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Apologia Report 15:36 (1,041)
October 20, 2010
Subject: Atheists and Native Americans call for restrictions
In this issue:
FREEDOM OF RELIGION - following the growth of complexity
NEW AGE MOVEMENT - the path of uncritical belief turned tragic
POPULAR FICTION - assessing the work of Jodi Picoult
REINCARNATION - acceptance continues to grow in America
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FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Freedom From Religion: Rights and National Security, by Amos Guiora [1], a professor at the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law -- Brooke Adams writes that "If Amos Guiora had his way, undercover moles would be planted in Islamic mosques and in polygamous sect meetinghouses led by controversial figures to listen for speech that incites followers to violent behavior.
"Any extremist religious leader who sanctions criminal acts - like the terrorist attacks of 9/11 or underage marriages performed at a remote Texas ranch - should, he argues, be arrested. ...
"The book's aim is to focus a 'conversation on whether or not free speech in the context of religious extremism should be limited,' Guiora said in an interview. 'The subset question is whether or not limits should be imposed on the practice of religion in the context of religious extremism.'
"His answer to those questions? Yes.
"Critics such as Frederick Gedicks, a professor at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School, say Guiora is 'completely wrong.' ...
"Guiora examines the response of five nations - the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Turkey and Israel - to violence carried out by Islamic, Jewish and Christian extremists. His Christian example: the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which has 10,000 adherents, most of them in Utah.
...
"Guiora agreed his 'good-of-the-child-wins' philosophy would apply to parents in other religious faiths who engage in behavior that threatens the well-being of youngsters - whether it is the limits on an Amish child's education or a Christian Science parent's aversion to modern medicine.
"'If somebody is harmed,' he said, 'I don't think that should be protected.'
"But politicians and law professors aren't the only ones uncomfortable with Guiora's proposal. The Rev. Gregory C. V. Johnson, an evangelical pastor who leads the Standing Together ministry in Utah, said Guiora's ideas align with the 'New Atheist' thinking of writers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. ...
"In the United Kingdom, Guiora found government and media apathetic about Muslim extremism. He lambastes the government's prevention via 'community outreach' emphasis, wherein moderates try to counter extremists. Utah has used a similar approach with a Safety Net Committee, which acts as a liaison between government agencies and closed polygamous groups.
"Guiora acknowledges that attempts to quell speech may result in problematic religious figures moving underground. He also concedes the potential of governmental overreach." Salt Lake Tribune, Aug 20 '10, <www.tinyurl.com/29ua6tj>
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NEW AGE MOVEMENT
"Death in the Sweat Lodge" by Christine McCarthy McMorris -- a concise review of the fallout from the October 8, 2009 tragedy in Sedona, Arizona where "During a version of a Native American sweat lodge ceremony run by best-selling author James Arthur Ray, two participants died on the scene, and 20 others were sent to local hospitals. A third person died from multiple organ failure after lying in a coma for nine days."
McMorris traces blame to the New Age movement and includes interesting reporting on the reaction of Native Americans. "According to Kate Linthicum and DeeDee Correll of the Los Angeles Times, Ray's success came after his inclusion as one of the expert talking heads in The Secret, a wildly popular 2007 documentary that has sold over 4 million copies. The brainchild of Australian TV producer Rhonda Byrne, it purports to divulge the ancient 'Law of Attraction': If you visualize wealth, health, or happiness, a thinking universe will send it back to you. While the DVD claims 'the secret' has been suppressed since ancient times, Byrne told Jerry Adler in the March 21, 2007 Newsweek that her inspiration was the 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. Adler wrote that Wattles was a member of the New Thought movement, described by Rutgers historian Beryl Satter as 'a self-help movement that drew on 19th-century Americans' suspicion of elites and on the Protestant tradition of looking for the "inner light."'
"When The Secret hit it big, James Ray reached a wide TV audience after appearing in 2007 on Larry King Live, Today, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Oprah - twice. While none of the TV hosts asked hard questions, Winfrey positively gushed in her praise, even appearing on Larry King Live June 28, 2007 to praise The Secret's philosophy. 'You really can change your own reality based on the way you think,' she claimed.
"By September 2009, James Ray was a well-known, mainstream leader in the New Age movement. His company, James Ray International, had revenues of close to ten million dollars, over 14,000 people had attended his lectures, seminars and retreats, and he lived in a $4 million mansion in Beverly Hills. ...
"As the mainstream media tried to assign blame to the shadier corners of the New Age, outrage among Native Americans over the sweat lodge deaths - and the commercialization of their ancient ceremony - was visceral." McMorris develops this further. Religion in the News, 13:1 - 2010, pp16-18, 25. <www.tinyurl.com/282ltfs>
Consider the possible overlap between Amos Guiora's perspective (above) and that of the Native Americans.
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POPULAR FICTION
"Jodi Picoult's Novel Ideas: Faith, Atheism, and Gnostics" by Robert Velarde -- profiles the work of this popular secular author which delves into "many areas of interest such as ethics, theology, and apologetics. ...
"Having published seventeen novels to date, Picoult's works have also made their way to television and the movie theater. ... For the purpose of this review, two books were selected: Keeping Faith [2] and Change of Heart [3]. The former is of particular interest given the current state of atheism that is openly hostile to Christianity, while the latter addresses ethical issues and questions regarding the New Testament Gospels in opposition to Gnostic writings. There is a connection between both books in that a main character from Keeping Faith, Ian Fletcher, is also featured in Change of Heart."
In Keeping Faith, "Raised a Baptist, Fletcher turns to atheism as an adult and is eager to debunk any religious claims he encounters. However, "Fletcher offers clever analogies meant to demonstrate the inferiority of faith, but in reality his analogies are false. ...
Like The Da Vinci Code and its outlandish claims regarding Christianity, Change of Heart is full of misinformation regarding the Gnostic Gospels, with the likely source being Elaine Pagels, cited by Picoult as her main research resources on the subject. ...
"Picoult's books generally offer a number of competing points of view from the perspectives of different characters. ...
"As a bestselling author, Picoult's words reach millions of readers. While it is at times refreshing to see such candid discussion and religious ideas set forth in Picoult's writings, it is unfortunate that some of her works perpetuate false ideas about Christianity and the Gnostic writings." Christian Research Journal, 33:3 - 2010, pp58-59.
Also featured in this issue of CRJ (pp26-33) is a glimpse of Velarde's latest book The Wisdom of Pixar [4], which describes how the movie studio has often reflected "biblical values and thus offer a multitude of opportunities to dialogue with those who may have little or no no interest in philosophy or theology, but are interested in discussing popular movies."
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REINCARNATION
"Remembrances of Lives Past" by Lisa Miller -- On August 31, Hindu Press International devoted a lot of space in calling attention to an uncritical piece which was featured in the August 27 New York Times. HPI summarizes: "According to data released last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, a quarter of Americans now believe in reincarnation. (Women are more likely to believe than men; Democrats more likely than Republicans.) ...
"Gadadhara Pandit Dasa, Columbia University's first Hindu chaplain, called it 'a re-do,' like a test you get to take over. After an unspecified number of tries, the eternal soul finally achieves perfection. Only then, in what Hindus call moksha (or release), does the soul go to live with God. ...
"'I can remember, 30 years ago, if a person wanted to learn about reincarnation, they would go into a bookstore and go into a very back corner, to a section called "Occult,"' said Janet Cunningham, president of the International Board for Regression Therapy, a professional standards group for past-life therapists and researchers.
'It felt sneaky.' Now the East is in our backyards, accessible on the Internet and in every yoga studio.'
"At the same time, Western religion is failing to satisfy growing numbers of people - especially young adults. ... According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, 15 percent of Americans express no affiliation with any religious tradition, nearly double the number in 1990." <www.tinyurl.com/2fr96rw>
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Freedom From Religion: Rights and National Security, by Amos Guiora (Oxford Univ Prs, 2009, hardcover, 174 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/25oqzyt>
2 - Keeping Faith: A Novel, by Jodi Picoult (Harper reprint, 2010, paperback, 448 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/28a8q4v>
3 - Change of Heart: A Novel, by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square, 2008, paperback, 480 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/2c8zfgz>
4 - The Wisdom of Pixar, by Robert Velarde (IVP, 2010, paperback, 174 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/27joyvl>
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