10AR15-37

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Apologia Report 15:37 (1,042)

October 27, 2010

Subject: The Bible Among the Myths

In this issue:

BIBLICAL RELIABILITY - another significant source responding to the accusation that the Bible is built on ancient mythology

CHURCH HISTORY - setting the record straight on Constantine

CONSPIRACY THEORIES - their influence in the Muslim world

RELIGIOUS PLURALISM - higher education follows popular sentiment

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BIBLICAL RELIABILITY

The Bible Among the Myths, by John N. Oswalt [1] -- Stephen J. Bedard (apologeticsjournal.com) begins his review: "There is no lack of books that argue that the Bible is no different from any other ancient mythology. ...

"It would be tempting to tackle this issue by simply comparing biblical stories with mythological stories. However, Oswalt takes a more useful route by looking at the different worldviews found within the Bible and ancient myths. Building from this foundation, Oswalt provides a persuasive argument that the Bible is fundamentally different than ancient myths. ...

"Oswalt concludes that the common link between all myths is the concept of continuity. By continuity, Oswalt means that all things are continuous with each other. This link explains how the ancients attempted to manipulate their gods. ...

"Just as continuity is the foundation of all mythological thinking, Oswalt finds an underlying principle for the biblical worldview in the concept of transcendence." By contrasting numerous concepts found in both the mythic and biblical worldviews, "Oswalt demonstrates that the Bible is indeed fundamentally different from mythology.

"The second part of Oswalt's book deals with the issue of history. What does one really mean when they claim that the Bible is either historical or unhistorical?" Oswalt even considers "attempts to redefine the role of history by Rudolf Bultmann and Alfred North Whitehead, examining their positions and providing helpful critiques.

...

"Oswalt takes his investigation beyond the limits of Old Testament study [to] include the New Testament, myth scholarship and philosophy of history in his research. Oswalt is also open about his own bias as an evangelical Christian." Hope's Reason, #1 - 2010, <www.tinyurl.com/29kgvay>.

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CHURCH HISTORY

Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom, by Peter J. Leithart [2] -- "Leithart, a pastor who teaches at New St. Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, takes aim at the received wisdom that Constantine's establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire was a political co-optation that made the church the creature and justification of the imperial state. He reads the original ancient, the seminal secondary, and lots of other sources to contend that Constantine was a believer and a conciliator who sought theological agreement for the political stability it brought. Contra the influential interpretation of Anabaptist theologian John Howard Yoder, Leithart maintains that when Constantine is understood in historical context, his disestablishment of pagan religion opens a place for a Christian understanding of sacrifice and of the significance of the kingdom of God. His provocative view deserves examination. Besides his peers, general readers with a close knowledge of early church history will appreciate his well-supported argument, and anybody whose understanding of early church history comes from The Da Vinci Code needs to read this." Publishers Weekly, Oct 15 '10, n.p.

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CONSPIRACY THEORIES

"Inside the Brain of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" by Jonathan Kay -- amounts to a useful brief on "the thinking that pervades much of the Muslim world," thereby informing a more balanced appreciation of this oft-neglected topic within the field of Christian apologetics.

Kay begins by acknowledging that it is not all that unusual for accomplished people like the Iranian president to be captured by one or more kinds of global conspiratorial mentalities. Another noteworthy example is Toronto educator Michael Keefer, “a world-renowned scholar of Shakespeare, Descartes and Marlowe. ... "But by far the biggest category of conspiracy theorist," Kay writes, is “the ‘failed historian.’ He is someone who views human history through a rigid and all-encompassing ideological template. Some are Marxists. Others are Islamists, or Chomskyites, or radical Tea Party conservatives, or white supremacists. ...

"Because the engine of conspiracism is the psychic gulf between what is wished for and what is, conspiracy theories are especially prominent in Islamic societies such as Iran. This is because the Koran, the associated doctrines of Shariah, and the entire arc of early Islamic history have created the expectation that Muslims will rule over infidels as conquerors - and that Muslim societies, having been enlightened by the Seal of the Prophets, always would be more militarily successful and technologically advanced than infidel societies." National Post, Sep 25 '10, <www.tinyurl.com/26qqcop>.

For extensive insights on this theme, see The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist, by Robert R. Reilly [3].

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RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

"Interfaith U" by Elizabeth Dias -- begins by explaining that "low enrollment and in-the-red books" threatened to close the 125-year-old Claremont School of Theology in southern California. Consequently, "this fall Claremont will commence a first on U.S. soil: a 'theological university' to train future pastors, imams, and rabbis under one roof. The experiment to end isolated clerical training brings together Claremont, the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) and the Academy for Jewish Religion California. The hope of officials at all three organizations is that when leaders study their own religious traditions together alongside friends of other faiths, they will develop the respect and wisdom necessary to transform America's fractured religious outlook. ...

"The project hatched naturally from Claremont's desire to engage southern California's religiously diverse population. 'We're trying to catch up with the practical reality of how congregations, synagogues, and mosques are already trying to create some rapport among themselves,' says [school president Jerry] Campbell. Not only will the project offer comprehensive multi-faith classes, but also it hopes to establish the first accredited imam-training institution in the U.S."

Not to be left out, "two other theological schools - Boston's Andover Newton and Chicago's Meadville Lombard - have followed Claremont's lead and in June announced plans to form similar interfaith consortiums."

But Claremont is just getting started, "because Claremont still needs to find Buddhist and Hindu partners, hire up to 25 new professors, and raise an additional $104 million to pay for endowed faculty chairs and facility expansion, Campbell estimated that it will be nearly 10 years before the multi-faith project is in full swing." Time, Sep 6 '10, p51. <www.tinyurl.com/2ftk7m7>

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Bible Among the Myths, by John N. Oswalt (Zondervan, 2009, paperback, 208 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/25k42wo>

2 - Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom, by Peter J. Leithart (IVP, 2010, paperback, 373 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/2faqley>

3 - The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist, by Robert R. Reilly (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2010, hardcover, 244 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/27qwshl>

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