“It doesn’t matter what I believe…as long as I’m a good person.” How many times have you heard that? As our society trends more and more to the secular, this type of thing es mon. We’ve gone from a society that, at the very least, paid lip-service munal worship and having moral standards set by a higher authority, to “I can worship God on my own; I don’t need a church to do that” to “It doesn’t matter what I...

“In this part of the country, land is life,” says a young Ugandan woman. “Good dreams are about your land.” But widows and orphans are often denied access to their own land because of “property grabbing.” As Jesse Rudy, the International Justice Mission Director in Uganda explains, property grabbing occurs when a man dies in Uganda and his relatives force the widow and her children off of their land, claiming it as ancestral “family land” disowning the widow from the...

Dr. Seuss is renowned for his insights into human nature and development, along with an ability municate these insights in a way that is so straightforwardly simple that children can grasp the lesson immediately and intuitively. Consider, for instance, the case ofThidwick the Big-Hearted Moose. Thidwick is a moose who cares about others, and so when the occasion arises, Thidwick is happy to share space on his antlers with a bug who needs somewhere to stay.But Thidwick’s generosity sets a...

North Korea has lately been featured in dozens ofnews articles about a recent United Nations report on human rights abuses and now thanks to a new photo from NASA. The photo above wasjust released — taken from the International Space Station. While the surrounding countries are twinkling with light, North Korea pletely blacked out save for a small dot that is Pyongyang. U.S. News & World Report lists some of the unpleasant facts of life in North Korea, including frequent...

On Monday, I linked a podcast that Ancient Faith Radio host Kevin Allen did with Metropolitan Antony, primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the United States, about the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine. Allen has followed up with another interview, this one with Ukraine expert James Jatras, a former U.S. diplomat, U.S. Senate staffer and a member of the American Institute of Ukraine. Jatras talks about a number of issues, including the legal basis — or lack thereof —...

In a review of Flourishing Faith,Chad Brand’s Baptist primer on faith, work, and economics,pastor David Daniels summarizes thewhy behind thewhat: But why should Baptists care about political economic theories anyway – especially over-burdened, time-starved pastors? Aren’t Baptists concerned with spiritual matters: evangelism, discipleship and church-planting? Anticipating the question, Brand provides five excellent reasons why Christians should understand economic theory. The Bible speaks to economic issues: acquiring and disposing of money and property, fair wages, and stewardship of the earth.Understanding political...

Are you special? Do you have intrinsic dignity? Are “human rights” something that you have by virtue of the fact that you’re a human being, or are you no different from any other creature on the planet? These are all vitally important questions, the answers to which will shape the way you view yourself and other people, and deeply impact the sort of society that you attempt to build. On this edition of Radio Free Acton, Paul Edwards talks with...

Let’s stick with the hunting metaphor for a moment. In terms of our justice system, “johns” have pretty much been “catch and release.” You catch the (usually) guy, slap him with a misdemeanor, and let him go. Don’t want to embarrass him, his family, put his job in jeopardy. Thankfully, with rising awareness of human trafficking, this is changing. In today’s New York Times, columnist Nicholas Kristof sheds some light on what’s happening in Chicago. Several police officers are waiting...

Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing, a procedure of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them further open. The larger fissures allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formation and into the wellbore, from where it can be extracted. Fracking has resulted in many oil and gas wells attaining a state of economic viability, due to the level of extraction that can be reached. Fracking has been...

In an interview with Eater, celebrity chef Alton Brown was asked how his faith and religion play into his professional life. Brown is a “born-again Christian,” though he finds the term overly redundant. His answer is rather edifying, offering a good example of the type of attitude and orientation we as Christians are called to assume: As far as other decisions, my wife runs pany. We try not to make any big decisions about the direction of pany or my...