Jordan J. Ballor's Blog, page 2

Organism, institution, and the black church

Some years back, I helped put together a small, edited volume intended as a primer on some of the ways in which the relationship between the church and political life has, and ought to be, understood. Continue Reading... Related posts:Which Church? Whose Justice? The Church as Cultural Lifeblood Pastors, Pulpits, and Politics

Jordan Ballor discusses scarcity, theology, and economics on ‘Faithful Economics’

I was honored to be a guest on the Faithful Economics podcast, sponsored by the Association of Christian Economists (which also publishes the journal Faith & Economics). I joined host Steven McMullen of Hope College to talk about the dialogue between theology and economics. Continue Reading...
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Audio: Jordan J. Ballor on the Economics of the Heidelberg Catechism
Radio Free Acton: Jordan Ballor on Why Abraham Kuyper Matters
Radio Free Acton: Jordan Ballor on Kuyper, Bonhoeffer an...

Kuyper, Pope Leo XIII and the social question today

I was a guest on the Working Man podcast this week, discussing the connections between the Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper and Pope Leo XIII. In 1891 both Leo and Kuyper published important documents providing Christian reflection on the “social question.” Continue Reading...
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Leo XIII and Kuyper on the social question
Leo XIII, Kuyper, and the foundations of modern Christian social thought
Remembering Leo XIII

Why the economy needs a theology of the body

This article first appeared on March 17, 2020, in Public Discourse, the journal of the Witherspoon Institute, and was republished with permission. The COVID-19 pandemic is catalyzing trends in the economy that have been incubating for some time. Continue Reading... Related posts: Amazon tribal chief: Liberation theology sustains primitive economy Samuel Gregg: Ideas, intellectuals and the free economy Will A Sharing Economy Be A Growing Economy?

Star Wars and self-interest

Recent installments in the Star Wars universe directly raise the theme of self-interest, and specifically the formation or deformation of the self. These instances help us ask the important question, “Who puts the ‘self’ in self-interest?” Continue Reading... No related posts.

Slavery, Shmi Skywalker, and Star Wars

As the final installment of the final trilogy of the Star Wars saga opens today, it’s worth thinking about where this blockbuster franchise and cultural phenomenon started. And by that I mean where the story of Anakin Skywalker started in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Continue Reading... Related posts: Herman Bavinck on the Glory of Motherhood

An encyclical on China and the US?

Sen. Marco Rubio’s recent speech on capitalism and the common good, taking its point of departure in Rerum Novarum, has gotten a good bit of coverage. Yesterday he delivered remarks at the National Defense University and opened with these words: This morning I am honored to speak here at the National Defense University to discuss the defining geopolitical relationship of this century: the one between the United States and China. Continue Reading... Related posts: Acton Line podcast:...

The uneasy conscience of fair trade fundamentalism

In The Christian Century, Rev. David Mesenbring provides an accounting of his experiences with fair trade. Mesenbring, who was an early advocate and adopter of fair trade practices and policies, thinks there’s good reason to doubt the efficacy of the movement as currently stands. Continue Reading... Related posts: Explainer: What You Should Know About the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Accord

Stranger Things on America: ‘It’s not rigged!’

My colleague Dylan Pahman posted a worthwhile reflection on the contrast between communism and free markets in the Cold War-era setting of Stranger Things. I had his analysis in mind while watching the conclusion of the show’s third season, and in ep. Continue Reading... Related posts: Banking: Latin America’s Achilles Heel Acton Line podcast: Communist China dunks on NBA; Robert Doar on poverty in America America’s Missing Children: Link Between Foster Care And Trafficking

Some reading for Reformation Day

Here is a by no means exhaustive or comprehensive but simply occasional set of links to some reading from yours truly that might be of interest to readers of the PowerBlog this Reformation Day… Essays: “The further reformation of all of life,” Acton Commentary, October 31, 2017. Continue Reading... Related posts: The further reformation of all of life What Christians should know about vocation On the House of European History: ‘Without Christianity, Europe has no soul’