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 […]
WELS School “Discourages Gay, Transgender Enrollment”: This local news piece may prompt some discussion about how local church and church school personnel select their words and expressions about controversial issues that intersect with Biblical teachings, doctrine, practice, and theological traditions. Do church district offices and colleges need to assist these busy people with some written […]
The Myth of the Secular Apocalypse: In today’s apocalyptic stories, we tend to think of apocalypse not as comfort or as consummation, but as senseless brutality and punishing anger. They rarely refer to God, or gods, or shared beliefs—except as a way to tell a better story, without the weighty religious meaning they once held. Students can […]
In lawsuit over transgender student using girls locker room, a surprising development: This article reviews a transgender school locker room case in the federal courts. It also explores the composition style issue of pronouns and how style and work choice frame the issue in an essay or piece of reporting.
Can Religious Freedom and LGBT Rights Co-Exist? This 3 min. video clip offers a summary of the issues, cases, and disputes now being argued in culture and church. The video presents several legal issues with sound bytes. Students can get a quick overview of the topic and also consider the composition and presentation of the Atlantic’s […]
The Logic of God and Why Metaphysical Proofs Still Matter: A helpful article to take students through the basic discussions they find in popular claims about God, arguments, and proofs. The piece may be helpful for courses in science, rhetoric, logic, writing, apologetics, journalism, and culture.
Heroes and Heroines of Conscience: Mercantornet asked readers to nominate favorite books about heroes and heroines of conscience. Not surprisingly, Robert Bolt’s play about Thomas More got the most mentions. The list could present a course plan for a lit class or a program for a readers club. Might you include works on Eric Liddel or […]
‘The Holy Bible’ Makes Library Association’s List Of Most ‘Challenged’ Books: The Holy Bible, along with several other books that incorporate aspects of religion, made the American Library Association’s list of top 10 most challenged books in 2015. At No. 6 on the list, the Bible was challenged for “religious viewpoints,” based mainly on the mistaken perception […]
The Faith of Christopher Hitchens: In the literature emerging on one of the Radical Atheists, this review of a new book on Hitchens can alert students to the perplexities and complexities of very smart atheists who may or may not be as committed as they sound. “As Peter Hitchens once told me, the reason Christopher’s […]
From ‘Exodus’ to ‘God’s Not Dead 2’: The new wave of religious movies, explained — Hollywood observers tend to group religious movies together as part of a faith-based trend. But, like any family, the offspring aren’t all alike. In fact, the movies tend to fall into a handful of different camps. Some are most interested in […]
