Summary of Religious Bodies and Same-Sex Marriage — This Pew Research update summarizes same-sex marriage policy or practice for several religious traditions. The Presbyterian Church-USA recently voted to endorse and practice same-sex marriage.
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.
"Open Book" by R. Marxhausen: the Bible, the book open to us all
Christian Student Group at CSU Wants Ban Overturned
Christian Student Group at CSU Wants Ban Overturned — Students from the Chi Alpha group at California State University, Stanislaus are challenging the University to allow the group back on campus after being banned for religious discrimination. This thorough local article may serve as a useful case study on religion at public university campuses.
Defining Sin on College Campuses
Defining Sin on College Campuses — This column from a mainstream press religion reporter examines some of the challenges for Christian colleges when trying to define and articulate sin, conduct, and communicating these issues on and off campus.
Mind and Morality: A Dialogue
Mind and Morality: A Dialogue — This 55 minute interview from On Being is representative of some of the ideas among some scientists and psychologists about the nature and sources of human morality. Both thoughtful and inconsistent, the two participants, physicist Arthur Zajonc, and psychologist Michael McCullough, seek to understand moral rationality without reference to […]
A Broader Definition of Religious Freedom
A Broader Definition of Religious Freedom — David Saperstein, State Department ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, articulated before Congress a robust view of religious liberty beyond freedom of worship, including a person’s right to religious education, proselytizing, and generally live out one’s faith in the public square
Three Ways to Engage Culture
Three Ways to Engage Culture — Ed Stetzer offers three ways that the church can productively respond to the always-changing culture around us: engage culture, defend culture, and create culture. “As God’s people, that’s how we should engage culture—that because of our good works they might glorify God (1 Peter 2:12) and, ultimately, might consider […]
Voices from the Fields: on vocation
Voices From the Fields — The current issue of Comment addresses work and employment as vocation. This article and video offer some representative views from everyday Christians.
The Church’s Social Ministry Against Sex Trafficking
The Church’s Social Ministry Against Sex Trafficking — A brief article on the growing Christian student movement aimed at exposing and ending this current form of slavery: “An extraordinarily complex global issue has somehow become one of the most energetic Christian missions of the 21st century.”
A “Compassionate University” and a President for Good Works
A “Compassionate University” and a President for Good Works — Since she was installed as president of Spalding University, McClure has encouraged students and faculty to feed the hungry and repair houses for the needy, helping the Louisville, Ky., school clock in 1.6 million service hours in one year.
Whether Jesuit Colleges are Jesuit and Catholic
Whether Jesuit Colleges are Jesuit and Catholic — Within the larger discussion of identity and the Christian university, Atlantic Magazine, Dec. 2014 (“The New Brand of Jesuit Universities”), published an article on Gonzaga University. This First Things article (and responses) explores the issue further as related Jesuit colleges.
