heatherdean

Posts by heatherdean

For Congregational Discussion: Addressing the Sin of Child Abuse

[1] This issue of JLE gives congregations an opportunity to host two kinds of adult education discussion.  The first, is to consider the possibility of non-violent parenting.  Reading Kathleen Gallagher Elkin’s essays on the Household Codes of Ephesians, participants might consider what it would mean to rethink the way we expect the use of force […]

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Book Review: White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity by Robert P. Jones

[1] Several years ago, I was finishing up my STM and in the last stages of the candidacy process, looking at paperwork for congregations that were hoping to call a new pastor. As the reality of this hit me, so did the weight of my studies. Instead of feeling excited, I felt dread. There are […]

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Book Review: The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts by Karen Armstrong

[1] The Lost Art of Scripture by Karen Armstrong is one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time. I don’t say that lightly. It’s not an easy read. But it is well worth the effort. Karen Armstrong is a prolific author who has written numerous books on a variety of theological […]

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Delighting in our Neighbors  Who are Non-Religious: A Lutheran Theological Proposal

Introduction [1] The Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community at St. Olaf College, which I direct, is charged with articulating why and how Lutheran theology, tradition, and affiliation still matter at an institution like St. Olaf that boasts an increasingly diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. The number of students identifying as Lutheran […]

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Creation Theology and the Climate Crisis

Introduction[1] [1] The imminent climate crisis makes questions regarding our relationship with the creator and the created reality to which we belong extremely important. It presses us to consider what it means to believe in God, the creator, and what it means to be created in the image of our creator. These questions are pressing, […]

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The Theology of Holy Communion Empowers Christians to End Sexual Harassment and Assault

Introduction [1] [1] Holy Communion matters for Lutherans. It is central to who we understand ourselves to be as Christians. Lutherans believe and teach that the Lord’s Supper is not simply bread and wine eaten in a reenactment of the Last Supper, but, as Martin Luther teaches in The Large Catechism, “it is bread and […]

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Communion for All: A Queer, Lutheran Sacrament of Wild Welcome

  We must know that we are not only welcome at this meal; we are this meal.…God, great Mother/Father/[Spirit] God, move through the elements prepared today….Break this bread in our hearts, so that we will know the urgency of speaking as queer Christians….Give us the breath and blood of people who can witness the welcome […]

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For Congregational Discussion: The Lutheran Catechism as a Call Towards Our Ethical Concerns

Mary Lowe’s article asserts that many Christians find reading about Biblical acceptance makes them more accepting of others with differences as well.  She suggests that Lutherans might find a deeper study of Luther’s theology to be similarly liberating.  This issue suggests ways that a look at Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms might help a reader […]

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Editor’s Introduction: The Lutheran Catechism as a Call Towards Our Ethical Concerns

[1] As we head towards Reformation Sunday, this issue of JLE presents four articles on how understanding Luther’s teachings calls us to consider our ethical responsibilities. These four articles were research presentations in the “Luther and Religion” seminar within the 14th International Congress for Luther Research held at California Lutheran University in 2022.  I am […]

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Book Review: A Cold, Descending Fog: Letters Home and a Memoir from Wartime Berlin, 1939-1940 edited by Stewart Herman III

[1] The summer of 1939 afforded Stewart Herman Jr. his last idyll as a pastor of the American Church in the heart of Nazi Germany, little though he knew it at the time. An opportunity to travel for six weeks through Scandinavia and the Baltic states, heading northward beyond the Arctic Circle, proved an invigorating […]

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