Christian Living, Discipleship, and/or Spirituality

[1] The miracle of Easter can only be known from the vantage point of Good Friday. Christ died for us. To experience the reality of death creates the potential to understand the incredible power of new life. Mary Magdalene’s view of Easter is born of that reality. So is the experience of Chau, a young […]

[1] We Christians claim that our Christ is cosmic. We use the word to indicate “the entire universe, this earth and all else.” Likewise, the word can be our shorthand for “all of creation, both humankind and other-kind.” If we have a cosmic Christ, what does that mean for our calling to love our neighbor? […]

[1] After filling up on a recent trip from Ohio, I had my wife calculate the gasoline consumption of our spiffy new Honda Civic. “You’re going to like this,” she said, “It comes out to 45 miles per gallon.” Though aided by a strong tailwind, I was still enthused. But not enthused as I was […]

Authority in General [1] The term “authority” has many possible meanings.1 In regard to our topic here, however, the list of possibilities is relatively short. When a person speaks of the authority of the church in the world (as distinct from the church’s authority among its own members), he or she is likely to be […]

We have lost our moral compass… The ethical consensus of our society has been steadily eroding… The church urgently needs to speak clearly and forthrightly to this situation of growing moral anarchy…. [1] Such concerns and convictions are common today. Moreover they have been a perennial complaint in virtually all societies. Within the church, however, […]

[1] The so-called “Two Kingdoms Doctrine” is the label under which a particular framing of the relationship between God’s grace and everyday life in the midst of its institutional realities has been presented in 20th century Lutheranism. For over half a century it has been the way Lutherans framed the relationship between justification and justice. […]

The following paper was presented at an International Symposium on “Religions, Morality and Social Concerns” at Fudan University, Shanghai, China in April 2003. The university’s newly established Institute of Religious Studies brought together Christians (Protestant and Catholic), Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Marxists and others from China, other Asian countries, Europe and the United States. According to […]

Heinrich Bornkamm 12/01/2002 ​​ In this essay, the distinguished church historian of Heidelberg University gives us a guided tour through one of the most complex and controversial problems in the interpretation of Christian ethics. Luther’s “two kingdoms” doctrine has been variously praised and damned in recent theology. Thinkers such as Nygren, Althaus, and Ebeling have […]

[1] Post-September 11, 2001 Lutherans can faithfully participate in the Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence by examining once again our own just war teaching. As a sign of the times 9/11 implores us to consider earnestly the deep connections between just war and just peacekeeping and peacemaking. [2] I say “once again” […]

[1] I had an illuminating conversation the other day about the impending war with Iraq, which ultimately caused me to reflect on the relationship between Christianity and courage. I had written a piece that expresses skepticism about our government’s current foreign policy (a link to the article can be found on this page), and a […]