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.
Using service in the armed forces as an opening example, the writer sets out a case for limiting the government worker’s individual freedoms when serving the public. This article provides a position for students to assess in terms of the two kingdoms, religious liberty, the 1st Amendment, and comparisons among different government services, the worker’s […]
A former professor at Northwest Christian University in Oregon is suing the school for allegedly firing her for being pregnant and unmarried, violating the faith-based values of the institution. She says it’s discrimination. The school says it’s ministerial exception and that she has undermined the school’s mission.
The Council of Christian Colleges and Universities is losing a member school. Union University in Tennessee (Southern Baptist) has quit the CCCU, saying it cannot remain in a Christian group in which some member institutions will hire people in same-sex marriages. The issue of same-sex marriage has been elevated by some institutions to one on which […]
From Q Ideas: In this 18 min. video, Gordon College president Michael Lindsay discusses the disturbing response from his congressman regarding Gordon College’s LGBT policy and its Christian commitment. Lindsay goes on to present a positive and constructive approach for Christian campuses to the current culture shifts amid diverse and sometimes unreasonable perspectives.
From The New York Times and from The Week: These three perspective pieces on the Planned Parenthood abortion reports may be useful for acquainting students with the contours of the disputes. They illustrate a range of views and whether measured views can move to overstatement.
From The Boston Globe and Mercatornet: When those without philosophical training speak with authority on philosophical issues, problem ensue. The authority they hold in one domain – say, science – doesn’t translate in the way they imply. Richard Dawkins is arguably the most prominent example, but others – such as Neil deGrasse Tyson – are […]
From the Economist: “Whether dealing with terrorism, extremism, racism or privacy concerns, the European default solution seems to involve chipping away at freedom of expression,” argues Jacob Mchangama. Moreover there has been a clear movement in the wrong direction of suppressing religious freedom. In a short essay published this week, he cites an impressively, almost improbably […]
This column from Jim Wallis and Sandi Villareal in Sojourners offers some discussion on the PP abortion tissue videos (2015) and the image of God: “As a society and as individuals, when we fail to recognize the imago dei in others, we trend further away from our uniquely human capacity to empathize and closer to […]
The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge (Jer. 31:29). This interview with Rachel Yehuda, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, is an informative update on research in epigenetics. Yehuda discusses the current science, its application to the Holocaust and 9/11, and its implications for the intersection of the spiritual […]
This NPR 13.7 article on a cognitive science conference at UT Austin offers 15 videos on religion and cognition. The clips are 2 to 5 minutes long and address such questions as: How is the process of acquiring religious and scientific explanations similar? Why should scientists care about religion? How can evolutionary perspectives on […]
