A major trend in the 20th and 21st century art world has to become ever more “minimalist.” As artists have tried to achieve the least possible gesture that could be called art–going from representations to idealizations to reductions to basic forms to pure forms to color fields to lines to found objects–they arrived at “conceptual art,” in which there is no art at all, just the idea for the art. Museums and art buyers can purchase and display the notes… Read more
God’s approval ratings
August 1, 2011 By Gene Veith 14 Comments
The most breathtakingly presumptuous opinion poll of all time: More than half of U.S. voters approve of God’s job performance, according to a new poll, making God more popular than all members of Congress. The poll — which was conducted by the Democratic research firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) — surveyed 928 people and found that 52 percent of Americans approved of God’s overall dealings, while only 9 percent disapproved. Questions about God were asked as part of a larger… Read more
Deal on the debt
August 1, 2011 By Gene Veith 84 Comments
Democratic and Republican leaders came to an agreement on raising the debt limit, looking to forestall the government from going into default on Tuesday. But first both sides have to sell the agreement to their Congressmen and to their base. Basically, the Republicans gave in to the Democrats’ desire for a two year provision, while Democrats gave in to the Republican’s desire for spending cuts without tax increases. Here are some more details from the Associated Press story: Details apparently… Read more
The trillion dollar coin
August 1, 2011 By Gene Veith 24 Comments
The weirdest idea for solving the debt crisis comes from Ezra Klein of the Washington Post: Obama could always just solve the crisis with a pair of magical platinum coins. Sure, that sounds preposterous, but Yale’s Jack Balkin argues that this is actually a perfectly legal strategy. Here’s the logic: Under law, there’s a limit to how much paper money the United States can circulate at any one time, and there are rules that limit how many gold, silver and… Read more
North to Alaska
July 29, 2011 By Gene Veith 40 Comments
This weekend we head up to Alaska. Anywhere to get away from this heat! No, I have always loved sagas of the high seas, and had always wanted to go for a ride on a big ship. My wife not so much, but she has always wanted to go to Alaska. So she proposed that we celebrate our 40th anniversary (40!) on August 7 with an Alaska cruise! How brilliant and thoughtful she is. So we saved our pennies and… Read more
The tomb of one of the Disciples?
July 29, 2011 By Gene Veith 14 Comments
Archeologists may have discovered the tomb of one of Christ’s Twelve Disciples. Tradition says that St. Philip was martyred in the Hierapolis in present day Turkey and that’s where they found what appears to be his tomb in the ruins of an ancient church. From a Turkish newspaper: An Italian professor has announced the apparent discovery of the tomb of St. Philip, one of Jesus Christ’s apostles, at the ancient city of Hierapolis in the Aegean province of Denizli. The… Read more
John Stott, defender of the Atonement, dies
July 29, 2011 By Gene Veith 46 Comments
The evangelical Anglican John Stott, a pastor and influential author died. I remember reading Stott at a crucial time in my own spiritual pilgrimage. Lutheran Anthony Sacramone offers a good tribute: If you entered the evangelical world when I did, in the 1980s, you were immediately introduced to a Hall of Fame whose inhabitants, some living, some dead, and representing a variety of denominations, had a somewhat uniform presence in the various churches: C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, J.I. Packer, A.W…. Read more
Playhouse mansions
July 29, 2011 By Gene Veith 14 Comments
As the real estate market for adults is in shambles, the market for playhouses is booming. Some of them cost as much as a real house: APART from the open bar by the swimming pool, the main attraction at parties held at the Houston home of John Schiller, an oil company executive, and his wife, Kristi, a Playboy model turned blogger, is the $50,000 playhouse the couple had custom-built two years ago for their daughter, Sinclair, now 4. Cocktails in… Read more
You have already been judged
July 28, 2011 By Gene Veith 8 Comments
Our pastor, Rev. James Douthwaite, is on vacation, so my son-in-law from Australia, Rev. Adam Hensley, preached the sermon last Sunday. It was an amazing exposition of the Gospel. His text was Romans 8:28–39, focusing on verse 3: God for us. It is no overstatement to claim that these three little words make all the difference to everything! They change the very landscape of your life! Indeed, they allow St Paul to say just a few verses before, “for those… Read more
The two debt-reduction plans
July 28, 2011 By Gene Veith 118 Comments
So House Majority Leader John Boehner has a debt reduction plan on the table. It is competing with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s plan. (Notice how both sides are cutting President Obama out of the discussion.) Both plans cut spending by $1.2 trillion. Neither plan involves a tax increase. In fact, the two plans are extremely similar. Philip Klein gives us a useful comparison: Similarities: — Both plans claim to reduce discretionary spending by $1.2 trillion. –Both plans create a… Read more
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