Roots of compassion

March 17, 2006 • by Marc Vander Maas

Roots of compassion

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March 17, 2006

Faith and the founding fathers

This is an article worth reading by Steven Waldman in the Washington Monthly, “The Framers and the Faithful: How modern evangelicals are ignoring their own history.” The article examines the attitudes of many 18th century evangelicals toward government, and specifically with respect to a number of the founding fathers, including Jefferson, Madison, and Patrick Henry. Continue Reading...
March 17, 2006

The white man’s burden

William Easterly, professor of Economics at NYU, has written a new book challenging the prevailing development orthodoxy of increased aid and the “big push” to combat poverty in the Third World. Continue Reading...
March 17, 2006

Benefits of tort reform

A recent NBER working paper, “The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers’ Ultimate Losses,” argues that “The long run effects of reforms are greater than insurers’ expected effects, as five year developed losses and ten year developed losses are below the initially reported incurred losses for those years following reform measures.” Continue Reading...
March 16, 2006

Ethics and economics

Henry Stob, the longtime professor of philosophical and moral theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, authored a compendium of articles on various aspects of theological ethics in his 1978 book titled, Ethical Reflections: Essays on Moral Themes (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans). Continue Reading...
March 15, 2006

‘Solutions’

Go here for Acton’s new video, “Solutions,” which offers a real starting place for all of us who want to do something about poverty and hunger. Continue Reading...
March 15, 2006

A golden opportunity for ‘The Silver Ring Thing’

Touting the success of his faith-based initiative last week, President Bush noted that faith-based charities received more than $2 billion last year from the federal government. But even as Bush announced that the Department of Homeland Security would be the 11th agency to establish an office for the faith-based initiative, some groups are finding the money to be a mixed blessing. Continue Reading...
March 15, 2006

Among the little giants of effective compassion

Last Wednesday, I was privileged to attend the Samaritan Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. I have to say up front that Acton’s Effective Compassion events are probably the most enjoyable for me to attend because invariably one comes into contact with a group of very special, very dedicated people who are completely devoted to what our society would term “lost causes,” and having great success. Continue Reading...
March 15, 2006

Ides

A snippet from the upcoming Religion & Liberty: It is true that democracy is the best of the political systems, in that it guarantees, through universal suffrage, a peaceful changeover of power. Continue Reading...