Christmas and the Cross

December 29, 2008 • by Jordan J. Ballor

Christmas and the Cross

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December 26, 2008

Wilken on Islam

One of the most thought-provoking articles I’ve read lately is Robert Louis Wilken’s “Christianity Face to Face with Islam,” in the January 2009 issue of First Things. It’s accessible online only to subscribers, but you can find the publication at academic and high-quality municipal libraries and it will be freely available online in a month or two. Continue Reading...
December 26, 2008

(one reason) why more than abortion matters…

Among those on the so-called Religious Right, it is common to reduce political interests to “life” issues– most notably, abortion. But in recent months, in the midst of the financial crisis and an economic recession, I’ve gotten many letters and emails about fund-raising problems within Christian organizations. Continue Reading...
December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas everyone

I felt inspired by a fellow Hoosier’s blog post this morning. Doug Masson wrote: Merry Christmas everyone. Like I’ve said probably too many times, I’m not a religious guy. But, it’s tough to argue with the message — peace to everyone, love your family. Continue Reading...
December 25, 2008

Santa and the ultimate Fairy Tale

Of course, Santa is based on a historical character. And in many (but certainly not all!) ways, he points forward to Jesus Christ. But in a broader sense, God has created a mystical, mythical, and magical world– that can be overdone or mis-imagined. Continue Reading...
December 24, 2008

O Holy Night

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. Continue Reading...
December 24, 2008

Acton Commentary: Selfless Giving and Tempered Trading

In this season of giving, Kevin Schmiesing looks at another form of exchange — trade. He observes that ethical commercial activity “is not an exercise in selfishness, but the practice of properly ordered self-interest, which is of necessity tempered by the wants and needs of others.” Continue Reading...
December 23, 2008

Economic Justice for All Revisited

Catching up on “Revisiting the 1986 economic pastoral”, an article from October in the National Catholic Reporter: The bishops’ point “that Catholics’ moral life cannot be separated entirely from their economic life has relevance for what we’re going through now,” said Kevin Schmiesing, research fellow for the Acton Institute, a proponent of free markets. Continue Reading...
December 23, 2008

Soul Searching at Yeshiva U.

In “Betrayed by Madoff, Yeshiva U. Adds a Lesson,” the New York Times interviews students and teachers at the New York University which was closely linked to Bernard Madoff, the financier who has been charged by federal prosecutors with orchestrating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme fraud. Continue Reading...
December 23, 2008

The Naughty List

You can view the most recent list of those companies that have received bailout assistance from the federal government via the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), executed through measures like the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), here (PDF updated 12/16/08). Continue Reading...