ELCA Lectures Address Ethical Challenges

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- One Lutheran theologian identified physician-assisted suicide and welfare reform as two critical issues Christians will probably face in the 21st century.  Another Lutheran theologian said Christians should be ready to discuss  publicly any uneasy feelings they may have about biomedical ethics and technology.
     The eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) hosted a series of lectures on "The Ethical Challenges of the New Century: How Do Christians Respond?"  Dr. Martha Ellen Stortz and Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain each spoke at four sites as part of the church's 1998 Hein-Fry Lecture Series.
     Stortz, a professor of historical theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif., spoke at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C.; the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa.; Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.; and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.
     Stortz described physician-assisted suicide as an outgrowth of late 20th century individualism and assumptions about death.  Death is viewed as physical, medical and private, she said, with no concept of the dying person's responsibility to die well within the community.
     "Not rights but relationships mark the Christian life," said Stortz. Baptism into "Christ's community" means that people live and die in association with a larger family, and that family accompanies the dying "in the midst of suffering."
     On welfare reform, Stortz said attitudes toward welfare recipients must change.  They cannot be seen as "losers" who ruin the economy, she said.
     The church historically has cared for the poor as part of its own membership, Stortz said.  The church continues to care by promoting interdependence -- each gives, each receives -- through its "public voice and civic persuasion."
     Elshtain, an ELCA member and professor of social and political ethics at the University of Chicago, spoke at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio; the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia; the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago; and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa.
     Opposite extremes of self-worth are cause for our ethical dilemmas, said Elshtain.  Pride makes us believe we are self-sufficient, with no need of God's help.  Lack of self-esteem leaves us vulnerable to whims of our culture.
     "We are possessed by what we possess, and everything seems to be for sale," she said.  "We should discover ways to tame the market basis for our society."
     Elshtain referred to the thoughts of two 20th century theologians -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Pope John Paul II -- to illustrate that sin makes God's help vital and that "dignity is God-given."  They also provided Elshtain with examples of Christians who publicly reacted when their cultures repulsed them; Bonhoeffer saw Hitler's human rights violations, and the pope reacted to abortion, the death penalty and cloning.
     She encouraged her audiences to "pay close attention to something you find repugnant and bring the matter to the front of your critical consciousness.  Repugnance is the kind of emotion that speaks up to our humanity."
     "Shallow are the souls that have forgotten how to shudder," said Elshtain.
     The Hein-Fry Lecture Series predates the ELCA which was formed in 1988.  The endowed theological lecture series fosters original scholarship and enriches theological dialogue throughout the church.  It combines the Dr. Carl Christian Hein Memorial Seminary Lectures of the former American Lutheran Church and the Franklin Clark Fry Theological Lectures of the former Lutheran Church in America.
     The 1999 Hein-Fry lecturers will be Dr. Mary Collins OSB, chair of the Department of Religion and Religious Education, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., and the Rev. Gordon W. Lathrop, professor of liturgy and chaplain, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.  The series will focus on "Liturgy and Inculturation."

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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