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Apologia Report 15:7 (1,012)
February 24, 2010
Subject: The impressive new World Religion Database
In this issue:
ATONEMENT - handling objections to "sacred violence"
ISLAM - attempts at using the courts to silence critics
RELIGION STATISTICS - the magisterial World Christian Encyclopedia becomes the even better World Religion Database
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ATONEMENT
"Beyond Sacred Violence: The Challenge of Kathryn McClymond for Christian Apologetics" by Leslie Goode -- as much about anthropology as it is about theology; the average reader will find this paper dauntingly technical. Nevertheless, we are noticing more and more objections to the atonement which focus on violence. Goode opens: "nonbelievers are understandably inclined to regard the doctrine of the atonement as an unwelcome intrusion into the modern world of the primitive and violent ideas elsewhere relegated to the lumber room of history. Paradoxically enough, however, one of the most promising lines of contemporary Christian apologetic has attempted to make a virtue of this necessity." Here Goode is referring to the work of Rene Girard, whose theory "that unashamedly brings the notions of atonement
and sacred violence together [by arguing that] the redeeming work of the cross becomes comprehensible only when seen against the backdrop of an anthropology that places sacred violence at the heart of all society...."
The title refers to the book Beyond Sacred Violence: A Comparative Study of Sacrifice, by Kathryn McClymond [1]. Goode explains that McClymond purports to "transform our contemporary understanding of sacrifice" and "sets out ... to marginalize the prevailing understanding of sacrifice as sacred violence. This notion, she argues, is an ideological construct of Christian and post-Christian culture, with little relation to the realities of sacrifice as it is and was actually practiced in the culture of elsewhere and yesteryear. ... Most obviously, there is a challenge here to the Girardian line of apologetic. But the relevance of this reconfiguration of our anthropological perspective goes well beyond Girardian theory."
Goode gives examples of "impressive books" that utilize Girard's
apologetic approach. Besides her own brief summary of Girard, a
footnote recommends the "useful summary" found in Discovering Girard, by Michael Kirwan [2]. Goode also summarizes McClymond's argument at greater length.
She concludes: "Kathryn McClymond's work offers a long-overdue and very cogent critique of sacrifice as sacred violence. The relegation of sacred violence to the status of a contemporary mytheme [or 'essential element of post-Christian culture'] pulls out the anthropological carpet from beneath Girardian theory. On the other hand, it poses a more general challenge to Christian apologetics to develop an anthropology based on a broader and more genuinely cross-cultural understanding of sacrifice grounded in such evidence as
there exists of the ritual practices of elsewhere and yesteryear.
Finally, the link between sacrificial benevolence and the acquisition of socioreligious status is proposed as one fruitful avenue for any future Christian apologists seeking an 'anthropological' standpoint from which to approach the New Testament concept of grace." Theology Today, 66:4 - 2010, pp476-486.
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ISLAM
"Islamists' New Weapon: Libel Law" by Daniel Huff -- reports on a
January 15 Texas Supreme Court ruling that "arises out of 'internet journalist' Joe] Kaufman's September 28, 2007 FrontPage magazine article on the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), which sponsored a 'Muslim Family Day' at Six Flags Over Texas. Kaufman vowed to protest the event citing, among other things, ICNA's alleged 'physical ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and financial ties to Hamas.'
"Within days, Kaufman was sued, but not by ICNA. Rather, seven Dallas area Islamist organizations, none of them named in the article, sued Kaufman for defamation arguing they were implicated by inference since they too sponsored the event. In June 2009, a Texas appellate court dismissed the case before it could go to trial because 'a reasonable reader who was acquainted with [the plaintiffs] would not view Kaufman's statements as "concerning" them.' Undeterred, the seven Islamist groups asked the Texas Supreme Court for review.
"In what Kaufman termed a 'victory for freedom', the Court rejected their petition and let the appeals court decision stand." Huff also mentions the 2006 example of "a Saudi banker's mere threat to sue prompted Cambridge University Press to pulp [destroy] unsold copies of a book on terror financing titled Alms for Jihad [3], and to request American libraries to remove their copies from circulation."
Without help, "Kaufman would almost certainly have been bankrupt well before the case was dismissed were it not for the legal and financial aid of those dedicated to defending journalists from the threat of lawfare, including the Legal Project of the Middle East Forum and the Horowitz Freedom Center." The Legal Project, Jan 25 '10, <www.tinyurl.com/yasvlqg>
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RELIGION STATISTICS
World Religion Database [WRD]: International Religious Demographic Statistics and Sources, Todd M. Johnson and Brian J. Grim, eds. <www.brill.nl/wrd> -- the current issue of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research (34:1 -2010, www.tinyurl.com/ycec7up) is focused on this software product. Released in 2008 by Brill, Reviewer Peter Brierley explains (pp18-19) that "The WRD is based on David Barrett's World Christian Encyclopedia [4]. It exceeds the WCE, having
been updated and extended in many useful ways. ... The WRD is a truly remarkable resource for researchers, Christian workers, church leaders, religious academics, and any others wanting to see how the various religions of the world impact both the global and the local scenes."
Brierley’s primary criticism is the lack of source detail for those
who want to verify statistical accuracy. He notes that the WRD editors have made a studied decision to use data generated by denominational sources instead of census results, though he laments that the WRD "does not judge between the two." Brierley also mentions that the "highly erudite commentator" Philip Jenkins has been known to "criticize the numbers in the WCE (and doubtless will those found in the WRD)," but no examples are provided.
"There is a huge implicit strength in the WRD even though one may argue with its individual numbers: it is an attempt on a worldwide basis to compile numbers for the different religions in a broadly compatible manner for each country.
"It is a highly useful tool that can only become more useful in the
future as more data is added. ... There simply is no other source as comprehensive, and Christian and religious commentators have no option but to use it, despite hang-ups on definitions and individual numbers.
"The WRD shows Christians as one-third of the world's population, but static. It shows the Muslims as one-fifth of the world's population, and growing."
Reviewer Robert D. Woodberry adds (pp21-22): "First, for those
interested in statistical research, WRD data are downloadable as Excel files. Second, for many countries in the data set, WRD lists censuses and surveys that give alternate estimates of religious distribution. This is extremely helpful, since it allows scholars to compare WRD estimates with those of others and to evaluate the quality of data used to estimate religious distribution in particular countries. Third, WRD provides data on more countries, regions, and time periods than does any other source. Fourth, WRD provides incredibly detailed data. Previous versions had data at the national level, but WRD presents it by province and by people group. The amount of information is mind-boggling!"
The above does not include all of the WRD criticism mentioned in this issue of IBMR. Having recently published a database of AR back issues myself, much of the fault-finding appears quite shallow. Typically this is due to unrealistic expectations on the part of the user. Diligence and growing familiarity with the collection and the objectives behind its creation often resolve initial concerns.
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Beyond Sacred Violence: A Comparative Study of Sacrifice, by
Kathryn McClymond (Johns Hopkins Univ Prs, 2008, hardcover, 232 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/yzpznhf>
2 - Discovering Girard, by Michael Kirwan (Cowley, 2005, paperback, 137 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/yl7jocy>
3 - Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World, by J. Millard Burr and Robert O. Collins (Cambridge Univ Prs, 2006,
paperback, 332 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/y9odzxc>. Also see
4 - The World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World (2 Volume Set, Second Edition), by David B. Barrett, George M. Kurian, and Todd M. Johnson (Oxford Univ Prs, 2001, hardcover, 1,700 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/ygn3rcr>, and
<www. tinyurl.com/yf77r6e>
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