wfn.org | Lutheran Video Explores Life on the Edge of Faith

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 2, 2000

LUTHERAN VIDEO EXPLORES LIFE ON THE EDGE OF FAITH
00-184-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Young adults in North America are often
living "on the edge of faith," according to a videotape and study
guide produced by the Division for Ministry of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  "Why Christian? for those on the
edge of faith" presents the work of Douglas John Hall in an interview
format.
     One purpose of the resource materials is to help church leaders
"explore the kinds of concerns and questions many young people and
unchurched persons have about Christianity and faith," said Connie
Leean Seraphine, coordinator, partners in distance learning
resources.
     "This video features Douglas John Hall, who is a leading
theologian, and a college student, who questions the very foundations
of faith and whether Christianity has anything to offer young people
in a secular world," she said.
     Hall is a Protestant theologian, international lecturer and
retired professor of Christian theology, Religious Studies, McGill
University, Montreal.  He is the author of such books as "Professing
the Faith," "Thinking the Faith" and "End of Christendom and the
Future Christianity."  The ELCA materials are based on his book "Why
Christian? for those on the edge of faith."
     The Rev. Joseph M. Wagner, executive director of the ELCA
Division for Ministry, identified "engagement with youth" as one of
the division's planning priorities.  "The coming generations each
bring particular new approaches and gifts to the future," he said,
and the church must engage young Lutherans in learning new ways to
communicate the Christian faith.
     That insight was at the center of the division's decision to
produce the videotape and study guide, said Kevin J. Boatright, chair
of the ELCA Division for Ministry board and assistant vice president
for university relations, University of Wisconsin System, Madison,
Wis.  The board reviewed the materials and used them for "theological
reflection" of the topics, he said.
     "We were discussing how that resource might be utilized and
distributed, especially to such places as campus ministries and
colleges of the church," said Boatright.  All bishops of the ELCA and
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada -- 70 synod bishops and
both presiding bishops -- received the materials.
     The materials are distributed by Augsburg Fortress, publishing
house of the ELCA, Minneapolis.
     On the 67-minute videotape, Joyce Almaguer, a student at Rice
University, Houston, presents a series of questions, which Hall
answers in conversation with her.
     "What are we saved from?  What are we saved for?" Almaguer
asked.
     "'Salvation' comes from a word that means 'whole,' 'healthy,'
'integrated,' to be 'all there,'" said Hall.  "Whatever is keeping us
from living fully the life that God has made for us -- that is the
sin from which we need to be saved."
     Hall calls upon the church to be a "zone of truth" where people
are free to be themselves with all their questions, doubts and life
problems.  Such congregations appeal to young people who are
searching for places to be authentic and honest, he said.
     Almaguer raised concerns about the dangers of the modern
society and "dreadful stories" that seem to fill the news media.
     Hall explained that news reports focus on the one child who was
hurt and not the 10,000 who were safe.  "The church -- the community
of faith -- can be a community that helps people keep that in
perspective, rather than being blown about and frightened by what
things they've heard in the media," he said.
     "It's true that many scary things are happening in the world,"
said Hall, referring specifically to threats to the environment and
to overpopulation.
     "Some hopes have to be dashed ... because they are false hopes"
based on unrealistic expectations, he said.  "Maybe in the
destruction of these hopes and in the disappointment and darkness
that comes about through this process, we will discover a new
authentic hope" in Jesus Christ.

EDITORS: "Why Christian?" resources -- video, book and study
guide -- are available separately from Augsburg Fortress by calling
1-800-328-4648 or by visiting the publisher's Web site at
http://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/sdetail.asp?set=546

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html