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

August 18, 2005

The violence virus

News from Los Angeles: Two homeless men were attacked with baseball bats and one of them critically injured, allegedly by teens inspired by videos of homeless people brawling that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies over the Internet. Continue Reading...
August 18, 2005

Bandaging the victims

Zimbabwe churches form body to help demolition victims Harare (ENI). Church groups in Zimbabwe have formed a coalition to help victims of a clean-up drive that left hundreds of thousands homeless and drew condemnation from the United Nations and international aid organizations. Continue Reading...
August 18, 2005

Water is thicker than blood

In the current edition of The Weekly Messenger (no longer active), John H. Armstrong examines the role of pastor in the Protestant church. In “Getting the Role of Pastor Right Again,” he writes, For a long time I have had serious doubts about many of the models of pastoral ministry used and promoted in the West. Continue Reading...
August 17, 2005

‘Making Development Work’

A wide ranging piece in Policy Review by Robert W. Han and Paul C. Tetlock examines current aid practices, suggests the implementation of “information markets,” and looks at how such markets might impact current policy analyses like the Copenhagen Consensus and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Continue Reading...
August 16, 2005

Church and governance in Nigeria

A promising brief recognizing the critical role of civil society in Nigeria, and especially that the Christian church, from Ecumenical News International: Nigerian president urges African churches: Play part in governance Abuja (ENI). Continue Reading...
August 16, 2005

Fa(s)t food

There’s yet more evidence that supports my claim, “Besieged by the media and public opinion, quick-service restaurants have got the reputation for being unhealthy. But the truth of the matter is more complex. Continue Reading...
August 15, 2005

The idol of nationalism

What Amrith Lal calls patriotism in this piece from the Times of India is probably more accurately called nationalism, but the point is well-taken nonetheless. The brief essay begins: As practised in our times, it is religion at its worst. Continue Reading...
August 15, 2005

Debunking the preservationist myth

An article from Nature examines how even human activity as inherently destructive as military exercises can actually boost biodiversity. In “Military exercises ‘good for endangered species,'” Michael Hopkin writes of the results of a study conducted following US military exercises in Germany. Continue Reading...
August 15, 2005

A relevant essay

Given the discussion that’s been going on around the Acton site over the last week or so, I’m pointing out this timely piece (now archived) in yesterday’s St. Paul Pioneer Press, co-written by Todd Flanders, an Acton adjunct scholar and headmaster of Providence Academy. Continue Reading...
August 12, 2005

Gimme shelter

Check out this piece at Christianity Today about churches in Zimbabwe providing shelter to the poor who have been dispossessed by Pres. Mugabe’s “drive out trash” campaign: “One Christian worker who requested anonymity said, ‘In some parts of Harare, people have gone to spend the nights in their local churches. Continue Reading...