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Note: From the Editor It is the practice of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics to consider for publication letters written to the Journal about current or past issues or in regard to current events. Letters to the editor should be sent to the email address linked here for consideration by the editor. Authors will be contacted by the editor if the letter […]

What is polarization?   [1] As befits a preacher, I begin today with a quote from a great theological authority in these matters, Rabbi Leonard of Montreal, who wrote:   I’m sentimental if you know what I mean I love the country but I can’t stand the scene And I’m neither left or right, I’m […]

[1] In the aftermath of the 2024 United States Presidential Election, Christians are wrestling with more constructive ways of living out their faith-life and civic duties. Unfortunately, political discourse of late has created a gulf within the church catholic in the United States as Christians are drawn into the culture wars and hyper-partisan politics. There […]

[1] Amidst a society wrenched apart by forces hell-bent on splintering the body politic as well as the Body of Christ, Amy Carr and Christine Helmer have co-written Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times which offers a theological framework for helping Christians engage in moral discernment and “justice-seeking.” For the authors, the concept of Christian identity […]

[1] In Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times: Justification and the Pursuit of Justice, Amy Carr and Christine Helmer are concerned with the polarization that runs through our country and congregations.[1] Though this polarization’s content is most often political—think of the red-blue state divide, or our siloing mediated by social media and cable news—Carr and Helmer […]

[1] Our book Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times offers conversation as the intersubjective mode we have as persons and Christians for exchanging our respective positions on difficult topics. We thank our interlocutors in this issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics for engaging with themes in our book that resonated with them. We began writing […]

[1] In the section above we situated the responses to our book in a historical framework of Lutheran thought. We now lean into thinking with some of the questions, concerns, and alternatives offered by our reviewers. [2] Both Justin Nickel and Leah Schade commented that we had not clarified the precise notion of justice presupposed […]

[1] As the ELCA finalizes its discussion on civic life and faith and Americans go to the polls for the presidential election, many people are afraid to discuss their stance about politics at church while others proudly proclaim that their views are the only right ones.  Rather than this flight or fight response, we at […]

 What is a Spiritual Guide?: [1] Spiritual Guides are sometimes called Spiritual Directors, sometimes Spiritual Companions, even the term Spiritual Life Coach is being tried by some of my peers in search for ways to share this gift of holy listening in a culture that does not widely recognize Spiritual Guidance as a modality for […]

The three books reviewed this month bring additional resources to the theme of this JLE issue. Each book approaches grief and loss from a unique perspective. In The Invisible Ache: Black Men Identifying Their Pain and Reclaiming Their Power, Courtney Vance and Robin Smith address suicide in the African American community, offering “practical and culturally […]