supplement Series 2, pp. 96-107. First published under the title “Foreign Policy” in Luther and Culture, ed. George Forell, Harold Grimm, and Theodore Hoelty-Nickel (Decorah, Iowa: Luther College Press, 1960) and delivered first as a lecture presented at the 1959 “Luther Lectures” at Luther […]
