Introduction to the Discussion

Discussion Content/Parameters:
The articles posted will at times be overtly theological and/or philosophical and at other times within the realm of political science, economics, international relations, public policy, and/or cultural commentary.

Attempt to respond to the substance of the articles from a Christian perspective (I am being purposefully ambiguous here), or at least respond as a Christian. If you feel that your particular tradition within the Christian orbit has something to offer, please articulate it. If you feel that no distinctly Christian response is called for, then explain why.

Administrative Guidelines:
1. One article will be posted per week (usually Sunday or Monday) if it inspires few responses. If many of you respond and more time seems needed, then I'll allow two weeks (this, of course, is flexible as well)
2. If someone has an article to post, let me know, and it can be posted the next week (unless there are multiple requests at once).
3. Each article will always be fully cited. To provide advance notice, articles will likely be selected from The Economist, First Things, Christianity Today, The New York Times, and Foreign Affairs.

My Biases/Assumptions:
First, the articles chosen will often make a case I want to promote but not always. Second, if I am asking you to respond from a "Christian perspective" or as a Christian I am suggesting that no area of life is devoid of ethics, which is the branch of theology/philosophy that inquires into the nature of justice and right relations between people and the rest of the natural world. Some say it this way: at the heart of social interaction (including politics and economics) is morality, and at the heart of morality are religious convictions about ultimate (first) things (and the source and end of history, i.e. God). I am suggesting that the language of strategy, tactics, and utility that often rule the day in American social discourse is simply unaware that it too draws from deeper theological/philosophical sources, as incoherent as they might be when illuminated and unraveled. To put it another way, to say that American politics is primarily based on pragmatism (i.e. aiming to just "do what works"), and therefore does not need to deal with deeper questions of human nature, the nature of God, and the nature of justice and right order, is misleading. How a person answers the question of what constitutes "working" already invites that person into asking deeper questions about human dignity and the divine. If a policy or action is identified as "what works" one is implicitly declaring to know that certain means and outcomes are better than others, but by what metrics are these means and outcomes measured? When I follow that logic, I find myself driven to questions of ultimate reality. Third, I also assume that we are called, as Christians, to be about the task of renewing our minds. While we ought to trust and invite the Spirit to do this, there is an element of personal responsibility here as well. Whatever part of this renewal is our responsibility, that is the part I hope this online discussion will cultivate.