Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Christian Social Thought

July 25, 2014

Wounding Work: Creative Service as Cross Bearing

In recent years, we’ve seen a renewed focus on the deeper value, meaning, and significance of our daily work, particularly across the realm of evangelicalism. Yet as easy as it may be for some to alter old attitudes and begin appreciating the gift of creative service, it can be extremely difficult for others — and often for good reason. Continue Reading...
July 23, 2014

Distinguishing Capitalism

Last month the New York Times hosted a discussion on the question, “Has Capitalism Become Incompatible With Christianity?” There’s lots to be said about the “Room for Debate” feature, including a note on the caption for the lead image in the introduction. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2014

Roadmap Out Of The Nihilistic Void

In a gutsy, thoughtful article at the American Thinker , Danusha V. Goska describes her intellectual journey from a family of card-carrying Communists to discovering she wanted to spend time with people “building, cultivating, and establishing, something that they loved.” Continue Reading...
July 15, 2014

Baptists and Wesleyans on Faith and Flourishing

In the latest issue of Faith and Economics, a bi-annual journal from the Association of Christian Economists, Dr. Robert Black reviews two of CLP’s four tradition-specific primers on faith, work, and economics: Chad Brand’s Flourishing Faith (from a Baptist perspective), and David Wright’s How God Makes the World a Better Place (from a Wesleyan perspective). Continue Reading...
July 10, 2014

Buying Babies: The Rise of Surrogacy In The U.S.

I’m sure Willie Nelson was not thinking about surrogacy issues when he wrote “If You’ve Got The Money, Honey,” but it’s applicable. $100,000? Check. 9 months? Check. If you’ve got the money honey I’ve got the time We’ll go honky tonkin’ and we’ll have a time We’ll have more fun baby all way down the line If you’ve got the money honey I’ve got the time While surrogacy is a huge industry in India, it’s becoming a growing business here in the U.S. Continue Reading...
July 08, 2014

Exile and Shalom

Christians are called to be in the world but not of it (John 17:14-15). But what does that mean for how we should live? At TGC Stephen J. Grabill, the director of programs and international at the Acton Institute, explains why living faithfully in exile and seeking the shalom of our cities are two big ideas that the church needs to embrace in order to recover a robust “in-but-not-of” theology of culture: God’s people have always been—and are now—living in a permanent state of “in between.” Continue Reading...
July 01, 2014

The Root of All Freedoms: Kuyper on Freedom of Conscience

The Obama administration’s HHS mandate has led to significant backlash among religious groups, each claiming that certain provisions violate their religious beliefs and freedom of conscience. Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling was a victory for such groups, but other disputes are well underway, with many more to come. Continue Reading...
June 30, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 12 of 12 — Beyond Marxism

[Part 1 is here.] That most colossal blunder of Marxist experiments, the Soviet Union, collapsed more than twenty years ago, and yet Marxist thinking still penetrates the warp and woof of contemporary culture, so much so that it’s easy even for avowedly anti-Marxist conservatives to think from within the box of Marxism when considering the problem of cultural decay. Continue Reading...