Author: Paul T. Jersild

Lloyd Steffen and Dennis R. Cooley. The Ethics of Death: Religious and Philosophical Perspectives in Dialogue. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014, 325pp.

[1] I begin these reflections by turning to selected passages in the Gospels, the book of Acts, and the Pauline letters, arguing the centrality of the Spirit to any consideration of Christian faith and life, or to biblical and Christian ethics. Then I address several hermeneutical issues in relating what I call “spirit ethics” to […]

1] Writing a review of this festschrift in honor of Robert Benne has reminded me of the many things we’ve had in common over the years. Both of us have roots in Eastern Nebraska, both attended Lutheran colleges in that area (Midland Lutheran and Dana, just twenty miles apart), we both were energized by the […]

[1] The fall of yet another politician on grounds of marital infidelity is nothing new, but it is always news. It is also tiresome and upsetting, for we would like to think that our elected officials are decent people whose character would not allow this kind of conduct. It prompts some thoughts about personal morality […]

[1] Rather than discussing the scientific aspects of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research, I will turn immediately to the central issue of the stem cell debate for people of faith: the theological and moral status of the embryo. Christians historically have been concerned to respect life at every stage of its development, but what I […]

[1] This is the third JLE piece that I have been invited to write on the war in Iraq, the first two being written in October, 2001 and September, 2002. As I look back on the contents of those earlier articles in light of what has transpired since then, I am inclined to say (with […]

[1] The two-realm teaching in Lutheran social ethics is something quite different from the notion of separation of church and state as it has evolved in the United States political tradition. It is Luther’s attempt to translate his law and gospel distinction to the public realm featuring the complex life of society – the province […]

Works reviewed in this month’s column: President’s Council on Bioethics, Beyond Therapy Brent Waters and Ronald Cole-Turner, eds., God and the Embryo Matt Ridley, Genome BEYOND THERAPY: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness A Report by the President’s Council on Bioethics (New York: HarperCollins Publishers [ReganBooks], 2003), 328pp. [1] The President’s Council on Bioethics was […]

With this April issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, we bring the third installment in our series of notes on books addressing genetic engineering. For interested readers, the previous two columns appeared in the September and December, 2003 issues. Works reviewed in this month’s column: Gordon Graham, Genes Editors of Scientific American, Understanding Nanotechnology […]

With this December issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, we bring the second installment in our series of notes on books addressing genetic engineering. For interested readers, the first of these columns appeared in the September issue. Works reviewed in this month’s column: David B. Resnik et al., Human Germline Gene Therapy Phillip Kitcher, […]

[1] This article inaugurates a column that will appear three or four times during the coming year. Its purpose is to review books addressing genetic engineering and its implications for the future of humanity. I’m using several criteria in selecting books to be discussed: 1) They will be directed to society at large, which means […]

[1] A significant number of books have appeared in recent years that address the subject of ethics in view of the spirit of relativism that is deeply rooted in our pluralistic culture. Daniel Lee’s book makes a distinctive contribution in addressing this challenge. Lee, Professor of Religion at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois has […]

[1] In my initial article written just a few weeks following the terrorist attack on September 11, I expressed a concern that our heritage of just war thinking might help us to “grasp the underlying causes for the belligerence of the enemy” and “pursue every avenue that might contribute to understanding between the two sides.” […]

[1] The enemy in traditional warfare is a nation-state with military forces and an arsenal of weapons that threaten our national security. The tenets of just war thinking presuppose this traditional form of war-making, addressing such questions as a proper declaration of war, the obligation to refrain from mobilization until it is apparent that there […]