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 Katy, Texas, public-classroom dispute abut God between a teacher and a 12-year-old student serves as a case study on the challenge for journalists reporting on religion. On a critical-thinking test, the student declined to give the correct answer, which was that “There is a God” was a statement of opinion, not fact. Why is […]
Reprogrammed Stem Cells Work as well as Those From Embryos: The journal, Science, reports that a new study suggests that ES stem cells and iPS stem cells are equivalent, and this may help soothe worries about the capabilities of iPS cells. From 2002 to 2010, claims about the unique potential of human embryonic stem cells were common. Now, ES cells and […]
A Different Kind of Street Ministry: Local leader Richard Parker asked Hunting Ridge Presbyterian Church to consider providing a peaceful presence in his Baltimore neighborhood. Congregation members were eager to find a way to be engaged in the community. Pastor Deborah McEachran and others gathered every Friday at a street corner known for drug dealing and […]
In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law: For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death. This investigative piece examines cases in which the courts […]
California Law Adds New Twist To Abortion, Religious Freedom Debate: Crisis pregnancy centers, often linked to religious organizations, provide low-cost or free services to pregnant women, while encouraging these women to not have abortions. The Reproductive FACT Act requires all such health care providers to provide written notice that abortion is legally available in California. But several pregnancy centers […]
John Danforth, former senator and ambassador and an Episcopal priest, offers this essay that attends both to God’s left-hand and right-hand kingdoms: “What America needs is many more activists in politics—not activists who work for their own causes, but men and women who are committed to the higher calling of our republic, the fundamental and […]
A steady stream of news stories has emerged over the past few years regarding the free speech of Christians on campuses. A simple Google search of student free speech news on their Web search page and their News search page will produce many case studies that students can sort and sift for issues in religious […]
One of Luther’s best known writings is, “Can Soldiers, Too, Be Saved?” This article, Ponder Christian Soldiers, commences a new online series that explores the world and faith concerns of Christians who serve in the military: “Pacifists, one the one hand, deny or downplay the impact that military service had on King David, Francis of […]
“Daniel Callahan on Communitarian Bioethics” is a mid-length interview with the founder of the Hastings Center, the leading study- and thinktank in bioethics. Students can gain a helpful survey of the field in this discussion. Callahan’s forthcoming books is Five Horsemen of the Modern World: Disease, Food, Water, Chronic Illness, Obesity (Columbia University Press, 2016)
This human interest piece from The Daily Beast discusses a distressing case of child illness and likely death. Students will find interesting the case itself and the ethical issues–but also the writer’s characterization of religion, “heaven” put in quotation marks, and assertions about what is certain and what is not. Hebr. 11:1-3 comes to mind. […]
