Writing in First Things (“While We’re At It,” April 2003, pg. 84), Richard John Neuhaus probed issues raised by Keith Forni in Let’s Talk (“The Allure of Catholicity: Latino Lutheran Ministries in the Crosshairs,” Vol.7.2, Christmas 2002). Readers will recall that Forni was responding to an article in the Chicago Sun Times: “Are Lutherans pretending […]
Bibliography of Major Works on Sexuality and the Church
Analyses Supporting Union Blessings and Ordination Issue Boswell, John. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980. Brooten, Bernadette J. Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Countryman, […]
AS I SEE IT: REASONS TO AVOID SCHISM
As the ELCA pursues the study of the issues on the gay agenda laid before the 2005 Churchwide Assembly, one of the ominous things one hears is talk of a schism of significant proportions. Proponents of the gay agenda have been reported to have said that the ELCA may have to lose a couple of […]
WHY LUTHERANS CAN’T TALK ABOUT SEXUALITY
I’ve got a big problem. Two of them, actually. I’ve been asked to contribute this little essay on sexuality, and on the ELCA’s current study of sexuality, including the examination of questions about blessing same-sex unions and ordaining gays and lesbians in active and committed relationships. The problem is that I have very little to […]
Thinking about Sexuality in the ELCA
The word “think” in my title is significant. In a recent discussion among a group of our conference’s pastors about the sexuality issues now facing the ELCA, the presenter, sometime professor of pastoral care in one of our ELCA seminaries, made the comment that “when we confuse the pastoral issues with the theological/confessional ones, we […]
Reflections on the LSTC Leadership Conference: A More Excellent Way
Early in 2002 the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago sponsored Leadership Conference 2002 A More Excellent Way: Addressing Sexuality in the Church. Its intent was articulated: The wider church has called us to study sexuality. Events in the world have made us vividly aware that embodied life is to be treasured. Thus, it is […]