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“No matter what your trials are, or how big your mountain seems; The Lord is there to see you through; To go to all extremes. So if your cross seems hard to bear, and you know not what to do; The One who loves you most of all will be there to see you through. We, members of the Conference of International Black Lutherans, want the Echols family to know that our hearts are with you as we gather to remember the life of our brother and man of faith, the Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Echols.”

[1] Kevin Considine’s new book, Salvation for the Sinned-Against: Han and Schillebeeckx in Intercultural Dialogue, aims at reimagining a catholic (universal) soteriology within world Christianity, with an emphasis on the ‘sinned-against’ drawn from the particularities of Korean and Korean-American theological insight. But the how within the what, or the methodological approach within his aim, are […]

Conversation Questions to Use in an Adult Education or Forum Setting If your setting allows it, break into small groups of 3-5 participants made up of people with similar racial/ethnic experience for the first set of questions. If separate racial/ethnic groups are not possible, break into small groups by going around the room, counting off […]

Love your neighbor in the Holiness Code Lev 19:18 [1] “Love your neighbor” is probably the most frequently quoted biblical directive. In part this is due to this command’s emphasis within the biblical canon in the first century AD, namely its echo in the New Testament as summary of the law in Luke 10:27 as […]

So many wedding ceremonies contain the familiar words, “Love is patient, love is kind,” that we may not hear them anymore. However, the effect of words absorbed into a culture can be more dangerous than words heard for the first time. Goitía ​Padilla ​explores 1 Corinthians 13 through a lens of law and gospel and gender analysis. How can we hear Christ in this text while avoiding reinscribing harmful gender roles in our communities?

Register now for ‘Security and Vulnerability in the Light of Global Realities:​ Living in the Shadow of Empire,” this year’s Lutheran Ethicists’ Gathering. (Registration ends December 30, 2014.) This event of the ELCA’s Theological Discernment Team (January 6 & 7, 2015 at the Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, Canada) annually brings together ethically attentive Christians whether ethicists, pastors, chaplains, teachers, or lay people. This year’s program features Canadian perspectives on security and vulnerability.

For many readers this will be a surprising book. Some will find surprising Helmer’s use of Barth and Schleiermacher as allies on the same side of an argument. Some will find surprising her use of Barth in criticizing elements of the so-called Yale School, or at least elements of it. No one familiar with the author will be surprised, though, by the historical erudition and the conceptual creativity of this book.

With this issue we welcome the Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos as interim editor of the Journal for Lutheran Ethics. Rev. Dr. Santos teaches at Georgetown University on the intersections between Cognitive Science and Theology. He has also served as parish pastor and as a consultant for Hispanic/Latino/a Ministry with the Metropolitan Washington DC Synod, and […]

The Eloquence of Grace: Joseph Sittler and the Preaching Life. Ed. James M. Childs Jr. and Richard Lischer, foreword by Martin Marty. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2012.

As a commissioner for equality and gender in the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Northern Germany, Thomas Schollas draws upon his experience to explore the meaning of the phrase “gender just Church.”