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Deeper understandings Taking stock & transitioning Where we’ve been, how we got here, where the discussion is going Krey


Editor’s note: Philip D.W. Krey is presi- dent of the Lutheran Theological Semi- nary at Philadelphia. He edits this column on behalf of the pres- idents of the eight ELCA seminaries.


By Philip D.W. Krey A


s we enter the third year of this series “Deeper Under- standings,” I hope you have discovered that, as our first authors Jonathan Strandjord and J. Paul Rajashekar declared: “The teaching theologians of the ELCA are among God’s gifts to the church. [They] prepare our leaders in ministry and serve as theological resources for congregations, synods and the whole church.”


In this series they have served as teachers of the church, faithfully drawing from the Scriptures, the confessions, our liturgies, our tradi- tion and human wisdom to provide deeper understandings for you on difficult topics.


In that first essay (September,


2011, page 18), Strandjord and Rajashekar also wrote: “As theolo- gians attempt to articulate the mean- ing of the faith in the same God, in the same crucified and resurrected Christ, and in the same Spirit, they relate the Scriptures, the creeds and the confessions to issues of life in diverse contexts and cultures and issues confronting the church.” We began with the Lutheran


18 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


understanding of the Bible as both law and gospel. We heard the deep bass notes in our doctrines of justifi- cation, the theology of the cross, the Trinity and the church. We learned of the centrality of worship and of the sacraments: baptismal water to remember Christ’s life given for us for forgiveness, bread and wine for the journey. We worship as commu- nities of disciples, which is the body of Christ singing alleluias to the cru- cified and risen Christ. Addressing our culture’s fear and dread of the end time (November 2012, page 18), Sarah S. Henrich and Dirk G. Lange comforted us with these words: “There is acknowledgement of an ‘end,’ but an end that is not somewhere off in the future. It is already present, in every moment, in every event. Present, yes, but also vanquished. The battle is not before us; it is behind us. The apocalyptic in-breaking of Jesus is the genesis of faith in each and every life. It is an in-breaking that happens in baptism and continues daily afterward ... rooted in the cross and resurrection. Baptism is its deepest expression in our lives. In baptism we have already won the ‘battle’—Christ has the won the battle for us.” As our teaching theologians taught us these classic doctrines in our current context, we also asked them to take on difficult and con- troversial questions like the rapture, the Trinity and gender, interreligious dialogue, and our understandings of Islam and evolution. They have tried to address your questions and have used the Scriptures, the creeds and


confessions, and the riches of the tradition as sources and resources for you.


The design of this series was to initiate conversations about theology, drawing upon the best minds and resources that we have in the church. We can be confident in our Lutheran freedom to address difficult theologi- cal issues because we know we have been justified by grace through faith. “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Our faith isn’t irreconcilable with the scientific and liberal arts educa- tions that you received in school, and your questions from your daily lives and vocations are important to the theological conversation in our schools and in the church. As teaching theologians we pray that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:17-18). We are all on a journey of faith— seeking understanding, reading the Scriptures closely and praying that the resurrected Christ will open them to us as he did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. It’s our hope that the Spirit has helped our contributors open the Scriptures for you as they reflected on the creeds and confes- sions that bear witness to them. Per- haps you have experienced under- standing part of the Scriptures for the first time and finding its meaning for you deep down.


The responses to the questions


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