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Our Church Blog

December 3, 2007 By Gene Veith

I keep saying what a good preacher our pastor is. Now you can see for yourself. I just learned that Pastor Douthwaite runs a St. Athanasius blog on which he posts his sermons, as well as devotional materials for the congregation. Check out, for a sample, his sermon “A King Who Works for You,” which nails perfectly both our culture of pragmatism and the Theology of the Cross. This is a blog you can read, mark, and inwardly digest; and… Read more

Loyalty Oath

November 30, 2007 By Gene Veith

30 Comments

The Republican party either has a death wish or has been taken over by Democratic saboteurs who have secretly infiltrated its leadership in a vast left-wing conspiracy. I know of no other answers to explain what is happening here in Virginia. That state, my new home, is one of many that have “open primaries,” which means that anyone can vote in either the Republican or the Democratic presidential primaries, even if the voter is not a member of that party…. Read more

Architecture and the Aesthetics of Totalitarianism

November 30, 2007 By Gene Veith

16 Comments

The arts, of all kinds, give us insights into how and what their creators think and feel–that is, to their worldview. In this story on some of the grandiose building projects of Venezuelan dictator wannabe Hugo Chavez, Charles Lane draws on some actual aesthetic scholarship to make some revealing points about “high modernism” and why that style has been so attractive to totalitarians: Chávez acts on an ideology that anthropologist James C. Scott of Yale has called “high modernism.” In… Read more

A Football Turning Point?

November 30, 2007 By Gene Veith

28 Comments

As one of the lucky few whose satellite package happened to include the NFL network, I stayed up late last night watching the epic confrontation between the Green Bay Packers (my team) and the Dallas Cowboys (America’s team). Though the Packers lost, 37-27, it was a thrilling game, and I realize I may have witnessed a historic turning point. Brett Favre, the Cal Ripken of football, went down with an arm injury early in the game. But his back-up, Aaron… Read more

Fuzzy Math

November 29, 2007 By Gene Veith

44 Comments

Instead of learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, are your kids doing math problems like these?: A. If math were a color, it would be –, because –. B. If it were a food, it would be –, because –. C. If it were weather, it would be –, because –. If so, they are learning fuzzy math. Read that linked article for how this postmodernist “constructivist” approach to mathematics has become such an educational fiasco. Try solving the above… Read more

Problems with the Laws of Physics

November 29, 2007 By Gene Veith

8 Comments

Thanks, Webmonk and others, for pointing out the howler in that article that alleges that scientific observation might destroy the universe: The scientist was quoted as denying that we was referring to causality, but the reporter ignored his own source and went on to assert causality all through the story! (Why didn’t I notice that?) Still, the truth remains that science is becoming far less materialistic, common-sensical, and reductionistic than it used to be. Frank Sonnek points out a better… Read more

The Majority that Rules?

November 29, 2007 By Gene Veith

30 Comments

According to this report, 62% of Americans believe that it is “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that the government knew in advance about the 9/11 attacks but did nothing to stop them. In the linked article, Richard Miniter debunks the “evidence” often cited, but this raises another issue. Democracy alone is not necessarily a good thing, if the majority that rules is ignorant, easily manipulated, or fanatic. Thank God that what we have–and what is needed in Iraq, among other… Read more

Parental Rights

November 28, 2007 By Gene Veith

20 Comments

The state of Massachusetts is considering a bill that would make it a crime for parents to spank their children. Which reminds me to put in a big plug for this blog’s reader and mentor Rich Shipe, who is heading an organization to promote the rights of parents. Specifically, his group is pushing for a constitutional amendment to that effect. Here is the proposed text: The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a… Read more

The Literature of Otherness

November 28, 2007 By Gene Veith

10 Comments

Thanks to those of you who reviewed the Beowulf movie on this blog. You saved at least one middle school teacher from taking her 7th graders, which would have been highly embarrassing, to say the least. One writer, Blake Gopnik, also found the movie falling short of the original, but he gave some different reasons. Mr. Gopnik said that when he read the poem as a young man, it was so compelling to him that he studied Anglo-Saxon in college… Read more