Articles

Book Review: Notebooks by Schubert M. Ogden

[1] Throughout his long and productive career Schubert M. Ogden, who died in 2019 at the age of 91, distinguished himself as one of American Protestantism’s finest theologians.  This book is his final publication.  It consists of a relatively small selection of entries from his personal notebooks that were written over decades, in which he […]

Book Review: Caribbean Lutherans: The History of the Church in Puerto Rico by Jose David Rodríguez

[1] I remember an encounter with a professor in graduate school regarding my membership in the ELCA. “A Puerto Rican Lutheran,” he said. “You must be the only one in the state of Florida.” Nervously, but visibly shaken, I just nodded, gave a crooked smile, and hurried away. Over the years, I lament not saying […]

Book Review: Building a Moral Economy: Pathways for People of Courage by Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda

[1] Our church confesses: “As a church we confess that we are in bondage to sin and submit too readily to the idols and injustices of economic life. We often rely on wealth and material goods more than God and close ourselves off from the needs of others. Too uncritically we accept assumptions, policies, and […]

Theology as a Way to Think about Polarized Ethics: The Limits of Ethics Alone

[1] There are three questions I would like to explore, working from a different angle than that Christine Helmer examined regarding the relation between the theological doctrine of justification by faith and ethics. While she critiqued a separation between theology and ethics, I will ponder questions that address temptations to conflate theology and ethics. First, […]

Ethics Spotlight Episode 3: Summer Book Review Teaser 2025

  In anticipation of this year’s Summer Book Review Issue, join JLE Editor Jennifer Hockenbery, JLE Book Review Editor William Rodriguez, and JLE Advisory Council member Matthew Best as they discuss book recommendations.

The Village

The “It takes a village to raise a child” mentality Is not a belief That should be brushed away It should guide us in how we interact With the youth Everyday   Educating our children Should be a goal That we all share The world is constantly shifting So our children Must be prepared Graduating […]

Book Review: The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society, edited by Jason Thacker

[1] Digital technologies have become a transformative force in nearly every aspect of contemporary life, reshaping how we communicate, work, learn, and even perceive ourselves and the world in which we live. From smartphones and social media to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, these innovations have and will continue to alter our social interactions, economic […]

Book Review: Our Biggest Fight: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in in the Digital Age by Frank McCourt, Jr. with Michael Casey

[1] Famed entrepreneur, real estate developer, and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Frank McCourt along with acclaimed journalist Michael Casey have written a book which aims to find a way for us to untangle a distorted digital ethos from a current messy reality. Most of us have heard and lamented the internet’s contribution […]

Book Review Introduction: April/May 2025

[1] Recently the Journal has discussed issues of polarization, Artificial Intelligence and the Ethics of Raising Healthy Children. In the hopes of creating continued conversation about the intersectional connections between these issues and societal concerns, we share three pieces. [2] Mark Ellingsen’s review of Our Biggest Fight: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in in the […]

Practice and Power in Depolarizing Christianity

[1] Successful social change movements begin with persistence in bearing witness from a minority position with regard to the status quo. “To what should I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened” (Luke 13:20-21). So […]