Bishop Driesen’s Pastoral Letter to the Synod – Proposed Social Statement on Sexuality

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Robert Driesen

The First Week in Lent, February 26, 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

This is a difficult letter to write, because I realize that it touches the lives of so many, all of whom are seeking to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. Despite our differences, however, all of us should be able to agree that questions related to human sexuality, while going to the core of what it means to be a human creature, are transformed, like every aspect of our lives, by our baptism into Christ. The sciences and other human disciplines, while informative, are not determinative, as we wrestle with what God’s intention is for us, having created us as sexual beings.

What’s a hermeneutic?

A hermeneutic is a method of interpreting a text.  For theologians, hermeneutics mostly has to do with the way one interprets the Bible.

 Roy Harrisville has provided “A Primer on Lutheran Hermeneutics,” which, in his words:

“is intended for the general reader and is to be understood as a brief description of how Lutherans have and should approach the Bible. A Lutheran approach to Scripture has certain necessary components. They are: the priority of Scripture, Christ as the center of Scripture, law and gospel, the plain sense of Scripture, the power of Scripture, and the inspiration of Scripture.”