Lutheran theological journal 

About: Lutheran theological journal is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Faith & Christianity. It has an ISSN identifier of 0024-7553. Over the lifetime, 51 publications have been published receiving 145 citations.

The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society

Abstract: Brad S. Gregory, 2012. The unintended Reformation: how a religious revolution secularized society. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.At first glance, the thesis of The unintended Reformation can be put quite simply: the chaos of modern life is a result of the Reformation, even if an unintended one. The origins of superficial atheism, apathetic relativism, the quasi-religious nature of the state, ethical incoherence, unrestrained consumption, and the fragmentation of academic discourse can all be traced back to the Reformation. While the Reformers would strongly reject each of these six modern afflictions, their actions have nevertheless led us to where we are. In six chapters, Brad Gregory provides a genealogy for each of these areas, stretching from the Reformation to today. It's a frequently brilliant, if flawed, book and one of the most significant works of Christian history to be published in recent years.One of the great strengths of the book is Gregory's pessimistic analysis of our present moment. He is incisive in his critique of Western societies which have no 'acquisitive ceiling' and whose theological and philosophical discourses have become impoverished to the point of paralysis. He does not necessarily attempt to pioneer any new analyses here but does well in synthesising the thought of people like Alasdair MacIntyre, Albert O. Hirschman, and others. The contentious part of Gregory's history is rather his extending his gaze beyond the Enlightenment to earlier roots. While critics since Johann Georg Hamann have warned of the corrosive effects of the Enlightenment, Gregory treats the Enlightenment within a genealogy that begins with the Reformation. He thus rejects 'supersessionist' accounts of history that see each successive age as begetting the next and thus only look to the prior movement for explanatory keys. He persuasively argues that historical trajectories run far deeper than this and require a greater historical perspective which modern academic specialisation frequently disallows. Thus while Gregory opens himself up to the dangers of generalisation, one cannot help but give him a long leash as he attempts to give the kind of 'big picture' argument that the academy rarely provides.Perhaps the best way to get into the book is to give a run down of how just one of Gregory's six genealogies takes its course. In his second chapter, 'Relativizing doctrines', Gregory traces the impact that Reformation divisions have wrought on the intellectual life of Western thought, with particular reference to modern relativism. In his sights is the Reformation teaching of sola scriptura. He notes that this was an important doctrine for Luther as well as Calvin, Zwingli, Bucer, Anabaptist theologians and others. But while they all valued this doctrine, none of them could agree on what the scriptures actually said and so came to doctrinal conclusions that were fundamentally irreconcilable. The perceived inability of sola scriptura to come to a unified vision of the truth led the European consciousness to reason. Thus, in a strange inversion of the path of Reformation theologians, philosophers began declaring their independent commitment to their own perceptions and reason alone. Montaigne, Descartes, Hobbes, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, and others, all supposed that they alone were being truly independent, focusing on reason alone, only to be replaced by a newer independent thinker claiming pure reason as his starting point. …

Introducing ecological hermeneutics

Abstract: Ecological hermeneutics is a relatively recent approach to biblical exegesis. In the Australian context this approach was first signalled in connection with a Symposium on Ecology and Religion held in Adelaide in 1997. One of the recommendations of this symposium was to create an Earth Bible team and to prepare a set of eco-justice principles that might guide biblical interpreters faced with the current environmental crisis.

Climate Change-The Science

Abstract: 'Climate change is the central challenge of our times, and its resolution is of incalculable importance' (Hay: 37). In this article we wish to explain why we agree with this statement. We want to do this by examining global climate change as a science. We will discuss how science works and see how this applies here. We will outline the evidence for a change in the earth's climate. Next we will look at the explanation or theory to explain these changes, by considering gases and particles in the atmosphere and feedback mechanisms, leading to a discussion of computer models. We will then look briefly at climate in the past and consider projections for the future. The role of sceptics in science will be touched on with some thoughts on their contributions to the science of climate change.

Reflections on the global water crisis in dialogue with Revelation 17 - harlot, hegemony and H2O

Abstract: This essay is born out of reflection on three recent publications that address the global water crisis currently facing humanity, a scarcity arising from overuse and pollution that threaten the ecosystems, health and livelihoods of billions, particularly of the world's poor and vulnerable. Climate change is an additional factor, with unpredictable and more extreme weather patterns threatening an already dire situation, affecting the amount of water that will be available in future.

Embodied Liturgy: Lessons in Christian Ritual

Abstract: Frank C. Senn, 2016. Embodied liturgy: lessons in Christian ritual. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 416 pages.Dr. Dan MuellerThe most recent work by scholar and retired ELCA pastor, Frank Senn, is an intriguing study of liturgy from the perspective of the human body. His previous liturgical studies have employed a variety of structuring paradigms: Christian liturgy (1997) is a grand historical treatment, The people's work (2006) is a social history, and Introduction to the Christian liturgy (2012) is a type of catechism in QA chapter 12 section B functions as the conclusion. The original audience means the book is (a) easy to read, divided into 25 bite-size chunks, with key terms clearly explained, (b) cross-cultural, with deciphered Americanisms, and use of various inculturated liturgical expressions from Asia and others regions, and (c) ecumenical, engaging with various catholic voices, yet still bearing a distinctly Lutheran/ sacramental accent.The main thesis of the book is that "the renewal of worship requires a return to the body as the vehicle of worship" (x). However, as important as this is, I suspect some (many?) may struggle with the references to postural yoga and Tantric philosophy which are interspersed throughout. Senn developed an appreciation for yoga while recovering from surgery for colon cancer and associated chemotherapy in 2006. He uses yoga to draw attention to the "Christian's self-understanding as a body created in the image of God" (372). Most chapter sections conclude with a yoga sequence designed to worship the Triune God (e.g. performing a half-sun salutation to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, pages 27-28) or highlight a particular aspect of the body's involvement in liturgy (e.g. a meditation on the communion elements-bread and wine-using the five senses, pages 146-47).Along with these yoga exercises, Senn offers an "apology for yoga" (xv-xviii), a short concluding discussion on the "value of yoga" (371-72), as well as various answers to questions raised by class participants concerning the nexus between Christianity and yoga-transcribed in the appendix (393-96). His position is that while yoga is now used in religions (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism), it is not a religion itself. Rather "yoga represents ancient wisdom about the body, which is rooted in ancient Indian culture" (emphasis added, xvi)-a type of natural revelation, as it were. Senn notes the close ties between the teachings of Tantra Yoga and Pope John Paul M's theology of the body (Man and woman He created them: a theology of the body, 2006). Both see the body as the incarnation of the divine, through which we enter union with God. "The body is essential to Christian theology. Christians could learn from yoga to honor and respect our bodies ... [and] also help Christians focus on their own beliefs concerning the dignity of humankind created in the image of God, the incarnation of the Son of God in the body of Jesus, the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the resurrection of the body to new and eternal life" (373-74). I initially struggled with the close link to yoga, to the point of nearly abandoning my review, but thankfully I persisted. The book has much to offer, even if you can't agree with Senn's reclaiming of postural yoga for Christianity. I encourage other readers not to "throw the baby out with the bathwater."The book opens with a brief survey of the human body, drawing on chemistry, biology, philosophy, and ultimately theology. …