Colleagues, After Banda Aceh’s tsunami and New Orleans’ Katrina and Pakistan’s earthquake and the unending drumbeat of corpse after corpse in Africa, the Middle East–yes, worldwide–the cry goes up “How long, O Lord, how long?” Marie and I are reading (out loud) our way through Jeremiah these days. Not much cheer there. Most often the “good news”–there’ll be …
Discipleship and Spirituality According to Luther’s Catechisms
Colleagues, Both Discipleship and Spirituality were hot topics during our time with the Lutherans in Singapore last year. If for no other reason than that these terms had come over from the USA and were front and center in the rhetoric of other Christian congregations in Singapore. And these congregations were growing! So, no surprise, this guest …
Charity
Colleagues, This week’s ThTh posting is the text of the first two pages of the Summer Newsletter ’05, LUTHERAN URBAN MISSION SOCIETY, 5 West King Edward Avenue, Vancouver, BC Canada.Writer is Canadian Lutheran Pastor Brian Heinrich, once-upon-a-time TA in systematic theology at Seminex, class of 1983. As a “street priest” for LUMS, Brian’s parish is what the …
Theology of the Cross, the Melody of Three Books for Review
Colleagues, Three books came my way for review at the end of summer. At first glance they all looked different. But now that I’ve read them, they are all singing the same tune, theologia crucis, the theology of the cross.. Here’s the evidence.Peace & Joy! Ed Schroeder David Schneider. ARROWS OF LIGHT. DEVOTIONS FOR WORLDWIDE CHRISTIANS. Kearney, …
Another View of the Blame Game
Last week I read an email from Gail, a woman in Australia, who compared America’s relationship with President Bush to battered wife syndrome. She talked about the way he lies to us and we let him get away with it. She brought up the reality that he’s driven our friends away by his policies and we don’t call …
Katrina
Colleagues, The only ThTh reader I know of living in the cauldron of Katrina’s cataclysm is Elise Turner in Jackson, Mississippi.I asked her for some words she might want to pass on to the rest of us. Here’s what she sent. Peace & Joy! Ed Schroeder Dear Ed,This is more like free association than coherent writing. Fondly, …
On The Fourth Anniversary of 9/11, “Rays of Light”: Law and Promise in the Wake of Katrina
Colleagues, Today’s ThTh posting is the work of Michael Hoy. Michael works bi-vocationally as Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) and as Dean of the Lutheran School of Theology, both of them in St. Louis, Missouri.Peace and joy! Ed Schroeder On The Fourth Anniversary of 9/11, “Rays of Light”: Law and Promise in the Wake of …
Responses to ThTh 376 about Carl Braaten’s Open Letter to the ELCA Bishop
Colleagues, Quite a few responses came in to last week’s posting. Here are some of them.Peace & joy! Ed Schroeder A “writer and independent [= I’ve got no church teaching job] scholar” from Minneapolis, Minnesota.Thank you for your Thursday Theology of August 25, “Carl Braaten’s Jeremiad.” I’d like to make one small comment about the following statement: …
Carl Braaten’s Jeremiad: ELCA is Just Another Liberal Protestant Denomination
Colleagues, The ELCA’s national assembly a week ago produced no explosions. On the hot-potato sexuality issue the delegates voted for the status quo. A fortnight or so before the assembly, veteran ELCA theology prof Carl Braaten published an open letter to the ELCA national bishop. This hot-potato was one of his sub-texts. The core caveat in Carl’s public …
Walter R. Bouman, R.I.P. “God’s Yes and God’s No”
Colleagues, Walt Bouman died yesterday, August 17, at his home in Columbus, Ohio. That day was Walt and Jan (Gundermann) Bouman’s 48th wedding anniversary. To his diagnosis 6 months ago, “inoperable cancer,” he and Jan responded with home hospice health care. Walt’s 76th birthday anniversary was July 9.We posted his last sermon at Trinity Seminary in Columbus …