Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Technology

October 25, 2019

On being wrapped up in books

Last night I gave an address at The Grand Castle in Grandville, Michigan on the occasioning of its library opening. I spoke on the importance of books and libraries. As the Librarian and a Research Associate at the Acton Institute it is a topic of professional interest but is also an abiding private passion. Continue Reading...
September 27, 2019

St. Nikolai Velimirovic: How Christians should view technology

Like Americans today, St. Nikolai Velimirovic witnessed dizzying technological changes between his birth in 1881 and the day he died in 1956 in a rural Pennsylvanian monastery. The former bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who spent time in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, shared how Christians should view technology – something equally important in our day, as everyone from parents to legislators offers their own solutions. Continue Reading...
September 11, 2019

Can a big bad state deliver us from evil?

Thirty five years ago the American novelist Thomas Pynchon asked the question, “Is It O.K. To Be A Luddite?” The occasion was the then 25th anniversary of C.P. Snow’s Rede Lecture, “The Two Cultures of the Scientific Revolution,” which argued, way back in 1959, that our culture was increasingly polarized into “literary” and “scientific” factions unable to understand each other. Continue Reading...
May 29, 2019

Aldi and the virtues of ‘brutal efficiency’

In recent years, we’ve witnessed a food revolution of sorts, leading to expansive consumer choice and an increasing emphasis on healthy or specialty foods that are locally and ethically sourced. In turn, a flurry of grocery chains have capitalized on such trends, with some stuffing their aisles with countless brands as others focus on “socially conscious” goods at luxury prices. Continue Reading...
May 09, 2019

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: The battle for 5G

Referencing Newt Gingrich’s recent report regarding 5G technology, Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, commented this morning in Forbes on the technology and its relation to free markets. Chafuen argues that a new, less centralized approach to wireless networking would be a source of great benefit both for individual consumers and for the United States on the world stage. Continue Reading...