Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 84

A church with its own police force

The Alabama state Senate has voted to allow a church in Birmingham to have its own police force. Briarwood Presbyterian (PCA)  believes it needs its own police to provide security for its school and its 4000 members. Universities are routinely authorized to have their own “campus cops,” but not other institutions, much less churches. The approval [Read More...]

The other version of the new Luther movie

I reviewed Martin Luther:  The Idea That Changed the World, the dramatized documentary produced in Lutheran circles to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Reformation.  It turns out that there is another version of the same project, Return to Grace:  The Life and Legacy of Martin Luther. The latter, which has a [Read More...]

The connection between Martin Luther and Martin Luther King

As the world reflects on the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, it is evident that some people–and not just the young and history deprived–confuse Martin Luther the Reformer with Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader. One thing I learned from the new Luther documentary is that there really is a [Read More...]

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Why the Russians are backing Assad

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is in Moscow for negotiations, has said that Russia needs to choose between Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad and the United States. One would think that Vladimir Putin would rather have good relations with the United States than Syria.  And what’s in it for Russia to help with the bombing of [Read More...]

Why your shoelaces come untied

On April Fool’s Day, not at the time being able to think of anything better, tried the old gag on two of my granddaughters:  “Your shoe is untied!” One said, “Nice try.  But I’m wearing sandals.”  With the other, her shoe really was untied. I report my failed joke to introduce a fascinating bit of [Read More...]
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The new Martin Luther movie

Martin Luther:  The Idea That Changed the World is a film funded by Thrivent to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  First Lutheran Church in Ponca City secured a local movie theater and opened it up for free to anyone who wanted to see the movie.  (Go here to learn how to host a screening and [Read More...]

Our superlegislature

Neil Gorsuch was sworn in, informally, and has joined the Supreme Court.  A more ceremonial swearing in will take place later.  But he is already on the job, in time to hear some important cases. In a column on the “nuclear option,” Charles Krauthammer observes that the Supreme Court has been turned into a “superlegislature.” [Read More...]

The middlemen that survived the internet

The internet has damaged travel agents, taxi drivers, retailers, and other industries.  But one set of middlemen have not been damaged at all:  real estate agents. Though there is lots more real estate information online–e.g., Zillow–when people sell and buy houses, they still go to real estate agents, 5-6% commissions and all. Either this is [Read More...]

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The Jewish argument for “closed” Passover meals

Many churches during Holy Week hold a “Seder” meal, a version of the Jewish Passover celebration that was the context for Christ’s “Last Supper” in which He established Holy Communion. Those Christian seders are interesting in their symbolism.  But there are problems with Christians celebrating a Jewish ritual.  Not only are there Christian reasons not to [Read More...]

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Syria strike disillusions some Trump supporters

President Trump’s cruise missile strike on Syria, responding to Assad’s chemical weapons atrocity, is getting good reviews from much of the world.  After all, Barack Obama did nothing when Assad did this before, a display of American weakness that may have encouraged Assad and other bad actors that they could act with impunity. Russia, though, is [Read More...]