The approaching G8 summit in Scotland has led the World Council of Churches to renew its call for a debt-free world. That is, debt-free if you are one of those developing nations that have been victimized by “increasingly unconscionable levels of inequity,” according to Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, general secretary. There is nothing in Rev. Kobia’s letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair that is new — the WCC has been lobbying for debt cancellation for years. And it is...

A good question and discussion over at WorldMagBlog: “Should everything that’s immoral be illegal, regulated, or punished? If so, by which kind of government (include family and church as kinds of governments)? Can you give an example of a behavior that’s immoral but shouldn’t be regulated by the state?” My answer: Here’s what Aquinas has to say on this (in part), and I think it has a lot of merit in determining when and in what situations conduct should be...

Contained in this year’s Christian Reformed Church 2005 Agenda for Synod, which will be held June 11-18, is a report from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches recent General Council in Accra, Ghana (pp. 257-63). The agenda states, “A reading of this document will make it clear that, while all participants appreciated mon Christian concern regarding issues of poverty and the oppressive structures that contribute to it, not all delegates fortable with either the decision-making process or the ideological positions...

Here’s a different, deeply flawed, and downright chilling take on the creation of genetic chimeras: David P. Barash, professor of psychology at the University of Washington, es them as a sign of the “continuity” between humans and other creatures. Barash attacks “religious fundamentalists” who draw “the line at the emergence of human beings from other ‘lower’ life forms. It is a line that exists only in the minds of those who proclaim that the human species, unlike all others, possesses...

Cuke Skywalker vs. Darth Tater The popularity of the Star Wars franchise (and Episode III Revenge of the Sith) has been fertile ground (pun intended) for various political satire mentary. For a mildly entertaining take on Star Wars from the Organic Trade Association, attacking “the dark side of the farm…more chemical than vegetable, twisted and evil,” visit “Grocery Store Wars.” Check out the Acton Institute’s Environmental Newsletter on Genetically Modified Foods. ...

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. –U.S. Book of Common Prayer, “For the...

Jordan Ballor writes about the ethical and moral implications of creating genetic chimeras. ments on a recent New York Times editorial promoting chimera research, calling their thinking “scientific pragmatism” and criticizing the general lack of understanding of both human nature and anthropology. “The creation of new kinds of chimeras, using manipulation at the cellular and sub-cellular level, raises the stakes considerably,” writes Ballor about the level of public controversy involved with chimera research thus far. Pursuing further research without adhering...

The Road to Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek This OpinionJournal article, “Investing in the Right Ideas,” by James Piereson, surveys a brief history of philanthropy in the 20th century. Piereson describes three phases of conservative philanthropy, initiated by F. A. Hayek in the 40’s and 50’s. He writes, “The seminal influence on these funders was F.A. Hayek’s ‘The Road to Serfdom,’ published in London in 1944 and in the U.S. the following year. This slender volume, an articulate call to...

Very often in political discourse, the labels liberal/progressive are juxtaposed with conservative/traditional (or variants thereof). But there are numerous instances where these terms e misleading, not only due to various connotations associated with them, but because the denotation of each word may not adequately describe the position on either side. Take the educational choice movement, for example. To the extent that this multifaceted phenomenon can be called a unified “movement,” its defining characteristic might well be identified as the upsetting...

Following up on my post yesterday about the controversial Japanese history textbook that glosses over Japan’s past wartime aggressions, a new textbook is plete which will act as a supplement to current Japanese history textbooks with a much plete picture of what happened around the time of World War II. The new textbook is a joint project by scholars and historians from Japan, China, and Korea. While the first controversial textbook was published by a nationalistic organization and tended to...