wfn.org | ELCA Lectures Address Ethical Challenges

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

Reply-To: ElcaNews <ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG>
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 2, 1998

ELCA LECTURES ADDRESS ETHICAL CHALLENGES
98-24-147-FI

     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
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html