Law, gospel, and life in the world: an exploration of the practical effects of Lutheran hermeneutics in the LCMS and ELCA regarding issues of human sexuality

Borrasso, Matthew Earl (2023). Law, gospel, and life in the world: an exploration of the practical effects of Lutheran hermeneutics in the LCMS and ELCA regarding issues of human sexuality. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Although the two largest Lutheran church bodies in the United States, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), identify as Lutheran, they do not approach issues relating to human sexuality in the same way. To address a lacuna in the current literature, I explain comparatively both why and how the LCMS and ELCA have come to the conclusions they have regarding human sexuality and the place of gay and lesbian people in the church and society. In order to explore this, I begin this thesis by grounding both the LCMS and ELCA in the broader cultural and ecclesiastical context of Lutherans in the United States. It then moves to explore how Lutherans—historically, globally, and specifically the LCMS and ELCA—understand the nature and function of the scriptures. I then consider the significance of the Lutheran hermeneutic of distinguishing between Law and Gospel for both the LCMS and ELCA before showing how that hermeneutic has been applied to the scriptural texts often cited in discussions of human sexuality. The exploration of the practical effect of scriptural hermeneutics in the form of exegesis yields that both the LCMS and ELCA embody the hermeneutic, albeit in contrasting ways. The thesis moves beyond the scriptural exegesis to consider also the theoretical framework and practical effect of Lutheran approaches to cultural exegesis. The final piece of the investigation explores how that theoretical and theological framework for cultural exegesis is applied to issues of human sexuality. In addition to the how and why Lutherans in the United States come to drastically different conclusions on the place and identity of gay and lesbian people in the church and in the world, this study demonstrates that both the LCMS and ELCA can claim their positions as an outworking of their understanding of Lutheran identity and practice.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):