Economics

This month the Journal of Lutheran Ethics features two editorials by ELCA leaders who live personally and professionally with the myriad issues facing Puerto Rico. These concerns also lie close to the heart and mind of JLE’s editor Carmelo Santos who first suggested this topic, sought out the appropriate writers, and translated one of the […]

Bishop Felipe Lozada-Montañez​ writes from his personal experience living and working on the ground in Puerto Rico to speak out against the corruption both in and inherent in the governmental structure of the island commonwealth. Calling on Martin Luther’s pillar of serving the neighbor, Lozada-Mo​ntañez identifies this injustice as an opportunity for the church to live into its call to serve all people.

Once a year members of the Lutheran Ethicist Network convene around a program relevant to the intersections of church and society. This year they met in Toronto, Canada exploring the meaning today of vulnerability and security. More specifically, the title of the event was: “The Meaning of Vulnerability and Security Today in the Light of Global Realities: Living in the Shadow of Empire.” The present issue of JLE makes available to readers a partial but probing sample from the substance of the Gathering.

Indian Residential Schools are a sinful part of Canada’s history that were facilitated and hidden by Empire. Bishop MacDonald explores the history of the schools as well as the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Reflecting on the context of Scripture, he uses the concepts of idolatry, systemic evil, and Empire to explore the role of Christians during the schools’ existence while calling on Christians today to examine their roles in relation to Empire. ​

Gentrification is a word that was relatively foreign to my vocabulary before moving to Chicago and beginning seminary. Growing up in small towns and suburbs the conversations surrounding housing issues, when they occur, are often “us and them” conversations. Or better yet, “here and there” conversations. It can be quite easy to live in a suburban development and never see or think about housing inequality. Upon beginning my studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) I was immersed into a zealous social justice oriented atmosphere. Housing inequality in the neighborhoods surrounding LSTC specifically and the city of Chicago in general is something that most people acknowledge, but see as too large or systemic to counteract. Still other issues, such as gentrification, are so nebulous that it seems easy to find but difficult to properly define. Gentrification is one small aspect of the housing equality and social responsibility discussions, and will be the focus of this month’s issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics. The topic of “Gentrification and Faith” is pursued this month because it seems to be a chimera; people are often quick to identify areas as gentrifying but when it comes to identifying related data, the numbers often either tell a different story, or describe a trend that has already taken place.​

Holland explores the concept of gentrification from an academic standpoint. What is gentrification? How can we talk about something that resists being defined?​ Holland examines the factors of supply, demand, and policy that feed gentrification along with its effects on the people who leave, the people who live there, and the neighborhood itself.

What does gentrification look like to a community living inside of it? Brau and Vasquez from Luther Place Memorial Church explore the congregation’s response to gentrification in Washington D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood. N Street Village ministries was founded out of the congregation to respond to the needs of the neighborhood. How does a congregation respond when poeple who are not impoverished move in, potentially forcing the poor out?​

Daniel K. Finn. Christian Economic Ethics: History and Implications. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013, 412 pages, $49.00.

Love thy neighbor. We all know that verse, but what does it mean in terms of the global economy? For instance, how do we love our neighbors in the Global South if we do not know, or ignore, how our economic choices impact them every day? Furthermore, in an age of environmental harm, how do we redefine who our neighbor is? Moe-Lobeda explores these questions while envisioning the possibility of a moral economy.

in the air and waters. [2] The moral problem is not mainly that we seek “bad things,” though, of course, there are plenty of examples of people grasping for products they shouldn’t have at all, not even in moderation. Instead, the main problem is seeking too much of the many good things in life. In […]