Celebrating the Things of the Spirit: Coolidge on the Declaration of Independence

July 3, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde Each Independence Day, I make a point of re-reading President Calvin Coolidge’s speech given on the 150th anniversary Declaration of Independence, and I’d encourage you to do the same. Coolidge had a deep understanding of American history, and after contemplating what led the founders to write what they wrote, and what inclined Americans to follow their lead, he ultimately concludes that it was their spiritual inclinations, and the moral and spiritual orientation of the American people, that played the most important role: Our... Read more

Living Out Creative Service

June 29, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Evan Koons I overheard a story recently at Acton University (a 4-day conference from Acton Institute that offers a smorgasbord of courses, seminars, and chats about economics, philosophy and human dignity…it’s awesome and you should check it out) and I have to share it. It’s about one particular woman’s courage to live a life of creative service, and the presence of For the Life of the World and specifically Episode 3: Creative Service that helped spur her on. I share it as a reminder to LIVE OUT the... Read more

For This Car Wash, Autism is a ‘Key Competitive Advantage’

June 24, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde “We view autism as one of our key competitive advantages,” says Tom D’Eri of Rising Tide Car Wash in Parkland, Florida, which employs 43 employees, 35 of which are on the autism spectrum. “Our employees follow processes, they’re really excited to be here, [and] they have a great eye for detail.” Hear more of their story here: Among adults with autism, the unemployment rate is around 90%, and yet, if you were to ask D’Eri, whose brother has... Read more

Why the Price System is One of God’s Artworks

June 23, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joe Carter At an auction in 2007 Andreas Gursky turned 99 cents into $3.34 million. Well, sort of. Perhaps it’d be more accurate to say he turned 99 Cent II Diptychon, a photograph depicting an interior of a supermarket, into a few million. At the time this was the most expensive photograph in the world: Even more amazing is that this was the third print of the same image that had sold for millions. Two others sold in 2006, one for $2.25 million... Read more

Have Christian Female Entrepreneurs Changed The World?

June 16, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Elise Hilton Christina M. Weber thinks so. She says that Christian women have been trail-blazers in showing us how to balance family life, work and worship. In the 20th century, Weber says that political ideologies tried to break down family life. Marxists and communists promoted disconnection between children and their parents with incompatible work schedules. They also destabilized marriages with the encouragement of promiscuity and lust. The agenda—dependence on the state above family and God — fueled the economic... Read more

How an Ex-Convict Learned to Worship Through His Work

June 16, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde Alfonso was looking for a “fast life,” and as a result, he got mixed up in illegal drugs and landed in prison. For many, that kind of thing might signal the beginning of a pattern or slowly define and distort one’s identity or destiny. But for Alfonso, it was a wake-up call. While in prison, he began to realize who he really was, and more importantly, whose he really was. He began to understand that God created him to be a gift-giver, and... Read more

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

June 16, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Evan Koons So, while I was out making gratuitous things (there’s this new project I’m working on), Dwight Gibson called. He left me a message about strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, and what that means in the presence of doubt, fear, and anxiety. Give it a listen. In the meantime, I should probably call him back. Also, here’s a pretty moving rendition of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” to meditate on. The song starts at 1:00. Originally... Read more

Spiritual Competition and the Zero-Sum Game

June 15, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Jordan Ballor One of the main criticisms of the market economy leveled by people of faith is that the market thrives on competition, incentivizing the voracious and oppositional features of human existence. Walter Rauschenbusch captured this concern in his classic exposition of what he called “the law of tooth and nail” in Christianizing the Social Order (1912). “The moral instinct of men has always condemned competitive selfishness,” he wrote, “just as it has always admired the moral beauty of teamwork.” The... Read more

Mike Rowe and The ‘Propaganda’ of Work

June 11, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Elise Hilton Mike Rowe, the “Dirty Jobs” guy, makes an occasional appearance here on Oikonomia. Why do we like him? Because he appreciates hard work and honest work, just as we do. It’s surprising how many people don’t share that appreciation. On Sunday, Rowe posted, on his Facebook page, a letter he received from a rather unhappy man. Hey Mike Your constant harping on “work ethic” is growing tiresome. Just because someone’s poor doesn’t mean they’re lazy. The unemployed want to work!... Read more

Love and Economics: From Contract to Cooperation

June 10, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde The subject of contracts is not particularly romantic, which is part of the reason I’d like to talk about contracts—and how we might reach beyond them. In some ways, we’ve come to overly ignore, downplay, or disregard contracts. Across the world, we see grandmaster politicians and planners imposing various “solutions” with the flicks of their wands, paying little attention to core features like trust and respect for property rights. Here in America, our government is increasingly bent on... Read more