Quote:
“So what might we take away from the document? I would suggest several things. First, Francis provides a way of engaging those who do not share our beliefs in a post-Christian world. Second, the document provides some helpful lines of direction toward a more robust theology of creation and its use within the church. Finally, Francis encourages us to expand our horizons and embrace a comprehensive vision of the world. He challenges the church to take a global perspective in which a practical commitment to human beings and the environment take priority over a commitment to nationalities, ideologies, economic theories, and politics.”

Charles P. Arand, “Tending Our Common Home: Reflections on Laudato Si’.” Concordia Journal Fall 2015, vol. 41, no. 4, page 308.

Note:
LCMS seminary prof Charles Arand highlights things that Lutherans can pick up from Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’. I’m not sure, however, whether any Lutherans really have taken up the 2015 encyclical. I certainly don’t see a lot of Lutheran focus on the issues of creation care. We do talk a lot about “life issues” but I just can’t say that I’ve seen much that uses the phrase to include preservation and enrichment of all life on earth. And, yes, I’m talking about the scourge of climate change.