Journal of Lutheran Ethics Issue Index October 2016: Politics

Editor's Introduction

Carmelo Santos,  Editor

Articles

A ​Lutheran Bishop’s Reflections on the Church’s Public Work of Advocacy  by Bishop Richard Graham​.
Bishop Graham of the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Synod writes about his experiences with advocacy ministry.  He notes that though Lutheran advocacy is a voice advocating for the poor among many similar voices, the humility and compassion Lutherans can bring to this work makes it all the more unique and valuable.  How can Lutherans better serve their neighbor through this vital ministry?

Lutherans and the Political Challenges of 2016​ by Robert Benne.

​In an election cycle so polarizing, and to some, hopeless, what is a Lutheran response?  Benne argues that Lutherans, whether they choose to vote or not, cannot responsibly "opt-out" of this election.​ That being said, fusing religion and politics--envisioning a candidate as a political messiah--is also not faithful.  Instead, Benne offers seven counsels for Lutherans and their churches in this fraught political season.

Book Reviews

My Report to the World: Story of a Secret State  by Jan Karski.
   Review by Michael Kuchinsky.
My Report to the World: Story of a Secret State was first published in 1944 when the world's nations were fully engaged in both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II.  Though the outlines of a final outcome might have possibly been seen, the end to hostilities was still only imagined and hoped for.  This book was a memoir of the war experiences of Jan Karski, a Polish national, soldier, and an operative of the Polish Underground between 1939 and 1943 who would spend most of the rest of his working life during the Cold War and following as a European politics professor at Georgetown University.  So why reissue it now complete with photographic records and a forward by former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright?  Read on to find out! ​

A Christian Justice for the Common Good​ by Tex Sample.​
   Review by Bruce Wollenberg.                                                             

Tex Sample, emeritus professor at Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas, has been thinking creatively and helpfully about the church's role in society for a very long time.  His previous books include U.S. Lifestyles and Mainline Churches, Hard Living People and Mainstream Christians and the delightfully titled Ministry in an Oral Culture: Living with Will Rogers, Uncle Remus, and Minnie Pearl.  His newest work addresses the call to identify and confront principalities and powers that contravene the values of the coming reign of God in Christ.  One of the strengths of his current contribution to social theology is his involvement, for the past sixteen years, in what the right likes to deride as community organizing.  This experience provides a nice counterpoint to the more theoretical material he covers.