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Apologia Report 13:8
February 26, 2008
Subject: Pastor's response to "new atheism" gets secular praise
In this issue:
AFRICA - unexpected twists noticed and anticipated in Nigeria's religious upheaval include a hopeful secular influence
ATHEISM - book-length response to the new atheism gains glowing praise from unexpected quarters
HINDUISM - counting Hindus in America yields surprising results
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AFRICA
"God's Country: Using militias and marketing strategies, Christianity and Islam are competing for believers by promising Nigerians prosperity in this world as well as salvation in the next" by Eliza Griswold -- surprises include: "[T]he most overlooked aspect of this ... religious encounter may be that the competition within the faiths - between Pentecostals and orthodox Christians, or between Islamic groups that want to engage with or reject the modern world - is just as important as the competition between the faiths. But it's also true that the fastest-growing forms of faith on both sides tend to be the most effervescent and absolute. They promote a system of living in this world that promises heaven in the next, they see salvation in stark binary terms, and they believe they have a global mandate to spread their exclusive brand of faith. ...
"In Nigeria, the oil boom of the 1970s brought a massive movement of people into cities looking for work. That boom's collapse spurred the growth of the Pentecostal Gospel of Prosperity, with its emphasis on good health and getting rich; and of the African Initiated Churches, or AICs, which began about 100 years ago, when several charismatic African prophets successfully converted millions to Christianity. Today, AIC members account for one-quarter of Africa's 417 million Christians. ...
"The Pentecostal movement is so vast and varied, it's a mistake to generalize about its unifying principles. But Pentecostals do tend to share an experience of the Holy Spirit, or the numinous, that offers the gift of salvation and success in everyday life - particularly in the realms of personal health and finance. ...
"The Christian Gospel of Prosperity is so powerful that it has spawned a unique Nigerian phenomenon: an Islamic organization called Nasrul-Lahi-il-Fathi (NASFAT). ... [T]he organization is based on economic empowerment and prosperity with an Islamic spin. ... Although many conservatives believe that this engagement with the secular world is haram, forbidden, and distinctly un-Islamic, NASFAT argues that it is the only way to survive in the marketplace. ...
"NASFAT's primary mission is to reclaim those values the world sees as Western, but which its members perceive as integral to the success of the global Islamic community, or ummah. Foremost is education. [Alan Wolfe reports (below) that NASFAT "has 1.2 million members in Nigeria alone."]
"[D]espite a huge outcry from Christians and the West, the implementation of sharia, which is currently on the books in 12 of Nigeria's 36 states, has had very little practical impact. The harsh criminal punishments spelled out in the hudud have proven, for the most part, impossible to implement. And northern Nigerians have now seen that sharia has not stanched the corruption they face every day. In fact, many of the politicians who backed sharia have been linked to massive corruption....
"Popular disillusionment is one reason why Father [Matthew Hassan] Kukah believes that Nigeria's religious mayhem is an isolated stage in its development of plural stability." Atlantic Monthly, Mar '08, pp40-55. <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/nigeria>
The last remark about stability above is taken up in the very interesting companion piece, "And The Winner Is... : Our secular future" by Alan Wolfe (pp56-63), which credits the influence of secularism in a prediction of coming peace on a global scale. <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/secularism>
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ATHEISM
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Timothy Keller [1] -- its brief secular reviews have been surprisingly good:
* - "KIeller has just made life harder for preaching atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens. For with this tightly reasoned defense of faith, he challenges the evangelists of doubt on their own ground. One by one, the arguments for unbelief fall before Keller's unrelenting logic. The claim that science has disproved religion comes in for particular scrutiny, as Keller deflects the antireligious syllogism that converts evolutionary theory into an obituary for orthodoxy. Keller even turns the tables on rationalists, adducing compelling evidence for scriptural doctrines, including he physical resurrection of Christ. And although Keller frankly acknowledges that inquisitors have justified atrocities as religious duties, he nonetheless traces the modern concept of human rights back to religious roots and exposes the fragility of such rights when shorn from those roots. We start down the road to Hitler's death camps and Stalin's gulag, he warns, whenever we refuse to recognize in fellow humans the divine image of God. But by recognizing that image, Keller affirms, we open sacred possibilities not only for redemption in the hereafter but also for social justice here and now. Readers expecting Keller to deliver the usual pious bromides may experience a profound shock to their spiritual and social complacency." Booklist, Feb 1 '08, p8.
* - "As founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Keller has heard many people question religious beliefs and ask questions like, 'How can there be one true religion?' or 'How can a loving God allow suffering?' In his new book, written to help counter books like Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion [2], Keller addresses these and other questions and gives his reasons for believing in God unconditionally. He shares his personal path to Christianity through experiences with his own doubts about faith and conversations he holds with those still struggling with personal belief. Using literature, philosophy, and pop culture, the author gives convincing reasons for a strong belief in God. It is refreshing to read a book that presents a religious view without being overly critical of the secular side presented in other books. An excellent conversation starter, this book presents a valid, well-written, and well-researched argument and should be considered for public libraries." Jennifer Kuncken, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA" Library Journal, Feb '08, p74.
* - "In this apologia for Christian faith, Keller mines material from literary classics, philosophy, anthropology and a multitude of other disciplines to make an intellectually compelling case for God. Written for skeptics and the believers who love them, the book draws on the author's encounters as founding pastor of New York's booming Redeemer Presbyterian Church. One of Keller's most provocative arguments is that 'all doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs.' Drawing on sources as diverse as 19th-century author Robert Louis Stevenson and contemporary New Testament theologian N.T. Wright, Keller attempts to deconstruct everyone he finds in his way, from the evolutionary psychologist Richard Dawkins to popular author Dan Brown. The first, shorter part of the book looks at popular arguments against God's existence, while the second builds on general arguments for God to culminate in a sharp focus on the redemptive work of God in Christ. Keller's condensed summaries of arguments for and against theism make the scope of the book overwhelming at times. Nonetheless, it should serve both as testimony to the author's encyclopedic learning and as a compelling overview of the current debate on faith for those who doubt and for those who want to re-evaluate what they believe, and why." Publishers Weekly, Feb 14 '08, n.p.
In "This Samaritan Life," Tim Stafford writes about Keller's overall philosophy of engagement: "Keller recognizes that certain language pushes the power-and-superiority button at the heart of the Samaritan grudge. We may know the way, the truth, and the life, but what is gained by announcing it so brashly? All conversation stops; the grudge is reinforced. (What if Jesus had taken up the Samaritan woman's argument, telling her point-blank that Gerizim was no worthy place to worship?)
"Keller points out that we can speak of Jesus' uniqueness in other ways, emphasizing his humility and suffering, his shedding of power. We can come with a stance of humility and service ourselves, avoiding conflict whenever possible, turning the other cheek as Jesus did and commanded us to. For example, when Jesus' disciples wanted to fight the Samaritan village that insulted them, Jesus rebuked them. He did not want to fight Samaritans, even with cause." Christianity Today, Feb '08, n.p. <http://tinyurl.com/23x2bl>
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HINDUISM
"How Many Hindus Are There in the US?" -- this question is posed in the Dec 22 '07 edition of the Hindu Press International news wire. After much speculation, HPI supplies this response: "All are no more than educated guesses. Many Americans who are not ethnic Indians embrace Hindu practice or belief to one degree or another. Hundreds of thousands have flocked to swamis, pundits, saints and teachers from India since the 1960s. A 2005 Harris poll commissioned by Yoga Journal found that 16.5 million Americans practice yoga regularly. A 2004 Gallup Poll found 72 million Americans - 24% - believe in reincarnation, an astonishing number that has held steady for decades and cuts across all religious affiliations, including even 10% of evangelical Christians. There is almost certainly overlap among these groups, but it is reasonable to state that at least a quarter of Americans share significant Hindu beliefs and practices."
A bit more regarding the yoga trend mentioned above: "A February 2005 Harris poll commissioned by Yoga Journal, the leading American yoga magazine, found that 7.5 percent of U.S. adults, or 16.5 million people, practice yoga; that's an increase of 43 percent from 2002." <http://tinyurl.com/ml62s>
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Sources, Monographs:
1 - The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, byÊTimothy Keller (Dutton, 2008, hardcover, 320 pages)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0525950494/apologiareport>
2 - The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins (Houghton Mifflin, 2006, hardcover, 288 pages)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618680004/apologiareport>
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