Metropolitan Jonah at AU 2011 We’ve posted the text of Metropolitan Jonah’s AU talk on “Asceticism and the Consumer Society” on the Acton site. His remarks, delivered on Thursday, June 16, at the plenary session looked at the “opposing movements in the human heart” between consumerism and worship. In the course of his talk, Jonah cited Orthodox Christian theologian Fr. Alexander Schmemann’s definition of secularism as “in theological terms … a heresy … about man.” Jonah: Man was created with...

Acton University has been full of thought provoking lectures and stimulating discussion. It is easy to see why the attendees wish the conference was much longer. There are many interesting lectures, one just wishes he or she could attend all of them. Yesterday Dr. John Bolt, of Calvin Theological Seminary, taught a course titled “Centralization and Civil Society.” Bolt’s course paid special attention to Alexis de Tocqueville and his contributions to defining a civil society. As one can imagine, by...

We now have a live stream of the #ActonU hashtag on Twitter running on the right side of our blog. This tab will keep you updated on the folks who are using this tag in their Twitter posts. Feel free to join in and be featured on the blog! You might even find someone to meet up with between sessions. For those of you who aren’t at Acton University you can use the feed to find out what you’re missing....

Recently, progressive Catholics met in Detroit and issued calls for a married clergy and the ordination of women priests. In a very timely article Samuel Gregg, research director at the Acton Institute, addresses the progressive Catholics who “sit rather loosely with Catholic teaching on questions like life and marriage” and how they are continuing “to press what is often a hyper-politicized understanding of the gospel.” Gregg’s article appearing in Crisis Magazine. The roots of the progressive Catholic’s problems may lie...

Current events in India have left the country wrestling with an important question: What is civil society and what does it consist of? These are not easy questions to answer as definitions of civil society can greatly vary. According to a story on the Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time section, “…political demonstrators have demanded greater civil society involvement in the governing country…” While many throughout India are trying to define a civil society and who represents it, the Journal...

There’s a saying that when goods cross borders, armies don’t (it’s the correlative to the observation attributed to Bastiat: “If goods cannot cross borders, armies will.”). The point is that trade tends to bring people together who might otherwise have cause to be hostile. One of the themes at Acton University, which begins in just a few hours, is globalization and various Christian responses. That’s sure to be the case again this year, as we have just about 70 countries...

My Acton Commentary for this week tries to explain the differences between Christian proponents and opponents of Republican budget proposals: A Circle of Exchange is Better Than a Circle of Protection Strife over the budget in Washington continues, with religious leaders and organizations weighing in on both sides. The positions of Christian participants in this battle are as intractable as the batants and for the same reason: A fundamental difference of outlook concerning the role of government and the effect...

We’ve all heard of presidents, governors, and other civil leaders calling citizens to prayer in times of great need. In April, Texas governor Rick Perry called on his citizens to pray for rain because of an extreme drought. It looks like the mayor of Harrisburg, Pa. is about to embark on a three-day fast and prayer practice for help with the city’s bleak budget deficit. The idea of the fasting and prayer is meant to help unite citizens to solve...

Today at Capital Commentary I discuss the size and scope of the tax code in the US relative to its basic purposes. In “Back Door Social Engineering,” I argue, “When governments run huge deficits in part because of plexity of its tax system and the ability of people and institutions to engage in large-scale (and legal) tax avoidance, there is something deeply wrong with the system.” The basic purpose of taxes is to raise money for the government, not to...

Continuing the tradition from 2010, Acton University 2011 lectures will be available for purchase online from our secure order page. New lectures will be posted as they conclude throughout the week, so check back often. The downloads are in MP3 format and can be transferred to any device that plays audio files such as an iPod or smartphone. Here are some useful Acton University links: Acton University 2011 Digital DownloadsActon University 2010 Digital DownloadsOfficial Acton University site ...