wfn.org | Lutheran Theologian, Teacher, Author, Gerhard O. Forde Dies

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 17, 2005

Lutheran Theologian, Teacher, Author, Gerhard O. Forde Dies
05-147-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gerhard O. Forde, a leading
Lutheran theologian, retired seminary professor and pastor of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died of pneumonia
Aug. 9 in St. Paul, Minn., after a lengthy battle with
Parkinson's disease.  He was 77.
     "One can't overestimate the power and impact of Gerhard
Forde's theology across the Lutheran Church and the wider
ecumenical community.  His students heard proclamation in his
classroom, not just lectures," said the Rev. Richard H. Bliese,
president, Luther Seminary, St. Paul.
     "Forde encouraged us to reclaim Luther's theology of the
cross and, upon this confession, to be radical disciples of our
Lord.  Like church bells in a high steeple, his voice will
continue to ring out boldly for years to come.	His clear vision
for the gospel and his theological presence will be missed,"
Bliese said.
     "Dr. Forde was a remarkably clear and persistent witness to
the gospel.  Through his preaching, teaching and writing, many
first glimpsed just how radical the gospel is," said the Rev.
Jonathan P. Strandjord, director for theological education, ELCA
Division for Ministry.
     "His ability to speak not only to fellow scholars but also
to general readers in such books as Where God Meets Man is a
model of the kind of theological work that the ELCA needs to
multiply if we are to foster a culture of theological wisdom,"
Strandjord said.
     A funeral Aug. 12 at St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church, St.
Paul, was followed by burial at Indherred Lutheran Church,
Starbuck, Minn.
     Forde was born Sept. 10, 1927, in Starbuck.  His father was
pastor of Indherred Lutheran Church.
     Forde graduated from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, and
Luther Seminary, St. Paul, both institutions of the ELCA.
     Forde began teaching in 1955 as an instructor in religion at
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., another ELCA college.  He
joined the faculty of Luther Seminary as a lecturer in church
history and became an assistant professor of religion at Luther
College; he returned to Luther Seminary as an instructor and
became a professor of systematic theology.
     Forde earned a doctorate in theology from Harvard Divinity
School, Cambridge, Mass., in 1967, and was ordained in 1968.  He
served as the Lutheran tutor at Mansfield College, Oxford
University, Oxford, England, and studied at Tuebingen University,
Tuebingen, Germany.
     Forde was a member of the American Academy of Religion; the
board of dialog, A Journal of Theology; the Lutheran-Roman
Catholic dialogue; the Commission for the New Lutheran Church,
which merged three church bodies to shape the original structure
of the ELCA; and the editorial board of The Lutheran Quarterly,
new series.
     "I have tried through the years to present the integrity and
truth of the tradition, especially as found in Martin Luther, in
a way that is interesting, compelling and exciting," he said at
his retirement in 1998, after more than 30 years of teaching at
Luther Seminary.
     Forde authored many theological articles and books,
including The Law-Gospel Debate (1969), Theology is for
Proclamation (1990), On Being a Theologian of the Cross (1997)
and A More Radical Gospel (2004).  A festschrift, By Faith Alone:
Essays on Justification in Honor of Gerhard O. Forde, was
published in 2004.  Forde's most recent work, The Captivation of
the Will: Luther vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage, was released
May 1.
     On March 1, Forde was one of 17 ELCA theologians who issued
"A Statement of Pastoral and Theological Concern," warning their
church against accepting three recommendations on homosexuality
that a task force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality developed for
the 2005 Churchwide Assembly in August.
     Forde is survived by his wife Marianna; sons Timothy and
Geoffrey; a daughter Sarah Monnens; brothers Nels, Paul, Mark,
Daniel, Jonathan and Michael; a sister Astrid Ann Young; his
stepmother Astrid Forde; and one grandson.
--  --	--
     A tribute to Gerhard O. Forde and online memory book are at
http://www.luthersem.edu/memorial/gerhard_forde.asp on the Web
site of Luther Seminary.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news