Acton Line

David George Moore, founder and president of Two Cities Ministries, discusses his recent book Stuck in the Present: How History Frees and Forms Christians. Dylan Pahman, Acton research fellow and executive editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality, joins Moore to explore his vision of how a deeper appreciation of history can ground Christians in an age in which one too often faces a landslide of information with insufficient tools to sift through the mess of our present world. 

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Stuck in the Present

Lord Acton: Historical and Moral Essays

Nietzsche’s Thoughts Out of Season, Part II

Orthodox Christian Social Thought and History

Raising Some Concerns over the “Inductive Method” of Bible Study

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P. J. Hill, professor of economics emeritus at Wheaton College (Illinois) and a senior fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana, delves into the topic of “Economic Inequality and Envy” based on a lecture he gave at Acton University 2022. Sarah Negri, research project coordinator at Acton, sits down with Hill to talk about the different kinds of economic inequality, the difference between inequality and poverty, and the economic and moral problems with envy being the modern standard mindset towards those who create mass wealth. They discuss the relationship between inequality and injustice with regard to human dignity, including what moral obligations might go hand in hand with being wealthy, as well as whether economic measures which have the goal of lessening inequality, such as resource transfers, are effective.

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About P. J. Hill 

Growth and Welfare in the American Past

The Birth of a Transfer Society

The Not So Wild, Wild West: Property Rights on the Frontier

A Theory of Justice (John Rawls)

John Rawls’s “veil of ignorance” thought experiment

The preferential option for the poor

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The Rev. John Arthur Nunes, Ph.D., is a Lutheran pastor and senior fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, discusses the current challenges in higher education. 

How can students be challenged to enter into the world of new ideas in an era when many students and administrators seem more concerned with affirming student identities and experience? What are the current challenges to academic freedom in the face of increasing pressure to censor ideas? How can campus leaders promote an environment of free inquiry? What bureaucratic obstacles exist to building student resilience? 

In addition, Rev. Nunes considers the promise of creative disruption in the educational status quo by new institutions of higher learning, particularly within the humanities. How does a robust education in the humanities prepare students not only for a future world of work but all of life.

The conversation concludes with an illuminating discussion of the religious dimensions of current conflicts in higher education and how trust can be restored in damaged institutions.

Harvard lecturer takes heat for defending existence of biological sex 

Biology Lecturer’s Comments on Biological Sex Draw Backlash

University of Austin

Pano Kanelos on the University of Austin | Acton Line

Academic Leaders Task Force on Campus Free Expression

Meant for More: In, With. and Under the Ordinary | John Nunes

Wittenberg Meets the World: Reimagining the Reformation at the Margins | Alberto L. Garcia

The Road to Character | David Brooks

A World after Liberalism: Philosophers of the Radical Right | Matthew Rose

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You’ve heard of the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Each is a natural and recurring human weakness that impedes happiness. In addition to these vices, however, there are deadly economic “sins.” They, too, wreak havoc in both our personal lives and in society. They can seem intuitively compelling, yet lead to waste and lost prosperity. Dylan Pahman, Acton’s research fellow and executive editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality, sat down with James R. Otteson, author of "Seven Deadly Economic Sins," to discuss his lecture on this very topic during Acton University 2022. 

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‘Seven Deadly Economic Sins’ 

About James R. Otteson 

David Hume | Essential Scholars

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The Acton Institute’s Emerging Leaders Program is a leadership development initiative that brings together a cohort of students from across the nation and globe for a transformative experience. During the summer, Emerging Leaders gain professional experience, grow their network, and delve deeper into the ideas of a free and virtuous society. 

In this episode, we sit down with three of our Emerging Leaders: Walker Haskins, Lauren McCoy, and David Mendoza. They discuss Acton’s Emerging Leaders Program, the landscape of the broader liberty movement, and how Acton fits into their future scholarly pursuits. Also discussed is Walter’s and David’s research on Wawrzyniec Goślicki, a 16th-century influential but now largely forgotten Polish bishop whose book, The Accomplished Senator, argued for the importance of legislative bodies in mediating between a monarch’s absolutist tendencies and noblemen’s attempts to acquire more power.

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Emerging Leaders Program | Acton Institute 

Our Mission & Core Principles | Acton Institute

Why Read the Classics in Economics? | Econlib

How to Get Action | Foundation for Economic Education

Wawrzyniec Goślicki | Wikipedia

‘De optimo senatore’ | Wikipedia

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Francis Beckwith, professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University, discusses the lecture he gave at Acton University 2022 entitled, “Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith.” Sarah Negri, Acton’s research project coordinator, sits down with Beckwith to discuss how religious rites such as marriage have a special significance not typically recognized in civil law, and how religion is unfairly set up as in conflict with reason, when in fact rites and religious observances can be profoundly reasonable. In addition, they talk about the difference between conscience and religious freedom, and how using these two similar but distinct concepts as a basis for legal decisions may have different social ramifications.

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About Francis J. Beckwith 

Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith 

The Heart Has Its Reasons | Church Life Journal 

Is it Time to Rethink the School Prayer Cases? | Anchoring Truths 

Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith | Kresta in the Afternoon 

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Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, discusses his new book, “Check Your Financial Privilege,” and how cryptocurrency can aid in pulling people out of poverty. Dan Hugger, Acton’s librarian and research associate, sits down with Gladstein to discuss what's happening, for example, in Nigeria, where human rights activists depend on Bitcoin for donations. In Cuba, those who saved in Bitcoin managed to stay afloat after a dual-currency system devalued the peso. In El Salvador, where remittance fees and exchange rates can eat away a simple money transfer to family members in need, Bitcoin offers hope with lower fees and faster transactions. 

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‘Check Your Financial Privilege’

About Alex Gladstein 

The Quest for Digital Cash | Bitcoin Magazine 

Bitcoin's Price Surge Amid Doubts: What Would Aquinas Say? | Forbes 

Crypto and Blockchain: A flash in the pan or something more? | Acton Institute 

Should you bet on Bitcoin? | Acton Institute 

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“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” is one of the most popular Christian podcasts of the past year. It chronicles how Mars Hill Church in Seattle went from one of the most influential multisite evangelical churches in the U.S. to an abuse- and scandal-ridden nightmare, finally having to shut its doors for good in 2014 following the resignation of its charismatic founder, Mark Driscoll.

Eric Kohn, Acton’s director of marketing and communications, sits down with Mike Cosper, producer, writer, and host of the podcast, to discuss the lessons from the stories Cosper tells in “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill,” as well as the problems associated with celebrity pastors and church institutions. 

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‘The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill’ Podcasts | Christianity Today 

About Mike Cosper

Is Christianity doing more harm than good to American men? | Acton Institute PowerBlog 

Saving men requires the leadership of laymen | Acton Institute PowerBlog 

Faithfulness Is the Future of the Church | Acton Institute

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Anthony Bradley, professor of religious studies at The King’s College, NYC, and Acton research fellow, sits down with Dan Churchwell, Acton’s director of program outreach, to discuss the importance of fatherhood as well as Dr. Bradley’s new research on the good that fraternities do in the way of moral formation of young men.

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About Anthony B. Bradley, PhD 

Black Marriage Matters | Acton Institute 

Saving men requires the leadership of laymen | Acton Institute 

Is Christianity doing more harm than good to American men? | Acton Institute 

Mobilizing Fathers to Close Prisons - Dr. Anthony Bradley | BreakPoint 

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Award-winning author Jessica Hooten Wilson has written an exciting new book—“The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints”—on how we’re called to live beyond a merely mundane existence of settling for small goals. In fact, we’re called to live a life of holiness. Wilson instructs us on how hearing the call to holiness requires cultivating a new imagination—one rooted in the art and discipline of reading. Reading with eyes attuned to the saints who populate great works of literature enables us to see how God opens up ways of holy living. 

Sarah Negri, Acton’s research project coordinator, sits down with Wilson to discuss how literature has the power to show us what a truly holy life looks like. 

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The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints

About Jessica Hooten Wilson 

Jessica Hooten Wilson on Solzhenitsyn Against Propaganda | Acton Institute YouTube Channel 

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