Rev. Ben Johnson is Senior Editor at the Acton Institute.
Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson
November 27, 2018
As satiated Americans gathered around their Thanksgiving tables to count their blessings, incensed protesters gathered in roadways and intersections across France to count the cost of Emmanuel Macron’s punishing gas taxes.
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November 21, 2018
As we gather around our Thanksgiving tables with our loved ones, we’re reminded of the imperative of gratitude. Counting our blessings is an integral part of the Christian life and increasingly recognized by science as having physical and psychological benefits.
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November 20, 2018
Theresa May has unveiled the withdrawal agreement she negotiated with the EU and, as of this writing, may survive opposition within her own party to see the deal voted on in Parliament.
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November 14, 2018
After much anticipation, Amazon announced yesterday that it will open its new headquarters, HQ2, in two locations: Queens, New York, and Crystal City, Virginia. It will also open a third “Operations Center of Excellence” in Nashville.
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November 13, 2018
Is participating in government a duty or a sin? When Christians have asked how they should engage the public square, Protestant leaders’ responses have run the gamut from complete separation (because “this world is not my home”) to the belief that government service is “the most sacred, and by far the most honorable, of all stations in mortal life.” How should Bible-believing Christians look at their competing views?
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November 08, 2018
Fr. Robert Sirico presented the Acton Institute’s 2018 Novak Award to Brazilian professor Lucas G. Freire on Monday, November 5. Freire’s acceptance speech offered reflections on the “idolatrous distortions” evidenced in modern public discourse by placing too much trust in the state, and too little faith in markets and individuals.
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November 05, 2018
Michael Rotondo rose to infamy earlier this year as the 30-year-old whose parents had to sue in order to evict him from their home. But across Europe, judges have ruled that parents must financially support their children well into their 30s, until they finish schooling – or until they find a job
in the same field as their sometimes-esoteric degrees.
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November 01, 2018
Of all the speeches at the Acton Institute’s 2018 annual dinner, perhaps the one that combined the greatest emotional impact and intellectual heft into the fewest minutes came from Margarita Mooney.
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October 31, 2018
Have you ever been disappointed by the candy you received from trick-or-treating? Not a sucker for jawbreakers? Think Smarties are dumb? Do Jolly Ranchers leave you sour? You now have two options: Either one will maximize your happiness and benefit others – one of them aiding soldiers overseas.
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October 30, 2018
Americans tend to see Sweden as a democratic socialist utopia, although the nation changed course decisively two decades ago. A White House report, “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism,” debunked the notion of enduring Nordic socialism, and now PBS has aired a documentary produced by a Swedish free-market leader intended to dispel popular American falsehoods about his home country.
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