Articles

[1] There is a very good chance that the 2008 Republican nominee for President will, for the first time in party history, not be a Protestant but rather a Roman Catholic or a Mormon. Historically, the Republican Party has been the party of America’s Protestants, both Mainline and, more recently, evangelical. Not long ago, the […]

[1] As the 2008 presidential primary season fast approaches, the question of how the Christian citizen should evaluate candidates could turn out to be more interesting than it’s been in some time. [2] The religion-in-politics question usually is focused on Republicans. That has been the case since conservative Christians became a formidable, cohesive political force […]

[1] The editors of JLE asked me to think about what Christians should think about pious politicians who say they believe in God and talk about their prayer life on national television. The editors want us to ponder the question: how should Christians evaluate public displays of religiosity from political candidates seeking to win public […]

[1] In a recent issue of Time, Michael Kinsey, the well-know liberal pundit, made a rather startling claim. Contrary to much secular liberal opinion that the religion of a political candidate does not and should not influence his or her political life, Kinsey argues this: “If religion is central to their lives and moral systems, […]

[1] For the last couple decades, conservative political candidates have made overt appeals to Christian voters, pushing the political agenda of the Religious Right. They talked as if they represented all of Christianity. Most moderate and progressive political candidates did not make such appeals, frequently citing their opinion that religious beliefs are a personal matter, […]

Introduction [1] The purpose of this brief essay is to explain why I think it is important and timely to re­claim the natural law for theological ethics. After World War II “situation ethics” became widespread in Protestant theology, bringing about a collapse of serious moral instruction in the churches. Traditional values and ethical standards dissolved […]

[1] This paper argues that there is a common morality. There are common moral principles all can know; they place demands on us; and we have the capacity to follow them. It is necessary to make the case for common morality today because many believe there are no objective moral standards. It is important for […]

[1] The question of to whom does wealth belong is not one that most economists would be comfortable answering except in the most trivial sense. Trivially we would answer that wealth belongs – well – to those who own it. Aside from being rather circular in its logic, this reply does not get at the […]

[1] As a Christian tax professional, I recently realized that since the end of my undergraduate accounting studies, I have held two important bodies of writing in the highest esteem – the Word of God and the Internal Revenue Code (federal income tax law). I have continually striven to become more knowledgeable in both, knowing […]

[1] In 2002, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was involved in a lawsuit over the “parsonage exemption,” a provision in the federal tax code that allows “Ministers of the Gospel” to exclude from their taxable income the value of a parsonage or other congregation-provided housing allowance.[1] On its own initiative, the federal appellate court hearing […]