Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 348
March 10, 2014
A Reformed & a Lutheran take on Lent
The online periodical the Federalist has two articles on Lent–specifically, on observances such as giving things up for Lent. One is by a Reformed pastor, Rev. Brian Lee, entitled Repent of Lent: How Spiritual Disciplines Can Be Bad for Your Soul. The other is by a Lutheran pastor, my friend, Rev. Todd Peperkorn, entitled Why [Read More...]
Rand Paul dominates conservative straw poll
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering of some 2500 activists, held a straw for president. The winner? Rand Paul, with 31%, nearly three times as many votes as second-place finisher Ted Cruz, with 11%. After the jump, a complete list of how all of the candidates did. Back in 2013, I said this: [Read More...]
Few uninsured are signing up for Obamacare
A survey has found that only 1/10th of the uninsured have signed up for Obamacare. (The deadline is March 31.) Actual numbers from HealthCare.gov and the insurance companies are hard to come by, due in part to the still-confusing application process. Also, of those who did sign up, half have not paid the first premium, [Read More...]
March 7, 2014
Pornography, Idolatry, and the manipulable image
Dr. Jack Kilcrease has a rather brilliant post at Theologia Crucis on the connection between pornography and idolatry. Both fixate on images that can be manipulated according to our desires, as opposed to the “real presence” of an actual human spouse or of the true God. A bonus in that post is a discussion of [Read More...]
John Donne’s impact today
Mathew Block discusses that piece we blogged about in which a former atheist credits her conversion to the poetry of George Herbert, going on to tell about the impact that John Donne had on him and his classmates. From Mathew Block, In Praise of Dead Poets | First Thoughts | Blogs | First Things: Threlfall-Holmes’ [Read More...]
Political conservatives vs. social conservatives?
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the big conservative conclave that meets annually to rally the troops and to make plans for political activism. But this year’s meeting, which started yesterday, has no sessions on pro-life causes, traditional marriage, or religious freedom. Which makes some social and religious conservatives wonder if they are getting [Read More...]
Still more Obamacare postponements
More Obamacare provisions have been postponed, including letting people keep their non-complying insurance policies for three more years. This would prevent some unpopular measures from going into effect before the next presidential election. But the March 31 deadline for buying health insurance and thus avoiding a fine still stands, so if you haven’t signed up [Read More...]
March 6, 2014
How to treat the losers in the marriage war
Advocates of gay marriage are evidently victorious, or soon will be. So how will the defenders of traditional marriage be treated? Ross Douthat says that one way would be to let religious people alone to have their own beliefs and practices about marriage. The other is to tolerate no dissent, demonizing and punishing gay marriage [Read More...]
The happiest & unhappiest states in the union
Gallup has compiled various statistics about “well-being” (health, work, emotional satisfaction, etc.) and has come up with a ranking of states according to how happy they are. The most happy states, according to this study, are North Dakota and South Dakota. The least happy is West Virginia. In general, the happiest states are those of [Read More...]
March 5, 2014
Fasting for 40 days before Easter
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. There are those who claim that these too have pagan origins, which is particularly ludicrous. In his ongoing dismantling of the claims that Christian holidays have pagan origins, Pastor Joseph Abrahamson tells about the true origin of Lent, the 40 day fast (not counting the six [Read More...]
