Nurture in the Economy of Love: Insights on Parental Discipleship

September 14, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Charlie Self The spate of Planned Parenthood videos raises many issues, one of which is the importance of nurturing the lives that we have had a hand in conceiving, adopting, and welcoming into our homes. As we participate in the Economy of Love, nurturing discipleship will include biblically and theologically informed insights for parents as they express faith, hope, and love in welcoming children into God’s world. Thus, the following insights come from 35 years of parenting and pastoring in... Read more

Psalm 19: What Is Human Flourishing?

September 14, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joe Carter The mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. We seek to articulate a vision of society that is both free and virtuous, the end of which is human flourishing. That phrase — “human flourishing” — has become such a buzzword, though, that it’s in danger of losing any real meaning. As Scott Swain observes: “Due to its widespread usage across our culture, its susceptibility to multiple... Read more

‘Crucified Love’ — The Human Side of the Greek Crisis

September 11, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Dylan Pahman In Thessaloniki, Greece, Fr. Eleftherios pulls down from the wall behind him a framed icon of St. George of Neapolis, a late 18th century martyr. The icon depicts a procession of bishops, clergy and worshippers leaving the ancient Christian province of Cappadocia. They carry the remains of the martyr-saint, and they form a long line that stretches out symbolically to Greece where they seek refuge from Ottoman persecution. Along the way, parishioners have dropped possessions — food, tools, pots — as... Read more

Work Plants the Seed; Civilization Reaps the Harvest

September 10, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Lester DeKoster The following is an adapted excerpt from Work: The Meaning of Your Life by Lester DeKoster, which was recently reissued with a new afterward by Greg Forster. It is reprinted here with permission from Christian’s Library Press. We know, as soon as reminded, that work spins the wheels of the world. No work? Then nothing else either. Culture and civilization don’t just happen. They are made to happen and to keep happening—by God the Holy Spirit, through our work. Imagine that... Read more

What a Fingerless Goldsmith Can Teach Us About the Mirage of Disability

September 9, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde Annette Gabbedy is a business owner and an expert designer and goldsmith. She was also born without fingers, a trait many would consider to be a “disability,” particularly in her line of work. Yet, as she explains in the following video, having created and traded her wares for over 20 years, Gabbedy sees no reason for that to inhibit her creativity and contribution to society. Quite to the contrary: As Gabbedy explains: I tend to really look at people with fingers and think: Well,... Read more

Work: When the Journey is Too Much

September 3, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Evan Koons Work, by its very nature, is gift-giving! It is is a mysterious collaboration of harmony and abundance! And in the brokenness of a fallen world, it is a form of sanctification, a daily call to deny ourselves and take up our cross. What a glorious silver lining to the doldrums of our day-to-day tasks! Right? I mean, when we enter into work that is toilsome and spirit-breaking, we are becoming more like Christ! Isn’t this powerful stuff?! Isn’t it a majestic privilege... Read more

‘Need Is Universal’: Entrepreneurship and Faith

August 31, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Elise Hilton Do you recognize the name Jessica Jackley? What about Kiva? Jackley is the young woman who started Kiva in 2005. Kiva, a crowdfunding site, asks not simply for donations, but for micro-loans. To date, Kiva has facilitated $730 million in loans in 83 countries, funding entrepreneurs in agriculture, clothing manufacturing, and transportation, just to name a few areas of endeavor. In an interview with Christianity Today, Jackley discusses her new book, Clay Water Brick: Finding Inspiration from Entrepreneurs Who... Read more

Abraham Kuyper’s Advice for the New School Year

August 31, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde The new school year has begun, and with it, students have flocked back to their schools, colleges, and universities to encounter the challenges, gifts, and opportunities that a life of scholarship entails. But upon entering this field of labor, what are we as Christians to consider and deliver? What is the goal of academic study, and what does sacred scholarship look like? In Abraham Kuyper’s newly translated Scholarship, a collection of two convocation addresses given at the beginning of the school year at Vrije... Read more

Is There a Case for Virtue and Economic Growth?

August 26, 2015 By Acton Institute

By James V. Schall Bernard de Mandeville (1670–1733) famously (or infamously) suggested that the cause of wealth is vice. If everyone were perfect, Mandeville thought, no one would demand anything. Everyone would be content with little. With no aggregate demand, no production would arise to meet that demand. If no one drinks beer, no brewing industry would exist. No brewing industry would mean no growing of hops and barley, thus no farmers, no market for bottles or cans, no Clydesdales, nor... Read more

3 Things I Wish Pope Francis Knew About A Free Economy

August 24, 2015 By Acton Institute

By Joe Carter Pope Francis has said that he’s generally “allergic” to financial matters. Yet that hasn’t stopped him from criticizing capitalism and suggesting radical changes for a global economic order. During his recent trip to Latin America, the pontiff has been especially denunciatory, saying the unfettered pursuit of money is “the dung of the devil.” Not surprisingly, many critics have complained that Francis is presenting a distorted, incomplete, and naive view of capitalism. To his credit, the pontiff has vowed... Read more