Articles

Students who enter seminary typically have experienced a call to ministry. However, pursuing that call professionally can be expensive. Melissa Curtis Powell, Director of Financial Aid at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, shares her expertise on the problems of student debt and ways to prevent students from being overly burdened.

When approached about finding contributors to the Journal of Lutheran Ethics around a topic which was and remains particularly relevant to millennials, student debt emerged as perhaps the most important distinguishing criteria setting this generation apart from predecessor generations. Sure, many theological topics remain high priorities in the life and witness of most millennials, yet there remains a deep concern about the sustainability of these priorities given the immense debt that so many have accrued. I will be the first to recognize that I am not a financial expert, nor a person particularly fraught with debt myself. As I remind myself, this is not my own doing, it remains a gift from God. With that quite Lutheran recognition, I found two lenses that should be helpful in discerning this topic—though I recognize this topic is not new to many.

HIGHER EDUCATION AS A PUBLIC GOOD [1] At the 2014 Laurier University Governance Dinner, Andrew Newman, an Audit Partner with KPMG’s Public Sector Audit Practice in Ottawa, described how his grandfather had gone to school through to grade eight and then went out to work. He then recounted how his father went to school through […]

[1] The Rev. Dr. Philip Turner is a retired but clearly still active veteran of the conflicts within the Episcopal Church U.S.A. Though he does not write about those rifts with any specificity in this rich and constructive book, that discord echoes through the pages of Christian Ethics and the Church. It seems reasonable to […]

[1] In his piece in this book, Carter Lindberg quotes Luther from his commentary on Deuteronomy: “’The poor you always have with you,’” quoting John 12:8, “just as you will have all other evils. But constant care should be taken that, since these evils are always in evidence, they are always opposed.”[1] Thus, for Luther, […]

This piece offers a unique perspective on white privilege and the internalization of racism. Read about how Rev. Peterman adjusted to living in and serving an African American community and how that experience has impacted her life and theology

Rev. Wilker, as pastor of a congregation in downtown Washington D.C., has a special perspective on U.S. politics. In this article, he outlines 9.5 ways congregations and individuals can continue to proclaim the gospel in conflicted and tense times such as these.

[1] The election of Donald J. Trump as the next president of the United States has raised some important ethical issues that will have to be sorted out wisely and carefully for the sake of the wellbeing of our country and our communities. There are complicated questions regarding conflicts of interest, foreign meddling into our […]

Christians often talk about how we are all children of God. However, what does that mean for our relationship to each other–what are the responsibilities of being a sibling in Christ? Dr. Linda Thomas explores this question in light of the election of Donald Trump, with a particular focus on the role of pastors.

Conversation Questions to Use in an Adult Education or Forum Setting If your setting allows it, break into small groups of 3-5 participants made up of people with similar racial/ethnic experience for the first set of questions. If separate racial/ethnic groups are not possible, break into small groups by going around the room, counting off […]