Reviews of “Where Christ Is Present”

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 3:52 pm By Gene Veith

More shameless promotion of the new book I edited with John Warwick Montgomery, Where Christ Is Present. (I am uncomfortable with promoting myself and my work, and you have to admit I don’t do it very often. But I really like the essays in our collection and want people to read them. Tell you what. . . .Buy the book, but don’t read my essay. Just read the others. OK, I feel better now and will now promote the book without inhibition.)

After the jump, what people are saying about the book on Amazon. The reviews give you a good idea of what the different essays are about. (more…)

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What’s in our new book?

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 3:58 pm By Gene Veith

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The book I put together with John Warwick Montgomery, Where Christ Is Present, consists of some brilliant essays on different aspects of Lutheran teaching and practice. As the Amazon reviews are saying of particular essays, each one is worth the price of the book. And they aren’t just rehashing of old arguments and stale polemics. They bring something new to the discussions and present the concept in fresh ways.

Some of them actually break new ground, or present things that I, at least, had never known before. For example, Adam Francisco’s chapter on the Scriptures shows how the Early Church affirmed the Bible as its sole authority; later, it developed the concept of “tradition,” while insisting that the tradition is consistent with and normed by the Bible; later, though, some theologians started to teach that tradition is, in effect, above the Bible; not till fairly late in the Middle Ages was the Papacy elevated as a superior authority to both the Bible and tradition. I never knew that.

I also learned a great deal from Angus Menuge about the influence of Lutheranism on science; Craig Parton on Christian liberty and how that is manifested in the work of the great Lutheran artist Johann Sebastian Bach; Steve Hein on the nature of the Christian life; and. . . well, all of them really. After the jump is the Table of Contents, giving the list of chapters and their authors.

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Luther on sex

Last updated on: June 4, 2015 at 8:56 pm By Gene Veith

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The younger generation, as has been said, always thinks that it has invented sex. And those who “don’t know much about history” seem to think that sex and sexual issues are contemporary phenomena. So the editors at Salon are giddy to learn what Martin Luther wrote about sex.

Reading from a new book about Luther that discusses the reformer’s critique of mandatory celibacy for those in religious orders, his criticism of canon laws restricting and regulating marriage, and his defense of marriage as a vocation–which has to include a defense of its defining action–Salon reprints an excerpt under the headline “Martin Luther’s pro-sex shocker” and the deck “Centuries ago, Martin Luther’s ideas were way ahead of their time.”

Well, Luther was advocating marriage and criticizing the sex outside of marriage that was rampant in his time, particularly among those forced into celibacy who lacked that gift. (Some priests rationalized their use of prostitutes by thinking “at least I’m not married,” so I am merely fornicating and not forsaking my vow.)

True, Luther believed that regulating marriage was the business of the state, not the church, which would put him against those who think we should just leave marriage to the church and keep the state out of it. And he was rethinking what the parameters about divorce, etc., should be in the absence of canon law. But his frank talk about sex is not “ahead of his time,” as anyone who reads old books can attest. People weren’t squeamish about talking about the subject until the Victorian era of the 19th century.

Anyway, his views are interesting, so I link to and quote from Salon’s sampling from James Reston’s new book.

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Luther’s notes to “Freedom of a Christian” discovered

Last updated on: May 26, 2015 at 9:37 pm By Gene Veith

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A first edition of Luther’s classic treatise “The Freedom of a Christian,” dated 1520, has been discovered in a library in France. It contains annotations in red ink in Luther’s hand, indicating the changes he wanted to make in future editions. As far as I can tell, those annotations have not yet been published, but we should watch for them.

Thanks to Anthony Sacramone for drawing this to my attention. Read his discussion of this find and of the book itself. If you only read one book by Luther, read this one

. It is Luther at his very best, unpacking the Gospel, the freedom we have in Christ, his neighbor-centered ethic, and vocation. (more…)

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The World Beyond Your Head

Last updated on: May 17, 2015 at 4:27 pm By Gene Veith

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Matthew Crawford, a philosopher who has found wisdom in being a motorcycle mechanic, is the author of an excellent book on vocation entitled Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work. He now has another book that shows how the Enlightenment has given us a very distorted view of the self, one which insulates the inner mind from outside reality. The new book has the felicitous title The World Beyond Your Head.

After the jump, I excerpt and link to an extremely thoughtful and perceptive review of the book, one that interacts with Crawford’s ideas with great learning and insight. I was stunned to see that the reviewer is Gracy Olmstead, a recent student of mine! I can see Patrick Henry College’s classical liberal arts curriculum underlying her essay, as she draws on the “great books” that we have read and takes part in the “great conversation” of the history of ideas. Note too the depth of her thinking and how she compares to other recent graduates that you might have encountered. Sorry–I’m just proud of her, that’s all. (more…)

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Religious organizations that oppose gay marriage may lose tax exemption?

Last updated on: May 1, 2015 at 8:59 am By Gene Veith

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An exchange between a Supreme Court Justice and the Solicitor General:

Justice Alito: In the Bob Jones case, the [Supreme] Court held that a college was not entitled to tax-exempt status if it opposed interracial marriage or interracial dating. So would the same apply to a university or a college if it opposed same-sex marriage?

Donald Verrilli: It’s certainly going to be an issue. I don’t deny that. I don’t deny that, Justice Alito. It is — it is going to be an issue. (more…)

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