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[1] Our book Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times offers conversation as the intersubjective mode we have as persons and Christians for exchanging our respective positions on difficult topics. We thank our interlocutors in this issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics for engaging with themes in our book that resonated with them. We began writing […]

[1] In Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times: Justification and the Pursuit of Justice, Amy Carr and Christine Helmer are concerned with the polarization that runs through our country and congregations.[1] Though this polarization’s content is most often political—think of the red-blue state divide, or our siloing mediated by social media and cable news—Carr and Helmer […]

[1] Amidst a society wrenched apart by forces hell-bent on splintering the body politic as well as the Body of Christ, Amy Carr and Christine Helmer have co-written Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times which offers a theological framework for helping Christians engage in moral discernment and “justice-seeking.” For the authors, the concept of Christian identity […]

[1] Is it possible for Christians to express earnest and thoughtful disagreement with one another about contested political issues while retaining shared community in Christ? As a matter of actual practice, is it possible to imagine openly disagreeing in a productive way within congregations without vilifying one’s opponents? This is the challenge that Amy Carr […]

[1] There can be little question that doctrinal theology, not to mention “dogmatics,” has become disreputable, not only in the eyes of hostile critics of Christianity, but also to the consciences of many Christians. For ELCA Lutherans in particular, doctrinal theology connotes ecclesiastical policing, conjuring up medieval inquisitions, rancorous disputation, hairsplitting scholasticism, witch hunts, heresy […]

[1] As the ELCA finalizes its discussion on civic life and faith and Americans go to the polls for the presidential election, many people are afraid to discuss their stance about politics at church while others proudly proclaim that their views are the only right ones.  Rather than this flight or fight response, we at […]

[1] October of every election year is a time when people lament polarity, the trend of people fleeing the middle ground of discussion and debate to attach like iron flecks to one pole or the other as they take sides on political issues   Neighbors put up signs, social media becomes heated, people worry about Thanksgiving […]

[1] Article XVI of the Augsburg Confession affirms the responsibility of Christians to engage in civil affairs. However, engaging well and faithfully requires Christians to understand the civil and political contexts in which they are embedded. Many recent works in political theory have described various contemporary political crises and challenges: social fragmentation at global, national, […]

1] Though a self-proclaimed friend of Artificial Intelligence (pp.31,119), Cambridge University Professor of Global Thought Arshin Adib-Moghaddam is concerned about racism and sexism creeping into the algorithms governing emerging AI technology (pp.3-4,48-49).  This is an issue that is getting some attention among experts (notably in another new book by Calvin Lawrence, Hidden in White Sight, […]

In keeping with the theme of this month’s JLE, our book reviews focus on ethical implications of AI. Mark Ellingsen reviews Is Artificial Intelligence Racist? The Ethics of AI and the Future of Humanity.  In this book, author Arshin Adib-Moghaddam describes the racist biases that permeate AI’s algorithms and examines the troubling implications for policing, banking, job applications, […]