Issue: November 2005

[1] Mark Noll sketches his positions on six issues that he considers to be “paramount,” and declares that he will not be voting in the presidential election because neither of the major parties is “willing to consider the political coherence of this combination of convictions or willing to reason about why their positions should be […]

[1] I shall respond to each interlocutor in turn. [2] First, to Jeff Swanson, I wish to say that he has understood what I was attempting in Just War against Terror by drawing Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr into the debate. Even at this late date, there are many-including, alas, many representing our churches-who seem […]

The following article, which includes the first three weeks of a six-week adult education program, has been excepted from Get Up Off Your Knees edited by Raewynne J. Whiteley and Beth Maynard. It has been reprinted here by permission of the publisher, Cowley Publications. For more information about purchasing this book from Cowley Publications, please […]

[1] According to news reports, the Internal Revenue Service has threatened All Saints Episcopal Church (Pasadena, CA) with revocation of its tax-exempt status under 26 U.S.C. section 501(c)(3) because of a sermon preached by the church’s former rector, Rev. George F. Regas, on October 31, 2004, just before the Bush-Kerry presidential election. [2] Rev. Regas’ […]

Preaching and Politics at All Saints Episcopal Church According to news reports, the Internal Revenue Service has threatened All Saints Episcopal Church (Pasadena, CA) with revocation of its tax-exempt status under 26 U.S.C. section 501(c)(3) because of a sermon preached by the church’s former rector, Rev. George F. Regas, on October 31, 2004, just before […]

[1] Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theology and life inspires a multitude of responses, ranging from passionate opposition to a dangerous thinker all the way to emphatic embrace of a saint. With a large body of contemporary discussion partners included in those responses, Bonhoeffer’s influence extends far beyond the theological society that bears his name. Stephen […]

[1] In the classic novel by J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings, a mesmerizing epic drama unfolds in “Middle-earth.” The hobbit Frodo Baggins is entrusted with the One Ring and sets out with his friend Sam Gamgee on the quest to destroy the ring and thereby foil the powers of evil. Even if the […]

This is the second article in a two-part series by Aana Vigen on “Listening to Women of Color with Breast Cancer: Theological and Ethical Insights for U.S. Healthcare.” Click here for part 1 of this series. [1] These women who have survived or are living with breast cancer shared a great deal of embodied wisdom […]

[1] Follow the fear. It will tell you what you need to know about the challenge of Christian witness in these times. It also reveals the wound that the incarnation of God in human flesh hungers to heal-making us, our nation and world more truly human. [2] A black pickup truck slows to make a […]

This is a revision of a paper presented at the Convocation of Teaching Theologians, ELCA, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, August 19-21, 2005 [1] In 1942, at his inauguration as the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple referred to the nascent ecumenical movement as “the great new fact of our era.” Perhaps, Temple’s memorable phrase may […]

[1] When they enter the field of bioethics, too many theological ethicists check their theological credentials at the door. Thus, they lose theological eloquence, as they learn medical-ese. Not so with Valparaiso University’s Gilbert Meilaender: he never loses fluency in that first language of faith. Not every Christian will agree with his conclusions on abortion […]

[1] Vergil puts these words into the mouth of the Trojan hero Aeneas when he was shipwrecked in a country he feared was populated with barbarians, in which case he would have been able to establish no common bond: “These men know the pathos of life, and mortal things touch their hearts.” It is always […]

[1] Christian ethics, like Christian theology, is a human enterprise. It is a human enterprise that engages in critical reflection on moral life. One of the tasks of Christian ethics is to uncover the principles, norms, and values that should and really do inform Christian communities in their struggle to answer the ethical question: what […]

[1] Since its appearance in April of 2003, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has been a remarkable success.1 This fictional novel has won fans around the world, inspired a cottage industry in television shows, books and organized trips, and is presently being made into a major motion picture directed by Ron Howard and starring […]

This is part one in a two-part series on listening to women of color with breast cancer.1 Click here for part two of the series. [1] I am a Christian social ethicist who contends that adequate moral inquiry necessarily involves interdisciplinary reflection and conversation. In my view, the proper place of a professional ethicist is […]