We live, as Lutheran Christians, in a
pluralistic world where people maintain differing and sometimes
conflicting opinions, moral standards, social perspectives, political
allegiances and religious fidelities. In historical terms, this
richness of differences happened to us almost overnight.
For
instance, our grandparents wrote letters that took over a month to
travel across an ocean; today, we correspond instantaneously through
technologies like e-mail. It should come as no surprise that when
communication accelerates, our differences are heightened. Constant
news of unfolding events from Vermont to Syria may mean that
differences give rise to questions of who we are, as Lutherans, in
relation to everything we witness in the world.
Such times of
immense world change challenge our self-understanding: “In the midst of
such diversity, what does it mean to be Lutheran?” They also offer new
opportunities to learn about others: “In the midst of such diversity,
what does it mean to be Jewish or Muslim?”
During times of
upheaval and conflict, media inform many of our answers, sometimes long
before we even have formed a question. Consider the conflicts in the
Middle East that often change radically in any given week. Many times
we hear about Shiite and Sunni, or the High Holy Days, or the mention
of land, or the term Imam—but many of us don’t know why these terms are so significant in a particular situation.
How do Lutherans develop informed perspectives about Jews and Muslims amid political and religious conflict?
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© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
