Why Science Doesn’t Support Bans on Gay Orientation Therapy — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recently signed Assembly Bill 3371, which forbids licensed professional counselors in the state to “engage in sexual orientation change efforts with a person under 18 years of age.” He cited the American Psychological Association for support. It is unfortunate that […]
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
The Secularization Theses – Michael Horton
The Secularization Thesis — The Secularization Thesis is relatively simple, though the process is complex: As societies modernize, they become less religious. This secularization is both external (a gradual fading of a particular religion from the public square) and internal (a gradual transformation and accommodation of traditional religions themselves). In this essay, Michael Horton assesses […]
A Wretched Defense for the Humanities
Lutheran education is historically embedded in Luther and, particularly, Melanchthon’s commitment to the liberal arts, humanism, the humanities, and the service of these studies to the relevance of God’s word. In June, 2013, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences released their blue ribbon panel report on the state of the humanities called “The Heart […]
Can Science Deliver the Benefits of Religion?
Can Science Deliver the Benefits of Religion? — Can science, with its systematic approach to understanding nature, offer a satisfying portrait of the natural world and our place within it? Can science provide the same existential benefits typically thought to be the sole province of religion? Some recent psychological findings suggest that it can. But […]
Abortion Viewed in Moral Terms in America
Abortion Viewed in Moral Terms — Regardless of their views about the legality of abortion, most Americans think having an abortion is a moral issue. By contrast, the public is much less likely to see other issues involving human embryos – such as stem cell research or in vitro fertilization – as a matter of […]
What Being Pro-Life Really Means
The Lutheran Forum What Being “Pro-life” Truly Means by Paul Sauer. It is no longer simply enough for the church to speak out against abortion. It must also speak in favor caring for the poor, the orphan, the disabled, and the marginalized. Only then can we begin to change the fundamental way in which our […]
Schools of Thought: Homeschooling and Asylum
Schools of thought: Homeschooling — A German homeschooling family’s fight for asylum in the United States will say a lot about the U.S. government’s official attitude toward the home school movement. Christian parents who want to homeschool their children in a country that requires children to attend state-approved schools find that homeschools don’t qualify.
Applying God’s Law: Religious Courts and Mediation in the U.S. — an analysis
Applying God’s Law: Religious Courts and Mediation in the U.S. — This report by the Pew Research Center focuses on religious courts and mediation, examining how some of the country’s major Christian denominations and other religious groups – 15 groups in total – routinely decide internal matters and apply their religious laws.
Christian materialism in Philosophy of Mind–the harvard ichthus
Christian Materialism in Philosophy of Mind by Jordan Monge (click on the second cover page below the top one for the pdf) An interesting example of student writing on faith, philosophy, the neurosciences, Lewis, and Freud that seeks a middle path between physicalism and an immaterial soul.
First Things — Schooling Dangerously: a review of two books
Schooling Dangerously: A review of Joseph Murphy’s Homeschooling in America and Quinn Cummings’ The Year of Learning Dangerously by Mary McConnell. Over the past three decades, the number of homeschooled children has grown by at least 7 percent a year—the number may now exceed the number attending charter schools—and between 6 and 12 percent of all […]
