Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 9

Homosexuality & the Priest Sex Abuse Scandal

Msgr. Charles Pope wrote in the National Catholic Register about “the most-avoided topic” in the scandal of sex abuse among priests:  homosexuality in the priesthood. Of the victims of predatory priests, 81% were male.  It seems that there is a gay subculture in the priesthood.  And although it is true that not all priests who […]

Why Do People Go to Church? And Why Don’t They?

A Pew Research Study took on the question of Why Americans Go (and Don’t Go) to Religious Services. Some of the findings were obvious.  The number one reason for going to church is to grow closer to God.  But some of the findings were not what one might expect.  For example, only 28% of those […]

Abolishing Punishment

As an example of how the ongoing, wide-ranging Catholic sex scandal and its cover-up are undermining the church’s moral authority, notice how the Pennsylvania revelations change how we hear the Vatican’s new prohibition of capital punishment.  Oh, yes, we can’t help but think, you bishops don’t want to punish anybody. Indeed, the very concept of […]

The Different Flavors of Socialism

Socialism is back in vogue, especially among Democrats and young adults, a majority of whom prefer it to capitalism.  A new Gallup poll found that 57% have a positive view  about socialism, compared to just  47 % who have a positive view of capitalism.  Among 18-29 year-olds,  51%  are positive towards socialism, compared to  45% […]

Grand Jury Accuses 301 Priests of Child Sexual Abuse

A grand jury in Pittsburgh investigating just six Pennsylvania dioceses accused 301 Roman Catholic priests of child sex abuse.  Their supervising bishops were also accused of covering up the crimes, instead transferring the bishops to other parishes, thus spreading the contagion throughout the church. These charges go back to the 1940s.  Many of the priests […]

The Regulatory State vs. the Rule of Law

The problem with federal regulations goes beyond their effect on businesses and whether they are overreaching in one case or another.  The bigger issue is what they do to Constitutional government. Federal agencies, as part of the Executive Branch, have the power to formulate regulations that have the force of law.  So much for the […]

How Pervasive Is the Prosperity Gospel?

One of the most prominent heresies of contemporary Christianity is the prosperity gospel, which teaches that God will give you financial rewards if you follow him correctly, including giving money to preachers of the prosperity gospel. This teaching grew out of Kenneth Hagin’s Word of Faith movement, with its belief that you can “name it […]

The Implosion of the Church Growth Movement?

Willow Creek is imploding, due primarily to a #MeToo sex scandal involving its influential celebrity pastor Bill Hybel.  Willow Creek was one of the pioneering megachurches, whose church growth tactics were emulated by countless congregations.  Including some in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. My fellow Patheos blogger Jonathan Aigner at Ponder Anew hails the demise of […]

Muslims and the Democrats

We have blogged about the curious embrace of Muslims by the hard left, despite their hostility to feminism, abortion, and LGBT rights.  Now an article from Religious News Service looks at Muslim’s commitment to the Democratic party, whose progressive wing in particular is courting them. After describing some cases when Muslim groups removed political material […]

What Pastors Like, Think They’re Good At, & Find Frustrating,

Barna Research has conducted a major study of Protestant pastors and how they are doing in their ministry.  A sample of the findings has been published online as The Ups and Downs of Ministry, which shows the result of a survey asking pastors what they most like about their ministry, what they think they are best at, […]