Let’s Talk! video interview with Lisa Dahill
Paul Santmire talks with Lisa Dahill, the Miriam Therese Winter Chair for Transformative Leadership and Spirituality, Director of the Center for Transformative Spirituality at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. Among many other things, they discuss the vulnerability of getting barefoot in the Eucharist, poetic gifts in the paw prints of bears, and viewing […]
Creation Care Video – Migration
Holy Trinity’s Creation Care Team produces a monthly video featuring a creation care theme. This month’s video is about migration: –submitted by Kristin-Luana Baumann Kristin-Luana Baumann and Olaf Baumann are pastors at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Port Angeles, WA.
Five Theses for Earth Day (Rhoads & Santmire)
The Board of Directors of Lutherans Restoring Creation thanks Rev. Dr. David Rhoads and Rev. Dr. H. Paul Santmire for offering the following for all of us to reflect on and in hopes to rejuvenate the call they first put forth when authoring the 1993 Social Statement: “Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice.” Five […]
Eco-Justice Criticism of the New Testament
Who Will Speak for the Sparrow? by David Rhoads Giving Voice to Nature in Biblical Interpretation. In recent decades, there has been a revolution in biblical studies due in part to the many new voices that have entered the academic arena of interpretation—Jewish scholars, European-American women, women of color, diverse cultural groups within the USA, […]
H. Paul Santmire videos
On Paul Santmire‘s website hpaulsantmire.net you will find videos about this octogenarian ecotheologian, including “My Life’s Work,” “Toward a Cosmic Christology,” and “Why should anyone listen to this old, white guy?” If you are interested in hearing more from younger ecojustice activists, and from Paul Santmire, he also has a youtube channel (click here to […]
What’s Next for the Reformation?
The following are excerpts from an article calling for ongoing reformation that embraces case for creation. What’s next for the Reformation? As a living tradition, it could guide our care for the Earth By: Larry Rasmussen and Michael Watson The Lutheran, November 2006 issue When history is written, we may well discover that the most […]
American Lutherans Engage Ecological Theology
American Lutherans Engage Ecological Theology: The First Chapter, 1962-2012, And Its Legacy1 by Paul Santmire Ecological theology is a relatively new movement in the world of christian thought and practice and therefore is neither widely understood nor easily defined, even by those who are variously involved in the movement.2 But however one might understand this […]
Lutheran Theology of Creation: Foundations for a New Reformation
Reflections on a Lutheran Theology of Creation: Foundations for a New Reformation By David Rhoads Published in the Seminary Ridge Review, a periodical of Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary (Fall, 2013). Seminary Ridge Review has an online archive. Print copies of the issue are available. The article proposes a new Lutheran reformation that rises to the […]
Stewarding your Church “Property” as an Earth Community
by David Rhoads I recently participated in the spring convocation at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (April, 2012). The convocation centered on the theme of “Getting Green Faithfully,” and it included such notable speakers as Gil Waldkoenig (Professor of Church in Society at Gettysburg), Cynthia Moe-Lobeda (Professor of Environmental Studies, Theology, and Religious Studies […]
Why do Lutherans Believe in the Resurrection of the Body?
by Cameron Harder at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Saskatoon Well, let’s back up and ask “Should they?” Each Sunday we confess belief in “Jesus Christ who…rose again from the dead” and “in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.” But we live in a pragmatic, science-focused world where resurrection can seem like a superstitious […]
Johan Bergh: Luther as Environmentalist
Download, read, and share widely this brief reflection from active disciple, Dr. Johan Bergh. In his piece, published in the Trinity Review (2013), Bergh relates the framework of grace and neighbor love with how we are to understand the role of public action in our church. Read more recent reflections on his blog: www.greengracepostings.blogspot.com “God […]
Articles by Panu Pihkala, University of Helsinki
“Rediscovery of Early Twentieth-Century Ecotheology”, Open Theology. An open access article about the early history of eco-theology, 1900-1954, leading up to Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler’s early ecotheological writing. The Pastoral Challenge of the Environmental Crisis: Environmental Anxiety and Lutheran ‘Eco-Reformation’, Dialog, Summer 2016 (subscription or purchase required). Psychological and Spiritual Impacts of Climate Change, slide presentation at the […]
Justified by Land and Faith
Christian Faith and Environmental Ethics: Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac and Luther’s Freedom of A Christian A timeless reflection shared by Marcia Bunge at Luther College in 1994 . Here Bunge relates the writings of revered conservationist, Aldo Leopold with the Doctrine of Creation and Justification from the Lutheran/Christian traditions. click here to download […]
“On Earth As In Heaven: Biblical Ecology for an Eco-Reformation,” Dr. Barbara R. Rossing
Dr. Barbara R. Rossing’s April 26, 2018 lecture from Garrett Seminary, “On Earth as In Heaven: Biblical Ecology for an Eco-Reformation.”
The Stewardship of Creation: A Theological Reflection
by David Rhoads Steward is a biblical term that refers to a manager who is responsible for the goods and property of another. A steward is not therefore an owner, but one who has a responsibility to an owner to treat property with care and respect. Stewardship is a term that refers to the responsibility of a steward […]
Ten Reasons Why Lutherans Care for All Creation
To join with other Lutherans in caring for creation, help your congregation become a Creation-Care congregation; visit this page for more information. Lutherans care for creation for many reasons, including: 1. Theology: We affirm God as creator of all. We have an incarnation theology that cherishes the continuing presence of God in, with, and under […]
Sacraments and Creation
The sacraments are occasions to reflect on human relationships with the rest of creation. Different Christian communities recognize different sacraments. We will reflect here on the two most common sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The presence of an element of nature and the pronouncement of a word in relation to the offer of the […]
Worship as Re-Orientation
One way to look at worship is to say that it is the place where we can express with the larger community the Christian life we have nurtured at home and work throughout the week. Another way to look at worship is to say that it is about reinstating our proper place in relation to […]