On Thursday, June 22 2017, the Acton Institute presented a panel discussion on the topic of what Christianity has to offer the poor. Panelists included Michael Wear, founder of Public Square Strategies LLC; Anne Rathbone Bradley, Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics; Elizabeth Bruenig, Assistant Editor of the …
Kenneth Elzinga, Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia, delivers an evening plenary address as part of Acton University 2018 on June 20, 2018 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, speaks at Acton University 2012.
Even in the midst of extreme polarization, religion can still be our common ground. Judeo-Christian principles provide a framework that transcends both policies and parties and establishes a system for human flourishing. In this lecture, Michael Matheson Miller explains the Ten Principles of Christian Government which are fundamental to any and all just, free, and …
Engage the Speaker Session for “True Compassion: Case Studies in Effective Work with the Poor” (AU2021). Original Lecture description below. Concern for the poor is an essential part of being a Christian. Yet, Christians often don’t know how to effectively engage people who are in poverty, often coming from social and ethnic backgrounds very different …
In this Engage the Speaker panel, JoAnn Flett, a consultant for Partners Worldwide and recipient of a US Fulbright scholar award, answers questions, delivers reading recommendations, and discusses her AU talk, The Theology of Business, with members of the audience. She delves deeper into the specifics of how businesspeople can embody a theology of business …
Theology is the study of God, who is above and beyond our world, while business and commerce seem to be man’s most worldly pursuits. How can the Christian reconcile the seemingly differing focuses promoted by theology and business? In this talk, Dr. JoAnn Flett, organizational consultant for Partners Worldwide and recipient of the Fulbright Scholar …
Screenwriter and best-selling author Andrew Klavan delivers remarks to the audience at the Acton Institute’s 29th Anniversary Dinner at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which took place on October 15, 2019.
Concern for the poor is an essential part of being a Christian. Yet, Christians often don’t know how to effectively engage people who are in poverty, often coming from social and ethnic backgrounds very different from them. The temptation is to substitute reason with emotion and to offer transactional systems of care instead of the …
Concern for the poor is an essential part of being a Christian. Yet, Christians often don’t know how to effectively engage people who are in poverty, often coming from social and ethnic backgrounds very different from them. The temptation is to substitute reason with emotion and to offer transactional systems of care instead of the …
While political, economic, and intellectual freedom is a precious gift to humans, our long history shows that we are ready to give it away. Why is that? One answer might be given from the Nobel-Prize-winning Russian writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008): when people don’t understand and use the freedom they have, they will throw it away …
While political, economic, and intellectual freedom is a precious gift to humans, our long history shows that we are ready to give it away. Why is that? One answer might be given from the Nobel-Prize-winning Russian writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008): when people don’t understand and use the freedom they have, they will throw it away …
Some people think social justice is a twentieth century invention of left-leaning thinkers, but this starts the history of social justice midstream. To understand its true meaning, we must look farther back to its real historical origins. The first known use of the phrase “social justice” was by a Jesuit Thomist, Luigi Taparelli, in his …
Some people think social justice is a twentieth century invention of left-leaning thinkers, but this starts the history of social justice midstream. To understand its true meaning, we must look farther back to its real historical origins. The first known use of the phrase “social justice” was by a Jesuit Thomist, Luigi Taparelli, in his …
In this lecture, Jay Richards, Ph.D. connects Aristotle’s account of happiness with modern sociological and psychological surveys of happiness, and explains how they overlap and differ. He then explores how our work, especially in a high tech information economy, can contribute to both our happiness, and the happiness of others.
Only the family can provide the sense of security and identity that every person needs. Civilization itself depends on children having a good first year. Family breakdown is expensive. Taxpayers provide programs to step in when the family fails. Businesses have trouble finding workers they need, with even basic skills. Individuals and families struggle to …
Many experts predict that in coming years, as many of half of all jobs could be replaced by robots and artificial intelligence, leading to widespread technological unemployment. Jay Richards argues that these claims are based more on bad philosophy, not on solid evidence. Moreover, they ignore basic lessons of both history and economics. There is …
Protestant evangelicals are one of the largest and most influential groups in the United States. Evangelicals are known for participating in international adoptions, volunteering in local churches and a host of philanthropic organizations, and mostly for political activism. Despite all of these activities, evangelicals have not changed American culture. Seth Bartee will offer an explanation …
Politicians and pundits are struggling to understand this populist moment. Are a shrinking workforce and a contemptuous, divided culture simply America’s “new normal”? Is free enterprise fundamentally at odds with defending the national interest? Arthur Brooks draws on history and social science to explain these unusual times – and offers a set of strategies, from …