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[1] Christianity has frequently been at the forefront of major social movements, challenging accepted practices and inviting social transformation. Christian beliefs were essential in such dramatic movements as the 18th and 19th century abolitionists with their challenge of slavery, in the political formation of the United States which built itself upon a religious and philosophical […]

[1] In the classic novel by J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings, a mesmerizing epic drama unfolds in “Middle-earth.” The hobbit Frodo Baggins is entrusted with the One Ring and sets out with his friend Sam Gamgee on the quest to destroy the ring and thereby foil the powers of evil. Even if the […]

[1] Christian ethics, like Christian theology, is a human enterprise. It is a human enterprise that engages in critical reflection on moral life. One of the tasks of Christian ethics is to uncover the principles, norms, and values that should and really do inform Christian communities in their struggle to answer the ethical question: what […]

[1] Since its appearance in April of 2003, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has been a remarkable success.1 This fictional novel has won fans around the world, inspired a cottage industry in television shows, books and organized trips, and is presently being made into a major motion picture directed by Ron Howard and starring […]

[1] It is not an original thought. I heard one of the TV pundits discussing the point after the last debate; but it struck home. Over these past weeks of campaigning, the middle class has been front and center. People are losing jobs and health care. The elderly can’t get the prescription drugs they need. […]

[1] In an event little-noted outside the swimming world, the U.S. women’s 4X200 freestyle relay broke the oldest world record on the books in the Athens Olympics. The 17-year-old mark was set by the team from the German Democratic Republic and was widely viewed as tainted by the East German team’s steroid use. East German […]

[1] Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are both corporate and individual consumers and providers of health care in the United States of America. As such, we are bound and committed to care for the health and well-being of ourselves and our neighbor as Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. […]

[1] The January 13, 2003 issue of The New Yorker published an article about a manufacturer of artificial limbs from Staten Island. He wanted to help the victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone, in which amputation had been a key form of terrorist activity. [2] He had difficulty finding a way to carry […]

[1] Taking activist positions on issues of society is not a new endeavor for United Methodists and followers of the Church’s founder, John Wesley. Historically, the denomination is known for its involvement with political and social struggles that impact individuals locally and globally. The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist […]

[1] “That is why what America most needs today may be prayer: prayer that God may yet help us, before it is too late, to stop our accelerating slide toward the way things used to be.” Stephen L. Carter, “Reflections on an America Transformed,” The New York Times September 8, 2002 [2] I have, in […]