Articles

[1] In our post-Holocaust era, many Jews have identified with the State of Israel as their last line of defense should the community again come under the threat of eradication. Most Christians, especially in North America, are unable to begin fathoming this possibility. Their communities simply have not been under such a threat. The typical […]

Thesis [1] The essential lines of classical Christian anti-Judaism are by now familiar to many, documented in such seminal works as James Parkes’ The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue and Rosemary Radford Reuther’s Faith and Fratricide and more recently chronicled for readers of the New York Times bestseller list in James Carroll’s Constantine’s […]

[1] What is Zionism? What is Christian Zionism? Let’s try to develop some working definitions before we visit the pros and cons of a movement that seems to be attracting a fair amount of attention today. [2] A simple definition could be, “Zionism supports the return, or the various returns, of the Jewish people to […]

An Ethical Critique of Christian Zionism [1] As an Arab Palestinian Evangelical Lutheran Christian who grew up as a refugee, questions about the land and theology of Palestine/Israel are not just theological or philosophical exercises to me. They involve all that I am and all that I hold sacred in my life as a Palestinian […]

1] In our time, when the Israeli/Palestinian conflict occupies such a prominent place in our political discourse, the topic of Christian Zionism has become a critical matter for theological and ethical deliberation. In this issue, the Journal of Lutheran Ethics is pleased to provide a contribution to this important discussion. [2] Robert O. Smith reminds […]

[This article is reprinted from Word & World 26/4 [2006] 365-374. Copyright © Word & World, 2006. Used with permission. The issue of Word & World from which this article is reprinted is devoted to the theme “Biblical Authority Today.”] [1] I offer some reflections on the authority of the Bible, especially in view of […]

[1] In my book, Ethics in Business: Faith at Work, I included a chapter on servant leadership. It was essentially about how the character of leadership is foundational to the ethics of business in any corporation, company, or firm.[1] In the brief comments that follow I want to look back on that discussion of character […]

[1] Very broadly speaking, there are two basic ways of doing ethics in the trenches of the business world. The first is aimed at compliance-ensuring that corporate policies meet legal standards, that executives and employees are adequately informed about those policies and trained to comply with them in their work. Along this tangent, ethics officers […]

[1] A journey of recovery awaits me. Along the way, I hope to find greater humanity and God amid old memories and smiles I have never forgotten. [2] Soon, I will embark on a road trip with two old friends. I have not shared such intimate space with them for 25 years, or is it […]

[1] It is far from apparent that covenant, community, and common good are ideas whose time has come. [1] Recent scandals in corporate life have sent many companies back to the drawing board concerning their corporate cultures, and some critical observers regard the apprehended executives as only the tip of the iceberg-the larger ice being […]