Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 260
March 23, 2015
Persecuted Christians who fight back
Christians worldwide have been facing intense persecution. But now some of them are fighting back. Pakistani churches have been subject to periodic attacks for decades. But last time that happened, when an attack on a worship service killed 14 and wounded 70, some 4,000 Christians staged a riot of their own, lynching two suspects. Authorities [Read More...]
Americans who want everything
A major opinion poll has found that Americans want BOTH more government spending AND lower taxes. Also legalized marijuana. When it comes to religion, the poll shows the vast majority of Americans believe in God, with only 3% being atheists; and yet 21% say they have no religion. How can people who want EVERYTHING, including [Read More...]
The internet’s utopian libertarianism
The Washington Post has a fascinating article about a manifesto written in 1996 entitled A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. (Click the link. It’s worth reading.) The piece is by John Perry Barlow, who articulated a utopian high-tech libertarianism that still influences the tech industry and internet culture. His writing lauds the radical freedom [Read More...]
March 21, 2015
What’s the difference between pastors and laypeople?
Rev. Adam Roe, in his series on vocation at Mission: Work, observes that Philip Melanchthon, author of the Augsburg Confession and other key texts in the Book of Concord, was a layman. Pastor Roe uses this fact as an example of “the priesthood of all believers,” going on to show how the doctrine of vocation [Read More...]
March 20, 2015
The unchurched and non-religious still pray
Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people–including the non-religious–are still praying. In fact, 57% of Americans say they pray every day, and 75% pray once a week or more. This would seem to indicate a shift away from corporate religion to privatized religion. [Read More...]
Diversity and Empire
Which is better? A society characterized by cultural diversity? Or a society in which its many different kinds of people are assimilated into a single nation characterized by cultural unity? Today, the former view dominates, but the goal through most of history throughout the world has been the latter. More to the point, cultural diversity [Read More...]
Family, country, God–in that order
The Barna pollsters have released a study of what factors tie into Americans’ self-identity. The biggest factor by far is “family.” Then comes “country.” Then comes religion. Other elements, such as career and ethnicity, play a lesser but still significant role. The mix is different according to different demographics. After the jump, an excerpt and [Read More...]
March 19, 2015
“We loathe this worthless food”
Last Sunday one of our Scripture readings was about the children of Israel complaining in the wilderness, whereupon they were attacked by fiery serpents until Moses healed them by lifting up a bronze serpent on a pole, which Jesus would later apply to Himself (Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-21). I was struck by one of the [Read More...]
Mandatory voting?
President Obama appeared to endorse mandatory voting as a way to get money out of politics. In countries that have mandatory voting laws, if you don’t cast a ballot, you have to have to pay fines or other penalties. American polls show that most people who don’t vote support Democrats, which, of course, doesn’t do [Read More...]
Presbyterians (USA) give strong endorsement for gay marriage
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has formally expanded its definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. It becomes the largest denomination to affirm gay marriage in the strongest possible terms, upholding same sex marriage even in states where it is not legal and applying to all congregations (though pastors will be allowed to decline to participate). [Read More...]
