Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Christian Social Thought

June 11, 2013

Schmemann on Socialism

Man’s nature is to reject it, because it can only be thrust on people by force. The most fallen possession is closer to God’s design for man than malicious egalitarianism. Possession is what God gave me (which I usually (mis)use selfishly and sinfully), whereas equality is what government and society give me, and they give me something that does not belong to them. Continue Reading...
June 06, 2013

Libertarians in Black Cassocks

Jordan Ballor wrote a provocative post about fusionism today, titled “Libertarians in Black,” modifying Jonah Goldberg’s suggestion that there should always be a libertarian in the room during political discussions with a little help from Johnny Cash: I think we might be able to bring Jonah Goldberg and Johnny Cash together on this point, to say that there always ought to be a “libertarian in black” in the room, asking the right questions about what government policies do for the people, particularly the poor. Continue Reading...
June 05, 2013

Samuel Gregg: Pope Francis And The True Meaning Of Poverty

Pope Francis has made interesting comments on poverty, some of which have been misconstrued by the media and in the Church itself. Samuel Gregg, Director of Research for the Acton Institute, discusses both the meaning of poverty within Church teaching and what Pope Francis is truly referring to when he addresses poverty in our world today. Continue Reading...
May 31, 2013

Interview: Conversations on Orthodoxy

Back in January, I was interviewed for the podcast Conversations On Orthodoxy. After some wonderful editing, the interview has recently been posted. In particular, the focus of the interview is mostly on how I went from an American Evangelical upbringing to becoming a convert to the Orthodox Church. Continue Reading...
May 30, 2013

Augustine, Aquinas, and Fusionism

As I noted previously, I’ve been involved this month in a panel discussion over at Cato Unbound on the issue of “Conservative-Libertarian Fusionism.” My two most recent contributions to the discussion phase focus on possible resources for the question that can be gleaned from Augustine and Aquinas. Continue Reading...