The final issue of Religion & Liberty for 2016 is now available online. It will explore a breadth and depth of topics, including the “ten dollar founding father,” why we need those dollars, the danger of a utopian dream and more.
For the main feature, Victor Claar interviews Vernon Smith, who won the Nobel Prize for economics in 2002. He describes the relationships among many things we might not think are connected, especially the interplay between economics, science and religion.
Bruce Edward Walker revisits the 1941 book Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler. He was intimately familiar with the lies and horrors of totalitarianism, as he faced political prison in Spain and a French concentration camp. Walker implores the current generation to read Koestler and reject the creeping norm of socialism.
Money matters, Dylan Pahman argues in a new essay. He comments on the frequently misquoted words of the Apostle Paul, who said, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…”
This issue’s “Double-Edged Sword” looks at Luke 2 and the story of a young Jesus staying at the temple while his family continued home.
Rev. Anthony Perkins wants to look objectively at and understand Ukraine. Between Russia’s active campaign to spin its history and the West’s own agenda, it’s a difficult thing to do. Perkins reviews Serhii Plokhy’s The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine and finds this to be a valuable tool in discovering the truth behind the propaganda.
Acton’s executive director, Kris Mauren, looks ahead to 2017. In the FAQ, he answers the question, “What can we expect from Acton in 2017?”
Though he died in 1804, 2016 may be the year of Alexander Hamilton. Thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway musical “Hamilton,” many people are learning the story of one of America’s most important founders. While there’s plenty of focus on the man, what about the woman who helped make him great? This issue’s “In the Liberal Tradition” looks at the life of America’s oldest Revolutionary War widow, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and her tireless work to help society’s most downtrodden.
To conclude, Rev. Robert Sirico reflects on economic freedom and the interest in socialism and communism by America’s young: “It’s as if we’re forced collectively to suffer the death of a great nation by a thousand cuts rendered by overweening regulations, taxation and government incursions enabled by a thinly veiled political hostility to religious faith.”
