Jordan J. Ballor's Blog, page 3
October 22, 2019
Adam Smith and a life well-lived
Over at Law & Liberty I had the pleasure of reviewing Ryan Patrick Hanley’s new book, Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life. I highly recommend it: Ryan Patrick Hanley’s latest book offers an accessible, erudite, and concise introduction to Adam Smith in full, the moral philosopher of wisdom and prudence. Continue Reading... Related posts: Adamic Anthropology Religion & Liberty: A Prisoner of Tehran Looks Forward Government and the Good Life
October 21, 2019
Wealth creation and the Reformed confessional tradition
I have been working as part of the Moral Markets project for the past couple of years, and as the formal end of the project looms, some of the outputs of the project are coming to fruition. Continue Reading... Related posts: Confession, Reconciliation, and the CRC Thomas Oden: The Tradition of Voluntary Poverty ResearchLinks – 07.27.12
October 16, 2019
Corporate America’s bet on China
In Dan Hugger’s most recent post about the controversy surrounding the NBA’s visit to China, he identifies the crux of the issue: “If even the mildest form of expression of solidarity can provoke the People’s Republic of China to such draconian action as to imperil the well-being of NBA players, why play in China at all?” When I first heard LeBron James’ criticism of Daryl Morey, like many others I thought James was concerned about potential or actual investment from China in his various medi...
October 10, 2019
Creativity, history, and entrepreneurship
Joseph Sunde recently posted a substantive introduction to and elaboration of a paper I co-authored with Victor Claar, “Creativity, innovation, and the historicity of entrepreneurship,” in the Journal of Entrepreneurship & Public Policy. Continue Reading... Related posts: Creativity Vs. Productivity Acton Line: Is entrepreneurship declining? All jobs are on the A team When a Church Matches Missions with Entrepreneurship
September 25, 2019
Remember the trees
In this week’s Acton Commentary I argue that pathos and politics isn’t enough to address the contemporary challenges of environmental stewardship in general and climate change in particular. I point to the necessity to recognize the gifts and responsibilities that God has given to humanity. Continue Reading... Related posts: Rev. Sirico: Encyclical Exposes Political Rifts PowerLinks 03.21.16 Global Warming Consensus Alert: Climate Linked to Sun
September 4, 2019
A more robust vision of labor and solidarity
In this week’s Acton Commentary, “Your work is more than your job,” I try to provide a broader perspective on the dynamics of a proper “work-life balance.” My main point, as the title indicates, is that our paid work is just a part–an important part no doubt, but just a part–of our “work,” understood as the service that we are called to do for others. Continue Reading... Related posts: Rev. Sirico: Church Changes How it Deals with Organized Labor ‘Liberating Labor’ and Right-to-Work A Thou...
August 23, 2019
A Christian psychology, pedagogy, and anthropology
At the behest of one of the editors, we’ve included an appendix in the new volume in the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series, On Education, and called it “Lemkes’ Wish.” Here’s the background: Hubertus Johannes Lemkes (1828–97) was a teacher and a co-founder of the Association of Christian Teachers in the Netherlands and the Overseas Possession. Continue Reading... Related posts: Abraham Kuyper and the ‘twoness theses’ The Christian Post Highlights Wisdom & Wonder Prov...
August 16, 2019
Common grace and natural law
It has been a topic of much dispute in the last century or so of Protestant theology, but the status of natural law, and particularly its connection with the doctrine of common grace, continues to be of significance. Continue Reading... Related posts: Ministries of Common and Special Grace Acton Institute and Kuyper College launch ‘Common Grace,’ a major Abraham Kuyper translation project Martin Luther King, Jr. and Natural Law
August 7, 2019
Sphere sovereignty and limited (and legitimate) government
The Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper is well-known for his articulation of sphere sovereignty, and the following passage from the third volume of his Common Grace trilogy is a clear and balanced summary of this doctrine, particularly as it relates to the limits of government action. Continue Reading... Related posts: Acton Institute and Kuyper College launch ‘Common Grace,’ a major Abraham Kuyper translation project John Calvin on Civil Government Mouw on Kuyper and Culture ...
August 5, 2019
Milton Friedman on business as an enemy of enterprise
Milton Friedman is one half of the duo so often identified with “neoliberalism” (the other being Friedrich Hayek), the hegemonic power that is typically seen as constitutive of our contemporary age. Continue Reading... Related posts: Business as Moral Enterprise Business is bad. Can it also be good? Arthur Brooks’ ‘5 Myths About Free Enterprise’
