Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, an initiative of the First Liberty Institute. He has previously held research positions at the Acton Institute and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and has authored multiple books, including a forthcoming introduction to the public theology of Abraham Kuyper. Working with Lexham Press, he served as a general editor for the 12 volume Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series, and his research can be found in publications including Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Religion, Scottish Journal of Theology, Reformation & Renaissance Review, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Faith & Economics, and Calvin Theological Journal. He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary and the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity & Politics at Calvin University.

Posts by Jordan J. Ballor

April 19, 2005

A dictatorship of relativism

An excerpt from Cardinal Ratzinger’s “Homily at the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff,” given yesterday: How many winds of doctrine we have known in these last decades, how many ideological currents, how many fashions of thought? Continue Reading...
April 19, 2005

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI

God and the World: A Conversation with Peter Seewald Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Ignatius Press, 2002 Comments by Dr. Samuel Gregg: As Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has demonstrated again and again that he is one of the world’s leading theologians. Continue Reading...
April 19, 2005

The Untouchable

Today marks the birthday of Eliot Ness, Prohibition Agent for the Department of Treasury-Chicago. Ness was made famous for bringing down Al Capone. The story was loosely portrayed in the movie The Untouchables, starring Kevin Costner as Ness. Continue Reading...
April 18, 2005

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

If looking for an exposition of the post hoc ergo propter hoc logical fallacy when applied to wealth and the size of government in the United States, you can find it in this speech, “The State Expands, and Weakens,” given by Llewellyn H. Continue Reading...
April 18, 2005

New government to form in Italy

Following the resignation of a number of ministers, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi “plans to resign to form a new government, bowing to an ally’s demands for change after losing 11 out of 13 regional elections two weeks ago,” according to a Bloomberg report. Continue Reading...
April 18, 2005

A second renaissance?

Sunday’s Independent has three pieces on the recent application of technological advances to ancient manuscripts, which are making readable previously illegible manuscripts. According to the paper, “infra-red technology has enabled hundreds of ancient Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems, composed by classical greats such as Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod, to be deciphered for the first time in 2,000 years.” Continue Reading...
April 15, 2005

Wholphin watch

Hot on the trail of chimeras as a service to you, dear reader, I pass along this story about the offspring of a dolphin and a whale. Apparently these so-called “wholphins” have been found in the wild. Continue Reading...
April 15, 2005

Would you like a tax with those fries?

On this date in 1955, Ray Kroc starts the McDonald’s chain of fast food restaurants in Illinois. On a related note, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is the latest political figure to float the idea of a “fast food tax,” the newest incarnation of the “sin” tax. Continue Reading...
April 15, 2005

Corruption roundup

1) According to the BBC, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, “The bulk of the money that Saddam [Hussein] made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food programme, and it was on the American and British watch”. Continue Reading...
April 14, 2005

Study of clerical careers

Courtesy of Pulpit & Pew comes Factors Shaping Clergy Careers: A Wakeup Call for Protestant Denominations and Pastors (PDF), by Patricia M. Y. Chang (HT: Mere Comments). This study is based on surveys conducted primarily with mainline Protestant denominations. Continue Reading...