Religious Diversity in the Workplace — The American workplace, like the rest of U.S. society, is becoming more religiously diverse and that is raising concerns about employer accommodations for believers — and increasing the odds for uncomfortable moments around the water cooler. “There’s a clear sense in the data, especially among white evangelicals, that […]
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 […]
Pitching With a Purpose
Pitching with a Purpose — Clayton Kershaw, pitching ace for the Dodgers, said he wants to be known as a Christian who happens to play baseball, not as a baseball player who happens to be a Christian. Judging by his on-field accomplishments, he has his work cut out for him: He’s a three-time All-Star, a […]
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 […]
Baseball: Drugs, No; Surgery, Yes? (from NPR 13.7)
Is It Fair For Baseball To Reject Drugs But Embrace Surgery? Why do we view the use of a particular brand of artificial, performance-altering technology–shoulder surgery for pitchers–as exemplary of the positive role medicine plays in baseball, but we view the use of other kinds of medical technologies — performance-enhancing medicines — as somehow anathema? […]
Faith in Fiction
Faith in Fiction While religion significantly matters in minor literary contexts today (as with the eccentric popularity of Amish romance novels) and in vulgar commercial contexts (as with Dan Brown’s books), serious literary fiction largely occupies its very own naked public square, shorn of any reference to religiously informed understandings of who and what we […]
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 […]
