From the Holy Land, sung in Arabic. Merry Christmas to all PowerBlog readers and our blogging crew! St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 4:4-7 Brethren, when the time had e, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are...

I love the song, “Mary, did you know?”… Reflect on the words… The Incarnation is at the heart of the Gospel– not just that Jesus came as the GodMan in bodily form, as the ultimate sin-bearer, as the Perfect High Priest offering Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins. Beyond that, consider the manner of the Incarnation– He didn’t just roll down here for a week, hop on a cross, and rise from the dead. He lived our kind...

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898)The Mackinac Center notes that today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of British parliamentarian and statesman William Gladstone, and links to a 2003 article from the center’s president, Lawrence W. Reed. Reed points to Gladstone’s long and distinguished political career, which included multiple tenures as prime minister. What made this son of Scottish parents both great and memorable, however, was not simply a long career in government. Indeed, as a devoutly religious man he always...

Acton Research Fellow Dr. Kevin Schmiesing made an appearance earlier today on The Drew Mariani Show on the Relevant Radio Network.He joined guest hostWendy Wiese to discuss school choice and the history of public education in the United states. To listen, use the audio player below. [audio: ...

There’s a new answer to the question, “What would Jesus drive?”, a contention that won’t sit well with the environmental activists who first raised the question. The inevitably revisionist logic of the prosperity gospel has to hold that “Jesus couldn’t have been poor because he received lucrative gifts — gold, frankincense and myrrh — at birth. Jesus had to be wealthy because the Roman soldiers who crucified him gambled for his expensive undergarments. Even Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, lived...

In a new column in The Detroit News, I set authentic environmental stewardship against the goings-on at the recently concluded UN Copenhagen conference. A slightly longer version of mentary will be published tomorrow in the weekly Acton News & Commentary. Merry Christmas to all! The not-so-subtle politicizing of science revealed by the Climategate affair, along with the alarmist and at times downright silly antics of some proponents of environmentalism (a word that has acquired numerous shades of mitment), ought not...

During this holiday travel season, which has you more concerned, conventional terror attacks of the kind attempted on Christmas Day or tech terrorism, which aims to take down access to or breach puter networks? John P. Avlon of the Manhattan Institute makes the case that the latter perhaps represents a greater threat to national and economic security. Avlon concludes, “Whether it is perpetrated by al-Qaida, a hostile nation, or a lone hacker, we cannot afford to wait for a digital...

As we enjoy the final days of 2009, notable for among other things the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, take the time to enjoy this video creation from James C. Schaap, professor of English at Dordt College, featuring quotes about creation from the writings of John Calvin, music by the Dordt College Concert Choir, and photography by Schaap. As Calvin writes, “Nothing is so obscure or contemptible, even in the smallest corners of the earth, that it can’t display...

The Greatest? I post the following excerpt of an editorial from a Danish news outlet without ment, other than to say that I look forward to giving our munity the opportunity to have a grand old time trying e up with new superlatives to describe just how fantastically stupid this is: EDITORIAL: Obama greater than Jesus He is provocative in insisting on an outstretched hand, where others only see animosity. His tangible results in the short time that he has...

Ryan T. Anderson, editor of the Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse, takes note of an in-depth NYT profile of Prof. Robby George (HT: MoJ). In the NYT profile, George is presented as the central figure in the formation of the ecumenical coalition behind the Manhattan Declaration, and adds a number of important contexts for George’s academic, intellectual, and political endeavors. Anderson characterizes the profile as “pretty evenhanded,” saying it “provides a nice overview of the academic and political work that George...