Lutherans Today: American Lutheran Identity in the Twenty-First Century

Rating:
Summary: Lutheran Behavior Sampler and Survey
Review: Here is a rather unique work among Lutherans: history and sociology. Various writers of these disciplines examine the identity and clash of American Lutheran movements competing the soul and future of the Lutheran presence and identity in this country.

Of special interest are the articles by Mark Noll on the identity and contribution nationally by Lutherans in the past, present and potential for the future.

The article by Alvin Schmidt "Multiculturalism and the Dilution of Lutheran Identity" is well done and raises necessary questions which have not been answered, but need to.

The Mega-Church survey report of Thumma and Peterson is revealing. Over 2/3 of the growth reported by these "Goliaths" are from transfer growth. See Wm. Chadwick's excellent work: "Stealing Sheep."

For this reviewer of particular interest was the essay on the LCMS by Mary Todd, controversial historian from the Chicago area. Her analysis is flawed and slanted, and shows a bias that is betrays the dysfunctional character of this confessional body for quite some time.

The question for Lutherans and Christians is, does sociology inform theology, or does theology inform sociology?