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[1] In January, the Lutheran Ethicists Network held its annual conference in Washington D.C. before the meeting of the Society for Christian Ethics. The topic of the conference, “Ethics and Democracy,” was chosen because of the location and the times. Two of the three plenary papers are published here in this issue of JLE. The […]

[1] Why would you want to take a deep dive into seeing and understanding the Pharisaic Paul of the New Testament? I will tell you up front that John Dominic Crossan’s Paul the Pharisee: A Vision Beyond the Violence of Civilization is that deep dive and you will want to take your time, and even […]

[1] Esteemed readers of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, this edition offers a fascinating biographical examination of New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan’s 2024 examination of Paul’s as a Pharisaic Jewish teacher whose messianic message resonates today. Crossan links the prevalent violence of first-century Roman civilization to modern ecological and societal issues, presenting Jesus’ execution […]

[1] 2025 marked 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea (325 CE), where bishops gathered—including from Bichvinta in what is now occupied Abkhazia to articulate the Church’s faith. Yet, in the last century, neither together nor separately did the Christian churches, East or West, protect humanity from the Holocaust and the Gulag. Today, the occupying […]

[1] Can salvation by faith alone provide a basis for Christian unity in churches being fractured by ethical debates? Even with the recent ecumenical agreements with the Orthodox on the filioque, discussions of ecumenism seem moot for denominations that are struggling to maintain internal unity in the face of fractious debates over social issues, especially […]

  “and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.” (1 Kings 19:12)   Introduction [1] The sound of sheer silence greeted me on my first morning in Egypt, a profound quiet that seemed to echo through the ages. Standing in […]

 In this issue we would like to point those who lead Congregational Discussion with 2 resources that include study guides and questions.  [1]  For those interested in learning more about the original Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed, the ELCA has created a study guide for congregations.  This can be found here. [2]  In […]

[1] Having just celebrated the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, this issue of Journal of Lutheran Ethics contains a reflection from the World Council of Churches’ Nicaea 2025 Ecumenical Council and reflections on the possibilities for and challenge of Christian unity today. [2]The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order of the World Council […]

How should Christians think about AI? In this episode, we talk about the role and challenges of AI and faith.    

[1] In November of 2025, the ELCA approved a social message on child protection which calls for a number of reforms and greater theological engagement with the topic of child abuse. One of the resources cited in the social message is Here We Stand: A Lutheran Response to Child Abuse. This book is a collection […]