Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Religion/Belief'

October 31, 2014

How to Be a Better Guesstimater

Is the murder rate in the U.S. increasing or decreasing? What percentage of teen girls will give birth this year? What percentage of Americans are Christian or Muslim? What percentage are immigrants? Continue Reading...
September 09, 2014

Radio Free Acton: Os Guinness on Our Augustinian Moment

As we head into the fall of 2014, the world seems to be a very dark and uncertain place for those who practice the Christian faith. Between the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria (and the resulting slaughter and displacement of Christians in the middle east) and the seemingly relentless advance of secularism and rejection of traditional Christian values in the West, many Christians are wondering how Christianity can survive and advance in our modern world. Continue Reading...
September 09, 2014

Are Christians In Ministry The Only ‘Real’ Christians?

I’ve been following an interesting discussion at NRT, a Christian music website, regarding whether an artist is “really” Christian or not. NRT, on its Facebook page, had announced that singer Audrey Assad, known for her hauntingly beautiful Christian music, had made the decision to go mainstream. Continue Reading...
September 08, 2014

The Dangers of Sentimental Humanitarianism

Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg, recently wrote about ‘Our Sentimental Humanitarian Age’ at the American Spectator. He argues that “soft liberalism is incapable of confronting the evil in man.” Sometimes, however, an event occurs that highlights the more fundamental crises that bedevil a civilization. Continue Reading...
September 03, 2014

Should Prisons Be Purgatorial?

“If Christians cannot help prisoners find meaning behind bars,” wonders Stephen H. Webb, “how can they expect the Gospel to find an audience among those never convicted of a crime?” At First Things, Webb argues that revival of Christianity will only come when we reform America’s prisons: Prisoners are test cases of how Christians deal with sinners in extremis. Continue Reading...
September 03, 2014

Why We Need To Get ‘Community’ Right

What is a “community?” What are the boundaries of a community or organization? And – most important – why is community important? Andy Crouch, writer, musician and Acton University plenary speaker, says we need to ask and answer these questions. Continue Reading...
September 02, 2014

The Complicity of Silence

A second reporter has been killed by ISIS, Steven Sotloff. Women are being sold off as “brides.” Teen girls are raped repeatedly. Thousands are murdered. There are plenty of news reports, but in some quarters, the silence is deafening. Continue Reading...
August 29, 2014

Social Ethics in a Season of Suffering

In a review by Micah Watson of Get Your Hands Dirty: Essays on Christian Social Thought (and Action) earlier this year at The Gospel Coalition, Watson described the book as “akin to a social event with heavy hors d’oevres served throughout the evening.” 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...