Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 76
May 23, 2017
Terrorism hits a concert
An explosion killed at least 19 and injured 50 at a concert by American pop star Ariana Grande in Manchester, England. Police are treating it as an act of terrorism. They suspect a suicide bomber. There are so many places where large numbers of people gather–concerts, sporting events, shopping centers, churches–and are thus good targets [Read More...]
May 22, 2017
Americans’ moral beliefs
Gallup has released its latest study of Americans’ moral beliefs. Gallup’s Values and Beliefs poll has been taken each year since 2001, so that it is possible to track changes. Some two-thirds of Americans see nothing wrong with sex between unmarried couples (69%), homosexual relations (63%), and having a baby outside of wedlock (62%). Despite [Read More...]
Trump’s world-religion tour
Donald Trump is on his first international trip as president, and he has an ambitious agenda. He is visiting the homelands of three world religions that have often been in contention with each other: Islam, Israel, and Rome. This weekend he was in Saudi Arabia, where he gave a rather impressive speech about Islam (see our post [Read More...]
Trump’s Islam speech takes religion seriously
Instead of condescending platitudes informing Muslims that their religion is actually a religion of peace, he talked about God's judgment.
May 19, 2017
“The way of life” vs. “The way of death”
“I believe that as an abortion provider, I am doing God’s work.” So says Dr. Willie Parker, an abortionist who insists that he is a Christian. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, in profiling him, claims that the conservative Christian consensus that abortion is murder is a late development, that the Bible doesn’t address the [Read More...]
President Trump’s woes
The initial reports about the appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate Russian attempts to influence the election and any ties with President Trump’s campaign at first sounded almost complimentary to the president. After all, the “administration” appointed Robert Mueller. President Trump could have taken the credit for it, spinning it as a way to [Read More...]
The Reformation wars as board game
Right after Luther’s death, the Holy Roman Emperor resolved to undo the Reformation by military force. The Lutheran princes formed the Schmalkaldic League to fight against him. In the ensuing Schmalkaldic War, the Emperor defeated the Lutherans–taking away the princes’ lands and titles and re-imposing the Roman Catholic faith. But that was not the end of [Read More...]
May 18, 2017
5 more arguments for the existence of God
St. Thomas Aquinas famously formulated 5 arguments for the existence of God. Robert H. Nelson has formulated 5 more, reflecting modern modes of thinking.
Five more arguments for the existence of God
St. Thomas Aquinas famously formulated 5 arguments for the existence of God. Robert H. Nelson has formulated 5 more, reflecting modern modes of thinking. They have to do with (1) the mystery of why mathematics, a mental construction, applies so completely in the physical world; (2) the mystery of human consciousness; (3) new issues in [Read More...]
Special prosecutor appointed
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has appointed a Special Counsel–a.k.a., Special Prosecutor–to investigate Russian attempts to influence the U.S. election and any connections to the Donald Trump campaign. The Special Counsel is former FBI director Robert Mueller, who was appointed by President Bush and continued to serve under President Obama. He is widely respected by both [Read More...]
