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The American Paradox
In one sense, this is a book that would make any economist happy. In describing the material and spiritual “state of the union,” Myers uses a framework of “on one hand” and “on the other hand.” Harry Truman once remarked that he wanted a one-armed economist to avoid hearing that combination. But here, it is a pleasing characteristic, as Myers provides a thorough and mostly balanced survey of the relevant research on an array of topics that are crucial to the health of our country.Thomas More's Correspondence on Conscience
Few Roman Catholic saints are the objects of as much sustained interest as Sir Thomas More (1478–1535). The highly favorable reception of Peter Ackroyd’s impressive 1998 biography, The Life of Thomas More, is one recent reminder of this fact; one has a hard time imagining a 450-page biography of Saint Theresa of Avila or Saint Anthony the Hermit being the featured selection of The Book-of-the-Month Club or described as a “brilliant” account of a person of conscience by Time magazine.
Making the American Self
What does it mean to be an American in the new millennium? Do we believe, as the Founding Fathers did, that there is a direct connection between the manner in which we cultivate personal identity and the formation of our identity as citizens? How do modern Americans define identity as individuals and as citizens in a society that emphasizes entitlement over individual responsibility?Bobos in Paradise
Graying hippies with ponytails hold forth on the minutiae of capitalism. Sixties psychedelic music is used on commercials for retirement planning. Your broker has a tattoo. Is not this strange?Fraternal Societies and Social Concern
The first Christmas after my wife and I were married, we received an interesting gift from her grandparents - a year's worth of dues for membership at their Moose lodge. We had visited the lodge with them and other family members, using the expansive dance floor in a conservative setting to two-step our way to an enjoyable evening, but we had never seriously considered becoming members. Exercising the gift meant joining the lodge and going through its applications and initiation rites.Environmental Piety No Substitute for Technique
In 1994, a group of evangelical Christian scholars, members of the Evangelical Environmental Network, circulated a document titled “An Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation.“ The document’s aim was to spur concern for environmental action on the part of evangelical Christians.'We Were Wrong!' Yes: Hook Then, Slice Now
My love for the game of golf is, alas, not matched by an equivalent level of skill. Like many duffers, I tend to overcorrect. If I hook a shot, I am just as likely to slice the next, and my journey up the fairway reminds any spectator brave enough to watch of a drunken sailor tacking. Or I may push my putt past the hole only to follow by leaving the next one short.Biblical Theology and the Non-Abundant Life
In this book, as the title suggests, New Testament scholar Craig L. Blomberg states his purpose as giving “a comprehensive survey, in roughly historical sequence, of the major biblical witnesses to a theology of wealth for people in the church age–that is, from Pentecost onward” (30). Christian scholars of the more orthodox type will look hopefully to the notable aims of the volume, as to those of the entire series of studies in biblical theology of which it is a part. It seems that neither D. A.Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment
Adam Smith (1723—1790) is best remembered today as the celebrated author of The Wealth of Nations (1776), who defined the workings of market economies and defended principles of liberty. To his contemporaries, particularly his fellow thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith was recognized first for his profoundly original contributions to moral philosophy and natural jurisprudence.Setting the Record Straight
In recent years, the press has latched onto the work of the Evangelical Environmental Network, an organization formed under the auspices of Evangelicals for Social Action. Because many newspaper reporters and editors view evangelicals as part of the conservative “religious right,” the arrival of evangelicals who sound just like mainstream environmentalists is a news event--sort of a “man bites dog” story.Enviro-Capitalists
Aldo Leopold, one of the fathers of the modern American conservation movement and author of A Sand County Almanac, in his essay “The Farmer as Conservationist” described conservation as “harmony between men and land.” Leopold envisioned the practice of conservation as “not merely a negative exercise of abstinence or caution” but “a positive exercise of skill and insight” whereby the “pure fire of intellect” is made manifest.The Evolution of Ronald J. Sider
In 1991, Eerdmans published a revision of Craig Gay’s Ph.D. thesis. Entitled With Liberty and Justice for Whom?, the book’s subtitle conveyed its scope: The Recent Evangelical Debate Over Capitalism.