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February 01, 2007

Environmental indulgences

Among the immediate causes of the sixteenth-century split in Western Christianity was the sale of indulgences. The theological crudity of this abuse was encapsulated in the venality of Dominican friar Johannes Tetzel, whose activities in Wittenberg riled Martin Luther. Continue Reading...
February 01, 2007

T-U-R-T-L-E power

This might just be the best argument for increasing the minimum wage that I’ve heard yet: It’s just not fair that Michelle needs to go deep in hock to “feed her Ninja Turtle obsession,” is it? Continue Reading...
January 31, 2007

The Super Bowl and Christian freedom

This is, as millions already know, Super Bowl week. Nothing is hyped all across America quite like the Super Bowl. This game has reached amazing proportions when it comes to the viewing audience and massive commercialization. Continue Reading...
January 31, 2007

Material goods and “The Pursuit of Happyness”

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I review Will Smith’s latest movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, which stands as an extended argument underscoring the truth of conservative values. This may sound like an improbable anomaly given the traditional political, ethical, and social allegiances of Hollywood, but the power of the story lies in its basis in fact, the real-life story of Christopher Gardner. Continue Reading...
January 30, 2007

Faith and international development at Calvin College

Received an announcement today about this event to be held later this week, “Faith and International Development Conference,” at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., from February 1-3. Check out the list of sponsors at the bottom of the page, including: Bread for the World Micah Challenge Office of Social Justice and Hunger Action Just a hunch, but I wouldn’t expect a lot of market-friendly perspectives to be included. Continue Reading...
January 30, 2007

So .su me

“ICANN Reviews Revoking Outdated Suffixes” (HT: Slashdot). From the piece, “The Soviet Union’s ‘.su’ is the leading candidate for deletion.” A Google search turns up about 3 million sites with the .su Continue Reading...
January 29, 2007

Institute on religion and democracy

Several months ago I was invited to serve on the board of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD). Frankly, I was stunned by this invitation. I will attend my first meeting in Washington, DC, in a few months. Continue Reading...
January 29, 2007

How to do good well

The business of philanthropy education, teaching people how to give their money away, is a growth industry, according to Business Week (HT: The Wealth Report). It seems that wealthy kids often have trouble realizing and meeting their moral duties to be good stewards of their inheritance. Continue Reading...