Latest from Gene Edward Veith
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Secular Eschatology
from Gene Edward Veith Dec 29, 2009 Category: Tabletalk Magazine
The Bible teaches that the universe had a beginning and that it will have an end. Christians believe this, though controversies about eschatology (the end times) have long roiled in Christian circles. It illustrates how profoundly the Bible has influenced Western civilization that secularists too have their eschatologies. The natural view of time is cyclical. The Bible also recognizes — and organizes — the cyclical nature of time. But in addition to affirming the sense in which time can involve recurring cycles, the Bible also teaches that time is linear. It has a beginning and an end. Not only that, time has a direction. It goes somewhere. This linear dimension of time seems to have been unique to the Hebrews in the ancient world. Even the Greeks, for all of their sophistication, knew only of a cyclical view of time. They had no concept of a creation from nothing for a specific purpose; rather, they posited a universe that was continually created and destroyed and created again. Keep Reading -
Social Darwinism
from Gene Edward Veith Nov 23, 2009 Category: Tabletalk Magazine
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was never just about biology. Nor were its consequences just about religion. Rather, the origins and effects of Darwinism were largely cultural and moral. Darwin's Origin of Species was published in 1859, which was at the height of the Industrial Revolution and the Capitalist Revolution. Keep Reading -
Playing Your Part
from Gene Edward Veith Oct 28, 2009 Category: Articles
As seen in other articles this month, the word hypocrisy derives from the Greek term for "playing a part." The ordinary word for an actor on the stage in Greek drama was hypocrite. In the tragedies of Sophocles or the comedies of Aristophanes, the actors -- the hypocrites -- played their different parts by wearing masks. The moral transgression of hypocrisy also involves playing a part and wearing a mask. But there are also times when God calls us to play a part. Keep Reading -
The Heresies of Love
from Gene Edward Veith Sep 21, 2009 Category: Articles
God is a unity of distinct persons. The one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So says the doctrine of the Trinity. Some people believe in the unity and oneness of God, but deny that He consists in different persons. Heretics such as monarchists, modalists, and Keep Reading -
Money, Money, Money
from Gene Edward Veith Aug 24, 2009 Category: Articles
Not long ago, I learned that thirty-eight percent of my retirement account has vanished and that my house is suddenly worth less than the mortgage I am paying on it. I wasn't wasteful or reckless. I didn't vandalize my own home or spend my life's savings on riotous living. But all of a sudden, through no particular fault of my own, a major part of my stash of money (small though it was) simply disappeared. Keep Reading -
Calvin & Culture, Reconsidered
from Gene Edward Veith Jul 27, 2009 Category: Articles
One of the greatest social scientists credits John Calvin for the rise of capitalism and, by extension, modern Western culture itself. That is quite an influence and quite a tribute to Calvin. Nevertheless, though there is some truth to the claim, the specific scholarship behind it demonstrates a profound misunderstanding, not only of Calvin but of the Reformation. Keep Reading -
Farmers and the Rest of Us
from Gene Edward Veith Jun 30, 2009 Category: Articles
Might there be a time when readers of the Bible will not understand -- without a host of reference books -- what a sower is? For most of the world's history, the majority of people made their living from the land. Today the number of family farms is dwindling. Farms have turned into factories. Tractors pulling seeders and tilling machines have replaced the figure of the sower who throws out seed from a bag. But whatever their agricultural techniques, we cannot do without farmers. Perhaps more clearly than any other profession, farmers exemplify the Reformation doctrine of vocation. Keep Reading -
Doing Without the Church?
from Gene Edward Veith May 24, 2009 Category: Articles
The seven churches of Asia addressed in the book of Revelation had their problems. One of them looked quite lively but it was actually dead. Another was so lukewarm that the Lord was ready to spit it out of His mouth. And yet the Son of Man did not tell the Christians of Sardis or of Laodicea to pull out of their congregations. Keep Reading -
A ‘Great’ Leader
from Gene Edward Veith Apr 24, 2009 Category: Articles
These days it's easy to become cynical about politicians, government officials, and other national leaders. Governing a country takes hard-nosed, practical realism. Morality and religion are well and good, many of us say, but someone who follows such ideals in the political arena will be eaten alive. Yet, consider the example of a ninth-century king named Alfred the Great. Keep Reading -
Authority in Vocation
from Gene Edward Veith Mar 25, 2009 Category: Articles
Do you want to know how Christians can influence the culture? How to have a strong family? Do you want to know the meaning of your life? Do you want to know how authority works? Then attend to the Reformation doctrine of vocation. This strangely neglected doctrine has to do with how God providentially governs the world of human beings. It also constitutes the theology of the Christian life. Keep Reading
