This issue ofReligion & Libertyfeatures an article on Arthur Koestler’s classic novel Darkness at Noon, which reminds us of the soul-crushing apparatus of the Soviet state under Stalin in ways, perhaps, that nonfiction could not. An interview with Nobel prize-winning economist Vernon Smith reveals that science, free markets and religious faith aren’t patible. All are prescient in ways I shall explain below. As I put pen to paper for 2016’s last issue ofReligion & Liberty, news broke of a...

I cannot spare myself or others. My Maker has pointed out this duty to me and has given me the ability and inclination to perform it. Known to most as “Eliza” and to her husband and panions as “Betsey,” Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton is a forgotten founding mother. Eliza is best known as the widow of Alexander Hamilton, despite outliving him by half a century. Her story is hard to piece together as she chose to erase herself from history,...

Luke 2:48–50 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. The mission of Jesus throughout the Gospels is focused on the will and passion of the...

The most powerful weapons against totalitarian regimes are the defectors. Their stories of hardship and resilience show us the power of mon man or woman and give us glimpses into the true nature of the regimes. During this issue’s feature interview, Suzanne Scholte shared dozens of significant anecdotes about North Koreans and other victims of totalitarianism. These harrowing glimpses into life under a cruel regime are featured here, in Scholte’s voice, as stand-alone stories. For more information about Scholte,...

The unofficial theme for Religion & Liberty’s first issue in 2017 is despotism. In the following pages, you’ll find stories from the Soviet Union, a close look into the North Korea regime and a reexamination of Hitler’s rise to power. The cover story is an interview with human rights expert Suzanne Scholte, who discusses her passion for fighting the sadistic rule of Kim Jong Un and working with North Korean defectors. After 20 years fighting for those who don’t...

Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, public broadcasting aired a television series titled “Meeting of the Minds,” created, produced, written and starring the multitalented polymath Steve Allen. As a high school student, yours truly monopolized my family’s farmhouse Magnavox each week to witness the panel of historical characters (portrayed by actors) arguing philosophy, history, science and culture in their own words. One can imagine a similar experience seated across the table from Arthur Koestler, an author whose personal...

In his first epistle to St. Timothy, the Apostle Paul includes a warning about money: Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee...

Review of Serhii Plokhy’sThe Gates of Europe:A History of Ukraine (Perseus Academic, 2015). It is hard to get objective information about Ukraine. This isn’t just because the initial frame through which most of us encountered Ukraine presented her as a territory of Imperial Russia or the Soviet Union. Nor is it simply a result of the confusion about facts and intentions that always exist when one country invades or annexes part of another. Both of these e into play,...

In June 2016, Vernon Smith gave an Acton University Lecture titled “Faith and the Compatibility of Science and Religion.” After giving this lecture, he was gracious enough to sit down with Victor Claar to go into some of the specifics of his lecture, as well as his vast experience in economics, including experimental economics. Vernon L. Smith was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002 for his groundbreaking work in experimental economics. He has the George L....