Self-Justification as the Warp and Woof of Edenic Ejaculation
The notion of ‘being justified’ is an inherently Christian notion, at least in the West (but I’d argue, globally). Our grammars for thinking life, the secular/sacred divide is no matter, come to all of us through a Christian lens. But even prior to that, in a chronological (and logical) sense, the desire to be ‘justified,’ one way or the other, presupposes someone we are seeking to be justified before, even if that someone reduces to ourselves. Nonetheless, I find this ethos, this pathos even, to be rather stunning when paused upon for reflection. Eberhard Juengal writes: Wanting to justify yourself…
Situation Report: Mass Shootings in the U.S.
Buffalo, NY Situation: On May 14, a mass shooting occurred in a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, NY. 10 people were killed and three others were injured in the racially-motivated attack. Response: The Upstate New York Synod, with support from Lutheran Disaster Response, is partnering with VOICE Buffalo, an organization addressing peace, reconciliation, and trauma counseling. The synod will hire a coordinator to work on a new-start mission with VOICE Buffalo, called “Community of Good Neighbors.” From the ELCA’s statement on the mass shooting: “Our hearts grieve for those who have been killed and our souls cry out against…
A Recap of the National VOAD Conference
On May 2-5, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, National VOAD, held its annual conference in Baltimore, MD. Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is a National VOAD member and has been a strong player in the VOAD movement. National VOAD is a coalition of community-based, faith-based and nonprofit disaster response organizations throughout the United States. Its purpose is to serve as a forum in which organizations can coordinate responses. In addition to the more than 70 national member organizations, there are also VOADs at the state and local levels. The National VOAD Conference consists of various plenary sessions, interactive workshops, networking…
The Lutheran Connection with TF Torrance: The Kerygmatic Christ as the Concentration
The Gospels of the New Testament witness all present Jesus via His historicity, and the facts of His life as they unfolded in particular frames of reference. John the evangelist ended his Gospel with the quip, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” Clearly, Jesus was a historical personage, but this is not how the Christian has come to know Him at a first order; nor is it the way that the Evangelists…
Farm Bill Advocacy
This blog is an invitation into learning more about the farm bill, farm bill advocacy and ways to get involved. It expands on information in the ELCA World Hunger’s Global Farm Challenge Youth Action Guide’s advocacy page. The farm bill is legislation passed every five years that has a tremendous impact on hunger in the United States and globally. The current farm bill expires in 2023, so the process is ramping up – where the programs covered in the bill are debated, refreshed and ultimately passed by Congress toward being signed into law. Now is the time for our…
ELCA Bishops Write to Congress about Augusta Victoria Hospital Funding
On May 18, ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton and 44 ELCA synod bishops wrote to Congress about their concerns related to the funding of Augusta Victoria Hospital. Read the full letter here: ELCA Bishops’ letter to Congress concerning US funding for Augusta Victoria Hospital. In the letter they ask for the Members of Congress to “support the transfer of $ 120 million to USAID to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people in 2022. These allocations are needed to cover the PA’s debt to AVH and the other East Jerusalem hospitals.” Ask your Members of Congress to restore…
What Hath Christology to do with Politics and the State?
What is the relationship between politics and Christian theology, is there any? Understandably, many Christians want to simply shy away, and have nothing to do with the political order in the world. But the fact of being human entails that we are “political animals,” that we are necessarily social beings, and as such, we cannot escape the reality of being political in some way. Indeed, the kerygma, the Gospel reality Hisself, which of course is God become flesh in the vicarious humanity of Jesus Christ, is the greatest political act of all time. This was not absent from the early…
Devotional: Steps Forge the Path
by Sandra Roper, 2021-22 Hunger Advocacy Fellow [about the author] Sometimes it feels like my whole life revolves around the question “what’s next?” There’s this notion that “next” is a jump, one thing to another, and that the next thing must be substantially different from the thing before in order to be “new.” I’m starting to think that’s not the case. “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). What strikes me the most about the…
May 22, 2022–What’s Next?
Sara Galyon, Decatur, GA Warm-up Question Do you feel like God is active in your life? Why, or why not? What’s Next? We are in the season of graduations. Some high schools in the country are already prepping for their graduations, and many colleges have already had their ceremonies. Rollins College celebrated its graduation on May 8th. Located in Winter Park, Florida, Rollins had five valedictorians, all obtaining a perfect 4.0 GPA. Of those four, one is a non-speaking autistic woman named Elizabeth, who was chosen by the other valedictorians to give the graduation address. By typing with one finger…
Transitioning from a ‘Substance’ to a ‘Personal’ God: Confronting the Substance-Abusers
There is a lot of talk about ‘substance theology’ these days, and in the past days. Indeed, substance language marks classical theism as the way to talk God at least since the days of Thomas [of Aquino], if not further back since the Greeks started using the language of ousia or ‘being’ for talking God (but that was a little different from the Thomist heritage in the sense that they often used ousia as synonymous with hypostases or ‘persons’ and vice versa). No matter what period past to think and talk God in terms of substance has become considered the…