Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 180
February 24, 2016
Lutherans and Anglicans together
While liberal Lutherans and liberal Episcopalians have gone the way of mainline Protestantism in its anything-goes ecumenism, it is a different story with church bodies that still hold to their historical doctrines. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) has broken away from the Episcopal Church (U.S.A.), joining other global Anglicans in affirming a more [Read More...]
Did a Massachusetts court ban Christian schools?
A court in Massachusetts ruled that a Catholic school is guilty of discrimination against an employee who was let go because he is gay. The religious exemption doesn’t apply, said the judge, because the school admits non-Catholic students. According to one observer, “This court decision makes it impossible for faith-based institutions to survive.” From Loredana [Read More...]
Zika virus or pesticide?
The Zika virus is associated with rare birth defect microcephaly, but no causal connection has yet been established and anomalies keep cropping up. Though much of Latin America is plagued with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the vast majority of the birth defects are found in Brazil. And a significant number of microcephaly cases are being [Read More...]
February 23, 2016
Lutheranism & ethnicity
Lutheran churches in America have an ethnic origin–they were usually started by communities of German, Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian immigrants–and that has definitely shaped the culture of local congregations, sometimes putting off new people who want to join. I remember marveling at the Germanness of our congregation in Wisconsin, with its Men’s Club singing “Sie [Read More...]
Tonight the Republicans caucus in Nevada
The Democratic caucus in Nevada was last Saturday. Nevada Republicans caucus tonight. Trump, being a Las Vegas kind of guy, is expected to win, but second place could help Rubio or Cruz. I’ll try to post the results here, if they are available before it gets too late. The thing is, the Republican party in [Read More...]
Dirty tricks
First the Cruz campaign circulated a false rumor that Ben Carson was quitting the race, costing the physician votes in New Hampshire. Then the Cruz campaign photoshopped a picture of Marco Rubio shaking hands with President Obama. Now the Cruz campaign has circulated a video allegedly showing Rubio dissing the Bible. But that’s not what [Read More...]
Great Britain will vote on leaving the European Union
The United Kingdom will hold a referendum on June 23 on whether or not to remain in the European Union. They are calling it “Brexit,” a mash-up of “Britain” and “exit.” From Everything to Know About Britain’s E.U. Referendum | TIME: The United Kingdom is in the throes of “Brexit” mania, now that [Read More...]
February 22, 2016
A Copt responds, on their not being Monophysites
I recently posted about the Lutheran video tribute to the 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya, going on to address the accusation that the Copts are monophysite heretics. Reader Ori Pomerantz shared the post with Medhat Ghabrial, a Coptic Christian, who wrote a fascinating comment on Facebook that I had to share with you (with his [Read More...]
The sermon at Justice Scalia’s funeral
At Justice Scalia’s funeral, his son, Rev. Paul Scalia, a priest, gave the sermon. Compare it to other funeral eulogies and sermons that you have heard lately. This one was not about his father’s accomplishments, his good works, and sentimental memories about him. It was about Jesus. From Transcript: Rev. Paul Scalia’s eulogy for his father, [Read More...]
The delegate math
We focus on the number of votes candidates rack up. But an Associated Press story reminds us that the number of delegates is everything in winning the nomination. And that might not have anything to do with the number of votes each candidate won. For example, in South Carolina, Donald Trump won each of the [Read More...]
