I had the privilege of lecturing at last week’s Acton University on the topic of Lutheran Social Ethics. In preparing for that session, I was struck again at just how “Lutheran” Dietrich Bonhoeffer sounds every time I read him. Here’s an example. Last week I asked, “Whither justice?” and noted some of Luther’s words on the subject. Here’s Bonhoeffer, from Life Together, virtually echoing Luther: What does it matter if I suffer injustice? Would I not have deserved even more...

Amongst the health care debate Ray Nothstine offers a good analysis of Verterans Health Care. Nothstine brings a good argument to light for those to consider who are in support of reforming health care. Many supporters of reforming health care look to the health care provided by the Veterans Administration (VA); however as Nothstine is able to demonstrate, the VA health care system is far from perfect. Nothstine also provides real life situations that demonstrate the flaws of the health...

Today, the Wall Street Journal published a letter I wrote to the editor opposing mandatory health insurance. This solution would burden the poor beyond their means, and it would deny the principle of subsidiarity by sacrificing family economic decisions to the priorities of federal legislators. Here is the text of the letter: “Sen. Ron Wyden’s plan to make every uninsured American buy health insurance makes about as much sense as would forcing every poverty-stricken and starving Haitian to buy food...

Clint Eastwood’s 2008 project Gran Torino has recently been released on DVD, and what a delight it is. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean War vet and retired auto worker whose wife has just passed away. I was unable to catch the film in theaters, despite my desire to do so. Based in Michigan, Gran Torino was filmed places like Royal Oak, Warren, Grosse Pointe, and Highland Park. As the production notes state, “Though the screenplay was initially set in...

For Father’s Day last Sunday, I asked for and was given Mark Levin’s book Liberty and Tyranny. It’s only 205 pages if you don’t count the footnotes, but it’s Wednesday and I’ve only read 47 pages and the Epilogue, and the type is big and pages only 6” x 9”. I’m not a fast reader. Dennis Prager admits to reading lots of things out loud and I have a tendency to do the same thing, especially if I want to...

Recently the Acton Institute pulled back the political camouflage of the Lifestyle Tax, a new tax under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee, and exposed it as an extension of the Sin Tax. The Senate Finance Committee is considering levying the Lifestyle Tax to raise funds for President Obama’s health care plan. Reverend Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, wrote an article on the Sin Tax and the proposal of expanding it to tax soft drinks....

The Obvious Expert, a blog for Empowering Coaches, Consultants and Entrepreneurs, gave a great review for The Call of the Entrepreneur today in their blog post. The Obvious Expert demonstrates that the film teaches that the call to e an entrepreneur is a spiritual calling: But the film is not a critique of entrepreneurs; far from it. Instead, Rev. Robert A. Sirico of the Acton Institute likens the calling that leads visionary men and women to e entrepreneurs to something...

There has been much mentary, and debate on Pope Benedict’s much anticipated encyclical on the economy Caritas in Veritate (remarkable for a statement that has not yet been released). At the PowerBlog, we will keep you informed on what is being said about the encyclical and, when it is released, we look forward to providing great coverage. Two of the most mentaries came from John Allen Jr. in the National Catholic Reporter and Michael Novak in First Things. In Allen’s...

Only if there are new human beings will there be a new world, a renewed and better world. When the Pope said these words at Vespers on Sunday, perhaps he had Bernie Madoff in mind. Today, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for defrauding his investors of nearly $65 billion over the course of 20 years. His corruption and crimes ruined the livelihoods of thousands of businesspeople, charity workers, and families that trusted his sterling reputation to protect...

Tomorrow, June 26, theaters across the nation will begin screening for the general public “The Stoning of Soraya M.” This drama reenacts the true story of an Iranian woman falsely accused of adultery and punished according to sharia law. The film is produced by Stephen McEveety (“The Passion of the Christ”) and features an impressive international cast. Since the movie’s title gives the climax away, rest assured that the film contains much that is suspenseful. Jim Caviezel portrays French-Iranian journalist...