Rev. Ben Johnson is Executive Editor of the Acton Institute's flagship journal Religion & Liberty and edits its transatlantic website.
Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson
June 12, 2020
Orthodox Christians cannot participate in riots, revolutionary movements, or violent protests in the name of “justice,” according to a statement from an archbishop. Instead, they should promote “civil evolution” through a commitment to personal virtue—financed by private philanthropy and church charity for the poor.
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June 11, 2020
As riots broke out nationwide over the death of George Floyd, his family valiantly tried to reason with the mob.
Once again, the authorities should have listened to Floyd’s pleas.
“If his own family and blood are trying to deal with it and be positive about it, and go another route to seek justice, then why are you out here tearing up your community?”
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June 09, 2020
The cost of the nine days of rioting following George Floyd’s death has already exceeded $100 million. Yet some economists believe that damage actually benefits our country.
In the epicenter of the riots, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has appealed to the federal and state governments to foot the bill for the destruction, which stands at a preliminary estimate of $55 million.
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June 05, 2020
As U.S. cities seek to rebuild from chaos, Hong Kong continues to resist the imposition of order—a draconian order emanating from Beijing that will crush freedom of thought and expression. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has intervened with an historic proposal: He would allow nearly half the citizens of Hong Kong to immigrate to the UK.
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June 03, 2020
The nation has reached a baffling moment in our history: looting and torching minority-owned businesses for racial equality. The weeklong pandemic of mob violence following the death of George Floyd has destroyed minority business owners’ dreams, denied young minorities jobs, and left neighborhoods depleted, depressed, and alone.
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May 29, 2020
China’s worsening human rights abuses instigated an historic change in U.S. foreign policy. Unfortunately, they have drawn a sharper rebuke from secular politicians than from many in the church.
On May 27, U.S.
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May 27, 2020
During the coronavirus pandemic, the media crowned a new set of heroes: healthcare workers, essential employees, and first responders. But politicians who classify church attendance as non-essential ignore the fact that churches “are the first of the first responders,” says Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev.
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May 22, 2020
One must praise conservative material that airs on PBS for the same reason one must take note of shooting stars: for the comparative rarity and brevity of the experience. Yet high praise is due to the taxpayer-funded network for airing the magisterial documentary
Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words on May 18.
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May 20, 2020
From the Enlightenment to the works of Jean-Paul Sartre and Jacques Derrida, the power of French ideas has radically altered the rest of the world. The Acton Institute has engaged France’s long history as a global thought leader in two new French-language articles, which discuss contemporary French influence on U.S.
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May 19, 2020
First Things magazine has transformed radically from the days that Rev. Richard John Neuhaus established it as the foremost magazine of Christian engagement with the public square. Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev.
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