05/01/2006
God, Church, and Country: Berggrav’s Leadership in the Norwegian Resistance
[1] In December 1944 the Norwegian Lutheran bishop Eivind Josef Berggrav (1884-1959) was featured on the cover of Time, becoming one of the few protestant religious figures to have been thus honored.1 In 1942, the New York Times chose him as one of the six religious leaders to be profiled in a series headlined “Churchmen […]
Lutherans in Public—Threads from a Conversation
[1] “Lutherans in Public” focused on how Lutherans have been, how they are or are not, and how they ought to be participants in the public realm, both as a church and as individual members of it. It was the theme of the 2006 Annual Gathering of Lutheran Ethicists in Scottsdale, Arizona, in January of […]
New Discussion Site
A new Web-based theological discussion site was launched in April by the Lutheran World Federation (Department for Theology and Studies), in connection with its global initiative, “Theology in the Life the Church.” Check out the initial papers and discussion forum at www.luthersem.edu/lwfdiscuss, where you can read what has been posted or sign up to be […]
In Search of the Common Good, Part II: “Classical Voices,” pp. 91–163
[1] The second section of In Search of the Common Good is entitled “Classical Voices.” As the title of this section suggests, the essays are devoted to examining the concept of the common good as it has been understood in the writings of Thomas Aquinas, the body of teachings of the Catholic Church referred to […]
Review of In Search of the Common Good
[1] As a Lutheran and a political scientist, I originally reacted to In Search of the Common Good as Gulliver: It seemed as though I had washed up on a strange beach, could not understand the native languages, and was uncertain whether I was surrounded by elves, giants, or horses. This is a book by, […]
Review of In Search of the Common Good, section 1, “Biblical Dimensions”
[1] This is an important and timely volume for several reasons. First, and most importantly, it addresses a question that is nothing less than urgent in our fractured and morally uncertain times: Is it possible to formulate a framework for moral thought, speech, and action that has as its goal the good of all? This […]
The Public Witness of Good Works: Lutheran Impulses for Political Ethics
Introduction: outline and thesis of this essay [1] Is there a specific Lutheran contribution to political ethics in terms of public witness of good works and reflections on the place of good works within politics? The question of “good works” itself diverges from the traditions of political ethics, and is regarded as highly problematic by […]