Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

A Case against Chimeras: Part V

Our week-long series concludes with a reflection on the implications of the great biblical theme of the consummation of creation into the new heavens and the new earth. Consummation – Revelation 22:1–5 To the extent that we are able in this life, Christians are called to the path of holiness. Continue Reading...

A Case against Chimeras: Part IV

The penultimate installment of the series on the biblical/theological case against chimeras focuses on the impact and significance of redemption. Redemption – Romans 8:18–27 Flowing out of our discussion on creation and fall, it is the recognition that there still are limits on human activity with regard to animals that is most important for us in this discussion. Continue Reading...

A Case against Chimeras: Part III

Part III of our series focuses on the human fall into sin and the disastrous consequences that follow from it. Fall – Genesis 9:1–7 The harmonious picture of the created order is quickly marred, however, by the fall of human beings. Continue Reading...

A Change of Climate at The Economist

At the request of Andy Crouch, who is among other things editorial director for The Christian Vision Project at Christianity Today, I have taken a look at the editorial from The Economist’s special issue from Sept. Continue Reading...

A Case against Chimeras: Part II

Part II of our week-long series on the ethics of chimeras begins with an examination of the creation account in the book of Genesis. Creation – Genesis 1:26–30 The creation account in Genesis provides us with essential insights into the nature of the created world, from rocks and trees to birds and bees. Continue Reading...

Becker and Posner on DDT

This week, University of Chicago faculty members Richard A. Posner and Gary S. Becker discuss and debate the relationship between DDT and the fight against malaria on their blog. As a self-proclaimed “strong environmentalist” who supports “the ban on using DDT as a herbicide,” Posner writes first about the contemporary decline in genetic diversity due in large part to the rate of species extinction. Continue Reading...

A Case against Chimeras: Part I

This week will feature a five part series, with one installment per day, putting forth my presentation of a biblical-theological case against the creation of certain kinds of chimeras, or human-animal hybrids. Continue Reading...

Conference on Christianity and the Environment

Courtesy of today’s ZondervanTo The Point comes this announcement, replete with extensive related links: The MacLaurin Institute is sponsoring a conference at the University of Minnesota through tomorrow exploring what it means for people to demonstrate a Christian perspective as they live their lives at the interfaces of three “worlds” — natural, engineered, and human. Continue Reading...

Tithe and Tithe Again

In a way, the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford recognizes a fact that Ron Sider has written on and I have thought about for a long time. In “A New Take on Tithing,” Claude Rosenberg & Tim Stone write: Too often, individuals make decisions about how much money to donate to charitable causes on an ad hoc basis. Continue Reading...

Prohibition, Blue Laws, and the Primum Usus Legis

A paper recently published at the National Bureau of Economic Research calls into question some conventional economic wisdom about the effects of certain kinds of legislation. In “The Church vs the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?”, Continue Reading...