Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'christmas'

December 06, 2016

An economist’s Christmas: Is gift-giving wasteful?

During a season such as Christmas, where hyper-consumerism and hyper-generosity converge in strange and mysterious ways, it’s a question worth asking: How much of our gift-giving is inefficient and wasteful? For some, it’s a buzz-kill question worthy of Ebenezer Scrooge. Continue Reading...
December 23, 2015

5 Facts About Christmas

Christmas is the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world. Here are five factsyou should know about the annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus: 1. No one knows what day or month Jesus was born (though some scholars speculate that it was in September). Continue Reading...
December 11, 2015

The Joyful Seriousness of Christmas

As Christians living in a secular age, there’s a temptation to use Christmas as a wedge to wage epic new battles to restore Christendom. But despite the flurry of hackneyed “War on Christmas” tropes, there is, alas, something rather amiss. Continue Reading...
December 29, 2014

Nothing New ‘Underneath that Burning Sun’

Friedrich Hayek once called intellectuals “professional secondhand dealers in ideas.” And the Preacher proclaimed, “There is nothing new under the sun.” So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising when ideas, memes, and other cultural phenomena pop up again and again. Continue Reading...
December 24, 2014

Poverty Imagery and the ‘Christmas Song’

In last week’s Acton commentary, “The Worst Christmas Song Ever,” Jordan Ballor touched on the well-intentioned yet harmful message shared by “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” the 1984 song produced by the music group, Band Aid, in response to the famine that struck Ethiopia. Continue Reading...
December 23, 2014

Reflections on How We Approach God

We know how God approached mankind: the surprising incarnation as a baby at Christmas. But how ought we to approach Him? Here is a wide range of 14 ways we often try, along with a benefit for each: Love the right things and you will find your way home to God Think the right things and you will know the sovereign God Believe the right things and you will live at peace Obey, obey, obey and you will not go to hell Withdraw from the world and you will know God best Keep these sacraments and you will be part of the kingdom of God Feel the right things and you will be blessed in your spirit Follow these steps and you will prosper Serve the Lord your God by serving people and you will honor God Once you have suffered enough you will know God Meditation is the path to knowing God Go with the culture and God will go with you There is no God, but there ought to be one, so I’ll “believe” We are all God’s children so let’s be nice to everyone Continue Reading...