11AR16-06

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Apologia Report 16:6 (1,056)

February 16, 2010

Subject: 'How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero'

In this issue:

ISLAM - targeting a selective phobia in France

POPULAR FICTION - when vampires had "meaningful theological bite"

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - India's supreme court eases off hard line against conversion to Christianity

STATISTICS - don't trust the numbers so quickly next time

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ISLAM

"Criticizing Islam Is Not 'Islamophobia'" -- "It's time to banish the term 'Islamophobia,' said public intellectual Pascal Bruckner [in the French publication, Liberation <www.j.mp/cTrEjq>]. Coined by Iranian fundamentalists in the 1970s, the word 'aims to make Islam an untouchable subject.' Criticize the religion and you'll be branded a racist. 'But a faith is not a race,' it's a school of thought - and debating its merits should not be a thought crime. We have the right under our democratic system 'to judge a religion as false and reactionary and dislike it.' In fact, we have every reason to be 'wary' of Islam - as we once were of Catholicism because of its 'aggressive proselytizing, its claim to hold the only truth, and its penchant for sacrificial protest.' Having suffered under 'centuries of clerical domination,' we know that a secular society needs a robust defense. Granting special rights to any religious community - by allowing religious garb in schools or public offices, for example - would 'take us directly back to the ancient regime.' That's exactly what fundamentalist Muslims want, with their cries of 'Islamophobia.' Let's not forget that of all the monotheistic religions, 'it is Christianity that is currently the most persecuted.' Christians can't worship openly in many Muslim countries; in Iraq they're even being killed for their faith. Yet nobody complains of 'Christianophobia.'" The Week, Dec 17 '10, p20. For the full text cited by this item, see <www.j.mp/gAuPR4>.

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POPULAR FICTION

The Vampire Defanged: How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero, by Susannah Clements [1] -- "It's indisputable that vampires are au courant in America, but according to Clements, an associate professor at Regent University, they ain't what they used to be. In this astute survey, she argues that Christian theology, once essential to understanding the vampire, has been lost through decades of change in vampire characterization, effectively de-fanging the vampire of meaningful theological bite. Clements begins with the iconic monster Dracula, a repulsive creature who represented the power of sin and evil in the Christian metanarrative. Moving through such subsequent incarnations as the vampires of Anne Rice, Joss Whedon (in Buffy and Angel), and Charlaine Harris (the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries on which True Blood is based), Clements chronicles a gradual secularization and social acceptance of vampires. By the time Stephenie Meyer [of the Twilight series] stops hearts with Edward Cullen, the vampire is no longer a grotesque cautionary tale of humanity gone wrong but the apotheosis of humanity, a beautiful angel who stands above humankind. Clements writes well and persuasively as she argues that 'vampires are more than just monsters to us,' demonstrating that now, as ever, the vampire represents our darkest anxieties and most ardent desires." Publishers Weekly, Jan 10 '11, pp44-45.

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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

"Supreme Court Recants Strong Words on Conversion" reports the February 1 Hindu Press International wire. The entire item follows: "NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 25, 2011: Severe criticism of its remarks over conversion has forced [India's] Supreme Court to expunge its controversial observations on the subject of conversion.

"As reported by HPI on January 23, the Supreme Court on Friday held that conversion from one religion to another had no justification in 'secular' India as it amounted to interference in religious belief. Under pressure, it has now recanted its statements.

"The bench had observed: 'It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone's belief by way of use of force, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon flawed premise that one religion is better than the other.' It has been changed to a general 'There is no justification for interfering in someone's religious belief by any means.'

"Other parts of the verdict, which are more specific to the case, were also changed. The passage 'The intention [of the criminal] was to teach a lesson to [martyred missionary] Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity.' The bench has now completely purged these lines.

"Though it is rare for SC to expunge its remarks, it can do so under its inherent powers."

HPI adds an interpretive note: "This is a striking example of the influence of missionaries in India. The HPI team could not find any instance when the U.S. Supreme court recanted its own words within a few days." For the HPI source, see <www.j.mp/eTFh8e>.

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STATISTICS

Yet another reason to be skeptical of statistical data is illustrated by the most unlikely of sources. In his New York Times (Jan 10 '11, ppD1, D6) story, "ESP: You Might Already Know This ...," Benedict Carey begins: "In recent weeks, editors at a respected psychology journal have been taking heat from fellow scientists for deciding to accept a research report that claims to show the existence of extrasensory perception." The untitled report, written by Daryl J. Bem, is still awaiting publication in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology <j.mp/aPd8HR>.

Carey explains that "the episode has inflamed one of the longest-running debates in science. For decades, some statisticians have argued that the standard technique used to analyze data in much of social science and medicine overstates many study findings - often by a lot. ...

"By incorporating statistical techniques that are now widely used in other sciences - genetics, economic modeling, even wildlife monitoring - social scientists can correct for such problems, saving themselves (and, ahem, science reporters) time, effort and embarrassment. ...

"The statistical approach that has dominated the social sciences for almost a century is called significance testing. The idea is straightforward. A finding from any well-designed study - say, a correlation between a personality trait and the risk of depression - is considered "significant" if its probability of occurring by chance is less than 5 percent.

"This arbitrary cutoff makes sense when the effect being studied is a large one...." "But if the true effect of what you are measuring is small," said Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics and political science at Columbia University, "then by necessity anything you discover is going to be an overestimate" of that effect. ...

"The critics have been crying foul for [decades]. In the 1960s, a team of statisticians led by Leonard Savage at the University of Michigan showed that the classical approach could overstate the significance of the finding by a factor of 10 or more."

A corrective approach is discussed. Carey introduces the response of 18th-century English mathematician Thomas Bayes who "devised a way to update the probability for a hypothesis as new evidence comes in." This Bayesian analysis approach "incorporates known probabilities, if available, from outside the study."

Carey concludes that the experts argue: "statistical analysis must find ways to expose and counterbalance all the many factors that can lead to falsely positive results - among them human nature, in its ambitious hope to discover something, and the effects of industry money, which biases researchers to report positive findings for products." <www.j.mp/hdzoBt>

For background on the paranormal aspect of this story, see <www.j.mp/gt4D2c>.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Vampire Defanged: How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero, by Susannah Clements (Brazos, Apr 1 '11, paperback, 208 pages) <www.j.mp/hKQpeB>

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