Rome and the Lutherans
Gene Veith
The date chosen for representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation to sign their Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was October 31 1999.
This was Reformation Day for Lutherans and other Protestants, the 482nd anniversary of Luther's posting of the 95 theses. The place chosen was Augsburg in Germany, the site where the first major confessional document of the Reformation, the Augsburg Confession, was ratified in 1530.
The Star Wars myth
Gene Veith
In cities across the USA young people camped in front of cinemas waiting in line for up to a month to see the opening of Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace. In Britain too, the hype is beginning to build.
The first Star Wars movie came out in 1977, 22 years ago, before many of the queue-campers were born. The trilogy of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi belonged to their parents' generation, but it became part of their childhood.
Feel good about yourself
Gene Veith
Why does a young man turn to crime? Many people would say that he has a self-esteem problem. He doesn't feel good about himself, so he indulges in negative behaviour to bring on guilt and punishment.
Why does another young man grow up to be popular and successful? According to conventional wisdom, because his parents and teachers instilled in him a positive self-image, giving him the confidence and self-love needed for success and happiness.
A post-modern scandal
Gene Veith
President Clinton, according to psychologist Robert Jay Lifton, is the nation's first post-modern president.
Not bound by objective standards of truth, Mr. Clinton is able to continually reinvent himself, flexibly adapting his ideology, his behaviour, and his very personality to the needs of the moment.
The ism of multiculturalism
Gene Veith
Multiculturalism - the unspoken ideology sweeping our post-modern world. This piece from across the Atlantic helps us to think carefully . . .
Some would-be regulators of home schools are promoting rules that all homeschoolers must give evidence that their children have received instruction, not in reading, writing and arithmetic, but in multiculturalism.