Jacob Lupfer
A contributing editor at RNS, Jacob Lupfer is a writer and consultant in Baltimore. His website is www.jacoblupfer.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jlupf. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily represent those of Religion News Service.
The Christian intellectual tradition is alive and well
(RNS) So why have commentators bemoaned the absence of Christian thinkers as authoritative voices in American public debates?
How Georgetown fosters a civil debate on abortion (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) I find the conservative critique that “Georgetown is not Catholic enough” to be weak and misinformed.
On Ash Wednesday, I remember: I am a sinner. I will die (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) Ash Wednesday reminds us we are dead in our sins and, soon enough, dead in fact. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Is Wheaton reconciled with Doc Hawk or with conservative evangelicals? (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) If separating from a tenured professor under a confidential agreement is “reconciliation,” then surely the word has no meaning.
Evangelicals, it’s time for a gut check on Trump (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) The Christian right faces a critical choice: It can be small and have integrity, or it can be “yuge” and disastrous.
Why the Anglican-Episcopal clash may spell a theological revision (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) The censure of the Episcopal Church raises vital questions about whether divergent teachings on marriage and sexuality constitute minor differences of interpretation or major theological revisions.
‘Spotlight’ movie explores journalists’ Catholic abuse coverage, loss of faith (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) I moved to Boston the week Cardinal Bernard Law resigned. As I read those chilling Globe reports, I sensed that the darkness and an unusually cold winter were apt metaphors for the heartbreak and pain the scandal caused.
Don’t change Catholic teaching on marriage, says remarried Protestant (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) The Church that Christ founded on Peter should avoid becoming a loose confederacy of warring regional ecclesial jurisdictions.
Why Richard Dawkins’ new book won’t win him many converts (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) The dialogue between faith and science will continue, but, at 74, it is doubtful that Richard Dawkins will show interest in contributing meaningfully to it.
In meeting Kim Davis, Pope Francis confounds and challenges (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) Conservative Catholics often complain that Pope Francis, especially in his unscripted moments, sows confusion. Now, for a change, progressives are grappling with that frustration.
Kim Davis’ indefensible position puts traditionalists on the spot (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has hindered the public debate about religious liberty for traditionalist believers at a time when it needs serious arguments, not circus-tent theatrics.
The Bible ties freedom to debt relief. Americans should too (COMMENTARY)
PHILADELPHIA (RNS) Debt relief would improve prospects for political and economic flourishing for millions of people in dozens of countries. It is literally a life-and-death issue.
For conservative Christian colleges, no middle ground on gay rights (ANALYSIS)
(RNS) Traditionalist institutions see no value in associating with moderate ones that have, in their view, traded the truth of the gospel for the idol of our time: eroticized, autonomous self-expression.
Faith communities adding urgency to calls for prison reform
(RNS) In an era when most faith groups’ political priorities align predictably with the two major parties, it is refreshing to behold a truly diverse religious consensus on an issue.
Why the culture war’s losers shouldn’t retreat from public life (COMMENTARY)
(RNS) It is harmful to religion and to democracy when one group is ready to turn its back on civil society and another group is ready to push it.
