Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 55
September 7, 2017
Steve Jobs and the Trump Reformation
Can you connect these dots?: Gutenberg, Martin Luther, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump. In his column Steve Jobs gave us President Trump in the Washington Post, David Von Drehle argues that just as Gutenberg’s printing press made possible Luther’s Reformation of the church, Steve Job’s smart phone made possible Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency and his new […]
September 6, 2017
Half of Protestants Agree With Catholics on Salvation
Over half of American Protestants (52%) believe that salvation--that is to say, getting into Heaven--requires a combination of both faith and good works.
Post-liberalism of both the left and the right
There are two kinds of liberalism. That of the left, with its faith in progress, big government, and cultural change. And that of the right, with its faith in free market economics, civil liberties, and individual freedom. Today, both kinds of liberalism are fading away. We are entering a “post-liberal” era. So says the “radical […]
September 5, 2017
The infallibility of Pope Francis
Now that the Roman Catholic Church has a relatively liberal pontiff, we are seeing some curious role reversals. Liberal Catholics are talking up the doctrine of papal infallibility, while conservative Catholics are emphasizing its limits. Traditionalists are outraged that Pope Francis seems open to allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to take Communion. This, along with […]
The myth of Amazon’s dominance
The dominance of Amazon.com is such that even the big brick and mortar retailers are doomed, as online shopping renders conventional retailers obsolete. Right? But a new report from the respected Moody’s Investors Service [registration required] says that “Amazon is actually the weakest of the large retailers.” Amazon pulls in $145 billion per year, but WalMart pulls […]
September 4, 2017
Vocation quotes from Luther for Labor Day
Labor Day is a good day for Christians to celebrate Vocation. That is, the teaching that our work, our family relationships, our church, our citizenship are all “callings” from God, the realms in which we live out our Christian faith as we love and serve our neighbors. In addition to the cook-outs and the finales […]
Back in America
We’re back in the U.S.A. after spending August in Australia, doing some speaking and visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren in Adelaide. Those family ties means that we have gone to Australia quite a few times, a country that is exceedingly interesting, beautiful, and different from anywhere else on earth. And the people are among […]
September 1, 2017
St. Augustine, et al., on the Inerrancy of Scripture
Critics of the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture often portray it as a novel teaching, unknown to the historic church. It derives from Protestant fundamentalism, we are told. It is said to have originated with the rationalistic Scottish “common sense” theologians of the 19th century. But, as John Woodbridge, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, […]
My Book on Luther is Back
About 12 years ago, I wrote a little book on Martin Luther. I was asked to do so as part of a series of brief biographies of important leaders. The series wasn’t in wide release, so that volume has been kind of hard to come by. But browsing on Amazon, I see that the book […]
August 31, 2017
The Nashville Statement on Biblical Sexuality
A group of evangelical scholars, pastors, and other leaders has put together a statement, in the classic confessional form of affirmations and denials, that addresses today’s controversies over sex, marriage, gender, and LGBT issues. The Nashville Statement: A Coalition on Biblical Sexuality was prepared under the auspices of the Council on Biblical Manhood and […]
