Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 42
December 5, 2017
God Acts for Those Who Wait for Him
In the Sundays of Advent, in church we hear prophecies of the coming of Christ. The first reading for the first Sunday in Advent really struck me this year. Isaiah 64 sets the penitential tone–“all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (64:6)–and expresses the yearning for a Savior. But there were lines from […]
Peace Through Oil & Natural Gas
One reason Vladimir Putin has had so much clout in Europe–especially in the Eastern European nations that were once under Communist rule–is that Russia has supplied much of the region’s oil and natural gas. Now many of those nations are buying from the United States instead. Putin sometimes threatens to cut off energy shipments to countries […]
December 4, 2017
The Season of Christ “Coming to” Us
The season of Advent has begun! The word comes from the Latin, meaning “coming to” (from ad “to” + venire “to come”). The season is about Christ “coming to” us.
Senate Ensures Tax Reform
President Trump and the Republican Party scored a major legislative victory, as the Senate passed the Tax Reform Bill, ensuring a big tax cut for individuals and businesses. The House of Representatives passed a different version of the bill earlier. Now a conference committee of the two legislative bodies will reconcile the two measures and […]
December 1, 2017
Dating Christ’s Tomb
Last year, as we blogged about, in connection with renovation work on Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, archaeologists and other experts were able to study the traditional site of Jesus’s burial site. Now results of some of those studies are coming out. Analysis of the mortar used on a marble slab covering the stone shelf […]
Jonathan Swift’s Takedown of Modernism & Postmodernism
Yesterday, November 30, was the 350th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Swift, the great satirist and imaginative author. Swift deserves to be numbered among the very best of Christian writers. A conservative Anglican clergyman, Swift pilloried the Enlightenment and anticipated many of the problems that it would bring, including what would become modernism and postmodernism. He did […]
November 30, 2017
The LCMS Adult Conversion Rate & Other Surprising Statistics
Per capita, the LCMS has one convert for every 44 adult members. That is a higher ratio even than the Southern Baptists, whose entire focus is on adult conversions. The Baptist rate is 1:47.
North Korea Can Now Nuke the U.S.
North Korea launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile in a successful test that may put the United States within the range of Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapons. The ICBM flew over 2,700 miles in space, which is more than 10 times higher than the International Space Station, which is flying only 250 miles high above the […]
November 29, 2017
Luther on Matter, the Senses, & Emotions
In our last post on Mark Mattes’s new book Martin Luther’s Theology of Beauty, we discussed how Luther moves from beauty as “perfection” to beauty as “gift.” Other facets of Luther’s view of beauty include his affirmation of matter, the senses, and emotions. (Yes, you read that last part right. Lutherans have the reputation of downplaying […]
Ministers’ Housing Allowance Update
As we blogged about, a Wisconsin judge ruled that the ministers’ housing allowance tax break, which allows church workers to shelter up to half of their salary by classifying it as a housing allowance, is unconstitutional. At the time, it wasn’t clear when or how the ruling would go into effect. We have a little […]
