Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 291
November 10, 2014
The fastest-growing new religious movement
Several years ago, I blogged about the adoration of Santa Muerte, St. Death (as in a feminine saint), the hooded skeleton being venerated by Mexican drug lords. But now prayers to this saint and the sale of her images and icons have come into the mainstream, and not just in Hispanic enclaves but throughout the [Read More...]
Our latest war is now illegal
The War Powers Act allows presidents to launch hostilities at their discretion, but they must receive the concurrence of Congress (to which the Constitution gives the authority to declare war) within 60 days. If that doesn’t happen, the president has 30 additional days to end the hostilities. The clock ran out on our war against [Read More...]
Do we need a food policy?
The food industry is the biggest sector of the economy. Food is a major factor in health. Food production has a major impact on the environment. Food is a factor in policies about poverty, foreign aid, and entitlements. Shouldn’t we have a coherent national food policy, other than an agriculture bill that rewards farmers for [Read More...]
November 7, 2014
Scripture alone vs. Scripture by ourselves
Canadian Lutheran Mathew Block discusses the study that shows how common ancient heresies are among American evangelicals. He blames a confusion over the meaning of “sola Scriptura,” which does NOT mean that we can interpret the Bible anyway we want. “Scripture alone” does not mean the same as “Scripture by ourselves.” From Mathew Block, Misreading [Read More...]
The 100 best Christian books
An Anglican site has compiled a list of The 100 best Christian books. Of course, such lists are a matter of biased opinion, but there are some real treasures here that you might not be familiar with. (St. Augustine’s Confessions is #1. George Herbert made #10). As one would expect in an Anglican list, the [Read More...]
Ebola self-destruction?
Parasites that kill their hosts are basically committing suicide. More successful parasites keep their hosts alive. Tapeworms, for example, can hunker down in someone’s intestines and grow to obscene lengths before the host even notices. The most successful parasites, such as the microorganisms that live in our stomachs, actually benefit their hosts, making infestation a [Read More...]
Election post-mortem
Democrats thought they had demographics, the young adult vote, the Hispanic vote, the women’s vote, and the cultural tides all going for them. And yet, they lost catastrophically. So what went wrong? After the jump, excerpts and some links to attempts to account for what happened. From Dan Balz, Hard questions for Democrats as they [Read More...]
November 6, 2014
Ancient heresies today
A study has found that whereas most American evangelicals believe in the Trinity, they often hold views about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that correspond to ancient heresies. From Kevin P. Emmert, New Poll Finds Evangelicals’ Favorite Heresies | Christianity Today: Most American evangelicals hold views condemned as heretical by some of the most [Read More...]
Using our military to fight Ebola
Some 1,000 American troops have been sent to Africa to help in the fight against Ebola. Plans are to send as many as 3,900. As with others who care for Ebola patients, these military men and women risk catching the disease themselves. And then they will come home. So the Pentagon is requiring all troops [Read More...]
The first New Class president
Sociologist Peter Berger discusses the Houston mayor subpoening sermons (which have been cancelled, by the way), the progression of punishment for those who do not agree with gay sex, and President Obama as the first president from the “new class” (the elite social class that trades in information rather than tangible goods). From Peter Berger, [Read More...]
