Editor’s Introduction
by Carmelo Santos, Editor
In this exceptional political cycle and fraught political climate, it can be difficult to navigate with thoughtful engagement. This month Dr. Robert Benne and Bishop Dick Graham bring their years of experience and thought into reflections intended to help traverse these waters. They both encourage active citizenship and flag dangers in political activity, with an eye to distinctive Lutheran perspectives. Both remind us that participation in politics is part of God’s ongoing expectation of people of faith, despite the choppy waters. Michael Kuchinsky’s review of the Jan Karski classic My Report to the World: Story of a Secret State pairs nicely with the articles by exploring one man’s ethically fraught fight against oppression in World War II.
A Lutheran Bishop’s Reflections on the Church’s Public Work of Advocacy
by Bishop Richard Graham
Bishop Graham of the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Synod writes about his experiences with advocacy ministry. He notes that though Lutheran advocacy is a voice advocating for the poor among many similar voices, the humility and compassion Lutherans can bring to this work makes it all the more unique and valuable. How can Lutherans better serve their neighbor through this vital ministry?
Lutherans and the Political Challenges of 2016
by Robert Benne
In an election cycle so polarizing, and to some, hopeless, what is a Lutheran response? Benne argues that Lutherans, whether they choose to vote or not, cannot responsibly “opt-out” of this election. That being said, fusing religion and politics–envisioning a candidate as a political messiah–is also not faithful. Instead, Benne offers seven counsels for Lutherans and their churches in this fraught political season.
Book Reviews
My Report to the World: Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski.
Review by Michael Kuchinsky.
My Report to the World: Story of a Secret State was first published in 1944 when the world’s nations were fully engaged in both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. Though the outlines of a final outcome might have possibly been seen, the end to hostilities was still only imagined and hoped for. This book was a memoir of the war experiences of Jan Karski, a Polish national, soldier, and an operative of the Polish Underground between 1939 and 1943 who would spend most of the rest of his working life during the Cold War and following as a European politics professor at Georgetown University. So why reissue it now complete with photographic records and a forward by former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright? Read on to find out!
A Christian Justice for the Common Good by Tex Sample.
Review by Bruce Wollenberg.
Tex Sample, emeritus professor at Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas, has been thinking creatively and helpfully about the church’s role in society for a very long time. His previous books include U.S. Lifestyles and Mainline Churches, Hard Living People and Mainstream Christians and the delightfully titled Ministry in an Oral Culture: Living with Will Rogers, Uncle Remus, and Minnie Pearl. His newest work addresses the call to identify and confront principalities and powers that contravene the values of the coming reign of God in Christ. One of the strengths of his current contribution to social theology is his involvement, for the past sixteen years, in what the right likes to deride as community organizing. This experience provides a nice counterpoint to the more theoretical material he covers.
© October 2016
Journal of Lutheran Ethics (JLE)
Volume 16, Issue 9
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