global conflicts on religion. Besides challenging that view, work with these case studies is an act of love because patient, generous under- standing of others helps us live in this world together and can make it a bet- ter place.
Carmelo Santos Pastor, St. Mark Lutheran Church Springfield, Va.; lecturer, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
As a chemistry major, when I
observed molecules interacting I felt I was witnessing the work of God. To me, science and theology go together. I need both to appreciate the world’s beauty. My specialty is pneumatology, the theology of God’s Spirit. My “God in the Brain” course delves into the neuroscience of religious experience.
Brain scan studies have shown
that when Franciscan and Carmelite nuns and Buddhist monks pray or meditate, activity decreases in the parts of the brain that define the boundaries of the self—where we start and end. Our feeling of separ- ateness diminishes. Through prayer we can have an experience of unity with the rest of creation. At the American Academy of
Religion I recently presented a paper that used affective neuroscience, the study of emotions, to try to under- stand what I am observing among people in my congregation. Some immigrant women from El Salvador, Bolivia and Honduras who are painfully shy when they first come to church are transformed as the congregation embraces them. They stand taller. The way they dress and move changes. They seem more confident.
I want to understand theologi- cally and scientifically how the Holy
Just war theory is one of the longest traditions of moral thinking in the Christian church. My dis- sertation research showed me that just war theory is very Western, very white, and not informed by contributions from nontraditional, non-Western sources.
In my disser- tation I turned to African- American
voices like Cor- nel West and the black press of the early 20th century, which raised questions about World War I and the Spanish-
American War. When we
listen to other
Carmelo Santos, a pastor of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Spring- field, Va., lec- tures about “God and the Brain” at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
February 2013 25
Spirit is working in their lives. What I learn will help me be a better pas- tor, and when I publish my results, I can help inform the work of other ministers.
Ryan Cumming Adjunct professor, Lewis University and Loyola Univer- sity, Chicago; book review editor, The Journal of Lutheran Ethics
sources, the questions change. Instead of asking, do we have “enough power” to win a war, we ask, is the power being used mor- ally? Can we rely on the “authori- ties”? What happens to our ethics when we broaden the circle of participants and include voices that have traditionally been excluded? Sometimes only a closed circle gets to do moral reasoning. Recently I participated in the process of drafting the ELCA social statement on criminal justice. I have a brother who is incarcerated, so I have concerns about non- dependent relatives. Applying my approach of broadening the conver- sation informs the way I do ethics. I want to be sure that we include per- spectives that represent our diverse world.
LISA HELFERT
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