September 5, 2011

GENEVA – Lutheran theologians and leaders from around the world are launching a series of biblical consultations to promote common insights and further the unity of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) as it approaches the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017.

Thirty-five participants are gathering in Nairobi, Kenya, 9-14 September for the first event on Word of God in the Scriptures as Shared Space: Towards a Contemporary Hermeneutic for the Lutheran Communion. The initial consultation focuses on the Gospel of John.

It aims to revive focus on the Bible as a book for the church and shaper of many world cultures, making it central to the 2017 celebrations. The consultation will produce resources for academia and congregations that reflect biblical understandings across the Lutheran communion.

"Exposing our reading before the loving scrutiny of others brings Christians closer together," said Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, LWF Department for Theology and Studies (DTS) study secretary for Lutheran Theology and Practice. DTS is organizing the consultation.

"We think that legitimate interpretation of Scriptures is that which happens in communities of accountability," Mtata commented. "By sharing the tools used in reading the Bible, benefiting from different reading contexts, such exchanges move everyone from their secure interpretative position to a new one."

Dr Kathryn Johnson, DTS interim director, noted that the centrality of the Word of God had always been a cornerstone of the LWF communion.

"For Lutherans, this Word of God is encountered as new and alive every time it is preached and shared in the sacraments. Nevertheless, since Lutheran communities are scattered across the globe and exposed to diverse reading contexts, their interpretations of the Bible tend to be diverse," Johnson said.

The LWF had long held biblical consultations to strengthen mutual understanding for a united witness in the world, but Johnson stated this aim was now more urgent.

"It is hoped that such an undertaking will not only strengthen the internal unity of the communion, but also sharpen a shared witness to the world through a relevant approach to the Bible that takes seriously its historical context, our Lutheran heritage and our various contexts as readers," she remarked.

The LWF Strategy 2012-17 urges a strengthening of the communion based on its commitment to the Scriptures.

Mtata said that the LWF sought to deepen the LWF's identity as a communion of churches, building unity through study, cooperation, discussion and common witness.

Participants come from various disciplines, including biblical, practical, ethical, systematic and feminist theology. Johnson remarked that the Gospel of John provided opportunities to address a wide range of theological issues, tradition, and relationships between churches in different contexts.

News from the Nairobi consultation is available on the LWF Web site: http://www.lwf-assembly2003.org/lwf-interspire/link.php?M=2227&N=485&L=95&F=T.

Read more about the contemporary Lutheran hermeneutics consultation series: http://www.lwf-assembly2003.org/lwf-interspire/link.php?M=2227&N=485&L=96&F=T.

Lutheran World Information