Cranach

“The child who is born to you shall die”

Gene Veith — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:00:22 +0000

The sermon last Sunday was about Nathan’s preaching to King David about his sin with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12. Some striking insights about the role of the “sword” never departing from his house in keeping David (and us) faithful and about David’s other child, likewise descended from this sinful relationship (through Bathsheba’s child Solomon), [...]

Babies change the male brain

Gene Veith — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:50:25 +0000

At least in deer mice. Scientists have known that motherhood makes the female rodents smarter, better foragers, braver, and more level-headed. A researcher has found the same effect in father mice. In fact, something similar happens when male mice are exposed to baby mice, even when they aren’t the biological father. All of this has [...]

Taxes as a means of control

Gene Veith — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:45:02 +0000

The Constitution limits the federal government’s power, but it does give Congress the power to levy taxes. So Congress has historically used its taxing authority to pre-empt state laws and to exercise control over its citizens’ behavior. George Will discusses an essay by David B. Kopel and Trevor Burrus entitled “Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Gambling and [...]

Costs & benefits of Obamacare insurance

Gene Veith — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:30:39 +0000

The states are starting to set up their insurance exchanges, so we are getting some idea of how much the required policies will cost and what their benefits will be. There will be four levels of coverage: platinum, gold, silver, and bronze. In California, the “silver plan,” which is the level that federal subsidies for [...]

Thumbs up for “Man of Steel”

Gene Veith — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:00:58 +0000

Critics are torn over Man of Steel, the new Superman movie, though the general public likes it a lot, enough to set a record for a June opening. This time I agree with the general public. The movie is pro-life, anti-Nietzschean, pro-Kansas, pro-church (Superman goes to a church and talks to a pastor when he [...]

U.S. will intervene in Syria

Gene Veith — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:45:47 +0000

President Obama said that since Syria’s ruler, Bashar al-Assad, used chemical weapons against those rebelling against his regime, the United States will send weapons to help the rebels. Though sending ground-troops is not being considered, officials are reportedly considering implementing a no-fly zone, using American aircraft. From Reuters: The United States is considering a no-fly [...]

A moderate wins the presidency of Iran

Gene Veith — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:35:14 +0000

In a rare bit of good news for American foreign policy, a moderate was elected to the presidency of Iran, replacing the radical Islamist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was term limited out of office. From BBC News – Hassan Rouhani wins Iran presidential election: Reformist-backed cleric Hassan Rouhani has won Iran’s presidential election, securing just over [...]

Best Father’s Day cartoon

Gene Veith — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:30:33 +0000

Comics – The Washington Post.

Fathers

Gene Veith — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:00:44 +0000

I was doing an interview on KFUO with my daughter on our book Family Vocation: God’s Calling in Marriage, Parenting, and Childhood on the subject of Father’s Day. As I was talking about how our Heavenly Father works through earthly fathers, it hit me that this will be the first Father’s Day I will have [...]

A great conversation about vocation

Gene Veith — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:45:25 +0000

A Lutheran, a Calvinist, and a Baptist walk into a bar. . . and start talking about vocation. Well, not really. The Baptist would not go into a bar, and in this case there is no Baptist. I’d describe the Liberate folks (a ministry of Tullian Tchividjian) as Lutheran-influenced evangelicals. But this video is a [...]