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As I have been rereading TF Torrance’s The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being Three Persons, I came across a passage that struck me as a sort of theological-exegetical gloss of Romans 8:31-39. Torrance is often accused of not doing any biblical-exegetical work; but I would counter, that in his role as a Christian Dogmatist his work is saturated in the thematics that allow Scripture to say what it does about God and His works. I would contend that, Torrance, as a Christian Dogmatist, par excellence, has Scriptural themes and their reality in Christ, pervading all of his writings. What…

“For What Shall We Pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   Prayer prompts: In gratitude for mothers and for all who provide motherly care.. For those who are pregnant or…

Dave Delaney, Salem, VA Warm-up Question In a real pinch or in a moment of real difficulty, who do you know who is absolutely on your side, who 100% has your back no matter what? Do you know anyone who has nobody they can depend on? What is Truth? “Teens who trust the news they read on social media feel less stress” It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, or – rather – who you trust.  Researchers at Cornell University recently published results of a study showing that trust in the news on social media can make a…

Barth is often depicted as a liberal or “neoorthodox” theologian who repudiates the inerrancy of Holy Scripture, which alone anathematizes him for the evangelical. Barth is often presented as an enemy to conservative orthodox Christianity, with his neo-Kantian, reified Hegelianism ripping to shreds any hope of giving the evangelical churches anything wholesome and genuinely biblical to cogitate upon. Barth, in many sectors of the evangelical and Reformed churches, is considered as enemy of the state to the health and well-being of historically orthodox Christianity. Barth is often demonized, caricaturized, and flambéed just at the point that someone moves their lips into…

You can’t change what you don’t know. So how much do you know about the impacts of colonization on Indigenous people in past generations and in the present? What does “MMIW” mean to you? When we know the truth and embrace it, we begin the process of building and strengthening right relationships with our Indigenous neighbors. To that end, last month the ELCA launched a Truth and Healing Movement. Watch a video of Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton announcing the creation of the movement. As explained in a news release, “[t]he ELCA’s Truth & Healing Movement will enlist and empower members…

Angie Larson, Alexandria, MN Warm-up Question What is one area that you think humans could work better together at? Even Greater Things On Thursday, April 13th, 16 year old Ralph Yarl went to pick up his twin younger brothers from a friend’s house, but accidentally went to the wrong house. When the homeowner came to the door he shot Ralph twice. Once through the door and then when he was already on the ground. Ralph made his way to a neighbor’s house where he got help for his injuries. His story shocked and outraged our nation. Ralph survived but not…

  Theology done by people in the depths of suffering looks much different than theology done by people who are relatively comfortable. When I say “theology” I mean anything anyone thinks or does towards the magnification of Jesus Christ. And this might not even be a conscious effort, especially for those in the thralls of suffering. Indeed, it is in these seasons, when “we have the sentence of death on us so that we will learn to trust the One who raises the dead,” that we are simply living out of the depths of Christ’s life for us (ecstatic existence);…

“For What Shall We Pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   Prayer prompts: For the friends and family of the shooting victims in Texas; for all those who have suffered…

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available.   U.N. | CALIFORNIA  | COLORADO | KANSAS | MINNESOTA | NEW MEXICO | OHIO | PENNSYLVANIA | TEXAS | WASHINGTON | WISCONSIN |   Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc Christine Mangale, Director From March 6-17, 2023, LOWC hosted 30 Lutheran Delegates who attended the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. The delegation represented Lutherans…

In the following Bruce McCormack sketches out, what Wilhelm Herrmann believed about the ‘historical Jesus as the ground of faith.’ Herrmann was Barth’s teacher while Barth studied at the University of Marburg. As you read this, from your own perspective as a Christian, do you find anything objectionable about the way Herrmann conceived of Jesus and salvation therefrom? If you know anything about the school that Herrmann represented in his day, then you will understand that there were some attending problems with his theology; as Barth later would come against himself. But as a stand-alone representation of Herrmann’s thought on…