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Apologia Report 16:20 (1,070)
June 9, 2011
Subject: Does the messy human genome undermine Intelligent Design?
In this issue:
APOSTASY - the paradox of completely contradictory reviews
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT - helpful observations for Rob Bell
EVIL - commonplace and banal, though an object of American fascination and consumption
ORIGINS - does the messy human genome support the problem of evil?
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APOSTASY
In this tale of two reviews, Kirkus (Jun '11, #1) pans Breaking Up With God: A Love Story, by Sarah Sentilles [1] with its typical opening and closing one-liners:
"Unilluminating tale of one woman's lost faith.
"Sentilles ... recounts a childhood torn between two faiths -
Catholic and Episcopalian - before deciding to become an Episcopal priest. While completing a doctorate program at Harvard Divinity School, the author finally admitted something she had long sequestered in the back of her mind - she does not really believe in God. Less a spiritual memoir than a cathartic exercise, Sentilles places the reader in the unwanted role of therapist as she shares the details of an upper-middle-class life gone awry. What becomes clear early is that the author's understanding of God never developed beyond the childish concept of deity as a completely anthropomorphic figure, making her graduate studies that much more difficult. Sentilles was obviously not prepared to begin preparation for the priesthood (she admits to having never owned a Bible before entering seminary), and readers will be easily convinced that her faith was based far more upon herself than God. Though filled with unwarranted shame and guilt and plagued with a strikingly low sense of self, Sentilles manages to portray herself as completely self-absorbed at every point in her story: 'The good things I did in the world had an ugly underside: I didn't do them for others. I did them for myself. I did them to make people love me.' As the author moves slowly toward an obvious and inevitable conclusion, she forces unwanted tidbits on readers - the tale of her eating disorder, intimate details from failed relationships with men ('We kissed. He sucked on my toes.') and even a graphic depiction of her urine test for Teach for America. Finally, after a tortured relationship, Sentilles broke up with God - a God she never saw as more than a boyfriend.
"A disappointing spiritual memoir."
Can Brian T. Sullivan's review in Library Journal really be referring to the same book? "This is a beautiful, intimate, and personal spiritual memoir, told as a passionate love story about a relationship that ultimately does not work out between the author and God. Sentilles ... a former candidate for the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, with a master's of divinity and a doctorate in theology from Harvard, tells her story in a way that is never preachy or pushy. She is not angry or bitter and seems to have no intention of converting readers to her viewpoint. She simply shares her journey with a tenderness and authenticity that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. Her narrative ends with an agnostic but promising vision for humanity. VERDICT: Sentilles provides a wonderful model for humbly seeking and inquiring to find meaning. Those who have ever doubted, wrestled, questioned, or struggled to maintain a relationship with an elusive God, whether they are currently believers, nonbelievers, or somewhere in between, will find much that speaks to them in this touching memoir. Highly recommended." Library Journal, Jun 1 '11, p105.
It's difficult to recall another case in which there was more to read between the lines, er, reviews.
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ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
Mark Galli makes some interesting observations in his review of Love Wins, by Rob Bell [2]. He notes that Bell "misleadingly claims that the theme [of universalism] has a 'long tradition' and 'an untold number' of adherents among devout Christians. Only a tiny minority of Christians have ever espoused universalism. ...
"Bell ignores crucial questions, one of which is this: If universal salvation is true and such good news, why is it practically nonexistent in Jesus' teachings; why does Jesus' ministry relentlessly focus on the Last Judgment? Jesus elaborates on this theme more than all the other New Testament voices combined. ...
"Why should we embrace Christ's divinity as a deep mystery, but dismiss the blood atonement as a time-bound explanation of the Cross? Why should we take literally Paul's statements about the universality of salvation, but reduce his teaching on substitutionary atonement to 'brilliant, creative work?'
"The criteria driving these distinctions seem to be based on what Bell thinks contemporary people can swallow." Christianity Today, Apr '11, pp63-65.
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EVIL
Satan in America: The Devil We Know, by W. Scott Poole [3] -- in Kelly J. Baker's review we learn that "Satan abounds in American culture, lurks around corners, appears in different guises, and proves to be an object of American fascination and consumption. Satan and Satanism become the venues for Americans 'to express their anxieties about the nature of evil.' Americans watch television shows like Dexter, in which a serial killer is the protagonist; read pulp fiction and true crime novels; and follow documentaries on gangs and serial killers on various cable outlets. We consume these horrors, according to Poole, because we hope that we might glance at evil and somehow avoid it in our everyday lives. Evil, unfortunately, is commonplace and banal.
"What Poole does quite convincingly is demonstrate how Americans have placed our evil, individual and collective impulses, on the Prince of Darkness. ...
"Under the banner of rooting out the devil, Americans can claim virtue and innocence while promoting and creating the violence and evil they seek to destroy." Church History, 80:1 - 2011, pp225-227.
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ORIGINS
Inside the Human Genome: A Case for Non-Intelligent Design, by John C. Avise [4] -- reviewer Michael Buratovich reports that "The sequence of the human genome, according to Avise, provides strong evidence for the theory of evolution and even stronger evidence against the theory of intelligent design. More tellingly, Avise thinks that it tells us something profound about the problem of evil.
"In the first chapter, Avise introduces the reader to a subject that he turns to repeatedly throughout the book: theodicy. Theodicy is the study of the problem of evil, or how an all-powerful, omniscient, loving God could have created a world that contains vast quantities of seemingly pointless pain, evil, and suffering. The inefficient design of the human genome, which is the subject of the following chapters, is responsible for a great deal of human suffering and presents a substantial challenge to some of the more commonly cited solutions for the problem of evil. ...
"In the final chapter, Avise summarizes his findings: the overwhelming majority of the human genome consists of molecular gibberish, nucleic acid parasites and the ghosts of genes long past. ... The protein-coding portions of the human genome 'have proved to be mere islands of DNA in the vastly larger river of intergenic spacer sequences.' This is, in Avise's view, exactly opposite of what anyone would expect if the theory of Intelligent Design were true. These intrinsic imperfections, which are built into the very fabric of the human genome, demolish William Paley's argument from design. Insentient forces are a better explanation for a messy, inefficient, error-prone entity like the human genome. ...
"Inside the Human Genome is a very well written, powerfully argued, and beautifully crafted book that anyone with even a fleeting interest in the origin of the human genome should read. ... Avise has read neither broadly nor deeply about theodicy. ... Thus, there are potential theological explanations for these observations that were simply not considered.
"Secondly, when it comes to his critique of Intelligent Design, Avise has not criticized the strongest case his opponents present." Christian Scholar's Review, 40:2 - 2011, pp239-241.
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Breaking Up With God: A Love Story, by Sarah Sentilles (HarperOne, 2011, hardcover, 256 pages) <www.j.mp/mRrZbT>
2 - Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, by Rob Bell (HarperOne, 2011, hardcover, 224 pages) <www.j.mp/lQWgh8>
3 - Satan in America: The Devil We Know, by W. Scott Poole (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, paperback, 274 pages) <www.j.mp/jTCbfm>
4 - Inside the Human Genome: A Case for Non-Intelligent Design, by John C. Avise (Oxford Univ Prs, 2010, hardcover, 240 pages) <www.j.mp/l6hlMB>
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