Category: Theology

BOOKS

Carolyn Schneider I Am a Christian: the Nun, the Devil, and Martin Luther., Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2010

This book explores a story that Martin Luther told to encourage people in despair. In the story a woman resists the devil‘s temptation to despair with the words “I am a Christian.” Part one of the book examines what that confession meant to Luther and why it was important to him. Part two investigates the woman‘s identity. Part three applies the story to modern forms of despair.

Joy Schroeder Dinah’s Lament: The Biblical Legacy of Sexual Violence in Christian Interpretation., Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2007

Studies the ways Christians have read six biblical narratives about sexual violence, using biblical commentary, homilies, and devotional writings as a window into the history of the church’s attitudes about rape. Schroeder analyzes the patterns of Christian interpretation, from the early church through the Reformation, and shows that traditions of interpretation are often more disturbing and horrifying than the texts themselves.

Kirsi Stjerna Spirituality: Towards a 21st Century Lutheran Understanding., eds. Kirsi Stjerna and Brooks Schramm. Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2004

A faculty book exploring different ways spirituality is thought and modeled in seminary education – editing, and two articles.

Kirsi Stjerna No Greater Jewel: Thinking about Baptism with Luther., Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress 2009

In No Greater Jewel Luther’s teaching of baptism is unfolded in light of specific issues arising around Lutheran practices and understanding of baptism today. Includes questions for discussion.

Deanna Thompson Crossing the Divide: Luther, Feminism and the Cross., Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2004

Equally committed to the insights of Luther‘s theology of the cross and feminist theology, I seek in this book common ground on issues of suffering, abuse, atonement, reform, ethics, and the import of Jesus, all of which culminates in a constructive proposal for a feminist theology of the cross.

Rivta H. Williams Stewards, Prophets, Keepers of the Word: Leadership in the Early Church., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers 2006

I explore the roles of stewards, prophets, keepers of the word in the ancient Mediterranean cultures in order to demonstrate how early church leaders in the first and second centuries drew on these roles to subvert dominant power structures, justify innovation, create and preserve the emerging traditions of and about Jesus. This study draws on anthropological insights to critically assess Greco-Roman and early Christian sources.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATION/SPEECH

"Preaching: the Preservation of Fire" In Proceedings: North American Academy of Liturgy Annual Meeting. ed. Stephanie Perdew VanSlyke. Notre Dame, IN: North American Academy of Liturgy, Inc. 2018

Vice-Presidential Address to the North American Academy of Liturgy, January 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia, focused on applying a quote about tradition attributed to Gustav Mahler to the practice of preaching: “Tradition is not the worship of ashes but the preservation of fire.”

EDITORIALS

"Working Toward the Telos of Shalom" In Dialog: A Journal of Theology. 1992 : 85-86
Carol LaHurd "Middle East Peace and Unpleasant Listening" In Dialog: A Journal of Theology. 2009 : 113-115
Carol LaHurd "Philadelphia ’97: Reflections of a Lay Ecumenist" In Dialog: A Journal of Theology. 1997 : 248-250