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Compromise

July 27, 2011 By jimmyveith

by Jimmy Veith For many, the word “compromise” has negative connotations. People who “compromise” are viewed as people who lack moral courage to live up to high ethical standards. We admire most those individuals who stand up against the system and do the right thing regardless of what others think. When “Mr. Smith” went toWashington, his filibuster in the Senate was not obstructionism. It was a heroic act. John Wayne never compromised. Our aversion to compromise, is probably a reflection… Read more

Where are the Lutherans, revisited

July 26, 2011 By Gene Veith

392 Comments

Reformed baptist Kevin DeYoung raise a question on his blog asking where are the Lutherans in the contemporary evangelical scene. It provoked quite a conversation, both on his blog and here. As a follow-up, Kevin interviewed Paul McCain of Concordia Publishing House. Paul did a superb job of communication. You’ve got to read his the entire interview: Those Dern Lutherans: An Interview with Paul T. McCain – Kevin DeYoung. I especially liked his concluding remarks: 9. Anything else you think the… Read more

Bishop tells gay priests they have to get married

July 26, 2011 By Gene Veith

28 Comments

Now that New York state has legalized gay marriage, the Right Reverend Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island in the Episcopalian church, is requiring homosexual priests to either get married or stop living together out of wedlock. From his official pronouncement: For the gay and lesbian clergy of this Diocese who are living in domestic partnerships or civil unions, I hereby grant a grace period of nine months from the effective date of the New York State Law permitting same-gender marriages… Read more

The Twenty-seven Club

July 26, 2011 By Gene Veith

20 Comments

Rock chanteuse Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27. That’s the same age that Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison died. Also Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones. Also Pigpen McKernan of the Grateful dead. Also blues legend Robert Johnson. And less famous rockers Chris Bell (of Big Star) and D. Boon (of the Minutemen). Perhaps 27 is the age that the human body pays the toll for the untrammeled rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, especially when… Read more

America’s last space ship?

July 26, 2011 By Gene Veith

32 Comments

Last Thursday, July 21, the Space Shuttle Atlantis landed, ending the United States’ Space Shuttle program. And it may mark the end of manned flight, at least as far as the United States is concerned. Russia will still be able to send people into orbit, and American astronauts can hitch a ride with them to get to the International Space Station, another program whose days are numbered. But there are no plans to update manned spacecraft or start any more… Read more

A Civil War soldier’s letter to his wife

July 25, 2011 By Gene Veith

36 Comments

I am going to make you cry. To mark the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Bull Run, a.k.a. The Battle of Manassas, the Washington Post wrote a story about and reprinted the letter written by Maj. Sullivan Ballou to his wife a week before he was killed in that battle. It shows a man highly devoted to his different and sometimes conflicting vocations as husband, father, soldier, citizen, and Christian: July the 14th, 1861 Washington D.C. My very dear… Read more

Horror in Norway

July 25, 2011 By Gene Veith

72 Comments

A 32-year-old Norwegian described as “a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing connections” bombed a government building in Oslo, killing seven, and then went to a Labor Party youth camp and shot to death 84 young people! See Norway Shooting and Bomb Attack Leaves at Least 91 Dead – NYTimes.com. We’ll learn what they mean by “right-wing fundamentalist.” At any rate, get ready for yet more discrediting of conservative Christians and conservative politics. In the meantime, we must feel for Norway, which is going… Read more

The Antichrist, revisited

July 25, 2011 By Gene Veith

28 Comments

You have GOT to read Mollie Hemingway’s column in the Wall Street Journal, which should definitively put to rest the media’s shocked discovery that Lutherans believe that the papacy is the antichrist. The piece has the best lede (journalese for opening paragraph) that I’ve read in a long time: American political reporters aren’t known for their vocal support of Roman Catholic teachings. But when they discovered recently that Minnesota Congresswoman and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann was once a Lutheran,… Read more

Any Kindle suggestions?

July 22, 2011 By Gene Veith

39 Comments

I’m becoming a regular high-tech kind of guy, though at least I’m a late adopter. I now have a Kindle. (My wife wanted one for Mother’s Day, so I obliged, whereupon since I was always borrowing hers, she bought me one for Father’s Day. Our devices are hooked up to the same account so that when either of us buy a book it is “archived” on the other’s device, allowing us to download each other’s books for free.) I carry… Read more

A trailer for Lars Walker’s “West Oversea”

July 22, 2011 By Gene Veith

4 Comments

I didn’t realize books could be like movies and have trailers, but here is a trailer for a book I really enjoyed, West Oversea: A Norse Saga of Mystery, Adventure and Faith, by Lars Walker, a longtime commenter on this blog. (If the video doesn’t come up, click “comments” and it will. Also, you can order the book by clicking the link.) Read more