Issue: October/November 2021: The Ethics of Pan-Lutheran Dialogue

[1] The news cycle continues to bewilder.  Listening to the news demands we think seriously about the central questions of ethics.  Philosophically and theologically we ask, “What ought we do?” Pragmatically, we ask, “What can we do?” As we think about our call to serve the common good, one important action is to build partnerships […]

[1] The Journal of Lutheran Ethics hopes to provide reading material to stimulate thinking and conversation among academics, clergy, and laity.  To this end, this section of JLE is designed to encourage constructive discussion within congregations about the topics discussed in JLE.  Consider using this section in formal adult education classes or in informal small […]

[1] Lutherans are reborn talkers.  The children of God are chips off the old block, and like our Creator, who started everything by speaking in Genesis 1: they cannot stop talking.  Aristotle thought of the human being as an animal rationale.   Luther thought of the human creature as an animal dicens (speaking animal) and the […]

[1] Toward the end of my first editorial at the helm of Lutheran Forum,[1] I tried my hand at casting a vision for our quarterly journal in these politically fraught times. I found encouragement in the fact that Glenn Stone, the first editor of the Forum, launched the journal, then a monthly, in the turbulent […]

[1] Imagine if Martin Luther had never shared his very distinct perspective in 1521. And imagine if no one had listened to him or was willing to engage in conversations about his ideas and viewpoint. Daily, we are faced with opinions, values, beliefs, and ideas that are different from our own. These interactions go a […]

[1] Richard Hoehn, in his book We Carry the Fire, is arguing for a transformative spirituality in which people are called to go beyond themselves – to carry the “breath of fire” – to be in solidarity with the poor (and the earth) in their struggle for freedom from unjust systems and structures. He is […]

[1] In this issue, we offer book reviews of three recent publications, the first geared toward families and churches, the second toward academics and the third toward children. [2] The first book, We Carry the Fire by Richard Hoehn, advocates a spirituality defined by action for the common good. Instead of private individual piety, Hoehn argues […]

[1] Evener’s revised University of Chicago dissertation explores relationships between selfhood, suffering, and the knowledge of truth in the early Reformation writings of Martin Luther, Andreas Karlstadt, and Thomas Muntzer.  Through meticulous textual work, this account also carefully attends to ways that each author drew differently on earlier traditions of Christian mysticism.   Evener notes that […]

[1] The book, Picture the Bible, by Stacy Johnson Meyers is an appropriately named children’s Bible. Beginning with creation “In the beginning,” to the Bible’s last word, “Amen,” Picture the Bible affirms God’s baptismal promise “You belong to God,” in 53 sequential stories written for young children, ages four to seven. [2] Beautiful and colorful […]