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May 12, 2008

ITA readers further interested in the travails of Lutheranism in America, following Josh's post on the subject, may be interested in the book Lutherans Today: American Lutheran Identity in the 21st Century edited by Richard Cimino and first published in 2003. It's a collection of essays from church historians and pastors exploring what modern Lutheranism is all about. Some essays are better than others, as is the nature of such a book. Influential church historian Mark Noll has a great lead essay which which gives the reader a good overview of Lutheran history in the U.S. up to this point. Mary Todd, professor of history at Concordia-River Forest, follows Noll, and stands as the voice of one of the LCMS's few remaining truly liberal "liberals" (as opposed to "liberal" "evangelicals" like President Kieschnick). The reader will note how Todd plays the semantic game that Josh talked about, as Lutheran liberals become "conservatives" and Lutheran conservatives become "confessionals." Two essays on the Lutheran social activism and the foundation of the ELCA are quite instructive, as they show how liberalism became institutionalized in the fledgling synod via diversity requirements throughout the ELCA's bureaucracy. That the ELCA is now mostly indistinguishable from other liberal mainline denominations should be no surprise.

The second half of the book is a mixed bag. Some essays are good, while others--particularly one that descends into a rant on multiculturalism--are not. Still, for those interested in further studying the plight of Lutheranism in American, I recommend it.

Posted by David Darlington at May 12, 2008 06:46 PM

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