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.
Bioethics in 2017: This inventory overviews five areas to watch in the months to come: 1) assisted suicide; 2) futile care and hospital ethics committees; 3) the brave new world of genetic engineering; 4) health workers providing services against conscience; and 5) animal research.
The martyrs of Debre Libanos: In 1937, soldiers and militias slaughtered some 300 Ethiopian monks at one of that country’s holiest religious houses. In this instance, the perpetrators were neither communists nor Islamists but Catholic Italians, serving the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Christians have always remembered their martyrs, but they do so selectively.
Is Addiction a Disease? Yes, and Much More: Four core aspects of recovery are essential for addressing addiction, says this article, arguing that we need to recognize at least four dimensions: moral, social, biological, and spiritual. Students can use this piece to explore a multiple-model approach to complex human behavior.
New Gene-Editing Techniques Hold the Promise Of Altering The Fundamentals Of Life: See the archives for other CRISPR articles. This 45 min audio provides a helpful overview of the concept and technique. At 20 min. in, find an important discussion on nature that can inform a theology of creation and anthropology. Students need to know […]
Why Christian Persecution Keeps Rising: This 30 min audio interview discusses drug cartel persecution in Mexico, what keeps North Korea on the top of the list, and American Christian apathy. The majority of the countries are in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.
Nailed it: How Martin Luther has shaped Germany for half a millennium — At home, Luther’s significance is no longer primarily theological. Germans are no longer particularly religious. But the Reformation was not just about God. It shaped the German language, mentality and way of life, and after German unification in the 19th century, Lutheranism won the […]
Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers by Daniel Dreisbach (Oxford University Press, 2016): “For several years Dreisbach has been publishing researched articles on specific aspects of the Bible’s presence in Revolutionary America. Now he has expanded that research, added to the subjects considered, and provided a rich interpretive context. Although the resulting book does not […]
Reading the Reformation in 2017: No longer can one take for granted that students, clergy, laity, or the wider public understand the significance of the Reformation—how it convulsed the 16th century, and how it decisively shapes contemporary Christianity and the modern world. Check these recent titles on Luther, Erasmus, social media during the Reformation, and Protestant […]
Radio Lab on Blood: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Lev. 17:11). This 1 hr. program offers a variety of vignettes on blood with […]
When the Wise Men Refused to Collaborate With Empire: This brief essay revisits the interesting story of the Three Wise Men and their decision not to comply with Herod, his commands, and his aims. Students can explore the two-kingdoms issues, related Biblical content such as Daniel, and how Christians can respond. See also “Freeing Freedom […]
