Were you unable to attend Acton University 2012? Want to hear a lecture you missed? You’re in luck, because we have (almost) all of the lectures available so far. Stay tuned to grab them as they’re posted to our digital lecture store. Here’s what’s available so far: Day 1 – June 12 A Conversation with Michael Novak Day 2 – June 13 Christian Anthropology (’12) – Dr. Samuel GreggPerson and Property in the Pentateuch – Dr. David BakerThe Church and...

On the drive over to Acton University this morning I heard an argument on the radio about how the economy would have been fixed if only the dollar amount of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 would have been doubled. What a sad statement to pin your hope to in order to fix the American economy. That argument is unlikely to be uttered at Acton University. Fixing economic problems and lifting up the human condition is not measured...

One of the excellent presentations at Acton University today was Andreas Widmer’s class on “Business as a Moral Enterprise.” For those who missed it, Joe Gorra of the Evangelical Philosophical Society recently interviewed Widmer, a Research Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Acton Institute, on that same topic: Gorra: Entrepreneurship is in your bones. You are the co-founder of the SEVEN Fund, which is doing some remarkable work “to dramatically increase the rate of innovation and diffusion of enterprise-based solutions to...

Tuesday was the first official day of Acton University. I made my way around the Acton office and DeVos Convention Center capturing photos of the initial registration and arrival of participants. Stay tuned for more posts about Acton University. A view of Grand Rapids from the DeVos Convention Center A view of the DeVos Convention Center A view of the Grand River next to the DeVos Convention Center Charles hands participants their papers Charles the intern marks the path for...

The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) held its annual synod this week, and among the items it dealt with were overtures and mendations related to the issues of climate change and creation care. The synod adopted statements along the following lines: There is a near-consensus in the munity that climate change is occurring and very likely is caused by human activity.Human-induced climate change is an ethical, social justice, and religious issue.The CRC pelled to take private and public...

On the Patheos Evangelical channel, Joseph E. Gorra talks to Rev. Robert A. Sirico, Acton Institute president and co-founder, about the publication of his new book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy. Gorra frames the interview with this question: “Countless detractors over the years have argued that capitalism is intrinsically immoral. Is it true?” Patheos: As you know, “capitalism” and “free markets” often invoke all sorts of various (even contradictory) images and ideas for different...

Wednesday was filled with learning at Acton University with courses running the entire day. Here are some photos of the second official day. If you see me around the event, don’t be afraid to ask for a picture. We have other photographers covering the event as well and you’ll get to see their pictures later on. Lunch time at AU Kevin Schmiesing and Anthony Bradley speak Jay Richards fields questions on American conservatism Jordan Ballor talks with Samuel Gregg Father...

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s stirring speech in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. Against the advice of the State Department, the National Security Council and the ranking U.S. diplomat in Berlin, the President challenged Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party, to take his glasnost policy one step further with the demolition of the Berlin Wall. The speech, which forecasted the wall’s 1989 destruction, remains one of the most iconic moments of Reagan’s presidency and a...

The Acton Institute’s annual Acton University conference kicked off on June 12, 2012 with an evening plenary session featuring a conversation with public intellectual, author, and former US Ambassador Michael Novak. ...

This is a huge week for us here at Acton. The annual Acton University kicks off tonight and runs through Friday with more than 700 attendees expected from dozens of countries. I’ll be blogging some of the scenes from this amazing event, starting with yesterday’s “prep rally” and breakfast at our offices in Grand Rapids. Stay tuned for more great postings on AU here on the PowerBlog and be sure to follow the Twitter feed on the right hand sidebar....