This week I will be attending the conference promoted by the Acton Institute.  The Acton Institute is named in honor of John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (1834-1902).  Lord Acton was the 1st Baron of Aldenham.  He was known as a historian of freedom. He made the history of liberty his life’s work. He believed that political liberty is the essential condition and guardian of religious liberty.

The Acton Institute’s work is to promote a free, virtuous, and humane society. According to the information provided on its web page, the Institute “recognizes the benefits of a limited government, but also the beneficent consequences of a free market. It embraces an objective framework of moral values, but also recognizes and appreciates the subjective nature of economic value. It views justice as a duty of all to give the one his due but, more importantly, as an individual obligation to serve the common good and not just his own needs and wants.”

During the week, I will be attending the following seminars:

1.  “Social and Economic Context of the New Testament.”

2.  “Frederic Bastiat: Christian and Apostle of the Market.”

3.  “Political Economy of the American Founding.”

4.  “Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity and Capitalism.”

5.  “Biblical and Theological Foundations of Environmentalism.”

6.  “Introduction to Protestant Social Thought.”

7.  “Adam Smith: Philosopher and Political Economist.”

8.  “Alexis de Tocqueville: Philosopher of Civil Society.”

9.  “The Protestant Ecumenical Movement, Doctrine and Economics.”

10. “Integration of Sound Economics into Expository Preaching.”

11. “The Federalist Debate: Balancing Liberty and Order.”

I hope to learn much during this week of conferences.  I will be taking notes and upon my return, I will give an evaluation of the conference and of what I learned during the week.

Since I will be away from my office this week, I will not be blogging until Monday, June 20.  At that time, I will catch up on some topics that I have been planning to blog about since the beginning of the academic year.  This academic year has been very busy and I have not posted as often as I should.

One of my projects this summer is to finish writing an article that is due in July, and write another article by the end of August.  In addition, I have several books I want to read before the beginning of the academic year in September. It will be a busy summer for me.

Have a safe summer.  I will be in touch soon.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary