Journal Issues
Issues are listed beginning with the most recent issue.
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February 2021: Racism, Justice, and Mercy: How Lutherans might think differently and work towards a constructive future of racial justice
- Table of Contents
- Editor’s Introduction
- Luther, Bonhoeffer, Black Lives Matter, and the Role of the Church1
- Overcoming ELCA Racism with Authentic Diversity
- Racial Mercy
- Pursuing a More Diverse Church: A report and two reflections
- Church as Counter-Image to Brutality
- Racism, Justice, and Mercy: For Congregational Discussion
- Tributes to Dr. Cheryl Angela Stewart Pero
- Review: We’re Better Than This, by Elijah Cummings (with Jim Dale)
- Review: The Work of Faith: Divine Grace and Human Agency in Martin Luther’s Preaching by Justin Nickel
- Review: Healing All Creation: Genesis, The Gospel of Mark, and the Story of the Universe by Joan Connell and Adam Bartholomew
October/November 2020: Gun Violence and Childhood Trauma
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction: Gun Violence and Childhood Trauma
- Congregational Discussion Questions: Gun Violence and Childhood Trauma
- The Messianic Reign in Isaiah 11:1-10: A Message to Foster Children Post-Traumatic Growth
- Marching for Our Lives on the Road to Jericho
- #SaveOurChildren, From Those Sworn to Protect and Serve
- Book Review Introduction
- Review: Fear Not: Living Grace and Truth in a Frightened World, by Eric H.F. Law.
- Review: Common Ground: Talking About Gun Violence in America, by Donald V. Gaffney
- Review: Red State Christians: Understanding the Voters Who Elected Donald Trump, by Angela Denker
August/September 2020: Women’s Leadership in the Church, State, and Academy
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction: Women's Ordination August/September 2020
- “We are Determined:” Suffrage, Ordination, and Coeducation
- The Original Order of Things
- Embodiment of Power, Self and Identity: Weaving My Story of Ordination in History
- Women Preachers: An Apocalyptic Image of the Kingdom of God
- Two Short Reflections on Women’s Leadership as Teaching Theologians
- What Makes for a Theological Vocation in the ELCA?
- Review: The Hebrew Bible: Feminist and Intersectional Perspectives, edited by Gale A. Yee
- Review: Passionate for Justice: Ida B. Wells as Prophet for Our Time, by Catherine Meeks and Nib Stroupe
- Holy Mischief: In Honor and Celebration of Women in Ministry, by Mindy Makant
June/July 2020: Book Review Issue
- Table of Contents
- A Note from the Editor: June/July 2020
- Editor's Introduction: Book Review Issue June/July 2020
- Review: The Company of Strangers: Christians and the Renewal of America’s Public Life, by Parker J. Palmer
- Review: I Can Do No Other: The Church’s New Here We Stand Moment, by Anna Madsen
- Review: An Ecological Theology of Liberation: Salvation and Political Ecology, by Daniel P. Castillo
- Review: The Alternative Luther: Lutheran Theology from the Subaltern, edited by Else Marie Wiberg Pedersen
- Review: Kaleidoscope: Broadening the Palette in the Art of Spiritual Direction, edited by Ineda Pearl Adesanya
May 2020 Special Issue: COVID-19
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction: Special May Issue 2020
- Congregational Discussion Guide: COVID-19
- On What We Might Learn from Luther About Ministry in A Pandemic
- Anxiety, Atonement, and Vocation
- Virtually There: Martin Marty, Cyberspace, and Cultures of Trust in the 21st Century
- Technology, Lutheranism, and the Proclamation
- When Did We See You, Lord?
- The H1N1 Pandemic: Ethics and the Common Good
April/May 2020: Lutheran Theology and the Relationship between Church and State
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction: Lutheran Theology and the Relationship between Church and State
- Book Editor's Introduction
- For Congregational Discussion: Lutheran Theology and the Relationship between Church and State
- A Sketch of Luther’s Political Theology on the Question of Church and State with Reflections concerning the Current Responsibility of the Church in Society
- Faith-based Advocacy with Today's United States Government: Summary at Lutheran Ethicists Gathering 2020
- Review: Martin Luther's Theology of Beauty: A Reappraisal, by Mark C. Mattes
- Review: Christ of the Celts, by J. Philip Newell
February/March 2020 Faith, Science, and Climate Change
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction: Faith, Science, and Climate Change
- Book Review Introduction
- The Ethics of Science/The Science of Ethics: Moving beyond the dichotomy towards a Lutheran approach
- The Use and Limits of Science in Making Ethical Decisions
- Considering Global Warming as a Hyperobject with Definitive Presence
- Faith, Science, and Climate Change Building with AND and CHANGE: An Invitation to Inclusion
- Review: On Animals: Volume One: Systematic Theology and On Animals: Volume Two: Theological Ethics, By David L. Clough
- Review: Dana Friis-Hansen, editor, Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle
- Review: The Photo Ark, Vanishing: The World's Most Vulnerable Animals, by Joel Sartore
December 2019/January 2020: Immigration: Moving Forward Faithfully
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction: Immigration: Moving Forward Faithfully
- For Congregational Discussion: Immigration
- Learning from the Barmen Declaration of 1934: Theological-Ethical-Political Commentary
- A Pastoral Reflection of Congregational Response During a Family Separation Crisis
- Christ at the Border: Finding Courage to Resist in a Theology of the Cross
- Welcoming the Stranger? Rethinking Our Language of Hospitality
- Review: Migrants and Citizens: Justice and Responsibility in the Ethics of Immigration, by Tisha Rajendra
- Review: The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life, by Lauren Markham
- Recent Films Feature Migration Themes
October/November 2019: The Ethics of Dialogue and Debate
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction
- For Congregational Discussion: The Ethics of Dialogue and Debate
- Theological Touchstones for Disagreeing in the Body of Christ
- A Different Way of Talking
- Preaching Across the Political Red-Blue Divide: Using the Sermon-Dialogue-Sermon Method in the Purple Zone
- The Ethics of Dialogue and Debate Book Review Editor's Introduction
- Review: Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide. by Leah D. Schade.
- Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the United States by Lenny Duncan
August 2019: Book Review Issue
- Table of Contents
- Editor's Introduction: Book Review Issue August/September 2019
- Introducing Myself as the New Editor of JLE
- Review: Womanist Sass and Talk Back: Social (In)justice, Intersectionality, and Biblical Interpretation. By Mitzi J. Smith
- Review: Chance, Necessity, Love: An Evolutionary Theology of Cancer by Leonard M. Hummel and Gayle E. Woloschak
- Review: Why Buddhism Is True: the Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright