Deeper understandings Four questions ...
about how the American context has shaped Lutherans & the ELCA
Editor’s note: This series is intended to be a public conversa- tion among teaching theologians of the ELCA on various themes of our faith and the challenging issues of our day. It invites readers to engage in dialogue by posting comments online at the end of each article at
www.thelutheran.org. The series is edited by Philip
D.W. Krey, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadel- phia, on behalf of the presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries.
By Maria Erling and Jon Pahl H Erling
ow does the existence of the American empire (military might) impact the ELCA’s his-
tory and theology? Jon Pahl: That the U.S. is an empire of a new sort is clear. The wide range of U.S. military might trumps any competitor, and the U.S. model of doing business (now
through transnational corporations) is dominant. Throughout history Lutherans have often accepted what- ever the state does. One maxim is “As the state goes, so goes the church.” So it’s a temptation for Lutherans to go along with power as a force for secu- rity and self-interest. Yet throughout Lutheran history
Pahl
Erling is professor of modern church history and global missions and director of teaching parish at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.). Pahl is professor of the history of Christianity in North America and director of the master of arts programs at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.
18 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
there’s not only been a “quietist” acceptance of state power. On the one hand, Lutherans are eager to embrace laws that promote justice. They orga- nize effectively, so they have a dis- tinguished history of service in law (chief justice of the Supreme Court, most recently), the military (chaplain to the House of Representatives, most recently) and other similar vocations. On the other hand, Lutherans have found a critical voice to speak against unjust laws. On occasion they have even embraced civil disobedi- ence. One early example is found in New Amsterdam (now New York) where Lutherans in the 17th century worshiped despite official prohibi- tion (and fines and imprisonment) imposed by the Dutch government. Maria Erling: In the 21st century the issues of American empire and cultural dominance make it difficult for Lutherans to square their more modest, personal and pious beliefs with the fact of their participation in such enormous power. Much of the appeal of liberation theologies and the campaigns for social justice derives from honest Lutheran ambiv- alence about the ways that we are, as assimilated Americans, implicated in the unfair inequities of living as we do in a successful nation.
SHUTTERSTOCK
Conservatives who decry the way Lutherans have become just another mainline denomination and progres- sives who call for boycotts to help oppressed Palestinian Christians share this wariness about different forms of cultural dominance. I sus- pect that for many Lutherans a pietist background—focused on subduing sin and especially pride—makes us think twice about cultural and politi- cal comforts.
Is decline or progress the prevail- ing motif for American Lutheran history? Pahl: Quantitatively, the numbers
don’t lie. Lutheran institutions, like other mainline groups, are shrinking. But this is largely due to two causes: declining birth rates in Lutheran com- munities (a good thing, demographi- cally), and fewer immigrants from historically Lutheran countries. Qualitatively, I’m willing to contend that Lutherans have never been clearer about who we are as the church. Knowledge of Scripture (not just memorized passages, but the spirit of the word) is strong and the confessions inform our practice and theology in ways unprecedented in history (not just among a few elite, as in the past).
The best example of this is the widespread liturgical reform of the
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