Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'martin luther'

April 29, 2015

That Time Obama Quoted Luther

This is a post about that time that President Obama quoted Luther (Martin, the reformer, not the anger translator). Okay, maybe the President didn’t quote the monk with a mallet, but suspend your disbelief for a few more paragraphs at least. Continue Reading...
October 01, 2014

You Are in the Image of God

The theme for this week’s Acton Commentary, “The Image of God and You,” struck me while I was rocking my baby son in the early morning hours. In the dim light he reached up and gently touched my face, and it occurred to me how parents are so prone to see the image of God in their children. Continue Reading...
October 31, 2013

Reformation and the Need for Truth

Martin Luther “did more than any single man to make modern history the development of revolution,” declared Lord Acton. (Lectures on Modern History) The Protestant Reformation profoundly changed the trajectory of Western Civilization. Continue Reading...
August 16, 2012

Germany’s Lutheran Economics

While the economy of America is influenced by old British economists like Smith and Keynes, Germans are still being influenced by an even older, homegrown economist: Martin Luther. Even today Germany, though religiously diverse and politically secular, defines itself and its mission through the writings and actions of the 16th century reformer, who left a succinct definition of Lutheran society in his treatise “The Freedom of a Christian,” which he summarized in two sentences: “A Christian is a perfectly free Lord of all, subject to none, and a Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all.” Continue Reading...
June 08, 2012

DCI John Luther: Secular Authority

An essay of mine on the wonderful and difficult BBC series “Luther” is up over at the Comment magazine website, “Get Your Hands Dirty: The Vocational Theology of Luther.” In this piece I reflect on DCI John Luther’s “overriding need to protect other people from injustice and harm, and even sometimes the consequences of their own sin and guilt,” and how that fits in with the Christian (and particularly Lutheran) doctrine of vocation. Continue Reading...
March 30, 2011

Acton Commentary: Debt and the Birth Dearth

In today’s Acton Commentary, “Debt and the Birth Dearth,” I examine the interrelationship between demographics, economics, and morality, especially within the context of America’s current public debt crisis. I conclude by pointing to the spiritual nature of our “debts”: Jesus taught Christians to pray, “Forgive us our debts.” Continue Reading...