Jason Thacker's Blog, page 7
February 28, 2022
What the horrors of war teach us about the nature of morality
On Feb. 24, the world watched in horror as Russian forces, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, began the invasion of neighboring Ukraine in an unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression. Airstrikes, heavy artillery, and infantry rained down on cities across Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv. Through real-time updates on social media and wall-to-wall coverage on news outlets, we are able to see the horrors of war as never before. The Ukrainian people are proud and have valian...
February 21, 2022
Why Christians must pursue biblically-defined justice
Years ago, as my wife and I were renovating our house, we met an African American gentleman who came to help with one of our projects. We welcomed him into our home and left him to do his work. After he finished the job, we began to talk. He graciously thanked us for the hospitality and mentioned it was not always the case. Upon my inquiry, he proceeded to describe some horrendous experiences he had endured as a Black man in people’s homes in our small Southern community. Some wouldn’t allow him...
February 13, 2022
How do we seek justice without compromising truth?
This is a transcription of the The Digital Public Square Podcast interview with Dr. Thaddeus Williams. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app to get new episodes each Monday morning or listen online.
Social justice is a polarized topic in these divided times. The issues that are associated within this discussion are important and should be evaluated from a biblical perspective. Dr. Thaddeus Williams, an associate professor of systematic theology at Biola University, helps us do that in his re...
February 6, 2022
Why should Christians study ethics?
One of the (many) ongoing debates within the Church today centers around the usefulness of worldview studies and how we are to think about the nature of the Christian life. Some rightfully see that a key element of the Christian worldview is having the right beliefs about God, ourselves, and the world around us as revealed by Scripture. Often, this is seen in the high emphasis placed on studying theology throughout the Christian life.
A quick look at church history shows that when doctrinal b...
January 30, 2022
What is going on between Russia and Ukraine?
Over the last few months, tensions have mounted on the border between Russia and Ukraine. This has led to international coverage of this conflict because of the countries involved, the potential toll of an invasion, and the role of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in global affairs. The situation is dire and extremely volatile at the moment, where it seems at any point Russia may decide to invade the nation of Ukraine, leading to a full-scale military and humanitarian crisis. Details of...
January 23, 2022
What does Christian ethics have to do with global affairs?
One of my favorite email newsletters I read is from The Economist. It has become a go-to resource for world news. Each morning, they send a rundown called the Espresso. It highlights stories from other countries that many U.S.-based news outlets rarely mention or go in depth about because of their focus on domestic affairs. Routinely, I read about social trends affecting populations around the world or the various ways that authoritarian regimes are suppressing basic human rights through technol...
January 18, 2022
What does the image of God have to do with the pro-life movement?
Years ago, I was talking with a fellow Christian ethicist about various aspects of social ethics (moral reflection on societal, structural, and communal issues) and it struck me that he never spoke much about the doctrine of the imago Dei, or the image of God, as central to the Christian ethic. I pressed in a bit on why he didn’t seem to emphasize it, and he responded that the Bible simply doesn’t really speak of it much and that when it does it mainly focuses on how Christ is the perfect image ...
What does the image of God have to do with the pro-life movement? The centrality of human dignity to Christian ethics
Years ago, I was talking with a fellow Christian ethicist about various aspects of social ethics (moral reflection on societal, structural, and communal issues) and it struck me that he never spoke much about the doctrine of the imago Dei, or the image of God, as central to the Christian ethic. I pressed in a bit on why he didn’t seem to emphasize it, and he responded that the Bible simply doesn’t really speak of it much and that when it does it mainly focuses on how Christ is the perfect image ...
January 9, 2022
Content moderation can’t stop another January 6th
Just over a year ago, a rogue group of protestors launched a violent assault on the United States Capitol, stoked by misinformation and a lie of a stolen election from those entrusted to lead us. That underlying problem of confusion and deception was already recognized when the riot happened, as the controversial congressional Jan. 6 commission has clearly illustrated, but recognition alone didn’t prevent the attack.
And in the year since, misinformation has only become more mainstream. It is...
January 3, 2022
4 ethical issues in technology to watch for in 2022
For the past few years, I have had the opportunity to highlight some of the top ethical issues in technology to be aware of as we begin a new year. In 2021, I wrote about the concerning trends of content moderation — especially in regards to free speech and religious freedom in the digital public square — as well as the growing concerns over facial recognition technologies and the ongoing debate over personal privacy. While many of these same issues will likely carry over into 2022, some have gi...
