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Apologia Report 13:21
May 29, 2008
Subject: The startling challenge of "Neural Buddhism"
In this issue:
BUDDHISM - "once again resurgent in Korea"
+ how the "cognitive revolution" produces "neural Buddhists"
COPYRIGHT - Wikileaks site an outrage to Mormons, Scientologists, Jehovah's Witnesses ...and counting
WORLDVIEW - Hinduism scholar reflects on movement to "replace traditional Western values with Eastern modes of thought"
+ George Barna compares the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and the "born again"
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BUDDHISM
"Buddha's Birthday" by David A. Mason -- as much a profile of Korean culture as anything else, Mason reports that "Buddhism is once again resurgent in Korea. Around a quarter of all South Koreans now call themselves Buddhists, up from less than 10% a century ago. ...
"In the 1960s, modern-day South Korea established Buddha's Birthday as the nation's only Buddhist holiday -- not because it is the most religiously important Buddhist commemoration, but because Korean Christians, a fast-growing constituency, insisted on Christmas as a public holiday. Buddha's Birthday was adopted as the day to recognize and celebrate the country's other major faith, as a gesture of even-handed parallelism. ...
"But unlike their Christian counterparts who are divided into myriad rival Protestant sects, Korean Buddhists are exceptionally well-organized and unified. Around 85% of the temples, monks, nuns and lay believers belong to just one sect, the Jogye Order." Wall Street Journal, May 9 '08, n.p. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121026616436477667.html>
"The Neural Buddhists" by op-ed columnist David Brooks -- responding to what he calls a "cognitive revolution" in which "Genes shape temperament. Brain chemicals shape behavior. Assemblies of neurons create consciousness. Free will is an illusion. Human beings are 'hard-wired' to do this or that," - Brooks concludes: "We're in the middle of a scientific revolution. It's going to have big cultural effects."
As Brooks sees it, "Just as 'The Origin of Species' reshaped social thinking, just as Einstein's theory of relativity affected art, so the revolution in neuroscience is having an effect on how people see the world. ...
"The cognitive revolution is not going to end up undermining faith in God, it's going end up challenging faith in the Bible. ...
"This new wave of research will not seep into the public realm in the form of militant atheism. Instead it will lead to what you might call neural Buddhism. ...
"First, the self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships. Second, underneath the patina of different religions, people around the world have common moral intuitions. Third, people are equipped to experience the sacred, to have moments of elevated experience when they transcend boundaries and overflow with love. Fourth, God can best be conceived as the nature one experiences at those moments, the unknowable total of all there is. ...
"The real challenge is going to come from people who feel the existence of the sacred, but who think that particular religions are just cultural artifacts built on top of universal human traits. It's going to come from scientists whose beliefs overlap a bit with Buddhism. ...
"Orthodox believers are going to have to ... defend the idea of a personal God, and explain why specific theologies are true guides for behavior day to day." New York Times, May 13 '08, n.p. <www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/opinion/13brooks.html>
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COPYRIGHT
"Mormons, Scientologists face uphill battle against Wikileaks" by Nate Anderson -- first, a bit of background: "Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact. Our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by all types of people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources." [1]
Anderson explains that "questions about Mormon practice and leadership might not seem to be especially secret, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints isn't pleased about secret church documents hitting the Internet. In this case, the cause of the displeasure is the confidential Church Handbook of Instructions, published by Wikileaks on April 16. ...
"But the Mormons aren't the only religious group targeting Wikileaks. The site has already amassed an impressive track record when it comes to irritating powerful and litigious groups, so it was really just a matter of time before Scientology got involved. That happened back in March, when the group's lawyers demanded that Wikileaks remove a set of 'Operating Thetan' documents.
"A quick look through the trove shows why; the documents are bizarre, and include large chunks of handwritten material by founder L. Ron Hubbard ...
"In a press release issued on April 7, Wikileaks was defiant, saying that 'we have come to the conclusion that Scientology is not only an abusive cult, but that it aids and abets a general climate of Western media self-censorship. If the west [sic] can not defend its cultural values of free speech and press freedoms against a criminal cult like Scientology, it can hardly lecture China and other state abusers of these same values.'" <http://tinyurl.com/4mpks5>
Also within the Wikileaks site is the Jehovah's Witnesses Elders' manual: Pay Attention to Yourselves and All the Flock (1991). See: <http://tinyurl.com/3f4hyg>
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WORLDVIEW
On page 463 of his magisterial Survey of Hinduism [2], Klaus Klostermaier writes: "The contemporary West no longer has a unifying worldview, a commonly accepted religion or philosophy of life as a basis for the solution of its social or psychological problems and as sustenance in times of crisis. The experiences of the last century have undermined the naive optimism based on faith in unlimited technological progress. Having witnessed a complete breakdown of much that was taken for granted in former times, we are now faced with a deep-rooted insecurity and also probably the irreparable loss of the authority of those institutions that for centuries had provided Westerners with a firm frame for their life and thought. An increasing number of people are opening to the suggestion that they might replace some traditional Western values and attitudes, which have proved short-lived and self-destructive, with Eastern modes of thought that have nourished cultures that have nourished cultures that have endured for thousands of years. Slowly, however, the realization is also dawning that a mere replacement of one set of ideas and values by another would help us as little as did the timid or arrogant aloofness of former times."
The George Barna research group published a study on May 12 comparing belief differences between Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and the "born again." Titled "Who's That Knocking on the Door?," it begins: "Two religious groups, in particular, are known for knocking on people's front door to discuss religious beliefs: Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. While both groups consider themselves to be Christian, many organizations have labeled each a cult in response to some of their unorthodox beliefs and practices. A new study from The Barna Group explores the religious and demographic background of these two groups and shows that they differ significantly from the born again Christian population in a variety of respects."
Barna finds that "only 7% of Jehovah's Witnesses meet the criteria for being born again. ...
"Demographically, Jehovah's Witnesses are substantially different from the born again community in that they are less likely to get married; much less likely to hold conservative political and social views; and are a decidedly downscale group (only one-third as likely to have graduated from college, and their household income levels are one-quarter below the born again average). The Jehovah's Witnesses community is predominantly non-white (62%) and is shockingly removed from the political process: only 29% are registered to vote, compared to 87% among the born again constituency. ...
"Comparatively few Mormons believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its principles (32%). A majority believes that a good person can earn their way into Heaven. ...
"One controversy surrounds the fact that one-third of Mormons (31%) meet the born again criteria. A number of evangelical leaders assert that although Mormons seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, their refusal to trust wholly on God's grace and forgiveness through Christ as the only means to salvation disqualifies them from being born again. ...
"Millions of adults, however, shut the door when Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses come visiting without having any real idea what they or we believe - or caring enough to pursue such insights."
"Barna indicated that such front porch interactions could stimulate unexpected benefits. "It's no secret that Americans spend little time thinking through the deeper applications and implications of their beliefs. In a society confronted with challenging issues such as immigration rights, gay marriage, war, and environmental crises, our positions on such matters should come from a well-conceived and deeply embraced theology of life. Sadly, most Americans react on an emotional level rather than from a worldview that is based on thoughtful convictions." <http://tinyurl.com/4psrkx>
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Sources, Digital:
1 - <http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Wikileaks:About>
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Sources, Monographs:
2 - A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K. Klostermaier (SUNY, 2007, 3rd ed., paperback, 700 pages) <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0791470822/apologiareport>
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