Year: 2013

July 12, 2013

The Boston Beer Company’s Hypocrisy

As a brief follow-up to the story about the Samuel Adams beer company’s decision to redact “by their Creator” from a reference to the Declaration of Independence in a recent ad campaign, it’s worth examining again the company’s justification for that decision. Continue Reading...
July 11, 2013

William J. Abraham: The Treasures and Trials of Eastern Orthodoxy

Last night I attended an engaging lecture at Calvin College by Dr. William Abraham of the Southern Methodist University Perkins School of Theology. Abraham, whose religious background is Irish Methodist and who is now a minister in the United Methodist Church and the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins, gave a presentation titled, “The Treasures and Trials of Eastern Orthodoxy.” Continue Reading...
July 11, 2013

How Community Can Save Conservatism

The right’s rhetoric is all about individual liberty, says Michael R. Strain, but love of fellow humans is essential to a functioning society — or policy. Many on the right correctly emphasize individual liberty, but they do not emphasize what conservatism knows to be true: It is in community that people learn how to be free. Continue Reading...
July 11, 2013

Global Economy Stinks: Is Anyone Paying Attention?

It’s no secret that the economy of the European Union is, ahem, struggling. But Vikas Bajaj says the global economy is worse than anyone seems to want to acknowledge: In a new report released on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund says that China, India, Brazil, Mexico and other developing countries are growing more slowly than previously thought. Continue Reading...
July 10, 2013

Made to Give and to Receive

In this week’s commentary, “Made to Trade,” I explore the natural dispositions that human beings have to produce, exchange, consume, and distribute material goods. If you’ve ever noticed that a sandwich made by someone else tastes better than one you make yourself, you’ll know what I’m getting at: “Recognizing the satisfaction that comes from such a gift of service from another person illustrates an other-directed disposition that is a deep and constitutive part of human nature.” Continue Reading...