Items included for this subject area 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 Empty Brain: “Like a computer” continues to be the current common brain analogy. This comparison fails on several levels (as have previous analogies across the centuries). Robert Epstein, senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, explains why in this very readable in-depth article. Recommended for students and all readers.
Mercersburg Theology, Eucharistic Union, and Civil Society: Union in Christ does not translate to union in culture. Mercersburg theology is an ironic misstep. In seeking to magnify the significance of the Church’s sacramental identity, it diminishes that identity by applying to civil society the unique unity that belongs, and can belong, to the Church alone.
The Summer 2016 edition of Comment addresses the theme of “Our Built World: Some Assembly Required.” We are called to shape and form creation. It’s not a question of whether we’ll employ technology in our cultural labor; the question is how. Technology is as old as Eden. Tools for tilling the garden were anticipations of quill […]
Quiet Calling: More than 50 million children attend public elementary and secondary schools in the United States, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. That means roughly 90 percent of K-12 students spend their most impressionable years in an environment that is largely hostile to Christianity. A gathering sponsored by Biola University, Azusa Pacific […]
Is the United States a Counterexample to the Secularization Thesis? — Forthcoming in the American Journal of Sociology, this article says that “the United States should no longer be considered a counterexample to the secularization thesis,” “it is no longer clear that the U.S. is on a qualitatively different religious trajectory than Europe,” and that “Recognizing […]
Overall, the Millennial generation is less likely to read or trust the Bible than any other. More than half (55%) are “Bible-neutral” or “Bible-skeptical,” compared to 45 percent of teens, 51 percent of Gen-Xers, 40 percent of boomers, and 40 percent of elders. Yet Christian youth who go to church and care about their faith may […]
White House To Give Schools Guidance On Transgender Access To Bathrooms: The Obama administration is issuing guidance to schools Friday, saying they must allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. The administration acknowledges this is “new terrain” for some people and says it wants to help school districts avoid running afoul of […]
The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy: “The corporate university’s language of new findings, technology transfer, knowledge economy, grant generation, frontier research, efficiency, and accountability dominates how academic scholarship is now framed both within the institution and outside it.” In this slim, 125 page book, authors Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber (Toronto Univ. Press, 2016) […]
Why We Should Teach Theology in the Public University: “Most people don’t study theology at all in college—especially those who attend public universities and colleges. I believe this should change.” The writer makes a case that today,students need a basic background and understanding of theological concepts in order to make sense of public issues and the views of the […]
Advance In Human Embryo Research Rekindles Ethical Debate: Researchers have now extended the time they can keep a human embryo alive in the lab from nine days to 13 days. Many are asking, “Why not go beyond the 14-day-post-fertilization limit that has governed this research to date?” This 4 min. audio clip and this essay […]
