What Would Luther Do Today? QTNA

Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Elizabeth Eaton, launched a free online course today, “What Would Luther Do Today?” in honor of the 500 year anniversary of our faith tradition. In my present context we are constantly talking about the significance of the reformation today and brainstorming how we can articulate that best to our local Lutheran Schools as well as our congregations. Unfortunately I did not pack my Book of Concord so a course taught by an ordained National Bishop seems like a solid substitute. The course itself was not made to be sophisticated and academic but rather a tangible way to educate a technological generation seeking to deepen their general understanding of the late reformer. Overall, the course did exactly that. However as someone preparing to return to what seems to be the prologue of a dystopian novel, I was also expecting more.

First off I want to reinforce how significant it is for a National Bishop of around 10,000 congregations has made the time to offer free theological education to all who seek it. This is special. As we reflect on the late Martin Luther, we recall the tale of him posting the 95 theses on the church doors as a public declaration. He created a space for public criticism and a call for change in the structuring of the Catholic Church. Nearly 500 years later Bishop Eaton presents a public forum posted on the internet opening our faith tradition up for criticism and redemption. This is what we believe, this is why we believe it, and this is where we can go from here. Bishop Eaton also made history in the ELCA when she became the first elected Bishop to not be a white male. For women like myself who are in the ministry, her existence presents us with hope that more of us can rise to administrative roles regardless of our gender. While there are also some instrumental Synodical Bishops who are also women (nine out of sixty five), we can also look at our workforce and see that there are less CEOs that are women than regional managers. Keep in mind the ordination of women in the ELCA is still relatively recent. November of 2015 was the 45 year anniversary of the ordination of women. Looking back at a 500 year history, it took 453 years for us to acknowledge women as competent enough to be pastors. I begin with this all to say I deeply appreciate the effort made in creating this course before I passionately critique it.

The course consisted of four core lessons; the origins of Lutheranism, poverty and ecumenism, caring for creation, and the legacy. Each lesson contained a prep, a short video followed by a multiple choice review of the video, and finally three discussion questions meant to create community dialogue amongst classmates. If only all online classes were this simple. Again, for the average parishioner this is an excellent format and allows you to be challenged in various ways while also still being gentle with our own beliefs. Regardless of your academic background this is good because theological language is not commonly thrown around and in all honesty much of this stuff is essentially subject.

What strikes me is the choice of topics. Living in a world that is normalizing sexual assault and the murder of unarmed black civilians, I am curious as to why Luther is not being invoked to also address more specific sins of our church today.

Clearly beginning by explaining the origin of Lutheranism makes sense as it is a starting point of dialogue. We are to keep mindful of the time period, the social climate, Luther’s heritage and status, as well as the importance of technology (the printing press). This subject clearly transcends into the conversation of social media and technological platforms to proclaim the word of God. I think at this point anyone in seminary has had this conversation. However the lessons begin to focus more on present day social issues and Luther’s take on the matter. It was then when my eyes began to roll to the back of my head and remembered that our church is as political as they are passive aggressive. While there is obviously truth and validity to all that is being shared, I can't help but wonder why that?

Bishop Eaton clearly articulated Luther’s stance on government assistance for the poor and calling upon all people to enhance the quality of life of our neighbors which fit right in with today’s issue with the Affordable Care Act repeal and the recurring debates around SNAP, Section 8, and other social welfare programs. She continues to speak on our ecumenical commitments to six other denominations and our interfaith relationships domestically and internationally. Again, fits perfectly with our modern conflict of Islamophobia in the United States. Bishop Eaton refers to Luther’s theology that we are all dependent on the grace of God and that is not exclusive to Christians.

 While Luther did not necessarily have statements around climate change, the Bishop weaves in the Luther’s understanding of Jesus being both divine and human to explain how the material world is as worthy of care as the spiritual world. In fact, in this same lesson she discusses historical opinions of women being perceived as material and men as spiritual which has harmed the way humanity has valued women. She refers back to Genesis and suggests that is not necessarily dominion that we have over all of God’s creation but responsibility. In U.S. Politics today there are still politicians denying climate change and trying to persuade the nation that we are not obligated to take responsibility over our waste and abuse of natural resources. I highlight this to clearly draw the connection as to how timely are these topics in regards to the shift in power in the United States. While all of these were spot on, I will be the one to ask what else?

What would Luther Do Today about mass incarceration and the war on black and brown bodies? I want to hear my subversive bishop publicly relate Luther’s rejection of indulgences and how the Catholic Church profited off of the sins of the disenfranchised to how big businesses and private prisons continue to profit off of the sins of the disenfranchised. I want to hear Luther’s teaching of us being both sinners and saints and how that regardless of our appearance we do not deserve to get gunned down on the street with an ice tea and a bag of skittles in our hands.one of the prompts for our community discussions was that if all sins are the same is Hitler equal to Mother Theresa in the eyes of God? But I wonder what it would have been like to ask if Darren Wilson and Michael Brown are equal?  What would Luther Do Today about oligarchies and businesses buying politicians? We have declared Luther in favor for caring for God’s earth but how would he react to Nestle declaring people should not be entitled to water as California suffers a drought. I am waiting for my brilliant bishop with the same logic to declare that Luther too would be at Standing Rock protecting precious water and indigenous land from Hazardous pipelines. Why did this class neglect to address the real time statements Martin Luther made around capitalism and how the oppression of the lower class is an injustice. During his era there was a major business and banking firm under Jakob Fugger who financed what we know as the Vatican today. Fugger was well known across most of europe at this point and his business methods were well known for ostracizing the poor. Surely Martin Luther today would have a field day with our economy as the future president of the free world continues to make international business deals that benefit his multimillion dollar company. What would Luther Do Today about the attack of women’s bodies both physical and political? My eyes and ears crave the dictation of Luther’s theology out of the mouth of the first Bishop that possesses a vagina. Tell me Bishop, would Luther recite the last words of Jesus when he looked at the weeping women and told them not to cry for him but rather for themselves and their children? Would Luther condemn the violation of the body and reflect on the violation of Christ’s body as he awaited his execution? Would Luther refer to the suffering we experience in the world that is to be met with peace in eternal life? Or maybe he would examine the woman's body as a place of creation meant to be nurtured and cared for by humanity. Maybe he would relate the body of where humans are born to the sacrificial body that makes us new. Would he condemn those that infiltrate this holy garden of Gethsemane as if they were the Romans capturing Jesus? As we await the inauguration of “Grab her by the pussy,” I want to learn about my favorite reformer’s position in hopes that I and others affected by this ideology can find redemption in this chaos. What would Luther Do Today about our silence in the genocide in Syria? I feel like he would refer to works righteousness and our faith in God as a celebration should empower us to do Her word rather than be stagnant in honoring the Kingdom of Heaven. I believe Luther would demand that we mobilize and care for our neighbor as it is part of our teaching and tradition to love our neighbor as ourselves. He would wonder why those who believe in a life ever after would be afraid to do what is right as he says, “even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” But please I ask you, What else?

I was disappointed in the content because it was safe with an edgy appeal. It was just enough to maintain our progressive appearance while also staying in our lane. I find it amazing how we continue to write social statements and speak on our beliefs yet when given the space to act we are quite hesitant. How can we not actively address serious issues in our country today when we now have a list of mass shooters and domestic terrorists associated with our tradition? In 2017 more Americans will know the name of Dylan Roof than Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Is that the legacy we shall leave as a church tradition?

What I (and arguably many more) needed “What Would Luther Do Today” to be did not necessarily happen. Granted, that may not have been the purpose of the class but then I cannot help but ask, is this class then purposeful for today? Or maybe that was exactly what I needed, a reminder that even after a year like 2016 and a history as radical as publicly dragging your own faith, we will still play it safe and wait for someone else to do the dirty work.

Before the final lesson there was a brief space created encouraging classmates to ask questions directly to Bishop Eaton at future@elca.org. What I would like to ask is, “Does my life matter to my reformer?” And no, not just my black life, my female life, or my queer life. Does my quality of life based on my education, access to stable housing, my safety as a refugee, or my safety from guns inside of my local schools matter? Not that I do not already know the answer but I want a public theological statement made from the elected Bishop of the ELCA to tell the rest of our members that. If not for our own peace then at least for the trans youth that have been committing suicide in Lutheran heavy states. I wanted greater conviction with our education that would empower us to do right by our neighbors. Then again, maybe this was just the first step. I could be jumping the gun with these wild hopes that our church would be as subversive as we are broken. But I digress.

Let this not be a essay of deterrence but a essay of curiosity. I challenge anyone who reads this to take the class and challenge me equally. All are invited to use this information to go further and ponder, well what Luther Do Today and how do I deliver this message to other members? Overall, this was an informative class. The forums were quite interesting to read and the engagement of participants give a good insight to the makeup of our denomination. I look forward to sharing much of this with my present context and use these points for preaching and teaching in my congregation. Regardless of my critique, this was rich with knowledge and full of quotes for reflection. Bishop Eaton did a wonderful job of articulating her points and incorporating contemporary examples to bring Luther into the 21st century. We are lucky to have such an interactive and committed leader. We cannot simply accept what we are given and we must continue to ask questions.


For anyone interested in taking the class you can click here to register.


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