Year: 2013

April 29, 2013

Neuhaus’ Law and Religious Liberty

In the latest issue of Renewing Minds, a journal of Christian thought published by Union University, I examine two different visions of religious liberty. They are roughly analogous to the two versions of the “empty shrines” of secularism described by Michael Novak and George Weigel, respectively, as well as to the visions of the American and the French Revolution. Continue Reading...
April 29, 2013

Farm Loans and the ‘Floodgates to Fraud’

“Anytime you are going to throw money up in the air,” says Abraham Carpenter Jr., a farmer in Grady, Arkansas, “you are going to have people acting crazy.” Although “throwing money up in the air” is increasingly one of the main functions of the federal government, Mr. Continue Reading...
April 26, 2013

Virtue Matters More Than Money

There is such powerful interest in sports being a way out of poverty for many low-income males, especially black males, that we tend to forget about other things, like wisdom, that contribute to success. Continue Reading...
April 26, 2013

Is Higher Education a Sinking Ship?

A recent CNBC article by Mark Koba notes the bleak outlook for 2013 college grads looking for work: A survey released last week from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported that businesses plan to hire only 2.1 percent more college graduates from the class of 2013 than they did from the class of 2012. Continue Reading...
April 26, 2013

Buying Our Way Out of Crime Will Not Work

Americans continue to be fed the false narrative that poverty causes crime rates to rise. While it is true that not having material needs met makes people vulnerable to do things like steal—even the Bible teaches that (Proverbs 30:8-9)—the ongoing reduction of morality and materiality is doing nothing but setting the stage for the failure of well-intended programs because we are missing core moral issues. Continue Reading...
April 24, 2013

Why Christians Should Care About Government Waste

If I grill a Porterhouse steak for dinner, eat half and then throw away the other half, I’m being wasteful but not necessarily immoral. But if I grill a steak and then, instead of eating it, throw it all in the garbage disposal, my wastefulness is morally problematic. Continue Reading...