Year: 2012

September 19, 2012

Samuel Gregg: Islam and the Closing of the Secular Mind

Writing in the American Spectator, Acton’s Director of Research Samuel Gregg says the “enlightened” Western mind can no longer think seriously or coherently about religion: Given the decidedly strange response of the Obama Administration and much of the Western commentariat to the violence sweeping the Islamic world, one temptation is to view their reaction as simple incomprehension in the face of the severe unreason that leads some people to riot and kill in a religion’s name. Continue Reading...
September 18, 2012

Ray Nothstine on Relevant Radio

Ray Nothstine, Associate Editor at the Acton Institute and Managing Editor of Religion & Liberty, appeared on Relevant Radio’s “On Call” today to discuss political messianism, Calvin Coolidge, and school choice. Continue Reading...
September 18, 2012

European Cities Propose Taxing Catholic Church

Financially strapped politicians in Europe think they may have found a way to tap into a new source of revenue: tax the Catholic Church. Rubio, a city council member in Alcala, is leading an effort to impose a tax on all church property used for non-religious purposes. Continue Reading...
September 18, 2012

Petty Bribery: It’s Not Pretty

“Petty” bribery is an accepted way of life in much of the world. A person simply understands that he or she will need to “grease the palms” of certain officials in order to get a business license, a work contract or help with a legal matter. Continue Reading...
September 17, 2012

Reformational Populism and the Eurozone Crisis

In his essay on the eurozone crisis Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves claims there is a misunderstanding about the nature of criticism by “populists”: That I submit is a problem, a serious problem and a threat to Europe we have only begun to realize. Continue Reading...
September 17, 2012

An Elevated View of Stewardship

Tom Gilson, in an article at Thinking Christian, gives some thought to the Christian view of stewardship. Too often, he says, that view is “low”: …our churches are teaching a low view of stewardship. Continue Reading...
September 17, 2012

Biblical Stewardship and Open Biola

Biola University has recently launched Open Biola, an extensive online collection of free educational content created and curated by the school. The program already includes a large offering of resources on business and economics, including a lecture by Acton’s Director of Programs and International, Stephen Grabill. Continue Reading...
September 17, 2012

Interrupt Me, Please?

Today’s blog post is from one of our faithful On Call in Culture community members, Sheila Seiler Lagrand, Ph.D. who earned her doctorate in anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Continue Reading...
September 14, 2012

Playing at Poverty

Yesterday at Mashable.com, a leading social media site, an article entitled ‘5 Fun Games With a Higher Purpose‘ was featured. The article noted that these types of games attempted to combine fun with some sort of societal impact. Continue Reading...