To fear or not to fear?

Colleagues, To fear or not to fear? That is the question.Good Christmas theology, “Good News gospelly” Christmas theology, is a tad rare these days. Even among Lutherans. Even in THE LUTHERAN, national magazine of our ELCA. Example #1 The main theology piece in this year’s Christmas issue is “Emmanuel, God is with us!” It wants to show …

Peace on Earth in Bethlehem 2002. A Blue Christmas?

Colleagues, Appended below is a message I received from Bethlehem earlier this week anticipating a “Blue” Christmas.Makes me think of an earlier text impacting that “little” town linked to political ordinances with military enforcement: “And there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus” to which everyone MUST conform. It was “taxing.” The Mangered Messiah and the heavy …

Semper Fideles (Always Faithful) at a Time of War

Colleagues, The flu bug hit me this week. So I’m posting someone else’s prose for your ThTh 235 reflection. I know nothing more about author Jim Lewis than what you can read here. ‘Fact is, I don’t even know how this got into our “IN basket.”Although Jim never mentions “left-hand-of-God” rubrics in this essay about war, he …

Advent Letter from Bethlehem & Apocalypse Now

Colleagues: I just received this e-mail from Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. It got me thinking. Today’s posting gives you both.Peace & Joy! Ed Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 As Advent begins in Bethlehem… By Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb It is Sunday morning, the first Advent. The streets of Bethlehem are deserted, very …

Thanksgiving. A Gratitude Attitude? Not Really

Colleagues, D.v., Marie and I will be in California most of this week, so ThTh 233 gets posted a few days early. Occasion is the memorial service on Wednesday for Marie’s sister Dorothy Scharlemann, who died in Santa Barbara just short of her 90th birthday. That’s the third such liturgy on Marie’s side of the family in eleven …

Interfaith Prayer

Colleagues: THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY’s Reformation Festival issue (they didn’t call it that), posted the end of October 2002, featured two of the best-known Lutheran theologians in America, Martin Marty and Gilbert Meilaender [hereafter MM and GM]. MM’s photo even made the cover. Both GM and MM were reared in the theology and ethos of the Lutheran Church – …

You’re in Charge and I’m Not by Robin Morgan

In my continuing quest to understand what is going on with our country, the other day I realized that the closest I can come to making sense of our newfound patriotic zeal and willingness to sacrifice our freedom for supposed safety is by comparing it to the way my husband and I were acting shortly before we discovered …

The Festival of the Reformation

Colleagues, Today’s posting is the current draft of my paper for the international conference on “The Future of Lutheran Theology: Charisms & Contexts.” Time and place for the gathering is January 2003 at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. Last week’s ThTh 228 was Robin Morgan’s paper prepared for the conference.Last week we told you about Aarhus …

Law and Gospel Theology: An Unused Resource for Social Ministry

Colleagues, First off, A REQUEST FOR FUNDS. Robin Morgan, Ed and Marie Schroeder have been invited to “do Thursday Theology” at an international conference middle of January 2003 at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. “The Future of Lutheran Theology: Charisms & Contexts” is the conference theme. Folks already registered (61 so far) are from all over the …