Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 272
January 30, 2015
Confessing the faith
Yes, Nadia Bolz-Weber is on the “progressive channel” at Patheos and she is a “pastorix” (her word) in the ELCA, but she continues to defy conventional liberal theology. I came across a post in which she first discusses Moltmann’s view that the Virgin Birth of Christ is just a meaningful legend, and then talks about [Read More...]
Luther, Madison, and the Two Kingdoms
Rev. Matthew Harrison, the president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, discusses a letter President James Madison sent to a Lutheran pastor in 1821 upon reading one of his sermons: It is a pleasing and persuasive example of pious zeal, united with pure benevolence and of a cordial attachment to a particular creed, untinctured with [Read More...]
January 29, 2015
The Conversion of St. Paul and other anti-Christians
Last Sunday was the day the Church commemorates the conversion of St. Paul. Which reminds us that God can potentially break in upon anyone, including those who, like Saul of Tarsus, are most opposed to the Christian faith. I know of non-believers who wish God would break in on them like He did with Paul [Read More...]
Catholic teaching not allowed at Catholic university?
Marquette is a Roman Catholic institution affiliated with the Jesuit order, one member of which is Pope Francis. According to Catholic author Howard Kainz, Marquette has suspended and banned from campus a tenured professor for saying that arguments against gay marriage should be allowed to be discussed in class. Meanwhile, a theology professor who [Read More...]
Are Russian oil companies funding environmentalists?
A newspaper is reporting that Russian oil companies connected to Vladimir Putin are funding some American environmentalist groups that are trying to stop the practice of fracking. Russia is, of course, not particularly interested in saving the American environment, but, like Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich country has an interest in cutting the growth in American [Read More...]
January 28, 2015
Searching for the Church
Patheos has a blog called The Evangelical Pulpit that posts a wide range of material and that you can actually contribute to. (I urge you to put together a submission if you have something pertinent to say.) One of my prized students, Nick Barden, has written a post about his search for a church and [Read More...]
The military procedural
The American Sniper movie is stirring up big controversy in some circles for supposedly glorifying war. But it’s also a monster hit, possibly on its way to becoming the most popular war movie ever. Film critic Ann Hornaday says that it’s an example of a new kind of war movie: the military procedural. On television, [Read More...]
Extended leave
India’s laws are very pro-labor, so that it’s almost impossible for employers to fire someone. Case in point: One day in 1990, A.K. Verma went on what you might call “extended” leave from his job as a senior bureaucrat at India’s Central Public Works Department. He’s been a no-show ever since. And it finally caught [Read More...]
January 27, 2015
C. S. Lewis on the evils of statism
Statism is the belief that the government should control or dominate all, or much, of life. C. S. Lewis was against it. David Theroux, president of the C. S. Lewis Society of California, sent me the video of a talk he gave at the first annual conference of Christians for Liberty entitled “C. S. Lewis [Read More...]
