Sightings Articles

christ apothecary

science vs. religion | Coronavirus | Martin Luther | John Calvin

Science and Religion in Times of Plague

Calvin and Luther warn against the simplistic assumption that religious liberty is opposed to medical expertise...

January 21, 2021

Technology | Martin Luther | Social Media

Mr. Zuckerberg, Meet Martin Luther

“Move fast and break things.” Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, used to rally his developers with these words. ...

February 4, 2019

Augustine of Hippo | Martin Luther | sin | Technology

Social Media and Sin

Facebook has come under fire of late for its actions (or inaction) surrounding Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. But the problems with the social media network, and other platforms like it, run much deeper. Indeed, Sean ...

April 5, 2018

John Calvin | Martin Luther | Reformation

Calvin, for a Change

Recovering, as many of us will and must, from massive doses of Lutherana—after media, scholars, and the pious both among them and beyond their range are doing following October 31 observances—we at Sightings do our scanning of headlines, twisting of ...

November 13, 2017

global Christianity | global South | Lutherans | Martin Luther | Protestant Reformation | Protestants | Reformation

Luther Goes Global

This week most Lutherans, many Protestants, and not a few “general public” participants will turn the page from observances of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. Some church figures—pastors, choir directors, tour leaders, etc.—confess...

November 6, 2017

Martin Luther | Max Scheler | Pope John Paul II | Reformation | repentance

Repent!

Last Monday the Sightings editor republished a “classic” column from a previous century, specifically from 1999. What was I doing that kept me from writing and presenting a fresh item? One answer could be: I was sinning, so I would have something tha...

October 30, 2017

Eboo Patel | Friedrich Schleiermacher | Interfaith Youth Core | Martin Luther | Muslim ban | Protestantism | religious identity | white fragility

Religious Identity Hiding under the Cloak of White Fragility

As we continue to wrestle with whether or not President Trump’s now frozen executive order on immigration constitutes a “Muslim ban”—whether in its original or in its revised form—the American public is faced with another question: what exactly makes...

March 30, 2017

Martin Luther | Reformation | Pope Francis | sanctity of negotiations | healthy realism | Jesus | Pope Benedict XVI | Pope Saint John Paul | Pope Leo X

Heresy and Popes

Popes have been interested in heresy and heretics for centuries...

June 13, 2016