Through adoration, acedia and atrophy, Forster perceives how the machine age exerts power over our relationships, our religion, our reality, and even our bodies.
On ‘The Machine Stops’: ‘You Are Beginning to Worship the Machine’ Read More »
In 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued an encyclical on the industrial revolution. In 2026, his namesake, Pope Leo XIV, issued an encyclical on the AI revolution. Unfortunately, AI is more of a revolution than the American-born pontiff seems to realize. The title of papal encyclicals comes from their first words: Magnifica humanitas is Latin for
The Pope Underestimates AI Read More »
Fasting reminds us that physical difficulties may come in this life, yet the Lord will bring us through them in the end.
Fasting as an Embodied Practice Read More »
The rise and widespread presence of companion chatbots reveals something important about our current moment: Many individuals long to belong, to be heard, and to experience friendship and companionship. Yet they are struggling to find these things.
Relating and Connecting in the Age of Chatbots Read More »
A deeper response to AI requires us to reflect on what it means to be human and on how the reality of the body and incarnational theology affect the way we do ministry.
Artificial Intelligence in the Church: A Call for Real Wisdom Read More »
There’s an old Latin saying: Non multa sed multum (“not many things, but much”). It’s not so important that a pastor has read a thousand books, but that he’s deeply familiar with the greatest and best.
‘Non Multa sed Multum’: As Knowledge Abounds, So Too Does the Need for Discernment Read More »
The August issue deals with life in the digital age and the rise of artificial intelligence.
Lutheran Witness: August 2026 Read More »
As Lutherans, we believe “that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them” (SC II 1). We confess, moreover, that mankind was created “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:27). Gazing at the empty eyes of the AI “creation,” it was hard to see how this “art” (if such it was) could possibly communicate these glorious and eternal truths.
The Cover We Didn’t Choose Read More »
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a Western export, nor an African possession, nor an American commodity. It is a divine proclamation that transcends cultural barriers because it addresses the universal human condition and its cure — sin and grace, death and resurrection.
The River and the Vessel: Transmitting Faith from Generation to Generation Read More »
The following article originally appeared in our April 2026 print edition. It is being published online now as part of LCMS Life Ministry’s Resource Library. If you were to ask a medical doctor what it means for a human to have “life,” he would probably cite several physical characteristics, beginning with a heart that is
‘In Him Was Life’: On Communion with Christ, the Only True Life Read More »
As Lutherans, we need to resist making moral compromises ourselves and actively encourage our young people not to make them, either. When the church gets laryngitis on moral issues such as cohabitation, it loses its voice on all other issues as well.
The Church Cannot Remain Silent on Cohabitation Read More »
Tune in to this special episode of ‘The Lutheran Witness’ podcast to learn about Resolution 9-11, which proposes bylaw changes to improve the ability of Synod entities and agencies to carry out ministry.