Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Earth Ethics, James Martin-Schramm, Daniel Spencer, Laura A. Stivers

Laura Stivers

The Master Argument Of Macintyre's 'After Virtue', Brad Kallenberg

Brad J. Kallenberg

In September of 1995 the Associated Press released a wire photo showing Russian lawmakers of both genders in a punching brawl during a session of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.' Is this behavior an ethnic idiosyncrasy? Do only government officials duke it out over matters of great importance? Or have fisticuffs suddenly become politically correct? No, on all counts. Pick a topic, any topic -- abortion, euthanasia, welfare reform, military intervention in the Balkans -- and initiate discussion with a group of reasonable, well-educated people and observe the outcome. Chaos ensues. Of course the volume of the debate …

The 'P'-Word: Conversion In A Postmodern Environment, Brad Kallenberg

Brad J. Kallenberg

Allow me to write frankly about the “P”-word. There is great concern about the proliferation of the “P”-word. In the past decade, over 1,500 articles and 2,000 books have come into print bearing the "P"-word in their titles. Nearly 1,000 of these books are still in print. Everywhere we turn we find that we have been inundated with the “P”-word. And so we have come to fear for our culture. The "P"-word? “Postmodernism.” Granted, postmodernism is a slippery concept; there are many versions, many postmodernisms. But should Christians fear postmodernism? To be sure, the modern era proved to be no …

The Theological Origins Of Engineering, Brad Kallenberg

Brad J. Kallenberg

Knowledge of our roots can sometimes help us figure out how we ought to proceed. Many claim that engineering began in ancient antiquity with the Egyptian pyramids, Archimedes' inventions, or the Roman aqueducts. Others give contemporary engineering a more recent history, tracing its origins to the Industrial Revolution or the Enlightenment. Yet what is often overlooked is the fact that contemporary engineering owes part of its identity to medieval monasticism. The advantage of remembering this history is the bearing it has on the questions "What is engineering for?" and "How ought engineering be practiced?" Michael Davis makes the claim that, …

"But Mary Was Preserving These Matters, Carefully Bringing Together And Considering Them In Her Heart”: Ethical Listening, Contemplation, And The Cultivation Of A Sexuating Silence, Julie Kelso

Julie Kelso

Twice in Luke's gospel, and only ever in Luke's gospel, we are presented with the curious response of Mary to mysterious events concerning her son: "but Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:19) and "but his mother kept all these things in her heart" (Lk 2:52). We are never told exactly what Mary makes of these things she witnesses and hears. Her silence extends to us here, in the present, from this distant past. And indeed, this is quite a different response to that which she earlier gives her cousin Elizabeth, when she bursts into …