Pastor Fritz Foltz

Pastor Foltz is Pastor Emeritus of Saint James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, PA and author of the the Frontline Study content.

Lesson 3: Woke Christianity and Racism

Lesson 3: Woke Christianity and Racism

If religion is by nature “woke,” the spiritual wakes us up to what is hidden and sometimes upsetting about ourselves and our institutions. This applies even to the church. We can begin examining how this works with racism from which the term comes. Back in the 1930s, the Black American singer Lead Belly talked about […]

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Lesson 2: Religion is Woke

Lesson 2: Religion is Woke

All the great world religions could be said to be “woke” in the sense that awareness is a basic teaching. They all claim to discern reality. That might be described as facing the truth, providing a healthy way of life, bringing us into harmony with the grain of the universe, or doing God’s will. In […]

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Lesson 1: What is Woke?

Lesson 1: What is Woke?

Many of my friends at some time in the past year have asked, “Exactly what is ‘woke’ anyway?” It’s usually in response to politicians using the term in a derogatory way, in mockery as if something “woke” is silly or in anger as if it is dangerous. My understanding is “woke” goes back a long […]

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Lesson 12: Two Surprises

Lesson 12: Two Surprises

I had two surprises doing this series. The first was I did not anticipate how comprehensive compassion was going to be. I started out simply seeking a broader Christian approach than nonviolence for resolving our society’s conflicts. Compassion expressed empathy but also a desire to alleviate the situation. It went so far as being willing […]

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Lesson 11:  Karen Armstrong –  Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Lesson 11: Karen Armstrong – Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

I decided a good way to bring this series together was to reread Karen Armstrong’s Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. Many regard it as the classic treatment of compassion in our time. My guess is many, if not most of our readers resonate with her position. Armstrong believes compassion is the basic teaching of […]

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Lesson10: Compassion in the Atonement

Lesson10: Compassion in the Atonement

The most difficult theological task is explaining the atonement. There have been many theories, but none are completely satisfying in our day. I was surprised how frequently I turned to compassion in the past few months when trying to understand the crucifixion. It at least offered clarity missing in the traditional explanations. During the same […]

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Lesson 9: Compassion as Willingness to Suffer

Lesson 9: Compassion as Willingness to Suffer

Right from the beginning, I regarded compassion as more than being emotional about something. I thought it could be a guiding light in overcoming our divisions because it involves empathy that considers what the other person or group thinks. It didn’t take long to realize the term is more complex. In the Bible, compassion not […]

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Lesson 8: Compassion as Guiding Light in Change

Lesson 8: Compassion as Guiding Light in Change

I have been considering how compassion might be a guiding light for overcoming the deep divisions in our church and society. Underlying this quest is the conviction that we are in one of the major periods of change in human history, one that rivals the first-century birth of Christianity, the fourth-century adoption as the religion […]

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Lesson 6: Compassion for the Economically Oppressed

Lesson 6: Compassion for the Economically Oppressed

It was time to start applying the study to our situation, so I tried to imagine what would move Jesus to compassion in our time. After the obvious needs of the sick, injured, and grieving, those neglected and hurt by the economy immediately came to mind. Jesus would certainly have something to say about our […]

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Lesson 5:  Forgiveness

Lesson 5: Forgiveness

I am still amazed by what I learn when writing these studies. It’s hard to believe how much I missed in 86 years! For instance, last week, while pondering the Buddhist image of compassion as longing for oneness, it became very apparent this makes forgiveness a necessity. At about the same time, I found over […]

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