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

April 26, 2012

Politics, Ideology, and the Gospel

Earlier this week the Christian Post published an article with some statements from me about evangelical (and more broadly Christian) debates about the federal budget proposals. In the piece, “Evangelical Christians Agree, Disagree on Budget Priorities,” I said that The Church, the Christian faith, is not to identify with a single political order, or structure, party or platform. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2012

Colson on Common Grace

On of Chuck Colson’s heroes was Abraham Kuyper, and when we set out to publish a translation of Kuyper’s three volumes on the topic of common grace, Chuck was happy to support the project. Continue Reading...
April 18, 2012

Acton Commentary: Bread First, Then Ethics

My ongoing reflection on the Hunger Games trilogy from Suzanne Collins continues with today’s Acton Commentary, “Bread First, Then Ethics.” This piece serves as a sort of follow-up to an earlier commentary, “Secular Scapegoats and ‘The Hunger Games,'” as well as an essay over at First Things I wrote with Todd Steen, “Hope in the Hunger Games.” Continue Reading...
April 17, 2012

Profits, Service, and Tax Day

“When conducting Business as Mission, the primary purpose has to be to expand the Kingdom of God,” said Joseph Vijayam, founder and managing director of Olive Technology, a Colorado Springs-based information technology services provider. Continue Reading...
April 16, 2012

Continuing to Remember the Poor

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. Galatians 2:10 NIV This video is part of an extended interview with Rev. Continue Reading...
April 13, 2012

Cursed Economics: Unlimited Desires, Limited Resources

I had the privilege of giving the opening lecture last night for the “Limited Government and the Rule of Law” conference taking place here in Grand Rapids this weekend. The talk was on “Christian Origins of Limited Government,” and was followed by an excellent Q&A session. Continue Reading...
April 05, 2012

Who Keeps the Keepers?

Sam Gregg’s response to President Obama’s latest invocation of the “my brother’s keeper” motif brings out one of the basic problems with applying this biblical question to public policy. As Gregg points out, the logic of the president’s usage points to the government as the institution of brotherly love: But who is the “I” that President Obama has in mind? Continue Reading...
April 04, 2012

Events of Note Next Week

Here are some events worth noting next week: On Wednesday, April 11, Victor Claar will join us for an Acton on Tap. Victor Claar is a professor of economics at Henderson State University in Arkansas, and previously taught for a number of years at Hope College. Continue Reading...
March 29, 2012

The Reformed Journal and the Grand Rapids Intellectuals

The fine folks at Cardus, the noteworthy thinktank north of the border, have posted a review of The Best of the Reformed Journal. John Schmalzbauer, who teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Missouri State University where he holds the Blanche Gorman Strong Chair in Protestant Studies, concludes about the situation sixty years after the founding of the Reformed Journal: Though the surnames remain the same, American politics has changed. Continue Reading...