Items included on this page come from a variety of sources. The perspectives conveyed may or may not express a Lutheran ethos. They can serve our instruction as discussion-starters, examples (positive and negative), and illustrations of intersections between God’s two kingdoms, intersections sometimes characterized by tension, sometimes by congruence. Inclusion does not imply endorsement.
The Ken Starr-Baylor story shows how religious schools struggle to deal with sex assault: This coverage addresses the dual problem of how to balance the country’s encouragement of sexual assault victims to come forward with campus rules that restrict sexual behavior and, as a result, often inhibit open discussion. See also the discussion from Baylor alumnus Terry […]
Do Women Need Periods? More women in their 20s and 30s are choosing to suppress their menstrual cycles. “Views are changing really rapidly,” E. Micks, MD, says. “That need to have regular periods is not just in our society anymore.” J. Prior, MD, says women should think carefully before trying to suppress their cycle. “Having a […]
A Subject Definition of Death: Some utilitarian bioethicists wants to redefine biological death to include a subjective and sociologically based meaning. Their purpose isn’t greater scientific accuracy. Rather, by making “death” malleable, they hope to open the door further to treating indisputably living human beings as if they were cadavers. Students can consider the author’s arguments […]
When religion and the LGBT collegiate athlete collide: Freedom of religion is an American value. So is freedom from discrimination. These values clash in so-called religious freedom laws in states such as North Carolina and Mississippi. The same tensions in the broader culture are also found in NCAA core values: One promises “an inclusive culture that […]
Here’s how it works when a couple adopts through our Christian embryo bank: This brief article explains embryo adoption and the National Embryo Donation Center, a Christian IVF clinic. Also addressed her is the dilemma of what to do with the embryos that remain?
Did Catholic theologians influence the Zubik order? Lyle Denniston, long-time reporter and commentator on the Supreme Court, offers this analysis of the problem of complicity in sin. Is the fire wall proposed between religious conscience and compelling government interest in health care “thick enough to meet the religious protest, and is the government going to be […]
Should Christians Own Guns? Why this conservative evangelical is skeptical: Rev. Rob Schenck is president of Faith and Action in Washington, D.C., chair of the Evangelical Church Alliance, and a senior fellow at the Oxford Centre for the Study of Law and Public Policy. The article will serve to provoke discussion and further study, pro and con.
‘The Good Death,’ hard to find, and religion’s role may be to blame: So writes Ann Neumann in The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America (Beacon Press, 2016). “The Good Death” is a call for people to examine their own wishes around end-of-life issues and decide what role religion — either theirs or that of […]
Why We Really Put Our Kids in Sports: This first person essay by a sports parent reviews the book Overplayed: A Parent’s Guide to Sanity in the World of Youth Sports by King and Starbuck (Herald Press, 2016): “It’s not too late to redeem youth sports culture, though, and while difficult, parents can begin to make different […]
NCAA Tells LGBT Activists It Won’t Divest from Christian Colleges Seeking Title IX Exemptions: The National Collegiate Athletic Association will not divest from Christian colleges seeking waivers from Title IX standards, telling a group of LGBT organizations that it cannot. Earlier this month, about 80 organizations led by the LGBT activist group Campus Pride sent a letter […]
