Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 121

Saints I have known

Happy All Saints’ Day!  The Augsburg Confession, one of the definitive Lutheran doctrinal statements, says this about saints:  “The memory of saints may be set before us, that we may follow their faith and good works, according to our calling.” Note the vocational emphasis.  After the jump, see what else Phillip Melanchthon says on the [Read More...]

All Saints’ Day, the Reformation, and the shadow of Death

As he mourns a death in his family, Mathew Block brings together the Reformation and All Saints’ Day.  From Mathew Block, Death and the Reformation| First Things: Earlier this month I was in Wittenberg, reporting on the World Seminaries Conference of the International Lutheran Council. It was not my first trip to Wittenberg, but it was the [Read More...]

CNN caught feeding debate questions to Clinton

Donna Brazile is a Democratic operative who landed a gig as a commentator at CNN.  The Wikileak trove of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s e-mails includes Brazile giving him a question that would be asked in the CNN-hosted Town Hall debate. Earlier Wikileaks seemed to indicate that she was leaking questions in earlier debates, but [Read More...]

Blaming the messenger

Many politicians, journalists, lawyers, and pundits are just outraged that FBI director James Comey has re-opened the Clinton investigation, based on new e-mails found on disgraced ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner’s computer.  He is trying to influence the election!  He is just playing politics!  He already made his decision not to prosecute so he shouldn’t change his [Read More...]

The Reformation as a restoration of catholicity

Even some Protestants are saying that we shouldn’t celebrate Reformation Day.  Why celebrate the breakup of the catholicity of the Church?  In his excellent Reformation Sunday sermon, our pastor quoted the distinguished seminary professor and theologian Norman Nagel, who maintained that the Reformation was actually a restoration of the Church’s catholicity. Read why after the jump. [Read More...]

Pope praises Luther

Pope Francis is set to celebrate Reformation Day in a joint service with Swedish Lutherans.  A story from NPR quotes him praising Luther. It’s appropriate for Catholics to celebrate Reformation Day!  As Pope Francis says, the church had become extremely corrupt.  Without the Reformation, there would be no Counter-Reformation, which is where much of today’s Catholicism [Read More...]

The medieval Christian–not pagan–origins of Halloween

We have long been told that Halloween goes back to the ancient Celtic pagan holiday Samhain.  But Baylor historian Beth Allison Barr points out that it doesn’t.  For better or worse, Halloween and its customs grew out of Medieval Christianity. From Beth Allison Barr, Halloween: More Christian than Pagan: Yes, Halloween has similarities with (possibly accretions from) [Read More...]

What percentage of Christians observe Halloween?

Seven out of ten Americans observe Halloween.  28% of evangelicals don’t.  But most Christians seem to have made their peace with the holiday.  Almost two-thirds of pastors encourage their flocks to use the occasion as an outreach opportunity. On the other hand, the more people go to church, the more they disapprove of Halloween.  Of [Read More...]

Subverting people’s need to constantly justify themselves

In the discussion of Michael Lockwood’s new book The Unholy Trinity:  Martin Luther against the Idol of Me, Myself, and I, the author himself joined in.  He explained what he was getting at in his book in words that demonstrate what I said about his insights. In case you don’t read the comments, I didn’t want you [Read More...]

FBI re-opens investigation of Clinton

While investigating charges that former Congressman Anthony Weiner sent obscene pictures of himself to an underaged girl, the FBI found on his computer e-mails that Hillary Clinton had written to his wife, top aide Huma Abedin. Those e-mails contained something that has caused FBI Director James Comey to re-open the investigation into Clinton’s illegal e-mail [Read More...]