Fr. Maximilian Kolbe is well-known for volunteering to die in place of another prisoner at Auschwitz. However, his history as a pioneering entrepreneur, who used the latest technology and managerial techniques to increase his ministry’s outreach, has inspired a new movement for the pope to name him “the patron saint of entrepreneurs and start-ups.” The fascinating history of how the Polish Franciscan used innovative techniques, employed the latest forms munications, and oversaw hundreds of workers is the subject of a...

Jean-Ronel Noel and Alex Georges began pany in a garage in Haiti, tinkering with solar panels and light bulbs, wondering how their experiments might translate into an actual product. “We have plenty of sunshine, so is there a way that we can harvest energy from the sun to resolve the energy problem?” they asked. The result was ENERSA, pany that brings solar-paneled street lights and a range of domestic solar products to the Haitian market. Since its beginning, pany has...

The EU has taken a symbolic stance against the worst human rights tragedy in South America, awarding its top human rights prize to the political prisoners and defiant opposition inNicolás Maduro’s Venezuela. The European Parliament announced the recipient of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought last Thursday, explicitly mentioning the socialist nation’s “political prisoners.” Eugénio Lopes provides the details about the award, named for the famous Soviet dissident, in a new essay forReligion & Liberty Transatlantic. The president of...

“One of the famous formulas e out of the Reformation era is that ofsemper reformanda, which means ‘always reforming,’” says Jordan Ballor in this week’s Acton Commentary. “This is a particularly appropriate topic for this observance of Reformation Day, now 500 years after Luther’s publication of the 95 Theses.” The point of departure for the Protestant Reformation was originally a somewhat limited set of topics or doctrines, particularly those related to soteriology the doctrine of salvation. In this sense Luther’s...

Growing up, I was fascinated with authors such as Ayn Rand, Aldous Huxley, Lois Lowry, George Orwell, and others who developed dystopian worlds through their writing. Reading their works was a fun way to explore the extremes that our society would never e. According to a recent article inWiredby Rachel Botsman, some of those fictional worlds ing ever closer to reality, with the Chinese government developing a new algorithm that will allow them to rank their citizens on a so-called...

Earlier this year two evangelical groups, theLausanne MovementandBAM Global, released apaper on the role of wealth creation in the church to address these question. In the paper they note that wealth creation is a godly gift that is frequently misunderstood. Too many Christians still have a rigid divide between the sacred and secular, which causes them to miss that “God’s concerns are holistic, and so is the mission of the church.” Another problem is that many pastors lack any experience...

Some 23 percent of Americans, and a higher percentage of Europeans, say they belong to no religion in particular. Although this is the result of a centuries-long retreat from faith, one of Europe’s most prominent religious spokesmen believes that the process may e full-circle. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi ofthe UK and a member of the House of Lords, traced the boomeraging arc of secularization and re-evangelization as part of a lecture on “Faith and the Challenges...

This weekend Protestants around the world will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Reformation Sunday, memoration of Martin Luther’s nailing his ninety-five theses to the church door Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. As Stephen Nichols says,“when we think of Martin Luther, we think of thesolas, we think of the authority of Scripture, we think of the necessity of justification by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone. But one of the crucial doctrines of Luther is vocation.” “For Martin...

A slight majority of Americans oppose banning hateful and offensive speech—but mostly because we can’t agree on what speech is hateful and offensive. That’s a key takeaway from the Cato Institute’s new survey report, “The State of Free Speech and Tolerance in America.” The findings in almost every category are distressing for those who abhor offensive speech but believe it should remain legal to express such sentiments in the public square. According to the report, only 59 percent of Americans...

Justice is essential to how we go about our work, says Katherine Leary Alsdorf. In this video produced by Values & Capitalism, Alsdorf and others discuss how Christian business leaders can offer a living witness of Christ’s love by utilizing their social and material capital in love and justice. ...