[1] Martin Luther was a pastor, a husband, and a father. He was, also, a university professor. He was a tireless advocate for education for girls as well as boys, for the working poor as well as for the wealthy elite. He insisted to both parents and princes that they must provide education for all children. He was an advocate for public education and for parents keeping their children in schools at any price.
[2] Martin Luther preached that it was the devil who tempts us to despise schools. He preached that it is a travesty when people fail to financially support schoolmasters and teachers. Luther insisted that one who has a child who is able to learn and who has the money to keep that child in school ought to do so. He rebuked those who complained about the cost and mocked them for preferring to please their bellies rather than working for the common good. He reminded those who complained about the cost that we are not called to serve Mammon but God.
[4] Luther spoke of the pleasure of education for the scholar and for those who read the scholar’s books. But as importantly, Luther says that a failure to educate young people is to invite famine, pestilence, disease, and savage tyrants into one’s country. Thus, he insisted that not only parents, but the government must look to educate children so that there would be preachers, jurists, pastors, writers, physicians, schoolmasters and others with which society cannot do without.[i] He also insisted that the education for all children included the liberal arts and the learning of classical languages. These delight and inspire students, said Luther; they are a “previous treasure” that helps us deepen our understanding of Scripture.[ii]
[5] Despite all his other duties and callings, Luther remained a university professor until his death. This issue of JLE looks at the legacy of Martin Luther’s teaching about education in our Lutheran institutions of higher education today.
[6] The first essay comes from the Executive Director of the Network for ELCA Colleges and Universities, Lamont Anthony Wells. This essay speaks about several crises facing higher education today, including how college, itself, is being stereotyped as elitist, disconnected and dangerous. Wells explains the moral imperative for Lutheran higher education to take a stand at this moment.
[7] The second essay comes from a professor at California Lutheran University, Jose Marichal, working with two students, Maya Goehner and Tyler Haug, on the issues involved with artificial intelligence. Their essay, a revised version of an essay published in Intersections, thoughtfully applies the theology and ethics in Rooted and Open to the discussion of the use and abuse of AI as students are learning the tools of critical thinking.
[8] The third essay comes from Rev. Dr. Linda Thomas and Rev. Dr. Christian Scharen of the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago who have shared the process they went through to create a statement about seminary’s commitment to its mission and values. They explain the need for institutions of higher learning to take a stand for their missions and give an example of the process by which such a statement can be made
[9] A main part of the mission of seminaries is to prepare future leaders for the church. Pastor Thomas Johnston’s essay discusses the need for ELCA seminaries to teach these future leaders how to have conversations about ethics and politics across political divides. He explains how the current national context makes this more important than ever before.
[10] For the final article, Rev. Dr. Linda Thomas presents readers with a reflection on American history and how readers might work to advocate to continue the struggle for democracy’s promise.
[11] The Journal of Lutheran Ethics was created to be a bridge between the church and the academy. I hope that this issue presents ways that the church’s teachings urge us to support our Lutheran institutions of higher education and presents ways that these institutions can best honor their Lutheran heritage as they face new challenges and opportunities.
[i] Martin Luther. A Sermon on Keeping Children in School (1530) in Luther’s Works Volume 46, pp. 213-257. (Fortress, 1967)
[ii] Martin Luther To the Councilmen of Germany that They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools. In Luther’s Works Volume 45, p. 358.
