Religion & Liberty Online Archives

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December 20, 2010

Ecumenical-Industrial Complex at Work?

I assert the existence of the “ecumenical-industrial complex” in my book Ecumenical Babel. On that point, this bears watching: “Ecumenical news agency suspended, editors removed.” From the piece: Earlier this year the WCC, which has been ENI’s main funder and in whose headquarters the agency was based, said it was reducing its financial support for 2011 by over 50 percent. Continue Reading...
December 18, 2010

Colson: Our Work Matters to God

In this week’s “Two Minute Warning,” Chuck Colson shows that “work is something we are all called to do, using our gifts to God’s glory.” As a special offer this week, the Colson Center is giving away complimentary copies of Lester DeKoster’s little classic on this subject, Work: The Meaning of Your Life—A Christian Perspective from Christian’s Library Press. Continue Reading...
December 17, 2010

Addendum to Loss of Institutional Faith

Here’s a final and brief follow-up to the discussion about the loss of faith in institutions over recent decades. We might observe that the increase in charitable giving to religious organizations amidst declines in charitable giving overall might show that at least there is not a corresponding loss of faith by religious people in charitable institutions. Continue Reading...
December 16, 2010

Loss of Institutional Faith

In this week’s commentary I say that part of the reason less money is being given to local churches is that it is reflective of a broader trend of distrust towards institutions. Continue Reading...
December 15, 2010

Why the Nativity?

  Increasingly the Nativity tends to be associated with the political, as the crèche and other overtly religious symbols are banished from the public square by public pressure or the courts. Continue Reading...
December 15, 2010

In the ‘pressure cooker’

Video: Hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police across central Athens on Wednesday, smashing cars and hurling gasoline bombs during a nationwide labour protest against the government’s latest austerity measures. The former Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis was attacked by protesters outside a luxury hotel. Continue Reading...
December 13, 2010

Re: The Politics of Hunger

Jordan’s post on hunger raises a timely question, on a day when First Lady Michelle Obama was on hand to watch the president sign the $4.5 billion “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” at a Washington elementary school. Continue Reading...
December 13, 2010

Samuel Gregg: Socialism and Solidarity

On Public Discourse, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg observes in a new piece that “while moral beliefs have an important impact upon economic life, the manner in which they are given institutional expression also matters. Continue Reading...
December 13, 2010

The Politics of Hunger

In an otherwise fine piece focusing on innovative techniques used by food banks to increase efficiency, while at the same time improving service and the recognition of the dignity of those they serve, Bread for the World president David Beckmann uses the opportunity to throw a dose of pessimism into the mix. Continue Reading...