11AR16-09

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Apologia Report 16:9 (1,059)

March 17, 2011

Subject: Hate speech and biblical tradition

In this issue:

CULTWATCHING - "heresy and thereat" vs. "culture and opportunity"?

ENTERTAINMENT - are we still "Amusing Ourselves to Death"?

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - the "curse loophole" in law and society

SCIENTOLOGY - "the defining book about a little-known world"

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CULTWATCHING

"From 'Cults' to Cultures: Bridges as a Case Study in a New Evangelical Paradigm on New Religions" by John W. Morehead -- the abstract begins: "The increased awareness of the new religions with the counterculture of the 1960s saw various responses, including a 'counter-cult' approach by evangelicals. The counter-cult approach has tended to view new religions a 'cults' and to respond to them as heretical systems of belief in need of refutation by doctrinal and apologetic arguments." Morehead contrasts this with his own "new evangelical paradigm ... which, while recognizing theological disagreements that the new religions have with Christianity, approaches new religions as religious cultures rather than as cults." Morehead summarizes the fundamental difference as being between "thinking of new religions in terms of heresy and threat rather than culture and opportunity." Asbury Journal, 65:2 - 2010, pp26-35.

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ENTERTAINMENT

We were glad to see that someone revisited the challenge in Neil Postman's 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves to Death [1], in the Areopagus Journal (10:2 - 2010). The entire issue "focuses on the impact, the problem, and a response to the media's more deadly influences in the culture and in the Church."

In "Why Look Critically at Culture?" (pp8-16), Brandon Robbins "begins by describing the pro and con issues of modern technology on the culture from a Christian framework. He offers a brief overview of the 'progress' of informational technology. He notes that Postman "provides a prophetic 'contrast of visions' for the future between George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. He describes numerous devaluative effects of seeking prestige, purpose, and fulfillment in obtaining the newest technology, and calls us to evaluate technology in light of biblical goals and priorities."

POSTSCRIPT Nov 22 '19: Consider "Lessons from Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman" by Dan Silvestre (media.com, Sep 11 '18) <www.bit.ly/2QHT6BC>

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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

"Curses Left and Right: Hate Speech and Biblical Tradition" by Brian M. Britt -- the abstract reads: "Hate speech has been defined as 'words that wound,' but legal arguments to restrict such words have been unable to show how language *in itself* can have power. Such power is inconsistent with secularist ideas of language that consider words to be mere tools of human communication and expression. Instead, current debates over hate speech reflect biblical traditions of cursing and powerful words. Yet arguments against the use of racist and sexist speech depend mainly on modern, secular notions of language, equality, and justice. Meanwhile, in defiance of secular law and theories of language, some religious groups have used inflammatory words to provoke public outrage and advance their agendas. The curse of the pulsa denura (Israel) and the execrations of the Westboro Baptist Church (United States) exploit a 'curse loophole' in law and society that doubts the power of words. An approach to language and tradition that avoids the simplistic dichotomy of 'religion' and 'secularity' can lead to a more robust and productive debate on words that wound." Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 78:3 - 2010, pp633-661.

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SCIENTOLOGY

At some point, the aggressive way that Scientology goes after its critics is going to backfire on the group and result in setting the determination of an unwanted foe. Such may be the case with Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion, by Janet Reitman [2]. A "Religion Top 10" blurb in Publishers Weekly (Mar 7 '11, p25) announces the book. "The veteran journalist is a contributing editor to Rolling Stone, where in 2006 she wrote a lengthy piece on the faith [www.j.mp/fBzggs]. The book will break ground for journalists, social scientists, and the curious."

The book's description on Amazon reads: "Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world’s fastest growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of “volunteer ministers” offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the highest levels of the government to further its goals. Its attacks on psychiatry and its requirement that believers pay as much as tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars for salvation have drawn scrutiny and skepticism. And ex-members use the Internet to share stories of harassment and abuse.

"Now Janet Reitman offers the first full journalistic history of the Church of Scientology, in an evenhanded account that at last establishes the astonishing truth about the controversial religion. She traces Scientology’s development from the birth of Dianetics to today, following its metamorphosis from a pseudoscientific self-help group to a worldwide spiritual corporation with profound control over its followers and even ex-followers.

"Based on five years of research, unprecedented access to Church officials, confidential documents, and extensive interviews with current and former Scientologists, this is the defining book about a little-known world." Due out in July.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, by Neil Postman (Penguin, 2005, paperback, 208 pages) <www.j.mp/hHVxIl>

2 - Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion, by Janet Reitman (Houghton Mifflin, 2011, hardcover, 464 pages) <www.j.mp/fC3s9Q>

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