Colleagues “Did Osama Win?” That was the caption of a NEWSWEEK feature article for last month’s tenth anniversary of 9/11. A strange article. But then again, maybe not so strange, just typically American. First off, author Andrew Sullivan begins with paragraph after paragraph signaling a “yes” answer, though without actually saying “yes.” Then at the very end he …
Limpet-Mine Theology and Gospel With No Additives
Colleagues, Today’s guest essayist is Neal Nuske. He’s appeared here before. Most recent, so far as I can tell, was ThTh #610 — that’s 86 weeks ago. Neal teaches at St Peter’s College in Queensland, Australia. We’ve never met face-to-face. But we have been in email exchange for a long time. He’ll give you the details below. I …
A Parting Peace
Colleagues, Here’s another one resurrected from ancient files [not my own, but from those of the Concordia Historical Institute, whither I directed Lee Precup when he asked me if I could find it. “Our man” at CHI, Marvin Huggins, found it there.] It is the “Parting Peace” of the faculty of Concordia Seminary (St. Louis) to the graduating …
The Theology of Helmut Thielicke
Colleagues, Some of you know that Helmut Thielicke was my “Doktor-vater” (=major mentor for the degree) at the University of Hamburg 50 years ago. Although Marie and I have now moved into our “old folks home” (Hidden Lake!), we’re still downsizing what we didn’t get downsized at the old place. Mostly filing cabinets. One batch of file folders …
Christian Spirituality in the Workplace
Colleagues, Every now and then I’m asked to do a book review for MISSIOLOGY, the journal of the American Society of Missiology, where I’ve been a member for decades. This time the book offered me for review sounded like the ancient mantra of the Crossings Community, Inc. formulated by our ancestor Bob Bertram: “Crossing Daily Life with the …
Risking the Tradition
Colleagues: Walter R. Bouman died six years ago this past August. Walt and I were connected for 50 years. We’re on the same Concordia Seminary (St. Louis) graduation photo, class of 1954. We were in cahoots already at the seminary in the tug-of-war about the Bible that was brewing in the Missouri Synod. We were doing doctorates together …
Still Missing after 10 Years, the “R” Word: Repentance
Colleagues, It’s ten years later. The Muslims have not gone away. Nor have more of them become patently more friendly than a few of them were on Nine Eleven. And now a second global disaster confronts us, the bankruptcy of world capitalism. Yes, bankrupt. Webster: “reduced to a state of ruin, broken, sterile, exhausted of valuable qualities.” For …
A Book Review: Pastoral Care for Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.
Colleagues, More American veterans of the Vietnam war died by suicide after returning home than the 50 thousand who came home in body bags, whose names are inscribed on the monument in Washington, DC. The lethal nature of war persists even when they come home alive–and (allegedly) unscarred. Here’s a look at all that from the inside. Reviewer …
Another One from the Archives: Bob Bertram Requiem
Colleagues, Marie and I moved on Monday. Better said, “were” moved. By a crew of nine, family and friends with a beeeeg U-Haul and the smarts about the task to be done. To Hidden Lake Senior Living Community under the umbrella of Lutheran Senior Services. [Go to http://lssliving.org/ for the full skinny. The fact that the CEO, John R. Kotovsky, …
A Book Review: Dean Lueking, “Through Their Eyes. A People’s View of the Global Church”
Colleagues, Dean Lueking’s face is on my graduation class photo (Concordia Seminary, 1954). We’ve continued to be “joined at the hip” ever since. Paul Ananth Tambyah came into Marie’s and my life in 2004 when the Evangelical Church in America [ELCA] sent us to work with the Lutheran Church of Singapore as Global Mission Volunteers. My spiffy title …