Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 35
February 2, 2018
The End of Anonymous Access to Pornography?
The pendulum is swinging against sexual permissiveness, as the reaction against sexual abuse and sexual harassment is now extending to sexualized dating relationships. Next to be targeted may be internet pornography. A British law may spell the end of anonymous free pornography on the internet. Beginning in April, the British Board of Film Classification will […]
February 1, 2018
The Sequel to “The Passion of the Christ”
I’ve been complaining about all of the movie sequels filling up the screens. But one movie begs for a sequel. Mel Gibson’s controversial blockbuster The Passion of the Christ showed Jesus being brutalized with His scourging and crucifixion, but the last shot showed Him standing, a fleeting glimpse of His resurrection. Much more of the risen […]
Hypocrisy at the Grammys
The Grammy Awards last Sunday, the music industry’s award show, featured the by-now familiar litany of Donald Trump protests, virtue signaling, and–especially–#MeToo statements supporting women and condemning the plague of sexual harassment. But, as British journalist Piers Morgan, points out, the irony was excruciating. As he says, the Grammy presentations are “the single most sexist, […]
January 31, 2018
Catholic Exorcism Resources Are Now Available in English
The Roman Catholic Church has developed a specialty in the exorcism of demons. Though this would seem to be a throwback to its premodern past, Pope Francis–for all of his apparent liberalism–is a strong believer in the reality of demons and has been promoting the practice of exorcism. One problem has been that the authorized […]
The Question That Defines the Culture Wars
David French observes that the different perspectives in the culture wars hinge on the way people answer one question: What is a man? A cultural conservative would respond with simple biology and build from there. A man is a person with a distinct chromosomal and physical makeup who — from birth — is typically distinctly […]
January 30, 2018
And now Generation Z
Churches were told to make adjustments for Generation X. Lately, new adjustments had to be made for the Millennials. Now we must deal with Generation Z. This is being described as the first “post-Christian” generation. Generation Z is defined as those born between 1999 and 2015. That means that the label applies to young people […]
Liveblog Trump’s State of the Union Address Tonight
President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET, in a joint session of Congress with the Supreme Court attending. The speech is to be aired on all major television networks. (Last year he addressed a joint session of Congress, but, technically, newly-elected presidents don’t give a State […]
January 29, 2018
Postliberal Theology
George Lindbeck has died at the age of 94. The Lutheran (ELCA) theologian and Yale professor is considered the father of postliberal theology. This movement is essentially a critique of liberal theology from the standpoint of postmodernism. The liberal theology that dominated mainline Protestantism through much of the 20th century was “modernist.” It professed […]
Trump’s Immigration Reform
President Trump has released his new proposal for immigration reform. Right now, one side attacks it for providing “amnesty” to children of illegal immigrants, while the other side attacks it for being “heartless.” Let’s consider it point by point. (1) “Dreamers”–the older children of families in the U.S. illegally who are here through no fault of their […]
January 26, 2018
Why Secularists Have Problems with Forgiveness
The men caught in the sexual assault and harassment scandals are unlikely to find forgiveness in the world of public opinion. It doesn’t matter whether or not they have apologized, felt remorse, or publicly confessed their guilt and shame. If they take upon themselves some act of restitution or are punished for what they did, it […]
