09AR14-01
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Apologia Report 14:1
January 9, 2009
Subject: Growing concern over Alternative Medicine
In this issue:
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE - noteworthy analysis of today's health-care reform quandary appreciates its New Age roots
CHRISTOLOGY - Free Inquiry publisher hunts for historical Jesus
HOMOSEXUALITY - test case reveals complexities of gay divorce involving child custody
ISLAM - congressman Mark Siljander's campaign to educate evangelicals in their approach
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ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
"The Touch That Doesn't Heal" by Steve Salerno -- a good summary of the mess that alternative medicine is making of the already messy health-care industry challenges we now face. Salerno finds that "what was once a ragtag assortment of New Age nostrums has metastasized into a multibillion-dollar industry championed by dozens of lobbyists and their congressional sympathizers." He laments that we're experiencing "an exodus from medical orthodoxy."
Salerno is concerned about "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM). "Not by coincidence is CAM most avidly touted by a loose alliance of self-help gurus (Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, et al.) and veteran hucksters like erstwhile infomercial king Kevin Trudeau." Wall Street Journal, Dec 25 '08, <www.tinyurl.com/ayvrgr>
Think this is bad? Check out the mess in Russia here: <www.tinyurl.com/92fg24>
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CHRISTOLOGY
Among the sources of relentless modern criticism regarding traditional views of the New Testament has been that of various academic "quests" for a "historical Jesus," or, at least, a Jesus Who is acceptable to non-conservative academic groups. "Which groups?" may be the best question to ask when attempting to gain a comprehensive overview of the subject.
On December 8, yet another academic force updated its decision to go historical Jesus questing. On that day, Religion News Service ran a press release [1] for The Center for Inquiry and its Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER, <centerforinquiry.net>, affiliated with the anti-supernaturalist magazine, Free Inquiry) titled "Quest for the Historical Jesus Begins Anew."
Why beat that dead horse again? R. Joseph Hoffmann, chair of the Committee, said that perhaps the best-known group in the field, The Jesus Seminar, "had difficulty separating itself from the faith commitments of its members. Its agenda was not exclusively, but in large measure theologically driven. Its conclusions and methods raised more questions than they answered."
It seems even the Jesus Seminar wasn't skeptical enough. "Participants represent a wide variety of perspectives, ranging from [James] Tabor's argument that there is substantial evidence that the tomb of the family of Jesus has been located, to the view that the evidence for the existence of Jesus as an historical figure is not persuasive."
This is the first we've heard from the Center for Inquiry on the subject since we noted the announcement of its questing ambitions in 2007 (AR 12:23). See <www.tinyurl.com/ynqhql> for this.
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HOMOSEXUALITY
"Mrs. Kramer Vs. Mrs. Kramer: It's an old story - parents split and fight for custody. But when both are women, and one says she is no longer gay, it gets complicated" by Lorraine Ali -- a companion piece to Newsweek's cover story on gay marriage (featured in the previous edition of AR). Ali profiles a legal case that is "the first to tackle the recognition of same-sex unions, marriage and the rights of homosexual parents across ideological, biological and state lines. And, uniquely, across religious lines once Miller became a devout Baptist, renounced her homosexuality and said she was determined to protect her daughter from a 'lifestyle that's fundamentally wrong.'" Ali describes their four-and-a-half year legal battle that is struggling to get to the Supreme Court.
"A recent NEWSWEEK Poll found that support for the adoption rights of homosexuals is up 8 percentage points (45 percent to 53 percent) from 2004, and when it came to the question of rights for nonbiological gay or lesbian parents who've divorced, 63 percent of our respondents said that the partner who is not blood-related should still have custody rights and a decision-making role in the child's life."
Miller vs. Jenkins "started with a simple dissolution of their union in late 2003, which both women agreed to. The Vermont judge issued a temporary visitation order in June of 2004, but within a month, Miller filed for sole, exclusive custody in Virginia." Then the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty Counsel and the ACLU became involved.
"[T]he case wound up in the Virginia Supreme Court. In June of 2008, the earlier Virginia trial-court ruling was reversed and Jenkins was awarded parental and visitation rights. The enforcement of the visitation schedule is now with the Virginia Juvenile Court. But Miller is still refusing to allow [their child] unsupervised time with her ex; if she continues to stonewall, Jenkins may be awarded full custody of Isabella, and Miller may wind up in jail. ...
"Miller's legal firm hopes to challenge the rulings upheld in Vermont and Virginia by petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case (they've had two requests denied and recently filed a third). As it stands, the outcome of Miller v. Jenkins represents a victory for the rights of gay parents." Newsweek, Dec 15 '08, pp32-36. <www.newsweek.com/id/172554>
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ISLAM
"Facing Islam" by Marvin Olasky -- presents the argument of former GOP congressman Mark Siljander, as introduced in his recent book, A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide [2].
Siljander "argues rightly that ecumenical talk by the religious left in the United States has not built spiritual bridges to Islam. He notes that military action by itself merely blows up material bridges. His proposal: Sow the seeds that can yield 'an organic movement within Islam that can work in the Muslim context [and] strengthen moderates rather than militants.'" Siljander's approach is for Christian and Muslim leaders to meet and see if what they agree on is greater than their differences. The idea is for Christians to think about Islam not in terms of conversion or mission first, but in terms of merged understanding before anything else.
Siljander is "trying to start among evangelicals 'not a theological discussion but a strategic one.... Facing massive cultural differences, how do you present Jesus in a way that will open minds and hearts?' He argues that the primary goal of evangelicals should not be to convert Muslims to Christianity, but to awaken in them the desire to follow Jesus that Siljander says is embedded in Islam."
The article points out that Siljander's international efforts to work with people like Sudanese dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum and with groups like the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) have had controversial results. Some believe Siljander was conned. He was one of several who "came under indictment for money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice" after the Treasury Department designated the IARA a terrorist group. World, Dec 13 '08, pp52-56.
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Sources, Digital:
1 - <www.tinyurl.com/737x7o>
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Sources, Monographs:
2 - A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide, by Mark D. Siljander (HarperOne, 2008, hardcover, 272 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/9rg8kw>
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