228 - Politics and Policy: The Genesis and Theology of Social Statements in the Lutheran Church in America

Politics and Policy:
The Genesis and Theology of Social Statements in the Lutheran Church in America
By Christa R. Klein and Christian D. Von Dehsen
Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1989. 290 pp. $19.95.

This excellent work describes the struggles of the Lutheran Church in America to offer guidance for its members and a witness in the society on matters of personal and social ethics. Specifically, it traces the development of the LCA and deliberation among its leaders as the denomination produced nineteen social statements on a variety of matters.

Perhaps because even this most "Americanized" of the Lutheran communions retained its distinctive heritage, LCA pronouncements differed from those of the "oldline" or "mainstream" communions. They were limited in number, for one thing. Only nineteen were produced during the quarter century, 1962-1985. In addition, they were updated and changed over time, while those of most other similar Protestant bodies simply faded or suffered replacement as time went by.

But the pronouncements still bear more similarity to public policy statements elsewhere than they differ, offering a wonderful case study in the social ethics of denominational leadership during the period and a "coherent tradition in theological ethics," in the words of the authors. The book bears reading as it discloses a worldview in which American Christianity met modern complexity head on and sought to address it responsibly. Here also lies a resource in addressing today such issues as aging, capital punishment, conscientious objection, poverty, race, and human rights.

Klein especially helps by tracing the development of such a worldview and the expressions of a number of seminal thinkers among the LCA.

Louis B. Weeks
Louisville Presbyterian Seminary
Louisville, Ky.