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Editor's Comments |
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Preaching the Law
by Kaari Reierson
Lately, JLE's editors have been dreaming up ways of helping parish pastors do their work. This month begins a three-part series related to liturgy, the first of which is on the theme of "Preaching the Law." Here one might ask the obvious question — why start with preaching the Law?
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Featured Articles |
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Preaching Justice
by Carl N. Toney
Harper’s Bible Dictionary defines justice as "the standard by which the benefits and pen-alties of living in society are distributed... [and] is founded on the being of God, for whom it is a chief attribute." Forensic understandings of justice and righteousness may be indebted to our Greco-Roman tradition, which conceived of justice and right-eousness as ideal, absolute standards of measurement. |
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Preaching the Law in the Christ-Haunted South
by Julian Gordy
What may be unique about the Southern context is summed up in Flannery O’Connor's assertion that, "By and large, people in the South still conceive of humanity in theological terms. While the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted" (The Habit of Being). Religion of a certain passionate and fundamentalist flavor permeates the region, or at least it did until very recently. |
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The Preaching of the Law to Lawbreakers
by O. E. Brown
It is the Word as received by the congregant, not as spoken by the preacher, that makes the impact. The Law portion of that Word is intended to inspire repentance and thus drive the penitent towards the arms of Christ. The Law and the Gospel are dissimilar and distinct concepts which are nonetheless inextricably paired. |
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Preaching the Law in My Pastoral Setting
by Eric Waters
Jesus commissioned his Apostles to carry on his mission to the ends of the earth. That mission includes bringing people to new life through the sacrament of baptism, and teaching them to live a new life of obedience. In other words, it includes both Law and Gospel: the Gospel of salvation through Christ, the Law of obedience to his commandments. |
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Preaching Law to the "Lost Generation"
by Brooke Petersen
It is November 4, 2008. I live in Chicago, and I am one of the lucky ones who has secured a ticket to be in Grant Park on the night of the election. My husband and I are there together, and all around me, as far as I can see, are people who are my age.
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Response |
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Response to Mattes' "Response" to Paths Not Taken
by Paul R. Hinlicky
I am grateful to Editor Michael Shahan for the invitation to respond to Mark Mattes, even as I am honored by the elaborate attention Mattes has paid to my recent book, Paths Not Taken. Shahan rightly says that Mattes is a "rising star." |
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Book Review |
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Gustaf Wingren's Luther on Vocation after Sixty-five Years
by John T. Pless
In the later part of the twentieth century and continuing to the present day, there has been a resurgence of interest in the doctrine of vocation. Nearly all of these studies to a greater or lesser degree have been influenced by Gustaf Wingren's (1910-2000) 1942 dissertation, Luther on Vocation with little dissent.
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Cloud of Witnesses |
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J. Michael Reu on the Christian Life
by Craig L. Nessan
Johann Michael Reu (1869-1943) was born in Diebach, Germany and trained for the pastoral ministry at the mission institute founded by Wilhelm Loehe in Neuendettelsau. He came to the United States in 1889, first serving as pastor at Mendota and then at Rock Falls, Illinois for ten years until 1899.
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