Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Christian Social Thought

September 27, 2013

Presuppositions Matter, So Let’s Work Together

It is truly amazing to encounter Protestants who believe that their views on theology and justice are objective and neutral — as if the Fall did not happen. In a recent discussion about the sacraments, a leader of an international ministry said to me, “If hermeneutics involves being taught to believe a certain theology, then it is not true hermeneutics. Continue Reading...
September 26, 2013

How Christians Become Cultural Leaders

Christianity can and should be a leading influence in human culture, says Greg Forster. We do this not by seizing control of the institutions of culture but acting as cultural entrepreneurs — like the biblical figure Job: Before he was stricken, Job was a cultural leader. Continue Reading...
September 26, 2013

World Contraception Day: No Celebrating, Please

John Seager, president of Population Connection, has written an article at the Huffington Post regarding World Contraception Day. Entitled (and I don’t think he meant for this to be a non sequitur), “A World Without Contraception Is No Place For People,” Seager mournfully asks the reader to envision a world where there is no birth control because “right-wing anti-contraception crusaders” have gotten their way. Continue Reading...
September 25, 2013

Spiritual Capital and Social Justice

Today at Ethika Politika, I examine the connection between the spiritual practice of meditation — the Jesus Prayer in particular — and justice: If we take justice to mean “to render to each what is due,” we may have some understanding of how this relates. Continue Reading...
September 25, 2013

Sachs Misses The Civil Society Mark (Again)

Over at the New York Times, economist Jeffrey Sachs opines about the need for greater measures to “end poverty” in countries across the world where people are truly suffering. Using data from the World Bank, Sachs reports that the proportion of households in developing countries below the extreme-poverty line has declined sharply from 52 percent in 1980, to 43 percent in 1990, 34 percent in 1999, and 21 percent in 2010. Continue Reading...
September 24, 2013

Subsidiarity, Community and Moussaka

Greece is, economically, a mess. With a youth unemployment rate exceeding 65 percent, leaving two-thirds of the nation’s young people unable to find a job, there is not much to celebrate in a country where family life – like many cultures – revolves around meals. Continue Reading...
September 24, 2013

Samuel Gregg: The Jesuit, Pope Francis and The Poor

Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg, offers some fresh thoughts on Pope Francis today at Crisis Magazine. Gregg points out that there has been much talk about “poverty” and the “poor” since the election of Pope Francis, but that this is nothing new in the Catholic Church. Continue Reading...