Religion Dispatches
…ustice and fair play at all levels of human interaction.” Much more than a business model for specialty banks, he and many others believe that Islamic economics offers a much wider vision. The conventional view of the homo economicus—super-rational, selfish utility maximizer—dehumanizes people, denying the divine stamp on our nature. A truly Islamic economic theory, they believe, should restructure consumer preferences, ensuring that basic necessi…
Read More…e anymore after civil unions were passed but they were hardly “run out” of business. The rules of doing business with the state changed, and it was Catholic Charities that chose to not play by those rules. If Catholic Charities really cared about the children they would find a way to work with the state instead of taking their services and depriving children of good homes—whether they were gay or straight parents. If religious organizations choose…
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…trike many outsiders as a straightforward, money-motivated swindle. In the business of hope, there’s already very little overlap between the legal and the ethical—and, it seems, little clarity on where the legal marketing ends and the illegal stuff begins. What’s clear is that dreams are good business. It’s fitting that Herbalife’s current Chairman and CEO, Michael Johnson, along with its president, Des Walsh, are both former executives at the sam…
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…legitimately push the boundaries of our understanding of modern politics, business and government. But as we address our own discomfort in the face of such material, we need to remind ourselves that investigative journalism discomfits the author as well. Journalists like Baker are constantly checking and cross checking, making sure that disturbing information is in fact so. Even more awkward are the disturbing questions that the journalist cannot…
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…itled “Worst Fears Confirmed” the calligraphy studio owners cite a wedding business that was accused of discrimination in 2015. As it turns out, the Equal Opportunity Department found insufficient evidence of discrimination against that business and nothing happened. No fine, no jail time. But more to the point, the women have not been threatened with any punishment and have not even, to the best of my knowledge, violated the ordinance. The proble…
Read More…est for the country. He has been an unusually successful problem solver in business. He has raised remarkable children. Many who have known him personally speak highly of his kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity. For Grudem, Trump’s success in business is a testament to his character. It “shows” that he isn’t actually racist, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic or misogynistic—though exactly how it shows this is anyone’s guess. Grudem “thinks” Trump…
Read More…y not simply check his faith at the workplace door. Accordingly, Christian business owners, as a matter of scriptural requirement, are obligated to conduct their business as an expression of their faith and in accordance with the dictates of faith and conscience. “This case throws into sharp relief the problems that can arise when the Christian doctrine of work is not properly understood,” Hugh Whelchel, the executive director of the Institute for…
Read More…ors thus concluded that “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy.” No surprise there, right? But it is surprising to learn that, just like your average schmo, the interest groups “have little or no independent influence.” Although the breathless headlines suggest otherwise, the authors never baldly state that the U.S. is run by an oligarchy. Instead they be…
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…s of thing that normally require a significant tourist industry or leisure class to support. That kind of shopping takes place on the weekends, yet all but one store on Main Street in Quitman was closed this Sunday. I was especially taken by the two largest of them, both of them going out of business. Romine’s Furniture especially caught my eye, even before I noticed that it was open, so I had a look around. Things were not cheap and did not seem…
Read More…of Born-Again America, told me, a common narrative at the intersection of business and evangelicalism as that the state is the “enemy” of “godly forms of consumerism: the local business or large-scale ‘Christian’ corporation.” The Greens, though, believe the Bible should influence more than just business: Beyond their stores, and beyond the elder [David] Green’s unmatched generosity to evangelical causes, Steve Green, Hobby Lobby’s president, has…
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