wfn.org | Lutheran Ethicists Don't Have All the Answers

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

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

January 22, 1998

LUTHERAN ETHICISTS DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS
98-03-010-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More and more Americans are expecting the church to
provide the moral answers to their social problems, while the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) must do more to help its members make
their own ethical decisions.  About 30 Lutherans tackled those among
several tough issues they identified Jan. 7-8 in Norcross, Ga., before
joining other members of the Society of Christian Ethics for their annual
meeting Jan. 9-11 in Atlanta.
     It was the fifth year in a row for such a pre-gathering event
sponsored by the ELCA Division for Church in Society, said the Rev. Karen
L. Bloomquist, director for studies.  "Those attending these annual events
have developed a real collegiality and are increasingly engaging in in-depth discussions of matters
that are distinctive to Lutheran ethics and
important to the whole Church."
     Sessions at the Norcross gathering included a discussion of "Luther,
Law, and Social Covenants," an article by Dr. Stewart Herman, who taught
religion at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.  His article sought to move
from criminal toward contractual understandings of law for the sake of a
more constructive Lutheran social ethic.
     Seminaries have been doing a good job of teaching pastors to be
pastoral, Dr. Robert Franklin, president of the Interdenominational
Theological Center in Atlanta, told the group.  There is a growing need to
train pastors to help whole communities improve.  He said pastors need to
be equipped with examples of moral formation.
     It's counter-cultural in the southern United States to suggest that
there are "gray" ethical areas, said several ELCA pastors and associates in
ministry from the Atlanta area.  They were on hand to discuss the
challenges they face while seeing their communities through ethical
decision-making in a place where the church is expected to supply the
answers.
     The Rev. Dale A. Sillik, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lilburn, Ga.,
described how he seeks to stand with people as they make ethical decisions
rather than giving them the rules. "When prospective members ask 'how much
do I have to give?' I respond, 'What will give you joy?'"
     The group discussed some of the challenges pastors face in helping
parishioners make ethical decisions.  "An hour on Sunday is woefully
inadequate for moral formation that enables moral discernment," said Dr.
Donald Braxton, who teaches religion at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio.
     The Rev. Ronald Duty said he asks his confirmation students to think
about and live out social, ethical issues in light of what the Lutheran
catechism teaches.  Duty is leaving Trinity Lutheran Church, Jeffers,
Minn., to join the DCS studies staff in Chicago.
     The final session of the gathering was a discussion of "The
Particularist Turn in Theological and Philosophical Ethics," an article
presented by Dr. Gene Outka, a Lutheran who teaches ethics at Yale
University and Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn.
     Lutheran ethicists will meet again near San Francisco prior to the
1999 meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics.  The pre-gathering will
discuss "The Promise of Lutheran Ethics," a book to be published later this
year by the ELCA Division for Church in Society.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html