Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 356

Lutheranism is not boring–vocation is

For me, growing up in perhaps the blandest version of mainline liberal Protestantism, Lutheranism, far from being boring, seemed wonderfully exotic.  All of that medieval-style chanting; people thinking they were eating Jesus’ body and drinking His blood; having beer at church dinners.  On that last point, both the liberal Christianity I grew up with and [Read More...]

Oscar winner sees “faith-based bigotry”

A Hollywood heavyweight weighs in on the “Alone Yet Not Alone” controversy.  From the Hollywood Reporter: Gerald Molen, an Oscar-winning producer of Schindler’s List, is accusing the Academy of discriminating against a religious movie in revoking its nomination in the best song category. In a feisty letter to Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences [Read More...]

House votes to ban tax-payer money for abortion

The House of Representatives passed a bill that bans the use of tax-payer money to pay for abortions. (I thought something like that was already in place, but this law is apparently stronger.) Of course, it will never get past the Democratic-majority Senate or the President’s veto pen–the current Democratic party being compassionate to everyone [Read More...]

The Incarnation and the whole range of human life

God becoming man involved more than just His assumption of a human body, but his entry into all of the elements of human life. So observed Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, the Executive Director of the Commission on Theology & Church Relations of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, in a sermon I heard last week in the [Read More...]

Oscars rescind “Alone Yet not Alone” nomination

The Academy Award nomination of the small-budget Christian movie Alone Yet Not Alone for best song was rescinded.  The composer of the music, a former member of the Board of Governors, was said to have improperly promoted the song by e-mailing the current board about it. That the Academy is taking back the nomination because [Read More...]

Supremes to hear Hobby Lobby’s Obamacare case

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case brought by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood that claims the Obamacare contraception and morning-after-pill mandate violate the company owners’ religious freedom. How do you think the court will rule? From  Supreme Court to Hear Religious Freedom Concerns on Hobby Lobby Case – Christian News Blog: The [Read More...]

Your one-stop Superbowl blog

We must celebrate our national holiday, Superbowl Sunday, so use this blog to make predictions, comment on the game, and complain about the half-time show.  You can live-blog the commercials.  We will even modify our newly-minted blog rule to allow for trash talk, as long as it’s related to sports, since that seems to be [Read More...]

Luther and bowling?

Martin Luther’s influence goes far beyond the theology of the Lutheran Church.  His putting the Gospel and the Word of God at the center was the catalyst for all Protestantism.  But even his theological opponents have accepted his ideas like worship in the vernacular, congregational singing, and vernacular translations of the Bible.  Then there are [Read More...]

What NSA can learn from your “Angry Birds” app

According to secret documents released by Edward Snowden, certain cellphone apps–including the popular game “Angry Birds”– are “leaky,” allowing the NSA to tap into your smartphone and its treasure trove of information about you. From Reports: NSA pries info from ‘Angry Birds,’ other apps, in USA Today: U.S. and British spy agencies have been exploiting [Read More...]

The President and the Rule of Law

During his State of the Union address, President Obama said that because Congress keeps thwarting his agenda, he will advance his positions about immigration, the environment, the economy, gun control, and other of his priorities by issuing executive orders. He has already been doing that sort of thing.  Conservatives don’t like Obamacare, so they might [Read More...]