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Apologia Report 12:38
October 11, 2007
Subject: How the world's most controversial atheist turned to God
In this issue:
ATHEISM - new book by Antony Flew explains his conversion
CHRISTOLOGY - the overwhelming biblical support for Christ's deity
FREEDOM OF SPEECH - the "Brawl Over Islam on Facebook"
PALO - the Venezuelan occult ritual use of deceased children's bones
PULLMAN, PHILIP - His Dark Materials to follow Lord of the Rings
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ATHEISM
There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, by Antony Flew with Roy Abraham Varghese [1] -- "British philosopher Flew has long been something of an evangelist for atheism, debating theologians and pastors in front of enormous crowds. In 2004, breathless news reports announced that the nonagenarian had changed his mind. This book tells why. Ironically, his arguments about the absurdity of God-talk launched a revival of philosophical theists, some of whom, like Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, were important in Flew's recent conversion to theism. Breakthroughs in science, especially cosmology, also played a part: if the speed or mass of the electron were off just a little, no life could have evolved on this planet. Perhaps the arrogance of the 'New Atheists' also emboldened him, as Flew taunts them for failing to live up to the greatness of atheists of yore. The book concludes with an appendix by New Testament scholar and Anglican bishop N.T. Wright, arguing for the coherence of Christian belief in the resurrection. Flew praises Wright, though he maintains some distance still from orthodox Christianity." Publishers Weekly, Sep 10 '07, p57. <http://tinyurl.com/2mxduu>
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CHRISTOLOGY
The galling thing about common unstudied arguments which say that "Jesus never claimed to be God," or that "the Bible doesn't clearly identify Jesus as God," is that, for lack of the ideal proof text, the weight of the overall text is too often ignored. Putting Jesus in His Place, by Rob Bowman and Ed Komoszewski [2], is a great resource for communicating the weight of the overall biblical text with regard to the deity of Christ.
Using precise logic, this book outlines the overwhelming biblical support for Christ's deity using a broad spectrum of Scripture passages for each of five categories in which Jesus and God share equivalent devotion, attributes, names, deeds, and seats at the throne of God. To learn more, see <http://www.deityofchrist.com>.
The only place left for objectors to squirm is to argue against the reliability of Scripture. Perhaps the authors will be addressing this topic in a future book.
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FREEDOM OF SPEECH
For a rare and valuable example of people negotiating the difference between "hate speech" and "freedom of speech" in a religious context devoid of Christian references, consider "Brawl Over Islam on Facebook" by Noam Cohen in the September 10 issue of the New York Times <http://tinyurl.com/2z4uya>.
Cohen reports on objections to an atheist group which opposes Islam on the social networking Internet site Facebook. The conflict "centers on a group with a crude title denouncing Islam that had more than 750 members at last count. While the group takes pains to say it has nothing against Muslims, who 'can be and usually are peaceful and respectful,' it asserts at the start: 'The Quran contains many lies and threats. Islam is false, no god exists, and someone should say that loud and clear.'
"In the month or so since the group was created, the reaction has been building across Facebook. As of the weekend, more than 58,000 Facebook members had joined a group that said that unless the anti-Islam group was removed, 'we're quitting Facebook.'"
Although no resolution had come at the time of this news item, in this item we have an interesting development that bears on what may, or may not, be considered hate speech - an accusation that is apt to be thrown in the direction of anyone from others in disagreement over religious issues.
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PALO
"Not even the dead are safe in Caracas" by Chris Kraul -- graves in Caracas, Venezuela are being robbed at an increasing rate. Bones are taken, "particularly those of children." Why? "The buyers of the bones are paleros, the practitioners of a black magic cult related to Santeria whose rise in popularity here is fueled by a strange brew of faith and politics. ...
"Santeria, which combines Catholicism and African and indigenous spiritualism, was brought to the New World by slaves from Africa centuries ago and still thrives [under various names], particularly in Cuba, Haiti, Brazil and, increasingly, Venezuela. It is also popular in regions of the United States with strong Caribbean immigrant communities, such as south Florida, Washington and Los Angeles, areas where hundreds of thousands are thought to practice it.
"Although most Santeria followers steer clear of the use of human remains and Satanism, the paleros embrace them. They use bones in black magic rituals in which the objective is to cast evil spells on enemies: to induce bad luck for an unfaithful spouse, a car accident for unwanted in-laws, a serious illness for a business competitor," according to Father Atilio Gonzalez, resident Roman Catholic priest of the Caracas Southern Municipal Cemetery.
"Police, church officials and historians offer a variety of theories for the rise in Santeria generally and of black magic in particular in Venezuela. ...
"'We are seeing a new syncretism that is uniting parts of different religions,' said [anthropologist Rafael] Strauss, a retired University of Central Venezuela professor. 'It's how people make it easier to meet their spiritual needs.' ...
"But others see politics at work. Father Manuel Diaz is a parish priest in the El Hatillo suburb of Caracas where three Santeria babalaos, or shamans, have recently opened centers. He says the government of leftist President Hugo Chavez is encouraging the rise of Santeria to counter the authority of the Catholic Church, which Chavez has viewed as his enemy. ...
"Although Santeria and other spiritualist religions have been present in Venezuela since Spanish colonial days, the rise of black magic, including that practiced by paleros, is relatively new, said Maria Garcia de Fleury, a comparative religions professor at New Sparta University in Caracas. ...
"While not addressing Santeria, Chavez in a February 2003 broadcast of his 'Alo Presidente' TV talk show denied that he was a believer in black magic. He is known to be a mystic of sorts, and some say that he believes he is the reincarnation of a 19th century Venezuelan leader, Ezequiel Zamora.
"'President Chavez, who knows the mentality of Venezuelans, takes advantage of their magical religious imagery to further his popularity and his revolution,' university professor Angelina Pollak-Eltz said in an essay shortly after Chavez took power in 1999." Los Angeles Times, Sep 5 '07, ppA1, A10. <http://tinyurl.com/34u2tt>
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PULLMAN, PHILIP
The August 27 issue of Publishers Weekly (p48) notes that, with a release date of December 7, the New Line Cinema film The Golden Compass will appear in theaters everywhere. It is based on the first book of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy [3].
In the promotional material for Dark Matter: Shedding Light on Philip Pullman's Trilogy, His Dark Materials, by Tony Watkins [4] of The Damaris Trust <damaris.org>, Pullman is quoted as saying: "My books are about killing God." Earlier, PW noted (Jun 11 '07, p54) that the New Yorker called Pullman "one of England's most outspoken atheists." (No small attribution, considering the relentless assault on religion by Richard Dawkins.)
"New Line is hoping that this long-awaited adaptation will kick off its first big trilogy since Lord of the Rings." Expectations will likely be very great indeed.
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Sources, Monographs:
1 - There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, by Antony Flew With Roy Abraham Varghese (HarperOne, November 2007, hardcover, 256 pages)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061335290/apologiareport>
2 - Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ, by Robert M. Bowman, Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski (Kregel, 2007, paperback, 392 pages)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0825429838/apologiareport>
3 - His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass), by Philip Pullman (Laure Leaf, 2003, paperback boxed set)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440238609/apologiareport>
4 - Dark Matter: Shedding Light on Philip Pullman's Trilogy, His Dark Materials, by Tony Watkins (IVP, May 2006, paperback, 224 pages)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/083083379X/apologiareport>
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