Faith and Law

Genesis 1:26 reveals that God made humanity in His image, and reflecting His nature, for an awesome task and responsibility: to rule responsibly over all He has made. Being good stewards of God’s creation is both a biblical mandate and the historical legacy of the Christian church. In this lecture, Dr. Jessica Moerman of the Evangelical Environmental Network presented on how environmental stewardship is at its heart a discipleship issue and part of our Christian witness, as well as a matter of defending the lives and health of the most vulnerable -- including our children, both born and unborn. She will also separate fact from fiction on the science of climate change and the role of human activity on today’s global warming. Lecture will be followed by discussion with Dr. Moerman, John Hart and David Bond of C3 Solutions.Support the show

Succeeding on Capitol Hill isn't quite a mathematical equation, but there are some important guideposts that will make that success much more likely. In this session, long-time Hill veteran Bill Wichterman will offer very practical guidance about how to become an excellent staffer who is more likely to advance.Support the show

James 1:19 teaches that we should be "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." As Christian policy advocates strive to honor God's heart for all of his creation, it is important to listen to the experiences of our Black brothers and sisters in Christ. After a year of racial unrest, we should lead by listening and learning. This forum will feature a conversation with African-American Christian leaders about how we can better reflect God's heart for ethnic diversity and foster racial unity among Christians, and make a positive impact on our nation. For additional resources on this topic:Read "Black Lives Matter? Embracing the Proclamation or the Organization" by Kelvin Cochran.Visit the American Bible Society's website for Bible-based resources on justice.Support the show

Have rancor and hyper-partisanship in our politics gone so far that recovery is impossible? Is America now a fading, failing democracy? Or can we come together as one nation to revitalize our experiment in ordered liberty in the 2020s? David Blankenhorn will address these questions and discuss them with us. David is president and co-founder of Braver Angels, a national citizens' initiative working to bridge the political divide in politics and society. David Blankenhorn is president of Braver Angels, a citizens’ organization working for less rancor and more goodwill in politics and society. Before co-founding Braver Angels, David led the Institute for American Values, a think tank on civil society he founded in 1988. He also founded the Mississippi Community Service Corps and the Virginia Community Service Corps and co-founded the National Fatherhood Initiative. The author of four books, David grew up in Jackson, Mississippi; graduated from Harvard College in 1977; received an M.A. in history from the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, in 1979; and lives today in New York City.Support the show

We are in the midst of a very controversial election period in which there have been reams of commentary about the role played by evangelicals. How can the church engage in political issues without having a politicized faith? What should we be thinking about the role of Evangelicals in the riot at the Capitol? How does the American evangelical church come back together and heal as one body even with divergent political views? Join us as Dr. Timothy Dalrymple, President and CEO of Christianity Today and Walter Kim, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, tackle these difficult questions.Support the show

Michelle Altman, Chief of Staff to Senator James Lankford shares her story "Excellence in Work and Following Christ on the Hill.” Support the show

Americans have long cared about preserving a tradition of liberal arts education, seeing it as key to a free society of citizens with both the knowledge and virtue to sustain self-governance and to advance social order and prosperity. In this webinar, Professor Mooney will analyze the major philosophical debates about educational policy, such as between pragmatist, Marxist, classical liberal and Christian views of education. She will explain key principles that could shape the goals and practices of American educational policies, curricula, and institutions. Based on the conviction that humans are created in the image of God, a good, practical and just education should focus on learning as an end in and of itself that forms intellectual and moral virtue and allows students to pursue a diversity of vocations, regardless of one’s social origins.Introduction by Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC)Support the show

A discussion of the short-term and long-range challenges facing Great Tradition Christians in an America increasingly unmoored from its moral and cultural foundations.Support the show

Is “social justice” the same as “biblical justice,” or do these concepts sometimes diverge? On the one hand, social justice seems deeply indebted to Christian thought and practice. On the other hand, some of its most active proponents today are secularists, sometimes even Marxist atheists. In light of such complications, how ought Christians interact with the “social justice movement” in the United States today?Recommended reading:Social Justice Rites: Sacrificial Politics and Sacred Victims by Molly Brigid McGrathJustice in the Bible by Timothy KellerBible Project Justice VideoJustin Giboney is an attorney and political strategist in Atlanta, GA. He is also the Co-Founder and President of the AND Campaign, which is a coalition of urban Christians who are determined to address the sociopolitical arena with the compassion and conviction of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Giboney has managed successful campaigns for elected officials in the state and referendums relating to the city’s transportation and water infrastructure. In 2012 and 2016, Georgia’s 5th congressional district elected him as a delegate for the Democratic National Convention and he served as the co-chair of Obama for America’s Gen44-Atlanta initiative. A former Vanderbilt University football player and law student, Justin served on the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Board of Directors. He’s written op-eds for publications such as Christianity Today and The Hill.R. J. Snell is the Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ, and is senior fellow at the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. Prior to those appointments he was Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College. He earned his MA in philosophy at Boston College, and his PhD in philosophy at Marquette University. Research interests include the liberal arts, ethics, natural law theory, Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the work of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. He is the author of Through a Glass Darkly: Bernard Lonergan and Richard Rorty on Knowing without a God’s-eye View(Marquette, 2006), Authentic Cosmopolitanism (with Steve Cone, Pickwick, 2013), The Perspective of Love: Natural Law in a New Mode (Pickwick, 2014), Acedia and Its Discontents (Angelico, 2015), and co-editor of Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern and Nature: Ancient and Modern, as well as articles, chapters, and essays in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. He and his family reside in the Princeton area.David Corey is a professor of Political Science focusing on political philosophy in the Honors Program at Baylor University. He is also an affiliated member of the departments of Philosophy and Political Science. He was an undergraduate at Oberlin, where he earned a BA in Classics from the College and a BMus in music from the Conservatory. He studied law and jurisprudence at Old College, Edinburgh before taking up graduate work in political philosophy at Louisiana State University. He is the author of two books, The Just War Tradition (with J. Daryl Charles) (2012) and The Sophists in Plato’s Dialogues (2015). He has written more than two dozen articles and book chapters in such venues as the Review of Politics, History of Political ThoughtSupport the show

Christians are invited by God to help those in poverty, and many are eager to answer that call. But how? Peter Greer, Jena Nardella, and Oye Waddell offer a biblical and economic understanding of how to address poverty and foster sustainable economic development and human flourishing. Click to read the panelists' slides:Jena NardellaPeter GreerOye WaddellRecommended reading:Created to Flourish by Peter Greer and Phil SmithThe Redemptive Nonprofit by PraxisSupport the show