films

March 09, 2016

Working for Our Neighbor: A Lutheran Approach to Vocation and Economic Life

“If you are a manual laborer, you find that the Bible has been put into your workshop, into your hand, into your heart. It teaches and preaches how you should treat your neighbor.” Continue Reading...

December 18, 2015

The Economics of Bedford Falls (Part III)

[Note: This is the final post in a series highlighting some of the financial aspects and broad economic lessons of Frank Capra’s holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. You can find part one here and part two here.] Continue Reading...

November 25, 2015

Nature, Grace, and Thanksgiving

In this week’s Acton Commentary, “Cheap Grace and Gratitude,” I extend the notion of “cheap grace” beyond the realm of special or saving grace to the more mundane, general gifts of common grace. Continue Reading...

November 19, 2015

Ruggles in America: Charles Laughton Recites the Gettsyburg Address

Today marks the 152nd anniversary of the Gettsyburg Address, the speech given by Abraham Lincoln after the battle which left 7,000 American soldiers dead and 40,000 wounded. Given its power and permanence, it may seem strange to memorialize it by pointing to an obscure comedy film from the 1930s. Continue Reading...

July 29, 2014

Phantom Needs: Projecting Poverty Where It Doesn’t Exist

As we continue to encounter the adverse effects of certain forms of foreign aid and other misaligned efforts to alleviate poverty, it becomes increasingly clear that those in need require a level of care, concern, and discipleship not well suited to detached top-down “solutions.” Continue Reading...

June 08, 2012

DCI John Luther: Secular Authority

An essay of mine on the wonderful and difficult BBC series “Luther” is up over at the Comment magazine website, “Get Your Hands Dirty: The Vocational Theology of Luther.” In this piece I reflect on DCI John Luther’s “overriding need to protect other people from injustice and harm, and even sometimes the consequences of their own sin and guilt,” and how that fits in with the Christian (and particularly Lutheran) doctrine of vocation. Continue Reading...

July 22, 2011

Call of the Entrepreneur Showing on BIZ TV Tonight and Sunday

Acton is delighted to announce that BIZ TV will be presenting The Call of the Entrepreneur, Today, July 22 at 5:00 pm EST and Sunday, July 24 at 7:00 pm EST in the following cities: Los Angeles (KAZA, digital channel 47.3) Dallas (KAZD, 55.3) Houston (KYAZ, 51.3) Atlanta (WANN, 32.1) Wichita (51.3) Salt Lake City (20.2) Denver (28.5) The Call of the Entrepreneur (2007) tells the story of three entrepreneurs: a failing dairy farmer in rural Evart, Michigan; a merchant banker in New York City; and a refugee from Communist China. Continue Reading...

October 04, 2006

Hollywood’s Faith in the Family

S.T. Karnick, who also blogs at The Reform Club, has some pretty solid and informative musings on popular culture. One of his most recent gems comes along with the news that Fox has created a new religion and family friendly division for its movie studios, named FoxFaith. Continue Reading...