Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 345
March 24, 2014
A billion dollars for the perfect NCAA bracket
Warren Buffett offered one BILLION dollars for anyone who successfully predicted the winners of all of the games in the NCAA tournament. Early upsets–for example, Mercer over Duke–eliminated just about everyone who entered. Now no one is left standing. One person, Brad Binder, DID predict the first 36 games, including those upsets, but he wasn’t [Read More...]
March 21, 2014
Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist dies
Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, is dead. This congregation of 80 members–most of which are members of the large Phelps family–made a name for itself with its “God hates fags” protest signs and its protests at military funerals with signs reading “Thank God for dead soldiers.” Read this to learn [Read More...]
Coming, calling, and promising
More from our pastor’s sermon last Sunday on Christ’s conversation with Nicodemus (John 3). From Rev. James Douthwaite, St. Athanasius Lutheran Church: Lent 2 Sermon: Nicodemus is thinking about what man does or can do; Jesus is talking about what God does, and what God has promised. Nicodemus was thinking of how man can get [Read More...]
Millennials aren’t so liberal after all
Contrary to the conventional wisdom that paints the Millennial generation as being the new base of Democratic party liberalism, studies show that their political beliefs are much more complicated than that. As Kirsten Power points out, Millennials are more likely to support gay marriage than other demographic groups, but they are less likely to support [Read More...]
And now, medicinal LSD
The FDA has approved a clinical trial for the use of LSD as a medication for “existential anxiety.” From First trial of LSD as medicine in 40 years shows promise – latimes.com: For the first time in more than four decades, the drug lysergic acid diethylamide — better known as LSD — has been [Read More...]
March 20, 2014
Creation and the new creation
In last Sunday’s sermon on the dialog between Nicodemus and Jesus (John 3), our pastor drew parallels between the Spirit of God moving over the face of the waters at the creation (Genesis 1:2) and what Jesus told Nicodemus about the role of water and the Spirit in the new creation (John 3:5). From Rev. [Read More...]
Rand Paul’s standing ovation at CPAC and at Berkeley
Republican presidential contender Rand Paul wowed ‘em at Berkeley, for all of that university’s left-wing ethos. Former labor secretary Robert Reich, now a professor there, observed that not many people can get a standing ovation at both CPAC and at Berkeley. But such left wing/right wing dichotomies do not really account for Paul’s pro-life, pro-peace, [Read More...]
Making distinctions in religious liberty cases
Fordham theology professor Michael Peppard says that the religious liberty issues being raised by gay marriage need to make some careful distinctions. For example, the different roles in weddings played by bakers and photographers. from Michael Peppard, Religious conscience vs. civil rights in the move toward gay marriage – The Washington Post: Anyone familiar with [Read More...]
March 19, 2014
The Bible in American life
A major study has been released exploring the role of the Bible for contemporary Americans. It’s entitled The Bible in American Life . You can access it here. Among its findings: 48% of Americans report reading the Bible sometime during the course of last year. 29% believe it is inerrant, with 48% believing it is [Read More...]
Responding to Russia
The Obama administration has orchestrated sanctions against Russia for taking over the Crimea from Ukraine. What we’ll do is target 11 individuals, freezing their assets and not letting them travel in the West. That’ll show ‘em! These Russian officials won’t be able to come to Disneyland, and we know how much that means to them! [Read More...]
