Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 96
February 17, 2017
The pastor who baptized a murderer
Dylann Roof, who was sentenced to death for murdering nine African-Americans at a Bible study, had been baptized at the age of 2 in the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, an ELCA congregation in Charleston, SC. The pastor who baptized him, Rev. Richard Graf, is now in the news, trying to explain the Lutheran doctrine [Read More...]
Survey finds 2 million non-citizens illegally registered to vote
A 2013 survey of Hispanics in America found that of the 56% who were here illegally, 13% said they were registered to vote. If that percentage holds today, that would mean that as many as to 2 million Hispanic non-citizens are on the voting rolls. The survey did not ask how many actually voted, though for [Read More...]
Bringing back the woolly mammoth
A team of scientists working on “de-extinction” says that they hope to engineer a woolly mammoth embryo within two years. Actually, it will be a mammoth/elephant hybrid. The plan is to insert the genes for mammoth characteristics into an elephant’s DNA. It will be several years after the embryos are generated before giving birth to [Read More...]
February 16, 2017
A new approach to evangelism
The traditional approach to evangelism, according to Ed Stetzer of Christianity Today, has started with presenting the Gospel to unbelievers. The new approach, he says, starts with getting them involved with the church. In the course of their relationships in the community of Christians, they will come to believe. He sums up the two models this [Read More...]
Are U.S. spies staging a “soft coup” against the Trump administration?
President Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn lost his job because someone leaked records from his phone being monitored, recording him telling the Russian ambassador that sanctions against his country would be eased. Such phone intercepts are the work of U.S. intelligence agencies or possibly the FBI. They are top secret. It’s a crime to release bugging [Read More...]
Trump’s labor secretary pick withdraws
President Trump’s pick for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrew, after several Republicans in the Senate said they would not vote for him, making his confirmation impossible. This is Trump’s first setback in putting his cabinet together. Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which operates the fast food chains Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Though a Trump [Read More...]
February 15, 2017
Run it like a business?
President Trump is reported to be understandably frustrated that the government can’t be run like a business. In his company, Trump could simply given an order and his underlings would do it. But as president, he gives an order but he has to contend with the courts, Congress, semi-independent agencies such as the Pentagon, a vast bureaucracy, [Read More...]
Inflation may be coming back
Prices rose in January more than they have for four years. And the effect is not just due to rising oil and gasoline prices. Many observers are predicting that inflation is going to be an issue again, after years of stability. Some are worried about the new administration’s economic policy, with the combination of tax [Read More...]
Is the Russian military testing Trump?
A Russian spy ship was spotted Tuesday sailing just off the U.S. east coast. Also on Tuesday, the administration confirmed that Russia had deployed ground-based cruise missiles in violation of a 1987 treaty. Last Friday, four Russian jets buzzed an American ship in the Black Sea. Such provocations sound like Vladimir Putin is testing our [Read More...]
February 14, 2017
The two kinds of romantic love
One kind of romantic love leads to life–to marriage, fruitful sexuality, children, family, virtue. The other kind of romantic love leads to death–to sin, sterile sexuality, abortion, family destruction, ruin. These two kinds of romantic love are explored in one of the most morally illuminating books of literary criticism I have ever read: Love in [Read More...]
