Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'theology'

April 22, 2013

Christian Scholarship and the Crisis of the University

This past weekend, I had the privilege to attend and present a paper at the 2013 Kuyper Center for Public Theology conference at Princeton Seminary. The conference was on the subject of “Church and Academy” and focused not only on the relationship between the institutions of the Church and the university, but also on questions such as whether theology still has a place in the academy and what place that might be. Continue Reading...
February 25, 2013

PovertyCure: Lasting Solutions to Poverty

PovertyCure was featured in Forbes Magazine last week. Alex Chafuen, one of Acton’s founding board members, featured PovertyCure in his article on champions of innovation. He writes: A new multifaceted initiative, called PovertyCure, provides abundant materials and resources for those who want to create lasting solutions to poverty. Continue Reading...
February 19, 2013

From the Roots of Society to the Fruits of Discipleship

I recently wrote about the need to reach beyond an earthbound economics, re-orienting our thinking around a more transcendent framework that requires active spiritual engagement and discernment. Even as Christians, far too often we set our focus too strongly on temporal features like material needs, happiness, and quality of life—all of which come into play accordingly—without first concerning ourselves with what God is actually calling us to do as individuals. Continue Reading...
January 29, 2013

The Art of Restoration: Repairing the Breach in Detroit

Last week, Barrett Clark summarized some key insights shared at the recent Common Good RVA event in Richmond, Virginia. The event was part of Christianity Today’s This Is Our City project, which seeks to highlight how Christians are “using their gifts and energies in all sectors of public life—commerce, government, technology, the arts, media, and education—to bring systemic renewal to the cultural ‘upstream’ and to bless their neighbors in the process.” Continue Reading...
January 03, 2013

New on AU Online: Marketplace Theology

What is the role of the marketplace in the Kingdom of God and in the redemptive process of God’s mission? Join David Doty, Founder and Executive Director of Eden’s Bridge, for an AU Online lecture series to discuss those questions. Continue Reading...
December 10, 2012

Where Capitalism Ends, the Covenant Continues

As we reap the benefits of market exchange and observe the many achievements of free trade and globalization, it’s easy to give credit to the market itself, either ignoring or forgetting the supporting individuals, communities, and institutions who actively leveraged it for the common good. Continue Reading...
November 21, 2012

Acton Commentary: Sacrifice and Self-Interest

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I take a look at the relationship between sacrifice and self-interest. One of the common complaints against market economies is that they foster selfishness. But as Paul Heyne points out, it is crucially important to distinguish between self-interest and selfishness: “Many of the most eminent and sophisticated theorists in the economics profession make no effort to distinguish between self-interest and selfishness or between rational behavior and greedy behavior.” Continue Reading...