Just in time for Christmas, Acton Media’s new documentary The Birth of Freedom is now available for purchase from the Acton Bookshoppe. Accompanied by a study guide which explores several core themes of the documentary, The Birth of Freedom tells the story of how modern understandings of individual liberty were developed and addresses the questions, “Why would anyone believe that all men are created equal? That all should be free? That all deserve a voice in choosing their leaders? Why would any nation consider this a self-evident truth?”

Order your copy, check out our popular Birth of Freedom short video series, learn how you can host a screening of your own, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

Acton Media’s latest Birth of Freedom short video is a timely message in the face of tomorrow’s election. In this video, William B. Allen, Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University, discusses how faith, “the most compelling part of one’s existence”, ought to fit in when evaluating a political candidate.


Check out more Birth of Freedom shorts, learn about premieres in your area, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

In this week’s Birth of Freedom short video Sam Gregg, author of On Ordered Liberty, discusses the views that two influential ancient philosophers held regarding human equality and the practice of slavery.


If you haven’t seen the other 7 video shorts, you can check out the rest of the series, learn about premieres in your area, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

This week’s Birth of Freedom Video Short features Susan Wise Bauer, author of The History of the Ancient World. She addresses the question, “How did Christian slave owners justify slavery?”, describing how slave owners operated under a false (prescriptive instead of descriptive) understanding of the New Testament’s teaching concerning slavery.



Remember, if you haven’t seen the other 7 video shorts, you can check out the rest of the series, learn about premieres in your area, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

Acton Media’s seventh Birth of Freedom short features Rodney Stark, author of The Victory of Reason. In the video, he discusses the question “Why didn’t China have an industrial revolution before the west?” Although evidence points to the beginnings of an agricultural and industrial revolution in the 10th century, the lack of protection for private property has been a disincentive for innovation and hard work.

Acton Media’s video shorts from The Birth of Freedom are designed to provide additional insight into key issues and ideas in the film. A new short is released each Monday. Check out the rest of the series, learn about premieres in your area, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

In the sixth Birth of Freedom video short, William B. Allen addresses the question, “What was Christianity’s Role in the rise of the idea of human equality?” In his discussion, which traces the Judeo-Christian origins of a “universal perspective,” he concludes that “what informs the spirit of Republicanism in the modern era, is this long development, this slow working-out of a specific revelation from God that leads human beings into the discovery of the fullness of their personality in the recognition of their universal status.”

Acton Media’s video shorts from The Birth of Freedom are designed to provide additional insight into key issues and ideas in the film. A new short is released each Monday. Check out the rest of the series, learn about premieres in your area, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

From Christian Newswire:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct. 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- The John Jay Institute, a para-academic leadership development center based in downtown Colorado Springs, is pleased to announce a partnership with the Acton Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, to premiere the historical documentary film, “The Birth of Freedom” in Colorado.

The screening will take place on Wednesday, November 5th at 7pm in the SaGaJi Theatre at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 West Dale Street in Colorado Springs. John Jay Institute President, Alan Crippen, featured in the film, will moderate a panel discussion after the screening which will include the film’s producers and the president of the Acton Institute, Fr. Robert Sirico. The event will conclude with a dessert reception open to the public.

“We are pleased to partner with the Acton Institute to bring this outstanding documentary to Colorado,” stated John Jay Institute President, Alan R. Crippen, II, “We live in a time when millions around the world still long for liberty. This film explores the origins of what we in this country too often take for granted.”

For tickets to the event, visit the Birth of Freedom website, or contact Mandy Keeler at (800) 345-2286, mkeeler@acton.org.

John Jay Institute for Faith, Society and Law
601 North Tejon Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903
Office Telephone: 719-471-8900

In this week’s new Birth of Freedom short video, expert Robert P. George explains why it is impossible for secularism to function as a neutral ground for debate.

Acton Media’s video shorts from The Birth of Freedom are designed to provide additional insight into key issues and ideas in the film. A new short is released each Monday. Check out the rest of the series, learn about premieres in your area, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

“If medieval Europe was so great, why were most medievals poor?” This is something you might wonder after viewing Acton Media’s new documentary, The Birth of Freedom. However, in this new video short, expert Sam Gregg reminds viewers that in order to make meaningful comparisons regarding the living standards of peasants in Medieval Europe, we must be mindful of historical context and technological progress to that point.

Acton Media’s video shorts from The Birth of Freedom are designed to provide additional insight into key issues and ideas in the film. A new short is released each Monday. Check out the rest of the series, learn about premieres in your area, and discover more background information at www.thebirthoffreedom.com.

Last week I told PowerBlog readers that we were working on a special event for the upcoming GodblogCon 2008. We’re announcing here that we will be holding an exclusive premiere of Acton Media’s newest documentary, The Birth of Freedom, at GodblogCon 2008.

The film will be shown at the opening of the third day of the conference, on Sunday morning at 10:00am, September 21, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. We’re excited about this opportunity that is available to GodblogCon participants as well as to attendees of the BlogWorld & New Media Expo.

Earlier in the conference, Mark Joseph, a multi-media producer, columnist and author who blogs at the Huffington Post, will be discussing, “Godbloggers & Hollywood: The role of Godbloggers in the Entertainment Industry and Why They Should Care.” The exclusive premiere of The Birth of Freedom at GBC 2008 will provide a nice complement to Joseph’s talk, and introduce the Godblogging community to the vision of Acton Media.

You can view a trailer for the film below, and check out more details about upcoming premieres, as well as the ongoing Birth of Freedom Video Shorts series, at the film’s website.

If you have been considering coming to GodblogCon 2008 but haven’t yet registered, the opportunity to be among the first in the world to see The Birth of Freedom should be incentive enough to make the commitment to come, fellowship, and learn with others in the world of new media.