[1] Esteemed readers of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, in this volume we shall explore a recent morally significant theological examination of the Lutheran approach to child abuse. Child abuse is a pressing social problem with severe long-lasting effects that has commonly been recognized as a major public health crisis in our society. The Journal […]
[1] In November of 2025, the ELCA approved a social message on child protection which calls for a number of reforms and greater theological engagement with the topic of child abuse. One of the resources cited in the social message is Here We Stand: A Lutheran Response to Child Abuse. This book is a collection […]
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 […]
[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] 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] 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 […]
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 […]
April/May 2025: Polarization: Discerning a Path Forward (Volume 25 Issue 2)
The “It takes a village to raise a child” mentality Is not a belief That should be brushed away It should guide us in how we interact With the youth Everyday Educating our children Should be a goal That we all share The world is constantly shifting So our children Must be prepared Graduating […]
February/March 2025: Strong Babies! The Ethics of Raising Healthy Children (Volume 25 Issue 1)
[1] This year, 2025, marks the 500th anniversary of Katie and Martin Luther’s wedding. Notably, Martin Luther wrote in 1519 (six years before his own marriage and seven years before the birth of his first child) that raising children is a parent’s highest calling. In 1520, in his Letter to the Christian Nobility, he tells […]
February/March 2025: Strong Babies! The Ethics of Raising Healthy Children (Volume 25 Issue 1)
[1] In Martin Luther’s Christmas sermons, he used all his rhetorical gifts to paint with words the images of a tiny and fragile baby nosed by animals looking in their feed box, a poor mother forced to give birth in the dark and in the cold because no one would help her, a father wrapping […]
