Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 318
July 10, 2014
Senate bill would reverse Hobby Lobby ruling
Democrats in the Senate are fast-tracking a bill to reverse the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision. The measure would say that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act would not apply to contraceptive coverage so that religious organizations would be forced to provide them. Though the Republican-controlled House of Representatives would surely not pass the bill, the [Read More...]
July 9, 2014
Going to Church for rest
Another powerful, helpful sermon from our pastor, Rev. James Douthwaite, St. Athanasius Lutheran Church: Pentecost 4 Sermon: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That’s sounds good. In fact, that’s sounding particularly good to me today, because I’m tired. Being away with our youth at the [Read More...]
The universe can’t exist
Put together the latest findings about the Higgs boson particle and the gravity waves that may have just been detected and, according to cosmologists, the universe should have ceased to exist just seconds after the Big Bang. From Ian O’Neil, The Higgs Boson Should Have Crushed the Universe : Discovery News: It’s funny when two [Read More...]
Tensions build with China
As our attention has been focused on the meltdown in the Middle East, big problems have been emerging with China. Reportedly emboldened by American weakness, China has been asserting its claims on hundreds of tiny islands in the East China sea, which are also claimed by Japan, the Phillippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, and other nations, many [Read More...]
July 8, 2014
A liturgy for people offended to be called sinners
The Church of England is revising its baptism liturgy to accommodate contemporary people who are offended to be addressed as sinners. Also missing, along with the rich language of the Book of Common Prayer, is mention of the devil and the charge to bring children to church and to teach them the Creed, the Lord’s [Read More...]
USA is now the world’s biggest oil producer
The United States passed Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s largest oil producer. (Also the world’s largest natural gas producer.) This is due to new technologies, such as shale extraction and fracking (which, however, has been linked to the epidemic of earthquakes in Oklahoma, something I never experienced growing up there.) From U.S. [Read More...]
Plants can hear
Scientists played a recording of a chomping caterpillar to some plants, whereupon they produced an anti-caterpillar toxin to protect themselves. Read about the study and its implications after the jump. From Meeri Kim, Can plants hear? In a study, vibrations prompt some to boost their defenses – The Washington Post: Plants can sense and [Read More...]
July 7, 2014
Igniting a second Reformation
Check out this new website, which, in turn is a forum for a new ministry and resource group whose goal is nothing less than “igniting a second Reformation.” It’s all about Lutheran apologetics–defending Christianity and specifically defending the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions. Not just defending, but promoting and evangelizing. Lutherans often just talk with [Read More...]
Cyborg apocalypse in 2045
Human beings are innately religious, so when they reject traditional religions they replace them with new ones. Often, they project their religious sensibilities onto other areas of life, such as politics or psychology or medicine, turning them into means of salvation or apocalypse. Today, many people fear, love, and trust technology. I have heard of [Read More...]
The benefits of magic mushrooms
A study of the effects of psychedelic mushrooms is being hailed as revealing positive benefits. What interests me is what the scientists and the media consider to be beneficial. The active ingredient in the mushrooms makes people more emotional, puts them in a continual dream-like state, turns down their higher cognitive abilities (that is, makes [Read More...]
