Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 231
July 31, 2015
Jim Gilmore becomes the 17th G.O.P. contender
Jim Gillmore is running for the Republican presidential nomination. You may be forgiven for wondering, “who?” He is the former governor of Virginia with quite a few accomplishments, detailed after the jump. He is the Republican’s 17th contender. Their first debate, featuring the top 10 in the polls, will be next Thursday, August 6. We [Read More...]
July 30, 2015
Jesus walking on the water
We had a great sermon last Sunday on Jesus walking on the water (Mark 6:45-56), bringing in the ups and downs of the spiritual life, Christ’s presence in the ordinary, vocation, the Word, law, gospel. . . . From Rev. James Douthwaite, St. Athanasius Lutheran Church: Pentecost 9 Sermon: It had been a perfect day. [Read More...]
Masking interest-group politics with ideological rhetoric
Wall Street Journal columnist Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., discusses how New York City mayor Bill de Blasio tried, unsuccessfully, to block the online taxi service Uber from the Big Apple. He points out how the Democratic mayor used “progressive” rhetoric–to the point of comparing Uber to the hated Wall Mart–as a cover for old-fashioned interest [Read More...]
July 29, 2015
Now a third Planned Parenthood video, the worst yet
There is yet a third video of the Planned Parenthood fetal trafficking industry, and this one is reportedly the worst yet, showing not only more damning admissions of what the group is trying to deny but also technicians “picking over aborted baby parts.” From the description, given after the jump, I can’t bring myself to [Read More...]
Boy Scouts will no longer ban gay leaders
The Boy Scouts of America will now allow gay leaders, a decision made by its Executive Board led by former Defense Secretary, now BSA president, Robert Gates. The action applies to corporate employees. Local troops, many of which are sponsored by churches, can make their own decisions. But churches are worried that this just kicks [Read More...]
The power of feeling what someone else feels
Empathy is an important virtue–”rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15)–but there is also a neurological condition in which individuals actually do feel what those around them feel. It’s called “mirror touch synesthesia.” This is the first I’ve heard of it, coming across the article excerpted after the jump, but [Read More...]
July 28, 2015
Original sin as the bedrock of democracy
More from Barton Swaim’s Wall Street Journal review of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Major Works in Religion and Politics, explaining why the doctrine of original sin is necessary for a stable democracy. From Barton Swaim, Sifting the Wheat From the Chaff – WSJ: In “The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness” (1944), also included in [Read More...]
Questions for Planned Parenthood
Dan Phillips raises some devastating questions for Planned Parenthood. For example, if the organization is selling human body parts, what is it they killed? If abortion simply has to do with the “woman’s body,” aren’t they selling women’s bodies? See the whole slate of questions after the jump. From Dan Phillips, Pyromaniacs: The Planned Parenthood [Read More...]
Social Security status to block ownership of guns
Today’s gun laws restrict those who cannot manage their own affairs from owning firearms. So the Obama administration is planning to use Social Security to restrict gun ownership. Individuals receiving Social Security benefits that are paid to care-givers will join felons and the mentally-ill on those who will fail background checks for gun purchasers. From [Read More...]
July 27, 2015
The Future of American Evangelicalism–& Lutheranism
Patheos has put together an online symposium on the Future of American Evangelicalism. It features lots of different opinions, analyses, and strategies. Some of it applies to us Lutherans, but not all. It also suggests opportunities for a distinctly Lutheran response to our times. Check out the symposium. Then consider what it suggests for Lutheran [Read More...]
