Religion & Liberty: Being Good and Doing Well

September 20, 2006 • by Jonathan Spalink

Religion & Liberty: Being Good and Doing Well

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September 20, 2006

The Fleecing of America

NBC Nightly News has long had a special feature titled, “The Fleecing of America,” which investigates various instances wasteful spending by government officials. To get a visual clue about the massive size and diversity of the federal budget, check out “Death and Taxes”, the 2007 edition, “a representational graph of the federal discretionary budget. Continue Reading...
September 19, 2006

Mosquitos in Jesus Camp

Received some emails in the past week from the folks at Magnolia Pictures announcing the release of Jesus Camp, which they call a "new, controversial documentary." According to one mailer, "The film follows children at an Evangelical summer camp, as they hone their prophetic gifts and are schooled in how to take back America for Christ." Continue Reading...
September 19, 2006

The Evolution of Marketing

Last week, marketing guru Seth Godin quoted the 17th-century Spanish Jesuit Baltasar Gracián y Morales: Know how to sell your wares, Intrinsic quality isn’t enough. Not everyone bites at substance or looks for inner value. Continue Reading...
September 19, 2006

Jordan Ballor named to Relevant Nation

A big hat tip to Jordan Ballor, PowerBlog MVP and associate editor of Acton’s Journal of Markets & Morality, on his being named to Relevant Nation — a group of “50 Activist, Artists And Innovators Who Are Changing Their World Through Faith.” Continue Reading...
September 19, 2006

DDT Breakthrough at the WHO

Africans are hailing a major shift in policy at the World Health Organization: A recommendation for the limited, indoor use of DDT to control malaria. The fight against the disease, which is a leading cause of death in the developing world, has been hobbled by a long running campaign by environmentalists to ban the insecticide, a campaign that resulted in millions of needless deaths. Continue Reading...
September 19, 2006

Prohibition, Blue Laws, and the Primum Usus Legis

A paper recently published at the National Bureau of Economic Research calls into question some conventional economic wisdom about the effects of certain kinds of legislation. In “The Church vs the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?”, Continue Reading...
September 18, 2006

Cracking Down on Church Contributions

A week or so ago I passed along a story about the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York’s interpretation of recent legislation to make it illegal for those filing for bankruptcy to tithe, except under very specific circumstances (here’s a good follow-up story). Continue Reading...
September 15, 2006

Pascal and Climate Change

In today’s Times of London, taking a cue from Blaise Pascal (at least he thinks), Gerard Baker argues, “Unless the sceptics are really, really certain that we’re all going to be OK, we must act now.” Continue Reading...
September 15, 2006

The Political Economy of Fantasy Sports

Although it is played by about 15 million Americans and amounting to a $1.5 billion a year industry, and even though it is a growing business and worth talking about, this post is not about the real-world economics of fantasy sports. Continue Reading...