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.
When the financial market is god, who pays? — Among other reviews available, this brief article provides an overview of Harvey Cox’ book, The Market as God (Harvard University Press, 2016), 320 pages. Cox argues that our now-sacralized market endows corporations with personhood, grants them immunity from double jeopardy, gives them the right to a trial by […]
The student loan system is so complicated even the experts have trouble figuring it out: Christian schools can consider the challenges faced by the 44 million student loan borrowers across the country as they navigate the repayment process. The complexity of the student loan system, which includes both federal and private loans, a myriad of repayment […]
There Must Be More Productive Ways To Talk About Climate Change: Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and also an evangelical Christian who engages Christians and others in the ways we talk to and past each other on this issue and many controversial issues in science. This 5 min. audio-plus-transcript suggests methods […]
A new kind of sacred space on campus: Despite a drop in enthusiasm for organized religion among young people, many are still looking for avenues to spirituality that value dialogue, understanding, empathy and authenticity. The recently opened Snyder Sanctuary at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., is an architectural answer to facilitate this spiritual search, to help people of […]
New ESPN guidelines recognize connection between sports, politics: An ESPN editor comments on new policy from ESPN on reporting and politics and social issues. Students will be challenged by unpacking the concerns, issues, and ensuing practices as well as by where religion fits into the guidelines.
The Target boycott cost more than anyone expected — and the CEO was blindsided: Target triggered a nationwide boycott last year over same-sex restrooms by a single company blog post without the CEO’s go-ahead. The boycott cost millions in lost sales and added expenses. This article may be a useful case study in presumed wisdom, ethics, company […]
Healing Victims of Human Trafficking: A Long, Slow Road to Transformation — This brief article can introduce students to human trafficking ministries. The author is the Associate Executive Director of Naomi’s House , a long-term residential program for women (18+) who have suffered from commercial sexual exploitation. The program is trauma-informed, faith-based, and comprehensive. It is designed […]
Doctors harvesting organs from Canadian patients who underwent medically assisted death: Doctors have already harvested organs from dozens of Canadians who underwent medically assisted death, a practice supporters say expands the pool of desperately needed organs, but ethicists worry could make it harder for euthanasia patients to voice a last-minute change of heart.
The Doctrine of Discovery: The March 2017 edition of Journal of Lutheran Ethics examines the legal and theological rationale with which Europeans justified the often violent (at times genocidal) conquest and colonization of lands which had already been “discovered” and populated. The doctrine of discovery is a theologically grounded legal rationale that kings and popes invented […]
A Police Officer’s View from Street Level: An informative and insightful interview with Sergeant Adam Plantinga of the San Francisco Police Dept. and author of 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman (Quill Driver, 2014). “Being a cop hammers the compassion out of you. There’s a 90-10 rule in law enforcement: 90 […]
