Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 269
February 11, 2015
How pastors and other leaders deal with inner chaos
There are lots of books about leadership, particularly leadership in churches. The book that won the Award of Merit (2nd place) in the category of Christianity & Culture in the Christianity Today Book Awards, goes much deeper than most. Mark Sayers, in Facing Leviathan: Leadership, Influence, and Creating in a Cultural Storm, shows how leaders–that [Read More...]
Abortion as “social good” still has a stigma
The stigma against having a baby out of wedlock has faded. And the stigma against having an abortion continues. Some pro-abortion activists are trying to erase that stigma by making the case that abortion is nothing to feel bad about and is, in fact, a “social good.” But those efforts are flying in the face [Read More...]
The Candomblé religion
The Washington Post has an interesting article about Candomblé, the Afro-Brazilian animistic religion. Read about it after the jump. I predict that this religion will come to this country, not just among immigrants but also among the white middle class. Candomblé has a lot of what people want in religion–ecstatic experience, get-your-way health & prosperity [Read More...]
February 10, 2015
How (Not) to be Secular
I was one of the many judges of the Christianity Today Book Awards, charged with picking the top two books on Christianity & culture. I was glad to see that my top two were the magazine’s top two. I thought I would post my reviews. The winner was James K. A. Smith’s How (Not) to [Read More...]
Europe’s politics defy “left” and “right”
The Greeks, tired of the European Union’s “austerity” programs, elected a far-left government. But observers are confused about how it is allying itself with far-right–even fascist–parties. Also how the new Greek government is adopting pro-Russian, pro-Putin policies. Anne Applebaum points out how “left” and “right” political categories don’t really apply in Europe anymore. “The real [Read More...]
Classical Christian education online
Homeschoolers have so many more options than they used to, particularly with internet technology. My daughter, Joanna Hensley, has been teaching Latin and integrated humanities courses online. These are real-time sessions, and students can see the teacher and interact with her and with each other, much like a traditional classroom. It’s high tech, and yet [Read More...]
A report on Bob Dylan’s Sinatra album
The commenter known as “Pete” has a picture that looks like a little kid, but he’s really a distinguished physician. He’s also among the top two Bob Dylan aficionados that I have ever known (the other being a good friend and former colleague). Pete went so far as to look me up and take me [Read More...]
February 9, 2015
Do you believe in Mother?
A parable/thought experiment from the Hungarian writer Útmutató a Léleknek: In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.” “Nonsense” [Read More...]
THE political issue for Christians in 2016
In the early days of the Republic, Baptists supported Thomas Jefferson, even though he was not a Christian. Why? Because he supported religious freedom. Russell Moore says that Christians today need to develop that same mindset in their political activism today. He says that THE political issue for Christians in the upcoming elections needs to [Read More...]
Why artificial intelligence won’t conquer humanity
Some smart people, from Bill Gates to Stephen Hawkings, have been raising the alarm that computers might get so intelligent that they could conquer the human race. But artificial intelligence specialist David W. Buchanan explains why this isn’t something we need to worry about, saying the alarmists are committing the “consciousness fallacy,” confusing intelligence with [Read More...]
