ELCA Commissions 'The Promise of Lutheran Ethics'

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ten Lutheran theologians worked together and on their own for two years to produce "The Promise of Lutheran Ethics." Augsburg Fortress, publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), released the nine-chapter volume in August. The ELCA's Church Council and Division for Church in Society commissioned the work.
The Rev. John R. Stumme, the division's associate director for studies, traced the purpose of the volume to a stalled attempt of the church to develop a social statement on human sexuality in the early 1990s. That process revealed significant differences on what Lutherans think the church should teach about sexuality, he said.
"Behind these differences there often existed different understandings of Lutheran ethics. It became apparent that in order to further discussion on this and other controversial moral issues, there was a need for teachers in our church to examine in a fundamental way the nature of Lutheran ethics today," Stumme wrote in the book's introduction.
The authors took a variety of approaches to dealing with tradition and change, said the Rev. Karen L. Bloomquist, ELCA director for studies. Some "call for retrieving traditional themes," while others "set aside certain characteristically Lutheran conceptualizations." In yet other cases, "Lutheran themes or emphases are nuanced or reworked," she wrote in the introduction.
"Together, these different approaches are part of a common conversation," said Bloomquist, "in which shared theological understandings and dynamics make it possible to converse."
In the chapter "Lutheran Ethics," Dr. Robert Benne, professor of religion, Roanoke College, Salem, Va., calls Lutheranism "a living tradition." His purpose for writing was "to identify the basic themes of Lutheran ethics" and "to reflect critically about the points at which the modern world challenges the tradition of Lutheran ethical reflection."
"I believe Lutheranism as a living tradition is at risk" of not communicating a "distinctive Lutheran ethos" to future generations, Benne wrote. So, he takes on his task with a sense of urgency.
Dr. Reinhard Hutter, associate professor of Christian ethics and theology, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, wrote that his chapter, "The Twofold Center of Lutheran Ethics," revisits the birth of "Protestant Ethics" in the context of the "Western world" and offers a Lutheran response to the 1993 papal encyclical, "The Splendor of Truth."
The twofold center of Christian ethics is "Christian freedom and God's commandments," said Hutter. "Christian freedom is the embodiment of practicing God's commandments as a way of life."
"I will describe Lutheran ethics as an ethics of formation shaped by certain practices," Dr. Martha Ellen Stortz, professor of historical theology and ethics, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif., wrote in the chapter "Practicing Christians." She continued, "Then I will focus on one of the practices central to that community of faith, personal prayer, and investigate how this practice shapes the people who use it."
"A Christian trained in the practice of prayer," said Stortz, "not only practices but acts in the world and on behalf of the neighbor." She added, "Prayer informs moral vision ... to be oriented to the God in whom we place our final faith and trust."
"African American Lutheran ethical action is rooted in the African American ethical tradition and similar to the pietistic tradition of Lutheranism articulated in the United States during the mid-nineteenth century," the Rev. Richard J. Perry Jr., assistant professor of church and society, urban ministry, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, wrote in the chapter "African American Lutheran Ethical Action."
Perry examined historical examples of African American pietism and then identified "some implications for a 'Lutheran' ethic in the twenty-first century." He added, "Retrieving the legacy of those who reflect their community of origin while members of the Lutheran church is critical for moving the church from a preoccupation with 'right doctrine' to 'right practice.'"
The Rev. James M. Childs Jr., dean of academic affairs and professor of theology and ethics, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, wrote the volume's chapter on "Ethics and the Promise of God." He said, "Standing over against our historical existence, God's future gives birth to faith, hope, and love -- the energy of the Christian ethic."
The chapter looks at "the complexities of moral choice," said Childs. "In matters of both personal choice and public policy, we are constantly mired in the ambiguity of life in a fallen world," he wrote, examining "how far and in what ways it is appropriate for the church to engage in social concerns and public policy."
The Christian Bible includes the teachings of St. Paul on a number of moral topics confronting the early congregations. In the chapter on "Pauline Ethics," David E. Fredrickson, associate professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., noted that Lutherans have drawn on Paul for the bases of their ethics, but he claimed that Paul actually offers an alternative to the common Lutheran interpretation.
Instead of focusing on individual motivation for good works, Fredrickson "makes thematic the power of persons in community to influence their corporate lives and the world for good or for ill." He challenged Lutheran congregations to test "all things by those who must bear the consequences of the decisions reached." By doing that, he said, "the church aligns itself with the reforming work of Martin Luther."
"The Reform Dynamic," the chapter Dr. Larry L. Rasmussen, professor of social ethics, Union Theological Seminary, New York, authored with Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda, doctoral student, Union Theological Seminary, New York, said, "A sustainable world requires that large-scale systems and we ourselves be changed."
The Lutheran church addresses new issues by accepting change and by examining the past and the present as a "believing community," Moe-Lobeda and Rasmussen wrote. "The community proceeds carefully, attentive to the needs of justice for order in an uncertain age," they said.
The final chapter is "A Table Talk on Lutheran Ethics," a transcript of "important threads" from a conversation all the authors had about the contents of the whole volume during their final day-long meeting. "Table Talk" refers to the published words of Martin Luther that were transcribed by friends as he discussed a variety of topics.
"This Table Talk is offered as an example of what needs to be an ongoing, deepening moral conversation in the life of the church," wrote Bloomquist, who edited the chapter. "The writers interacted with one another and in ways that communicate their common, complementary and differing emphases," she said.
The book concludes with an extensive bibliography on Lutheran ethics.
The ELCA's Division for Church in Society sent a post card to the church's 18,000 ordained and lay ministers, offering a complimentary copy to those who returned the card. The division has sent out about 9,000 free copies of the volume, and Augsburg Fortress has begun sales.

For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director 1-773-380-2955 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html