Denise Rector

[1] The historic relationship between Christianity and human rights is an ambiguous one. For hundreds of years the Christian Church actively promoted religious intolerance and persecuted those who failed to accept its moral values and customs. Many of these values and practices are today rejected as contrary to a human rights culture and moral decency. […]

[1] On April 30, 1944, less than year before his execution, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a long letter from his cell at the prison in Tegel to his friend Eberhard Bethge, a letter that achieved posthumous renown for Bonhoeffer’s discussion of “religionless Christianity.” Indeed, Bethge was later to write that this “first great theological letter” of […]

[1] After attending a study group using the ELCA study guide Journey Together Faithfully: The Church and Homosexuality at Advent Lutheran in Arlington, TX, I felt as Dennis Bielfeldt (2003) did when he wrote: “While I believe Journey Together does fairly describe the different voices and positions within the ELCA on this controversial issue, I […]

Introduction: outline and thesis of this essay [1] Is there a specific Lutheran contribution to political ethics in terms of public witness of good works and reflections on the place of good works within politics? The question of “good works” itself diverges from the traditions of political ethics, and is regarded as highly problematic by […]

[1] The current debate over immigration in the U.S. is plagued by myths, inadequate theoretical frameworks, and ideological and political motives that seek to scapegoat unauthorized or undocumented[1] immigrants[2] for many of this country’s economic, political and social problems. In this essay, I attempt to clarify some of the issues involved in this debate by […]

Abstract [1] This article critiques current directions in health care research and suggests an ethical perspective for guiding research planning as a shared endeavor. “Caring for Health” (the Eighth Social Statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) sets a powerful ethical context for this activity. Its definitions of health and healing and emphasis on […]

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 […]

[1] As someone who teaches and writes about disability and theology, I have been increasingly intrigued by the assumptions that people make about my own disability status. On the one hand, people who have not met me but yet are familiar with my work often assume that I have a disability-or, perhaps, am closely related […]

[1] On January 26, 2007 Bishop Mark S. Hanson called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to conversation on Iraq: “Our country is engaged in a divisive debate about the nature and the direction of this war… As the war in Iraq escalates and the way to a lasting peace seems unclear, how shall […]