Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 369
December 4, 2013
Government crack down on music teachers
The Federal Trade Commission is bringing to bear its anti-trust, anti-price-fixing powers against the Robber Barons who give little kids piano lessons.From Kim Strassel: Piano Sonata in FTC Minor – WSJ.com: In March of this year, a small nonprofit in Cincinnati—the Music Teachers National Association—received a letter from the FTC. The agency was investigating whether [Read More...]
Might Democrats pick Elizabeth Warren over Hillary Clinton?
The Democratic wing of the Democratic party is starting to assert itself, wanting to bring back old-fashioned liberalism into the Wall Street-dominated party of drone-strikes, civil liberties violations, and corporate bailouts. What annoys them about the Obama administration they trace back to Bill Clinton. And although many people assume that the Democratic nomination for president [Read More...]
December 3, 2013
Do church growth tactics attract the unchurched?
The best argument for adopting the techniques of the Church Growth movement–contemporary worship, non-traditional styles, and culturally-relevant practices–is to reach the lost, the unbelievers, the unchurched. Such “missional” concerns often trump all other considerations. It’s hard to argue against the importance of evangelism and the Great Commission. But the question remains, do the Church Growth [Read More...]
HealthCare.gov is now mostly working–will you sign up?
HealthCare.gov is now working 90% of the time, according to officials, though glitches sometimes come up. So those of you who don’t have health insurance or whose individual plans have been cancelled have until the end of the month to buy Obamacare-approved insurance on the exchange. Otherwise, you won’t be covered by January 1 and [Read More...]
And now LINOS
In the political world, you will hear talk of RINOs, Republican In Name Only. LCMS President Matt Harrison, an accomplished translator, posts his rendition of a letter by the Nazi-battling German theologian Hermann Sasse, who, in praising the Missouri Synod, gives us a useful concept: Lutherans In Name Only (LINOS). From Sasse on “LINOS” or [Read More...]
December 2, 2013
Advent and the three-fold coming of Jesus
It’s Advent Season! Here is a fine explanation of its different dimensions from Rev. Shawn Stafford: The word “Advent” means “coming.” During the season of Advent, we celebrate Jesus’ three-fold coming: His coming in the flesh at Christmas, His coming now through His Word and Sacrament, and His coming at the end of the world [Read More...]
When Christianity comes across as dull
The redoubtable Anthony Sacramone tells about how he was influenced–indeed, evangelized–by C. S. Lewis. Mr. Sacramone had gone through through a Lutheran parochial school, learned the Catechism, was confirmed. But, like many young people, he left all of that behind as soon as he could. Christianity, he says, “seemed so small, constricting, even petty.” He [Read More...]
American absence
In the course of a discussion of how Vladimir Putin is rebuilding Russia’s Soviet-era spheres of influence, international affairs columnist Jackson Diehl raises yet another example of ineptness in American foreign policy. From Jackson Diehl: Georgia’s westward course – The Washington Post: It was 10 years ago this month that Mikheil Saakashvili, then a 35-year-old [Read More...]
November 29, 2013
“Son of God,” the movie
A movie entitled The Son of God will be released February 28. An expanded version of material from the Bible TV ministeries but released from a major studio (20th Century Fox), it will keep in the miracles, unlike some film renditions of Jesus’ story. Details from Variety after the jump. Here is the trailer. (But [Read More...]
NSA tracking porn visits to discredit enemies
According to a document leaked by Edward Snowden, the NSA has been tracking visits to porn sites and other questionable activities as a way to discredit or perhaps blackmail suspected Muslim terrorists. Read about it after the jump. Is this a brilliant tactic that should be expanded to combat the pornography plague or a dangerous [Read More...]
