A new religion is born. The concept of the “singularity” used to be a dream of technology, the notion that exponentially-growing computing power would reach a point at which machines would become more intelligent than human beings. But now the hypothetical Singularity is being invested with religious significance: It will give you eternal life. The Singularity, promised by futurist Ray Kurzweil, has accelerated interest in an entirely new field known as Transhumanism, giving hope to deep-pocketed Baby Boomers that they… Read more
A conversation with one of my critics #2
June 22, 2011 By Gene Veith 76 Comments
More of my debate with Ken Witherington, author of Work: A Kingdom Perspective on Labor, which takes issue with what I say about vocation in God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life (Focal Point): WITHERINGTON: Let’s take one of these issues where we really do have a difference. While I am not going to suggest that human beings, Christians in particular, never are co-operating with God in some sense, I am going to insist on is that there… Read more
“Is” vs. “Should”
June 22, 2011 By Gene Veith 80 Comments
Tom Gilson observes the shift that has taken place among those who reject the exclusive claims of the Christian faith: The world has a big problem with Christian exclusivism—the belief that there is one God uniquely revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the one way, truth, and life for all people at all times. Theologians and apologists have defended exclusivism’s truth since time out of mind, but never so much as in these pluralistic and relativistic times. Recently I’ve come… Read more
Gendercide
June 22, 2011 By Gene Veith 98 Comments
Since the 1970s, 163 million girl babies have been killed by abortion because their parents have wanted sons. Jonathan Last reviews a book on the subject: Mara Hvistendahl is worried about girls. Not in any political, moral or cultural sense but as an existential matter. She is right to be. In China, India and numerous other countries (both developing and developed), there are many more men than women, the result of systematic campaigns against baby girls. In “Unnatural Selection,”… Read more
A conversation with one of my critics #1
June 21, 2011 By Gene Veith 34 Comments
Someone asks me a few weeks ago if anyone ever disagreed with what I have written about vocation. I said, not really. I have presented on that topic to a wide variety of groups who hold to all kinds of different theologies and everyone seems to resonate with what I say. Luther’s doctrine of vocation is so clearly Biblical and it makes so much sense that it seems like a teaching that just about everyone finds enormously helpful and illuminating. … Read more
Couch rebels
June 21, 2011 By Gene Veith 4 Comments
Is today’s information technology a revolutionary force or the opiate of the people? The verdict is mixed in the Middle East uprisings: Two years ago, Iranian activists used social media sites as engines to organize massive anti-government demonstrations. But now, activists say, the limitless freedoms available online are proving to be a distraction from real-world dissent. Instead of marching in the streets, the same doctors, artists and students who led the demonstrations in 2009 are playing Internet games such as… Read more
Public vs. Private tourist spots
June 21, 2011 By Gene Veith 38 Comments
My wife had a meeting in Lynchburg, Virginia, last week, so I tagged along. While she was busy, I explored. I went to Appomattox Court House to see where the Civil War ended. (Did you know that Appomattox Court House is not the name of the building where Lee and Grant met to sign the terms of surrender? Rather, Appomattox Court House is the name of the TOWN. Not to be confused with Appomattox, Virginia, which is nearby. Appomattox Court… Read more
How free is your state?
June 20, 2011 By Gene Veith 76 Comments
Check out this site from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, which gives rankings and assessments of the level of “freedom” in each state in the union. According to these findings, New Hampshire (“Live free or die!”) is the state with the most freedoms, while New York is the most oppressive. See Now what is interesting is the way the study factors in both “economic freedom” (low taxes, minimal government regulations on business, limited government, etc.) and also “personal… Read more
End of the professional/personal divide
June 20, 2011 By Gene Veith 12 Comments
An article on how the Navy has been sacking commanding officers for personal misconduct ends with a striking quotation: The Navy has fired a dozen commanding officers this year, a near-record rate, with the bulk getting the ax for offenses related to sex, alcohol or other forms of personal misconduct. The terminations, which follow a similar spike in firings last year, have shaken the upper ranks of the Navy, which has long invested enormous responsibility in its commanding officers and… Read more
The Pro-Life Pledge
June 20, 2011 By Gene Veith 18 Comments
The Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life women’s organization, has put forward a pledge for presidential candidates to sign by which they promise that if elected they will only appoint pro-life judges and cabinet members and will promote legislation to restrict abortion. All of the current Republican candidates have signed it except for Gary Johnson, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney. (That includes the Ron Paul, who may be libertarian but is still pro-life.) Johnson is pro-abortion. Cain and Romney still… Read more
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