Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 140

California drops the proposed law targeting religious colleges

As we blogged about, the California legislature was all set to pass a law punishing Christian colleges if they “discriminate” against anyone on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.  Colleges would be unable to set behavior standards for students and would have to hire faculty members who didn’t believe in the religious position of the institution. [Read More...]

Exorcism as pastoral care

I came across a long, detailed account of an evangelical pastor who casts out demons.  Not with a rite of exorcism or a laying on of hands, but with a “conversation” in the context of what sounds like ordinary pastoral care. The pastor, Rev. Karl Payne, has written a book about his experiences and his [Read More...]

Evan McMullin for President?

Finally, an independent candidate for president has emerged, an alternative to both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump:  Evan McMullin. Who?  He has been a top staffer for the House Republican Conference and was a former CIA officer and Goldman Sachs businessman.  The 40-year-old Mormon is conservative, pro-life, and apparently has the support of at least [Read More...]

The whole world’s gone hipster

Go into a “cool” coffee shop.  Notice the reclaimed wood, big glass windows, subdued colors, and light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.  Now go into another cool coffee shop in another city.  Notice how the look is exactly the same. Now, if you can afford it, fly to Paris.  (We’ll wait.)  Go to the cool [Read More...]

Did Trump call for Hillary’s assassination?

Donald Trump has done it again, appearing to say something so over the top that some say it disqualifies him from being president: “Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment. And by the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, [Read More...]

“There’s no such thing as an ex-Catholic”

J. D. Flynn explains that a person who has been baptized into the Roman Catholic Church is always a Catholic and can never leave it.  Those who later reject the church’s teachings, lose their faith, join another ecclesiastical body, become atheists, or rebel against the church–such as pro-abortion politicians–are still Catholics.  But they will have to [Read More...]

More on Russia’s anti-evangelism law

Michael Avramovich explains more about Russia’s new laws restricting religion.  We have blogged about the one requiring all Christian evangelism–except for that of the Russian Orthodox Church–to be conducted within a church service (not in a home, not online).  There are other strict restrictions on religious bodies, again, other than the Russian Orthodox Church. From Michael Avramovich, Putin’s New [Read More...]

Conservatives voting Green?

Some conservatives, refusing to vote for Donald Trump, are hatching a “Machiavellian” solution to the problem of whom to vote for.  They are going to vote for the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein.  Why?  If the Greens get 5% of the vote, they will qualify for federal funds in 2020, which will let them be [Read More...]

Clinton’s social gospel vs. Trump’s prosperity gospel

Bobby Ross brings together some religious reporting on both candidates and gives us one of those instantly clarifying paradigms.  I’ll summarize after the jump. Hillary Clinton, with her early activism in the Methodist Church, exemplifies the Social Gospel.  This is the strain of liberal theology that teaches that the business of the church is not to save [Read More...]

A pig with a human brain

The ethical issues involved in combining human DNA with animal DNA are so great–and so obvious–that the federal government at first refused to fund those kinds of experiments.  But now, reports Timothy Willard,  the National Institute for Health has rescinded the ban. Willard reports on the kind of experimentation your tax dollars will be going towards: [Read More...]