Bread For the World: About Hunger Today — David Beckman’s article on the biblical/practical issues of why hunger remains a perpetual problem and why simply donating food is not sufficient to address the crisis.
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
A Christian and a Soldier
A Christian and a Soldier — A brief essay to introduce the discussion on the Christian and military service. See also Luther’s essay, “Can Soldiers, Too, be Saved?”
Justice Bosson and the Prostitution of Religious Belief
Justice Bosson and the Prostitution of Religious Belief — Can merchants with religious convictions be required to conduct business transactions that the merchant believes are contrary to his or her faith? This article-plus-reader-comments can help students explore the extent of the left-hand kingdom’s concern for justice and the extent and ways in which the Christian […]
Do Churches Alienate Intellectuals?
Do Churches Alienate Intellectuals? — Many pastors and Christian leaders continue to recycle old spiritual clichés — and sermons — communicating scripture as if it were propaganda instead of life-changing news, and driving away a growing segment of people who find churches ignorant, intolerant, absurd, and irrelevant.
Preaching Politics From the Pulpit
Preaching Politics From the Pulpit — A growing number of religious leaders are taking aim at the rule banning political speech in churches in a growing movement to challenge a 1954 Internal Revenue Service regulation prohibiting clergy from participating in the political process—risking their churches losing tax-exempt status.
Were the Church Fathers Consistently Pro-Life?
Were the Church Fathers Consistently Pro-Life? — Ron Sider, who founded Evangelicals for Social Action, has written on a variety of ethical issues (Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action). In The Early Church on Killing (Baker Academic, 2012), Sider turns from advocacy to scholarship, compiling every extant extrabiblical […]
Christ Across the Disciplines
Christ Across the Disciplines — In this new book, a group of distinguished scholars from across the theological spectrum explores the dynamic relationship between the Christian faith and the life of the mind. Although the essays in this volume are rooted in a rich understanding of the past, they focus primarily on how Christian students, […]
Christ and the Nations: Isaiah’s Gentile Oracles
Christ and the Nations: Isaiah’s Gentile Oracles — Paul Raabe does double duty in this article, addressing Isaiah’s texts on God’s promises and the Gentile world ( a two kingdoms theme) while examining responsible ways to read the Old Testament.
Why America’s Christian Colleges are Pursuing Chinese Students
Why America’s Christian Colleges are Pursuing Chinese Students — Christian colleges, including Oklahoma Christian University, Michigan’s Cornerstone University, and Indiana’s Huntington University are sending admissions counselors to college expos in China in recent years and have accepted hundreds of students.
Can Faith Ever Be Rational?
Can Faith Ever Be Rational? –Some people have faith that their spouse won’t cheat on them. Some have faith that things happen for a reason. Some have faith in God. Is there a common commitment underlying these disparate declarations of faith? And can such faith ever be rational? A discussion on faith, the psychology of […]
