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.
Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me — A first person account from Kate Bowler, historian and author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel (Oxford Univ Press, 2013), recently diagnosed with stage four cancer at the age of 35. Helpful for analysis of the God’s will/God’s plan discussion, American notions of the Gospel, and faith […]
Rise of the Neurolawyers: A position paper on law, the courts, and neuroscience. A number of scientists, lawyers, and philosophers suspect that free will is going the way of geocentrism to make room for a revamped theory of human action more in line with the findings of research. The article can serve as an opening piece for […]
Teaching about Religion in a Children’s Museum: The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the largest children’s museum in the world, has taken on a potentially controversial subject: world religions. The exhibit follows children and families of several faiths as they participate in religious pilgrimages and rituals. In addition to covering religious history and culture, the exhibit explores contemporary […]
U.S. Churches Offer Safe Haven For A New Generation Of Immigrants: Echoing an earlier civil disobedience campaign in the 1980s, U.S. churches are again defying federal immigration authorities. Across the country, a handful of congregations are opening their doors to offer safe haven to Central American immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally and are under deportation […]
Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism — A positive review of this book by Chris Jennings (Random House, 2016) that discusses the Shakers, New Harmony, the Fourierist Phalanxes, Icaria and Oneida. “Although evenhanded, and with obvious affection for his subjects, Jennings also notes, ‘Anyone nuts enough to try building heaven on earth is bound for a […]
Christianity Today on the PP /CMP Case: Daniel K. Williams, a historian of the pro-life movement, and Focus on the Family president Jim Daly provide their perspectives on the ethics of the Planned Parenthood Fetal Tissue case. The articles link are Why Are Pro-Lifers Borrowing Pro-Choice Philosophy? and I Know Why the Government Went after Pro-Life […]
How the homeless population is changing: As the population ages, the homeless are getting older too, presenting societal challenges in the years ahead. In the early 1990s, 11 percent of the adult homeless population in the United States was aged 50 and over. It increased to 37 percent by 2003, and today half of America’s homeless […]
Digital warfare: RNS and PBS report anti-jihadi campaigns on social media — The real battlefront against ISIS and other terrorists is on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTubes–social media where jihadis are made and recruited. A corps of new warriors familiar with the terrain includes a West Point team (see this RNS coverage) in a contest for most effective online presence […]
FDA Committee Cautiously Endorses MRT: An elite panel of scientists and bioethicists offered guarded approval of a form of genetic engineering that could prevent congenital diseases but would result in babies with genetic material from three parents. The committee concluded that it is ethically permissible to “go forward, but with caution” with mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT). […]
ISIS has lost a lot of territory but that hasn’t translated into a loss of supporters. For classes in psychology, political science, marketing, history, and sociology: ISIS has become some sort of religious obligation. ISIS aims to be at the forefront of an end-of-days battle. It’s pitting its fighters against the West to establish a Muslim […]
