Good and Evil
Items on the problem of evil and responses to evil
Newton, Wilberforce, and the Spirituality of Abolition
Mon 12 Mar 2007 by Jonathan Aitken
Wilberforce was no mere humanitarian; his motivations were much deeper (Part 1 of 2).
Wilberforce has come down in history as something of a lone-ranger humanitarian, but Jonathan Aitken, executive director of the Trinity Forum in Europe and author of a new biography of John Newton, sets the record straight by looking at newly available letters of Newton that throw additional light on what was at one point Wilberforce’s great secret—his evangelical faith. First of two parts.
The Economics of Slavery
Tue 27 Feb 2007 by Peter Edman
We need the creativity of a George Washington Carver to tackle the slave economy.
One thing that strikes me as I consider the statistics of modern-day slavery that Jody Hassett Sanchez and others report—upwards of 27 million people and an economic impact of $12 billion (presumably yearly)—is that, even bracketing the horrendous moral issues for a moment, the economic return is so appalling.
Consider by comparison the case of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest corporation: It has around 106,000 employees worldwide and made a profit of $39.5 billion just in 2006. Considering their $340 billion in revenue, some analysts argue that their return on investment is actually low. I’m no analyst, but it looks to me like a person in slavery generates $444. Compare this with the $373,000 profit and $3.2 million revenue per Exxon employee. It boggles the mind.
Today’s Fight for Abolition
Thu 15 Feb 2007 • Responses: 3 • by Jody Hassett Sanchez
“The concept that it is wrong for any individual to own and control another remains as powerful a catalyst for change today as it was in Wilberforce’s time.”
LOME, TOGO—Amazing Grace, the new film about William Wilberforce, concludes with what many consider his greatest life work—the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 1807. But a walk through a dusty open-air market in Lome, Togo today makes it painfully clear that the slave trade is flourishing two hundred years later.
Tiny boys—they would be considered “preschoolers” in the West—strain to push overloaded wooden carts through the crowded market. Their workday begins before dawn and continues until late in the evening when they are permitted to collapse beside their cart, in the dirt, for a few hours of rest.
Most of these young laborers can’t remember what rural village they came from or who their families are. All they know is that they will be beaten and killed if they attempt to escape those who took them from their homes and force them to do this brutal work.
Beyond Moral Bewilderment
Tue 06 Feb 2007 • Responses: 1 • by Dallas Willard
Where is Moral Knowledge?
Senior Fellow Dallas Willard says that moral knowledge is no longer readily available to most people in the normal course of our lives. He shows why this has happened and explains by contrast how the enduring influence of Jesus on the world is due to his sound, intelligent, and testable answers to the basic questions of human life. His life and teaching is real knowledge, by which we can and should live.
Worries About Europe
Wed 13 Dec 2006 by Al McDonald
A response from the founding chairman of the Trinity Forum.
Dear Trinity Forum Friends:
This is to commend the fine essay by David Aikman on “Civilization and Crisis and Europe’s Choices.” It is a superbly reasoned piece that I fully endorse. My only reservation is that the threat of Islamic extremism is certainly as grave as David suggests and he may have even understated the danger.
My worries about Europe are even greater than David’s expressed concerns. I suspect Europe’s only chance to counter the infiltration and ultimate force of the Islamic youth movement and immigration is with a solid Christian revival as David mentioned has happened before historically. Yet, at the moment I see little acceptance in Europe by the general public or governmental officials of Christianity or even its basic tenets, ignoring almost completely the deep Christian roots that have shaped Europe’s enormous success near the pinnacle of civilization for many generations.
Civilization’s Crisis and Europe’s Choices
Tue 05 Dec 2006 by David Aikman
Ideology, Intolerance, and Identity
Senior Fellow David Aikman discusses the European crisis highlighted by militant Islam and considers its sources, current factors, and—given historical precedents—the prospects for a revitalized Continent.
9/11—Five Years On
Mon 11 Sep 2006 • Responses: 2 • by David Aikman
“It might be said that in the U.S. little has changed. The nation goes about its business with little external indication that it is at war. But overseas the ripple effects of 9/11 continue to have global impact.”
As anniversaries go, it’s not a happy one. Five years ago 19 young Arabs hijacked three airliners and crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the deaths of some 3,000 people. The vicious terrorist act precipitated a retaliatory U.S. attack on Afghanistan, which had given shelter to the al-Qaeda perpetrators of the terrorism. For nearly five years the U.S. and other NATO forces have continued a military presence in Afghanistan, attempting to suppress the still-persistent unwillingness of the ousted Taliban to admit defeat—and permit Afghanistan to enter the twenty-first century.
Ethics in Guerrilla Warfare
Fri 08 Sep 2006 • Responses: 1 • by David Aikman
“Just war principles work successfully only among nations that acknowledge the same moral laws at work.”
In Israel, from which I have just returned, I saw the effects of the explosions of 30,000 ball-bearings when Hezbollah warheads carrying them crashed in among or near civilian residences. In Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, steel guardrails on roads were peppered with holes shot clean through them, entire halves of three-story houses were demolished. Dozens of Israeli civilians were killed by these random—but deliberate—assaults.
How do you fight a war against fanatical fighters who hide themselves and their weapons amid civilians and deliberately aim those same weapons against civilians in another country?
Aikman on European Anti-Semitism
Fri 09 Jun 2006 by TTF Staff
Senior Fellow David Aikman has an important article on anti-Semitism in Europe in the current Christianity Today.
The article is titled “An Ugly Phoenix Reborn: European anti-Semitism is more widespread than has been let on.”
Faith Ensures a Future
Fri 05 May 2006 by Peter Edman
In an excellent piece from April, Cardinal Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, assesses Islam and the West. This is precisely the tone—nuanced, respectful, confident, cheerful—I wish I heard more from Christians when considering their cultural context.
In ”Islam and Western Democracies,” Cardinal Pell makes a useful survey of the history of the relationship of Islam and Christianity and considers the resources that each side brings to bear. He offers both an optimistic assessment and a pessimistic assessment of the chances for reform within Islam—and what is important, adds in a realistic and vibrant sense of Christian hope for the future. He also touches on the often vexed question of whether Islam and Christianity and Judaism worship the same God and the question of the respective influences of culture, religion, and politics.
