"Your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3): A Festschrift for Duane A. Priebe at eighty.

Fritschel, Ann ; Giere, S.D. ; Nessan, Craig L. 等

The Rev. Duane Allen Priebe, ThD, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics, thought that the Lord had called him to prepare himself through his seminary education to be a missionary. While that was not the direction in which his call to ordained service has taken him, anyone who has been around him--in his classes in the various settings in which he teaches, in worship where he has preached, or in informal conversations--would easily learn that at the heart of his thinking about the biblical text and the meaning of the Christian faith is his deep, unabashed, unapologetic commitment to bearing witness to Jesus Christ, through whose death and resurrection God identifies with and offers life and forgiveness to all sinners--whoever they are.

As the essays in this Festschrift demonstrate, Duane enjoys challenging others and himself not to settle for easy theological answers which draw boundaries between those who are embraced by Jesus Christ and those who are not. For him, listening to and engaging people from diverse backgrounds, not only in the U.S.A. but from around the world, is grounded in Scripture which presents worlds of diversity in which God speaks and acts in the particularities of peoples' lives and contexts.

Convinced that theology and theological thinking are not themselves the gospel but are to serve faithful proclamation of the gospel, Duane is not slow to admit that he welcomes the opportunity to learn from his students and others, even to the point of changing his theological position! His modus operandi is at its heart pastoral: he thinks of his calling (as he has in countless ways and various settings across the world practiced it!) as one of hearing confession and announcing God's forgiveness in Jesus' name.

Roger W. Fjeld offers an insider's look at his long-term friendship with Duane Priebe: the life of the mind, his approach to teaching by provoking others to think, the range of his teaching contexts, his service as academic dean, his love for rural ministry, and the memorableness of life together within his company. Above all, Duane Priebe takes Jesus seriously and summons others to do the same.

Winston D. Persaud calls attention to the theological non-negotiable that a theologian of the cross holds: the identity and character of God determines who human beings are and are called to be. For the theologian of the cross, believing in and following the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ, does not inoculate one against suffering, shame, negativities of life, and even death. Rather, one believes in and bears witness to the Lord Jesus Christ in the face of the reality and experience of what contradicts the truth that God alone gives life, freedom, forgiveness, and wholeness.

Kristin Johnston Largen reminds the reader that openness to learning from a wide range of religious (and other) sources needs to characterize the approach of the Christian theologian who reflects upon the presence of God who is essentially triune. She demonstrates what this means when the focus is on the Hindu goddess Kali, who (re)presents the dark side of the divine. The theologian of the cross knows that the "ugliness, chaos, and death," which Kali personifies find resonance in the God in Christ who suffers shame and death on the cross.

Inagrace T. Diettrich explores Christian doxological participation in the life of the Triune God. The Christian's offering of praise to God begins with and affirms "that we can only know God because God has first known us; we can only speak of God because God has first spoken to us." Christian doxology, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is performative theology whereby the Christian and the Christian community participate in God's life as revealed in the mystery of salvation.

George L. Murphy argues that it is imperative for the church to engage science, insofar as the scientific worldview is a significant factor in the predominant anxiety of modern times, which leads to emptiness and meaninglessness. Theology and science need to be in dialogue with one another, in order for theology to articulate God's purpose for creation and to address issues of meaninglessness in ways that take into account the scientific worldview.

Ann Fritschel reflects on how Israel's wilderness experience can be viewed as a rite of passage for transforming the Israelites from Pharaoh's slaves to the servants of God. The gift of manna in Exodus 16 not only teaches the people to trust in God, it also establishes a society where God's abundance calls forth an egalitarian distribution of the basic necessities of life.

S.D. Giere draws Luther into the contemporary conversation among biblical theologians about the place of the Rule in Scriptural interpretation. Giere argues that Luther's commitment to the Rule as hermeneutical lens through which Scripture in its plain sense is read and interpreted is unwavering because for Luther the relationship of Scripture and the Rule is organic and intimate, an expression of Scripture's unified witness to the Triune God.

Jennifer Agee makes reference to a meditation on a Northwest Coast model totem pole as the starting point for comparative mythology between late nineteenth century Kwakwaka'wakw and ancient Israelite sea monster traditions. The sea monster figures prominently in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East as a mythological creation motif, representing chaos, while the Kwakwaka'wakw sea monster is a family crest (totem). The author explores the risks and possibilities of cross-cultural interpretation and imagination through a christological hermeneutic.

Craig L. Nessan claims that Luther's theology not only operates dialectically regarding two uses of the law, but functions analogously according to two uses of righteousness (civil and alien), two uses of reason (as gift and harlot), two uses of the will (free regarding creation and in bondage unto salvation), and two uses of works (for the neighbor and works righteousness). The two kingdoms or, better, two strategies paradigm elucidates how these apparent contradictions each contribute to precision in theological reflection.

Stanley N. Olson, in a concluding tribute, insightfully names how the teaching ministry of Duane Priebe continues to instruct all of us in what it means to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Because Duane Priebe clearly teaches us what it means to be on Christ's side, he is also on our side as a conversation partner toward understanding the faith.

This year, 2014, marks not only the eightieth birthday of Duane Priebe but also the anniversary of fifty years since he first taught at Wartburg Theological Seminary. This issue of Currents in Theology and Mission marks these milestones in his life on behalf of a multitude of grateful colleagues and students from three generations, who have been blessed by his ministry of teaching and mutual learning. The shining christological center of Duane's proclamation and thought leads us to thank God for his life and legacy in the words of Col 3:3: "... your life is hidden with Christ in God." To God in Christ be the glory!

Ann Fritschel

S.D. Giere

Craig L. Nessan

Winston D. Persaud

Issue Co-editors