Issue: November 2016: Puerto Rico

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.

Dr. Rodríguez​, a professor at the Lutheran School of Theology Chicago, calls on the United States to recognize its relationship to Puerto Rico as one of colonialism and to “let my people go.” ​Unpacking scriptural, theological, and ecclesiological foundations, Rodríguez​ makes a strong case for ​Puerto Rican autonomy while calling for a full-fledged theological tradition written by and for people in this oppressed state.

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.

[1] It is always a privilege to review an excellent book, particularly a path-breaking one that plows new ground, like Jensen’s and Childs’ Moral Warriors, Moral Wounds. The sense of privilege is magnified when the authors are long-time friends and colleagues, as is the case for me with “Wally and Jim.” The former and I […]

[1] For Armed Forces members, “…caught in some of life’s worst heart-rending situations…the practice of the Christian ethic does not operate with the certitude of moral perfection but rather with the assurance of God with us with grace for the way” write the authors of this thoughtful, compact, far-reaching new book (pages 9, 130). Wollom […]