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...

Thursday at Acton University included a lot of high quality lectures, including ones from Eric Metaxas, Victor Claar, Samuel Gregg, Jon Pinheiro, and Jonathan Witt. Here are just a few photos of the day’s events. If you’d like to listen to some of these lectures, we have a digital downloads page for AU2012 set up where you can buy each for $0.99 here. AU participants prepare for the PovertyCure screening Grand Rapids, MI in the evening Eric Metaxas makes a...

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...

If you have a videocamera and can make the moral case for free enterprise, then our friends at the American Enterprise Institute have the contest for you: The American Enterprise Institute is serious about reinvigorating America’s spirit of free enterprise. Big ambitions require big promotions, which is why AEI is proud to announce a $50,000 video contest, “Make the Moral Case for Free Enterprise,” to unleash the market’s creative potential. We’re calling on everyone who loves America’s system of free...

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...

Last week we mentioned the interviews of Rev. Sirico and Andreas Widmer conducted by Joseph Gorra. Over the weekend Gorra added four more excellent interviews of Acton University faculty. The first is an interview with Kishore Jayabalan, director of Istituto Acton in Rome, on Distributism as a ‘Third Way’: Gorra: Why do you think distributist premises are so appealing to some? Jayabalan: Distributism is appealing because it recognizes that there is more to life than economics and especially the production...

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...

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...

Friday was the last day of Acton University 2012. Here are a few photos from the day’s events. Did you miss AU this year? Be sure to check out our downloadable lectures here. AU participants walk to the DeVos Convention Center Anthony Bradley reviews the AU speaker listing AU participants walk to an ing session Andreas Widmer talks to Rev. Robert Sirico Grand Rapids from the DeVos Convention Center Speaker Rudy Carrasco checks puter during AU AU participants at the...

In an interview with Charlie Rose on CBS’s This Morning, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said, If government’s purpose isn’t to improve the health and longevity of its citizens, I don’t know what its purpose is. Since Bloomberg seems to be unclear about the purpose of government, perhaps we should make him a list. How about: establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for mon defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our...