Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 317
July 15, 2014
Drug money
Colorado has legalized the sale and possession of marijuana, with Washington state soon to follow suit. But it’s still illegal under federal law. Which means that banks are not allowing companies that sell marijuana to open accounts, lest they violate federal laws and regulations. This means that the legalized marijuana industry is accumulating mountains of [Read More...]
Pope says 1 in 50 priests is a pedophile
In another controversial interview, Pope Francis said that Vatican research has found that 2% of priests–including bishops and cardinals–are pedophiles. That comes to 1 in 50 of the 414,000 priests. He also said that he planned to find a “solution” for priestly celibacy, noting as Protestants have always said, that the requirement was not instituted [Read More...]
July 14, 2014
Lessons from Bastille Day?
Today is Bastille Day, marking the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. There were some major differences between that and the American Revolution, but there were some major similarities too. What can we learn from them both? We celebrated our country on July 4, but maybe this could be a time for some healthy [Read More...]
How do we bless God?
We know that God blesses us. But the Bible also speaks of us blessing God. How does that work? How can mere human beings “bless the LORD”? What can we do to benefit Him, the One who needs nothing? I learned in Bible class recently that there is a blessing from greater to lesser, when [Read More...]
Politics shifting on immigration?
Immigration used to be seen as a winning issue for Democrats, with Republicans opposed to illegal immigration holding an increasingly unpopular position, coming across as heartless and demographically clueless. But now the crisis on the border as thousands of unaccompanied young children come pouring into the country with the administration seemingly bungling the problem at [Read More...]
July 11, 2014
The catholicity of Lutherans
Many evangelicals are trying to come to grips with the catholicity of the Church and are looking for ways to fit themselves into the historical universal Church. Some are searching for ways to integrate the Protestant with the Catholic traditions. Some are saying we should downplay denominational differences as a way to be more “catholic,” [Read More...]
The frustrations of ecumenical Protestants
Liberal Protestants, such as the members of the Lutheran World Federation, are strongly committed to ecumenism, and they have been pursuing talks with the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox. But since the Protestant bodies have been ordaining women, accepting homosexuality, and advocating abortion, those talks have been going nowhere. Surprise, surprise. So now the ecumenical [Read More...]
Behind the child-immigration scandal
As tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America pour over our borders, Democrats are shamelessly blaming Republicans for not passing immigration reform! As if the President’s executive order not to deport illegal immigrants brought here as children had nothing to do with it, as well as the rumors throughout Central America of the [Read More...]
July 10, 2014
What a child with a classical education can do
Last summer I blogged about what I consider to be possibly the best book on classical education, Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child (Memoria Press). It’s by Cheryl Swope, my fellow board member on the Consortium for Classical & Lutheran Education (whose conference is next week in St. Louis–join us!). Cheryl tells about [Read More...]
Australian Anglicans repeal the seal of confession
The Anglican Church of Australia has voted to amend the canon on confession, which traditionally has required ministers to observe total confidentiality when people confess their sins. Now, if penitents confess a crime, the pastor will be expected to rat them out to the police. From Australia lifts the seal of the confession | Anglican [Read More...]
