Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 297
October 14, 2014
Catholic family synod & liberal Protestantism?
The first document from the Catholic synod on the family–which is considering divorce, cohabitation, homosexuality, etc.–says that the church should tone down its application of doctrine, advocates “gradualism” in salvation, affirms that sanctification can take place apart from the church and its sacraments, says that the church should tailor its teachings to “people’s real problems,” [Read More...]
Nurse in haz-mat gear catches Ebola
A Dallas nurse who cared for Ebola victim Thomas Duncan, who died of the affliction, has been diagnosed as having the disease. And yet she was wearing full protective gear. Doctors are insisting that she must have violated the protocols somehow, though they can’t say how. But could it be that Ebola is easier to [Read More...]
Psychology experiments often can’t be replicated
There is currently what is being described as a “crisis” in the field of social/personality psychology. It turns out, many psychological experiments, however heralded in the media and whose findings are made a big deal of, cannot be replicated by other researchers. Is that due to fraud? Statistical quirks? Or does it mean that psychology [Read More...]
October 13, 2014
1,000 Bible translations on your phone
In church, when you seem people staring at their smart phones, they aren’t necessarily texting, surfing, or playing games. They may well be using their Bible apps, allowing them to read the Scriptures and follow along with the text of a sermon on their mobile devices. They can also switch translations so that they can [Read More...]
American airstrikes aren’t stopping ISIL
A British newspaper reports that American efforts to stop ISIL are failing, as ISIL continues to win victory after victory against the Iraqi army and Kurdish rivals in Syria. The airstrikes are just not working. Even with American air support, the Iraqi army keeps running away. Meanwhile, ISIL is gaining more and more territory and [Read More...]
The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner
Seventeen-year-old Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan won the Nobel Peace Prize. When she was 15, she was shot in the head by the Taliban for saying that girls should be allowed to go to school. She recovered and responded by launching a world-wide movement to promote educational rights for girls in Islamic countries. She shares [Read More...]
October 10, 2014
Attraction, not argument
Michael Brendan Dougherty discusses the doom and gloom many Christians feel about the church’s prospects in contemporary culture. He disagrees that things are that bad and says that there are two ways the church grows: by biology and by “attraction, not argument.” He goes on to quote Pope Benedict XVI who said that “The only [Read More...]
The failure of reality to match up with computer models
The ice caps are supposed to be melting. But the ice in Antarctica is at record levels. And the ice at the North Pole, after declining for awhile, is back to normal levels. So reports a British newspaper, the Register. I’m struck, though, by a comment in the article that cites, “This failure of reality [Read More...]
Our new insecurity
Terrorism, the shaky economy, and now ebola–these things make us feel insecure. Chris Cillizza says that other items in the news–the Secret Service failures, the controversy over the Ferguson police, the rise of ISIL in Iraq despite our military’s prowess–adds a further level of insecurity, that those who are supposed to protect us can’t. See [Read More...]
October 9, 2014
The Catholic debate over liberal society
Rod Dreher describes what happened at a conference sponsored by First Things on the future of religion in the public square. In the course of doing so, he describes a current controversy among conservative Catholics: The “Murrayites” believe that Catholicism is compatible with American-style political and economic liberalism. (Not so much liberalism as left-wing ideology, [Read More...]
