Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Protestant Reformation'

April 27, 2022

John Calvin and God’s civil government

John Calvin (1509–1564) was a towering figure of the Protestant Reformation. The author of the magisterial Institutes of the Christian Religion, published in numerous editions between 1536 and 1559, Calvin was a second-generation Reformer. Continue Reading...
August 30, 2016

Berman on Law and Economics

In his magisterial Law and Revolution, Berman includes these incisive observations in his conclusion: Law is as much a part of the mode of production of a society as farmland or machinery; the farmland or machinery is nothing unless it operates, and law is an integral part of its operation. Continue Reading...
August 28, 2014

The Accra Confession after Ten Years

The Accra Confession, a document arising out of the Reformed ecumenical movement, was promulgated ten years ago. At the time, Rev. Jerry Zandstra and I wrote with some rather harsh criticisms of the document. Continue Reading...
July 14, 2014

Power and the Evacuated Middle

Earlier this Spring at The Gospel Coalition I reviewed Moisés Naím’s The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being in Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be. Continue Reading...
October 31, 2012

Always Reforming, Without Tarrying

Today is Reformation Day, and I wanted to pass along a quote that I have found to embody a valuable perspective about the imperative to always be seeking reform of one’s own life and manners, without needing to tarry for broader social or political change. Continue Reading...
May 17, 2012

A Minority Part of the Conversation

As part of his final address to the participants in the law and religion symposium last week, Rik Torfs, a Belgian senator and head of the faculty of canon law at KU Leuven, observed that some of the great things in public discourse occur in the context of vociferous initial backlash. Continue Reading...
April 12, 2012

Religion & Liberty: An Interview with Herman Selderhuis

2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. For the Winter 2012 Religion & Liberty issue, now available online, we interviewed Reformation scholar Herman Selderhuis. Refo500, under the direction of Selderhuis, wants to help people understand the meaning and lasting significance of the Reformation. Continue Reading...