Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Religion/Belief'

January 02, 2015

Is Putin an Orthodox Jihadist?

What should Westerners make of Vladimir Putin? Some view the Russian president as a type of Western democratic politician while others think he is shaped by Chekism, the idea that the secret political police control (or should control) everything in society. Continue Reading...
December 31, 2014

The Year in Acton Commentary 2014

Every Wednesday we publish the Acton Commentary, a weekly article that covers topics related to Acton’s mission. As 2014 comes to a close I thought it would be worth highlighting the superb commentaries that have been produced by Acton Institute staffers over the past year. Continue Reading...
December 19, 2014

Fossil Fuels: The Cure for Poverty

U.S. households are projected to save an estimated average $550 on gasoline in 2015. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Short Term Energy Outlook, “The average household will spend about $1,962 on gasoline in 2015, the first time that average will have fallen below $2,000 in five years.” Continue Reading...
December 17, 2014

How Corrupt is Your State Government?

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. While it isn’t as endemic in the U.S. as it is in some countries (Somalia, North Korea, and Afghanistan being the most corrupt), the problem still exists. Continue Reading...
December 12, 2014

Hunter Baker on Kuyper and the Acton Institute

At The Gospel Coalition, Hunter Baker reviews Abraham Kuyper’s Scholarship: Two Convocations on University Life and highlights the significance of the Acton Institute: The Acton Institute does the kind of work that would have been almost unimaginable in a single organization two or three decades ago. Continue Reading...
December 10, 2014

Francis and the Idea of Christian Poverty

To provide a synthesis of Pope Francis’s thinking on the economy is both difficult and easy, says Oskari Juurikkala in this week’s Acton Commentary. “It is difficult, because he has never offered extensive and systematic reflections on such questions; his pronouncements are found here and there, inseparable from a broader moral and spiritual message.” Continue Reading...
December 10, 2014

Christmas and the Store

Today over at Think Christian I explore how Christmas relates to material goods, and specifically how we are to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33). Continue Reading...
December 09, 2014

Catholicism’s Latin American Problem

Those interested in reviving Catholicism’s saliency in everyday life in Latin America, says Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg, should consider how they can make Christ front-and-center of their social outreach: It’s hardly surprising that the election of Latin America’s Pope Francis has focused more attention on Latin American Catholicism since the debates about liberation theology which shook global Christianity in the 1970s and 1980s. Continue Reading...
December 01, 2014

Pope Francis On Human Dignity

Pope Francis spoke to members of the European Parliament on November 25. The focus of his speech was “dignity:” specifically the transcendent dignity of the human person. He reminded his audience that the protection of dignity was key to rebuilding Europe following World War II, but now, the pope says, ” there are still too many situations in which human beings are treated as objects whose conception, configuration and utility can be programmed, and who can then be discarded when no longer useful, due to weakness, illness or old age.” Continue Reading...