How a Shoe Builds Civilization

Last updated on: December 9, 2014 at 2:13 am By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde Can something as simple as a shoe build civilization? I recently had the pleasure of touring the Red Wing Shoe Museum in Red Wing, Minnesota, home of the Red Wing Shoe Company, and the answer became quite clear. Founded in 1905, Red Wing Shoes has from the very beginning focused on producing boots and shoes for those who “work on their feet.” At a time when blacksmiths, carpenters, lumberjacks, and farmers had few options for footwear, founder Charles Beckman grew frustrated with the status quo,... Read more

The Great Exchange of the Magi

Last updated on: December 5, 2014 at 12:34 pm By Acton Institute

By Dylan Pahman On the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Christians celebrate the birth of the Son of God incarnate to a poor, socially-disgraced couple, in the coldness of a cave, the place of the Christmas manger according to ancient tradition. St. Gregory the Theologian, preaching in the fourth century, describes the mystery this way, “He who gives riches becomes poor, for he assumes the poverty of my flesh, that I may assume the richness of his Godhead.” In the familiar story of... Read more

Beauty – an Excerpt from von Balthasar

Last updated on: December 4, 2014 at 12:13 pm By Acton Institute

“Beauty is the word that shall be our first. Beauty is the last thing which the thinking intellect dares to approach, since only it dances as an uncontained splendor around the double constellation of the true and the good and their inseparable relation to one another. Beauty is the disinterested one, without which the ancient world refused to understand itself, a word which both imperceptibly and yet unmistakably has bid farewell to our new world, a world of interests, leaving it... Read more

Disability, Service, and Stewardship

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 1:27 pm By Acton Institute

By Jordan Ballor There’s a dangerous tendency in America today to view disabilities of various kinds as insuperable barriers to productive and loving service. There is often an implicit, and sometimes explicit, disrespect of a basic feature of human dignity in the treatment of those with disabilities as merely passive recipients of government aid, the objects of public pity. The reality is that each one of us, created in the image of God, has the capacity to be a productive... Read more

Pilgrims, Property Rights, and the Source of Stewardship

Last updated on: November 26, 2014 at 4:17 am By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde Each Thanksgiving brings with it an opportunity to pause, meditate, and express our gratitude for God’s blessings. Particularly since becoming a parent several years ago, it is increasingly obvious that the greatest blessings are not, after all, material. Yet material needs are a persistent obstacle, the dynamics of which wield significant influence over our lives, from the formative effects of our daily work to the time, energy, and resources we devote in the service of others. Thus, it should be no surprise that... Read more

Blue Laws and Black Friday

Last updated on: November 25, 2014 at 11:45 am By Acton Institute

By Jordan Ballor Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, called “black” because it is traditionally the day that retailers begin to turn a profit, increasingly stands as testimony to our national ambivalence toward all things economic. It’s no secret that many businesses and families are having trouble making ends meet, and the promise of a revitalized spending spree by consumers has many people looking eagerly for a “Black Friday” miracle. Shoppers around the country have already been camping out for... Read more

Talented but Unemployed? God May Be Calling You to Grubby, Unglamorous Work

Last updated on: November 21, 2014 at 2:13 am By Acton Institute

By Jonathan Witt A recent Wall Street Journal story looks at the “millions of working-age men” sidelined by the economic slump, and warns that “the longer they’re out of work, the more their skills deteriorate and the harder it is to land the next job.” “Those who can’t find work often turn to safety net programs, such as food stamps, unemployment benefits and disability — programs that have ballooned since the recession began,” the article continues. “Once people start receiving disability benefits, they... Read more

Knowledge: Something or Someone?

Last updated on: November 19, 2014 at 3:17 am By Acton Institute

By Evan Koons Scrolling through Facebook last week, I stumbled on a meme that I just can’t shake. It was an enchanting image of night overtaking day. Gossamer cloud cover. Sapphire sky fading into the deep darkness of the stratosphere. It was all there. And against the splendor of the firmament was the bold proclamation: “Well, another day has passed. I didn’t use Algebra once.” For anyone who despises the mere existence of math, who’s experienced the discombobulating woes of the... Read more

King David on the Heart of Christian Stewardship

Last updated on: November 18, 2014 at 11:04 am By Acton Institute

By Joseph Sunde We live amid unprecedented economic prosperity, and with the promise of globalization and the continued expansion of opportunity and exchange, such prosperity is bound to grow. Yet if we’re to retain and share these blessings, such gifts need to be received and responded to with a heart of service, sacrifice, and obedience to God. “Man is not the owner,” write Lester DeKoster and Gerard Berghoef. “He is the overseer…Each of us is steward over those talents and those... Read more

Why Your Job Pushing Paper Can Help Change the World

Last updated on: November 14, 2014 at 4:46 pm By Acton Institute

By Joe Carter More than at any time in the last hundred years, Christians (at least in those in America) are beginning to recognize that, as Greg Gilbert and Sebastian Traeger say, “our jobs are an arena in which God will work in us and through us to make us more like Jesus and to glorify himself.” Yet it’s often easier to recognize this truth in the abstract while failing to understand how it could be true for our own jobs.... Read more