[1] The subtitle to Professor Benne’s perceptive article poses the question whether America’s civil religion is “destructive, useless, or beneficial.” It can be all three. Civil religion is “destructive” when it becomes monolithic and intolerant of denominational and religious diversity. Civil religion is “useless” when it is reduced to a “ceremonial deism” that is bleached […]
[1] The goal of this paper is to provide information on some ways in which technology is impacting fundamental questions that affect how we view nature and humanity. Science impacts humanity in many broad ways, providing a greater understanding of the world around us. Each person is impacted by changes in medical practice regarding new […]
[1] Mary Solberg, associate professor of religion at Gustavus Adolphus College, has done historians, theologians, and ethicists a great favor by selecting, editing, and translating more than twenty documents relating to the “German Christian” movement in Nazi Germany. The documents cover the period from 1932 to 1940, but are primarily from the early to mid-1930s. […]
Introduction [2] Galatians teaches us about justification by faith, but also—and this is my thesis—more about God’s calling Paul on mission to ethnic others than we have perceived. Precisely in Galatians, Paul also teaches us about God’s ethnic inclusion of emigrants,[1] about valuing all ethnicities.[2] [3] First, I give a contemporary context to this reading […]
The following is an excerpt from the ELCA Social Statement “Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All,” adopted by the sixth biennial Churchwide Assembly in August of 1999. To read the statement in full, click here . For all: especially those living in poverty [1] “For all” refers to the whole household of God—all people and creation […]
Cain, a millennial in seminary, writes about how news coverage of millennials seems to be entirely negative. However, Cain challenges non-millennials to examine why millennials might be jumping ship and eschewing things like mortgages and church membership. The amount of young people who say they believe in God has not dropped significantly when compared to other generations, but rather their participation in organized religion has decreased significantly. Cain notes we our focus should be spreading the gospel, not creating gimmicks to increase young adult numbers. We don’t need the “next big thing,” the gospel is the Big Thing. Sharing the gospel with sincerity is the way to connect with young people, as it has been for centuries.
