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Joy Comes with the Morning
FREDERICK J. GAISER
(see full text of essay under “Editorial”)
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We do not repent—confess
our sins—in order to wallow in a slough of despond, but to leap, as from a
springboard, into life itself. Confession is only penultimately
about sin. Ultimately, it is about forgiveness.
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Articles
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Forgiveness Liberates and Restores: The Freedom of the
Christian according to Martin Luther
ROBERT KOLB
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We learn from Martin Luther how forgiveness liberates
us from the power of sin and death, and liberates us for living according to
God’s design in relation to other people and all God’s creation. Forgiveness
frees us to be truly human.
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The Practice of Forgiveness: Disciples as Forgiven
Forgivers
MARTHA E. STORTZ
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Repenting, remembering, and reconciling are the three
life-giving steps in forgiveness. They turn us away from their deadly
opposites: revenge, amnesia, and recrimination.
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“Holding On” and “Letting Go”: The Dynamics of
Forgiveness
BRAD A. BINAU
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Living as one who can forgive and be forgiven involves
a healthy balance of “holding on” and “letting go” in an appropriate balance
of “autonomy” and “shame.” Forgiveness finally is about freedom, the freedom
to “hold on” and “let go” at will.
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Forgiven and Forgiving in the Dynamics of Parish
Life
GARY A.
WILKERSON
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Forgiveness is a journey, especially in conflicted
congregations. It does not happen overnight. Considering some basic factors
in this healing journey can help congregations experience new life.
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The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Singing Like Birds in
the Cage with Old King Lear
JANET L. RAMSEY AND ALAN G. PADGETT
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Learning to forgive and to be forgiven is a lifelong curriculum from
which we never really graduate. Shakespeare’s King Lear can be one guide in
this educational process.
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Getting Away with Murder: Forgiveness in Modern
Fiction
FREDERICK A. NIEDNER
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In real life, as in storybooks, we get away with murder every day as we
bang into one another. When forgiveness happens, as it sometimes does, it
comes at great cost—and sometimes as miracle.
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Forgiveness in Film: Finding Truth and Reconciliation
MARY HINKLE
SHORE
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Two films, one documenting the work of South Africa’s Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, the other a fiction piece based on similar events,
make fine resources for considering forgiveness and reconciliation in both
political and individual contexts.
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Resources
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Paul Gerhardt: Who He Was and Why We Care
PAUL WESTERMEYER
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Throughout 2007, Word
& World commemorates the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of
the great Lutheran hymn writer Paul Gerhardt. Attending to this
seventeenth-century preacher and writer can teach us something about how to
sing in our own time.
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Translating Paul Gerhardt’s Hymns
FREDERICK J. GAISER
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Some forty-one of Paul Gerhardt’s hymns remain untranslated
into English, including many biblical paraphrases that bring a great gift to
the Christian community. Word
& World will offer translations of some of these hymns in its 2007 issues.
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From Loving Enemies to Acting Responsibly:
Forgiveness in the Life and Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
LORI BRANDT HALE
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer
understood that Christ died for all, murderer and murdered, victim and
perpetrator. He struggled with how the Christian should respond appropriately
to clear evil, given this paradox.
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Texts in Context: Preaching the Penitential
Psalms
BETH
TANNER
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In a day when
confession of sins is often seen as out of step with culture, preaching and
teaching the penitential psalms can awaken people to the power of this
central aspect of the good news of Christian faith.
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Reviews
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Garry Wills on
Augustine
ROBERT
W. DAHLEN
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Old Testament Turning Points: The Narratives That
Shaped a Nation, by Victor H.
Matthews
MELINDA THOMPSON
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Speaking of God:
Relational Theology, by Paul R. Sponheim
JAMES R. WILSON
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Paying Attention: Focusing Your Congregation on What
Matters, by Gary E. Peluso-Verdend
CLINT SCHNEKLOTH
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The Practicing
Congregation: Imagining a New Old
Church, by Diana
Butler Bass
ANDREW ROOT
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