Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Religion/Belief'

July 19, 2013

Hobby Lobby Wins Significant Victory for Religious Freedom

According to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for-profit businesses won a significant victory for religious liberty today. A federal court granted Hobby Lobby a preliminary injunction against the HHS abortion-drug mandate, preventing the government from enforcing the mandate against the Christian company. Continue Reading...
July 17, 2013

‘Freedom … doesn’t just settle in your lap’

Dr. Ben Carson, the neurosurgeon who made a splash at the last Prayer Breakfast at the White House, will now be writing a weekly column at The Washington Post. Carson has retired from his position as head of pediatric surgery at John Hopkins Hospital, and is now interested in speaking out on issues affecting American life. Continue Reading...
July 17, 2013

God or Gov: Loving Father or Monster Tyrant?

Fr. Benjamin Sember, a Catholic priest, has written a superb piece on the dangers of making the government one’s God: When a society has made the decision to live without God, that society inevitably begins to rely on the Government to do everything that God used to do: to declare what is right and what is wrong, to protect the innocent and punish the guilty, divide the wheat from the chaff and throw the evildoers into maximum security prison, to protect and care for orphans and the widows, to give healing to the sick, and to guarantee stability, security, prosperity, and peace. Continue Reading...
July 16, 2013

The Roots of Enduring Cultural Change

Over at Christianity Today, Andy Crouch confronts modern society’s increasing skepticism toward institutional structures, arguing that without them, all of our striving toward cultural transformation is bound to falter: For cultural change to grow and persist, it has to be institutionalized, meaning it must become part of the fabric of human life through a set of learnable and repeatable patterns. Continue Reading...
July 16, 2013

The Tithe and Cheerful Giving

The folks at RELEVANT magazine wonder, “What would happen if the church tithed?” The piece explores in some depth the point that tithing is really about the radical call to Christian generosity, pointing to the biblical example of the Macedonian church: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Continue Reading...
July 15, 2013

The Middle Way of Work

Over at Think Christian, I reflect on an “authentically Christian” view of work, which takes into account its limitations, failings, and travails, as well as its promises, prospects, and providential foundations. Continue Reading...
July 12, 2013

Religious Tolerance, Cooperation And School Choice

President Barack Obama, during a recent trip to Northern Ireland, decried the segregation of denominational churches and schools: Issues like segregated schools and housing, lack of jobs and opportunity — symbols of history that are a source of pride for some and pain for others — these are not tangential to peace; they’re essential to it. Continue Reading...
July 12, 2013

Pelosi and the ‘Bible Folks’

According to Breitbart, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday was caught making claims about “Bible Folks” that weren’t exactly accurate: Pelosi told the assembled media: ‘The fact is that many Republicans in our country support comprehensive immigration reform.The Continue Reading...