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 Christian Post recently spoke with leading Christian non-profit organizations to find out how followers of Jesus Christ are working to eradicate poverty in America. Poverty in the United States affects about 1 in 10 people despite them living in one of the richest countries in the world, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 […]
NPR’s Astrophysicist, Adam Frank, encounters the old question about God, faith, and death (1 Cor. 15:12-19). Frank re-frames the question with a quotation from mathematician and former president of Columbia University Frederick Barnard, who says he would choose the hope of faith over any sort of science absent of meaning or purpose. Dr. Frank is […]
The Summer 2015 edition of Issues in Christian Education addresses the current LGBTQ discussions across several articles and reviews, all keeping Christ and his word at the center. The United States Supreme Court has legalized gay and lesbian marriage. The ruling, hoped for by some and feared by others, is now the law of our […]
This New York Times article is 7000 words on Kim Suozzi who died at age 23 but chose to have her brain preserved with the dream that neuroscience might one day revive her mind. This account of the technology of the trans-human suggests several theological implications not addressed by the writer. Students may find helpful the […]
In this detailed article, “Motions for Defense,” World Mag’s Washington Bureau writer, J.C. Derrick covers the cases and responses of several Christian campuses to various same-sex marriage and gender challenges. Most state statutes that have religious freedom exemptions come with a provision that applies to anyone who needs it, but the Title IX exemption only […]
What does science know and not know (scio, Latin, to know)? Perspectives vary on the role of science in culture. Two recent popular articles–one from National Geographic and the other from Mercatornet–provide students with an opening discussion on some of these views as an introduction to the larger discourse.
Shanghai would seem an unlikely place, on the edge of WW II, for Jewish refugees to flee. But as the Nazi regime stepped up its anti-Semitic persecution in the mid-1930s, German Jews were running out of options. This improbable cross-cultural intersection of world events reveals some profound truths about the arc of God’s redemption […]
An oncologist addresses the patient’s questions about God, medical care, and caregivers, asking, “If they balk at the mere mention of God, do doctors miss an opportunity to comfort patients in their most trying times?” Students can consider the pros and cons of heath care workers including or excluding matters of faith in their care […]
In this review of Phil Zuckerman’s new book, Peter Leithart finds that Faith No More (Oxford, 2015) opens a window into the souls of people who have stopped believing that they have souls. “With atheism and apostasy on the rise, it’s worthy of careful study by those of us who want to prevent apostasy and reclaim the […]
In “The Christian Voice in the Civil Realm,” Gifford Grobien notes that the contemporary American, liberal political system differs greatly from Luther’s context. Understanding the unique factors of political liberalism and their relation to religious expression helps one to understand the role of the church in this context. Grobien addresses the issue of how the church is […]
