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

May 11, 2005

NYT freak show

A New York Times editorial today argues that spreading concerns about the ethical validity of chimeras (human-animal hybrids) are unfounded. Here is a summary of the argument: 1) Strange and disturbing possibilities are more like science-fiction than real science. Continue Reading...
May 10, 2005

‘Kyoto is Doomed’

Iain Murray at Tech Central Station writes that the EU is going to have a lot of trouble meeting its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, and this could have disastrous economic effects. Continue Reading...
May 10, 2005

The flawed fast food tax

Fast Food Tax Redux As I alerted you to more than three weeks ago, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has proposed a 2% tax on fast food restaurants, in a vain attempt to cover the city’s fiscal woes. Continue Reading...
May 10, 2005

Liberty and license

Max Blumenthal over at Arianna Huffington’s overhyped new blog, “The Huffington Post,” concludes that “the struggle for America’s future is not a conflict between political parties, but between two ideologies. One values individual freedom, the other, clerical authoritarianism. Continue Reading...
May 09, 2005

A rising tide lifts all boats

This BBC Newshour story (RealAudio) following on the first Rolls-Royce automobile purchased in India in fifty years contains some interesting analysis about the state of the Indian economy. Citing the liberalization of the economy beginning in 1991, Indian diplomat Pavan Varma states that “the number of people below the poverty line have been reduced fairly dramatically.” Continue Reading...
May 09, 2005

‘No Sense of Urgency’

The official in charge of governmental relief funds in Indonesia is “shocked” at the lack of reconstruction progress in the Aceh province, fully five months after the Indian Ocean tsunami. BBC News reports that Kuntoro Mangkusubroto primarily blames bureaucratic wrangling for the delays. Continue Reading...
May 09, 2005

Prayer for commerce and industry

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ in his earthly life shared our toil and hallowed our labor: Be present with your people where they work; make those who carry on the industries and commerce of this land responsive to your will; and give to us all a pride in what we do, and a just return for our labor; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Continue Reading...
May 06, 2005

Air getting cleaner

And that’s apparently a bad thing: “Researchers say that more solar energy arriving on the ground will also make the surface warmer, and this may add to the problems of global warming.” Continue Reading...
May 06, 2005

Business & theological education

Christian Post columnist R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, compares business schools and theological seminaries, which are both “tempted to redefine their mission in strictly academic terms.” Continue Reading...
May 05, 2005

(In)Direct aid

An editorial in today’s New York Times attests to the severely myopic lens through which the editorial board views the world. In “A Better Way to Fight Poverty,” the editorial effusively praises a United Nations program for its work in showing how “direct aid can largely bypass governments, getting money and help straight into the hands of the people who not only need it the most, but also know what to do with it.” Continue Reading...