Liberty is a word which, according as it is used, comprehends the most good and the most evil of any in the world.

Oliver Ellsworth played an instrumental role in the shaping of the early Republic. Not only did he ratify the constitution but he also served as Chief Justice of the United States from 1796 to 1800. Ellsworth, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Connecticut, is credited with dropping the term "national" for the arm of the central government and replacing it with "federal."

At the convention, Ellsworth played a major role in passing the Great Compromise, which allowed U.S. Senators to be elected by state...

There is a trend among evangelicals to engage in social reform without first developing a coherent social philosophy to guide the agenda. To bridge this gap, Acton Institute and Kuyper College are partnering together to translate Abraham Kuyper's seminal three-volume work on common grace (De gemeene gratie). The below excerpt is from Wisdom & Wonder: Common Grace in Science & Art, the first published selection from the broader project forthcoming later this year from Christian's Library Press. Common grace, as Kuyper conceived it, was a theology of public responsibility and cultural engagement, rooted in Christians'...

Review of Darren Dochuk's From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the rise of Evangelical Conservatism (ISI, Dec 2010) ISBN: 978-0-393-06682-1. Hardback, 520 pages; $28.99.

Southern evangelicals that, beginning in the 1930s, left their towns and farms for the fresh optimism and opportunities of Southern California transformed a region, molding it into their own. Darren Dochuk's account From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the rise of Evangelical Conservatism tells the story of the vast Depression era migration of those who not only sought better economic opportunity but showed up ready to win souls and influence the culture. In 1969, "At...

The Orthodox Church is mostly known in the United States for its rich liturgical life, its adherence to ancient calendars for major Christian feast-days and, perhaps most of all, the many food and ethnic festivals offered by its multiethnic parishes. Social activism and moral witness in the public square, not so much. That has begun to change with the rise of Metropolitan Jonah, the primate of the Orthodox Church in America. This youthful bishop, born James Paffhausen in Chicago and raised in Southern California before entering monastic life in Russia, was elected to lead the OCA in November 2008. Since then, he has perhaps been the most widely quoted and covered Orthodox bishop in the United States, speaking out on social issues and...

The debate over the application of the core teachings of the Christian faith began when Jesus was presented with a Roman coin containing Caesar's image. In that moment, the Lord drew both a limitation to the legitimate power of the state, and a distinction between it and the supreme authority of Almighty God. What would unfold over the years following was a highly balanced and well thought-out hierarchy of values rooted in a core understanding of the dignity of the human person. Yet it was not so abstract a set of principles as to be incapable of providing guidance for concrete policy recommendations that nonetheless do not collapse dogmatic and unchangeable doctrine into the dynamic stuff of politics and policies.

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The Acton Institute has a strong desire to build on the significant role we are playing in contributing to the intellectual capital in evangelicalism. That is why we are collaborating with Kuyper College in Grand Rapids to produce the firstever English translation of Abraham Kuyper's seminal three-volume Common Grace. That is why Acton also acquired the Grand Rapids-based book imprint Christian's Library Press in June of 2010 and created the NIV Stewardship Study Bible with the Stewardship Council and Zondervan in 2009. We want to be a trusted and leading voice for evangelicals when it comes to developing the very best intellectual resources. Christian's Library Press will publish the translation, with the first volume scheduled to appear in the fall of 2012.

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was a Dutch theologian and statesman and his work ...

Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

For many, the greatest trial of life comes in the form of broken bodies, the aging process, and disabilities. Sometimes a tragic event or disease can drastically change somebody's quality of life. Through the ages, many saints have used their suffering to bring glory to God and call attention to the value of life. But many others have suffered in silence and been overtaken by despair and loneliness because of their affliction. It is why the old adage "health is more important than wealth" survives. It will not always be like that though.

Thomas Aquinas called the Transfiguration "the greatest miracle" because it showed the perfection of life in heaven. It also gives us insight into...