The Journal of Lutheran Ethics, October 2015

 in Catechesis  tagged Journal of Lutheran Ethics by

September Issue

 

Carmelo Santos

 

 Editor’s Introduction
   by Carmelo Santos, Interim Editor
That black lives matter should be obvious but unfortunately it is not. Black Lives Matter is not simply a rhetorical expression coined by a few. It is in fact an existential cry with deeply spiritual roots. Born from the depths of centuries of collective oppression (remember slavery, indentured servitude, Jim Crow,) it is an expression of the groans of the Spirit of which Paul spoke, the collective prayer of a people demanding their right to exist, their inalienable right to be.  Read more.#BlackLivesMatter
Nicole Newman
  black ruminations
   by Nicole Newman
Less can be more. Newman’s poetry speaks from the heart of the pain of oppression in a way that an academic article could not reach, not matter the world count. ​​We know that the personal is policitcal, but Newman’s work brings home the fact that the polictical is also intensely personal for so many voices not lifted up by mainstream media.
Bishop Wolfgang Herz-Lane
A City Unraveled: The Baltimore Riots and the Response of the Faith Community
   by Bishop Wolfgang Herz-Lane
Though we hear about events like the riots in Baltimore on the news, opportunities to hear from those on the ground are more difficult to find. The Journal of Lutheran Ethics has the honor of welcoming Bishop Wolfgang Herz-Lane to write about his experience as a member of the faith community responding to the injustice and protests in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. What should the role of the church be in a society broken by racism?
Rozella White
The Role of Church for Such a Time as This
   by Rozella White
We live in a society whose prosperity stems from an economy infused with money from the slave trade and the labor of enslaved peoples. The effects of that on people today have not disappeared, but have gone underground where they are harder to name. White eloquently lays out how racism is a sin that we need to name and work against today along with a strategy for people of faith to work together to create a world of healing and justice.
Book Reviews
Changing the Questions Changing the Questions: Explorations in Christian Ethics​ by Margaret A Farley
    Review by Elyssa Salinas
The title Farley gives this work professes a methodology that is prevalent throughout the book. Farley dives into each essay by first acknowledging the questions or assumptions that have bubbled up from a theological or ethical exploration. She spends time acknowledging long-standing traditions or conundrums in areas of morality, death, hope, and various others. Farley then proceeds to question the questions that were asked—questions that highlight her wo​rk as an ethicist, a postmodern scholar, and a sexual ethicist with significant gender critique.
Hidden Inheritance Hidden Inheritance: Family Secrets, Memory, and Faith by Heidi Neumark
    Review by Ryan Cumming
Readers familiar with ELCA pastor Heidi Neumark’s previous memoir, Breathing Space, know that her ministry has carried her into the heart of the paradox of Lutheran faith, to the extremes of profound, abiding grace and heart-wrenching sin. It is here at the intersection that questions of identity and faith are brought into sharp relief, and Neumark’s talent at investigating their contours is evident in her latest endeavor, Hidden Inheritance. The book begins (as books often do now) with a Google search. One night, while researching online, Neumark’s daughter uncovered startling news. Contrary to all the elder Neumark knew about her father’s family, Rev. Neumark did not descend from a long line of German Lutherans but rather from a long line of German Jews. Neumark invites readers to accompany her on the journey and to ponder her reflections on identity, faith and history. The book is part-travelogue, part-history, part-spiritual memoir, and in all senses showcases Neumark’s deft ability to articulate a contextual Lutheran theology that is equal parts empowering and challenging.

© October 2015
Journal of Lutheran Ethics (JLE)
Volume 15, Issue 9

This e-mail was sent to subscribers of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.
© Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | 8765 West Higgins Road | Chicago, IL 60631 800-638-3522 | ELCA Home