Jordan J. Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy at First Liberty Institute.

Posts by Jordan J. Ballor

December 27, 2005

Christians and (movie) culture

The NYT’s John Leland has an excellent article on the engagement of culturally conservative Christians and popular movies. In “New Cultural Approach for Conservative Christians: Reviews, Not Protests,” (login required) Leland writes about the shift in attitude, from one of abstention and withdrawal to critical engagement. Continue Reading...
December 23, 2005

A Mideast Christian primer

Before we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ this weekend, take a moment to look at some information about the state of Christianity in the Middle East, the area containing the Lord’s birthplace in Bethlehem. Continue Reading...
December 23, 2005

Prayer of the Incarnation

O God, who didst wonderfully create, and yet more wonderfully restore, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, thy Son Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Continue Reading...
December 22, 2005

First Things on the square

First Things has a new blog feature, On the Square: Observations & Contentions. The posts appear on the front page of the website, but there is an archive here and an RSS feed here. Continue Reading...
December 21, 2005

Ethics & Economics reviews

The Acton Institute has placed three titles from the Lexington Books Studies in Ethics & Economics series, edited by Acton director of research Samuel Gregg. The first is Within the Market Strife: American Catholic Economic Thought from Rerum Novarum to Vatican II, by Acton research fellow Kevin Schmiesing. Continue Reading...
December 20, 2005

Perusing Peru

Fr. Philip De Vous, chaplain of Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, KY and an adjunct scholar of public policy at the Acton Institute, writes of a recent trip to see operations of the Doe Run Company in Lima, Peru. Continue Reading...
December 20, 2005

One more reason…

Here’s the best ad hominem (no pun intended) reason to deplore the creation of chimeras: Stalin, the self-proclaimed “Brilliant Genuis of Humanity,” wanted them. The Scotsman reports that “Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the creation of Planet of the Apes-style warriors by crossing humans with apes, according to recently uncovered secret documents.” Continue Reading...
December 20, 2005

The Coventry Carol

The Coventry Carol (Words Attributed to Robert Croo, 1534; English Melody, 1591). Click here for MIDI version (and sing along!) Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child, By by, lully lullay. Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child, By by, lully lullay. Continue Reading...
December 20, 2005

A Stark contrast

Kishore has helpfully pointed out the discussions going on elsewhere about Rodney Stark’s piece and the related NYT David Brook’s op-ed. He derides some of the commenters for their lack of economic understanding, but I’d like to applaud one commenter’s post. Continue Reading...
December 19, 2005

Public v. private services

Fast Company Now is reporting that “for the first time, customer satisfaction with federal agency Websites has surpassed offline government services,” according to an American Customer Satisfaction Index report. What is especially noteworthy, however, is that online private sector services consistently rank higher in satisfaction than their governmental counterparts. Continue Reading...