In the spring of 1994, I enrolled in a course on deviance in the sociology department at the University of Texas at Austin. The course was taught by renowned sociologist Gideon Sjoberg, author of The Preindustrial City. The course wasn’t…
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility celebrates 50 years of faith-based shareholder advocacy
“Sometimes quitting is the courageous act,” said Traci Blackmon. “Sometimes the courage that is needed is to stop doing what is expected in order to start doing what is necessary.” Blackmon, associate general minister of justice and local church ministries…
This nation needs a church
I have an argument that sounds idealistic, naïve, even triumphalist, but that only serves to increase my determination: The nation needs a church. I still believe the church matters and that we have a role to play that is the…
Ethicists Without Borders issues statement on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine
Dear BNG readers: Ethicists without Borders is a Facebook group spearheaded by the distinguished Christian ethicist Tobias Winright of St. Louis University. This group has just released the statement below. I am a signatory. Note the following elements: This statement…
When following the line leads us astray
“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; you support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.” — Psalm 16:5-6 Back nearly 30 years ago, I…
We’re not just consumers, we’re a community, and we should spend like it
When we make a purchase, we’ve been conditioned to think about one thing: What’s the best deal for me? This is a selfish approach to purchasing habits. But it’s not necessarily our fault that we think that way. We’ve been…
The Ahmaud Arbery murder trial encapsulates the two Americas today, but there’s a silent third group
One of the things that’s easy to forget about the conviction of three white men for the cold-blooded murder of Ahmaud Arbery is that there almost wasn’t a trial. There were no arrests for two months after the murder. Two…
World health leaders protest U.S. vaccine boosters while other countries await promised vaccines that haven’t been delivered
How possible is it that the continent with the lowest COVID-19 infection rate could potentially become the biggest spreader of new mutations of the deadly virus across the world? The answer to that question lies in a new report published…
Ethics at the end of life: The first ethical issue is not who decides but who accompanies
This is the second in a four-part series. Secular Western medical ethics tends to be principlist and procedural. Two crucial core principles in medical ethics are autonomy and informed consent. The affected persons (often shorthanded as “patients,” although we must…