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Apologia Report 17:8 (1,100)
February 29, 2012
Subject: How the Bible created the soul of western civilization
In this issue:
CHRISTIANITY - how the Bible "provides the foundation upon which Indian democracy, modern Eastern civilization, and historic Western civilization rests"
CHRISTOLOGY - rabbi says that Jesus was "a beloved member of the Jewish community" (er, sorry 'bout that crucifixion)
HUMANISM - a dark and disturbing picture of "antihumanism"
NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION - Elaine Pagels reads the Book of Revelation as "an attack on Roman decadence"
WORLD RELIGIONS - by their issues ye shall know them
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CHRISTIANITY
The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization, by Vishal Mangalwadi [1] -- Daniel Mount explains in his review that Mangalwadi "makes the case that the Bible provides the foundation upon which Indian democracy, modern Eastern civilization, and historic Western civilization rests. ...
"This book examines the impact of the Bible on Indian civilization, western/European civilization, and other world civilizations, in a comprehensive array of disciplines: humanity, rationality, technology, heroism, revolution, languages, literature, education, science, morality, family, compassion, true wealth, and liberty. In each area, he shows how other religions, such as Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, did not and could not provide the foundation of all that is good about modern civilization. ...
"Mangalwadi proceeds, era by era, through the thought of the early Greek and Roman philosophers, the Middle-Ages Arabic thinkers, and the rationalists of the enlightenment to demonstrate that only Christianity can explain the dignity and relevance of man in the universe."
Mount finds a few concerns with Mangalwadi's scholarship in the areas of the crusades, the impact of Sunday Schools, and the role of women in church services, concluding: "Though its shortcomings keep it from a perfect score, it is competely deserving of a four-star rating...." Evangelical Review of Theology, 36:1 - 2012, pp88-89.
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CHRISTOLOGY
Kosher Jesus, by Shmuley Boteach [2] -- "In this informed and cogent primer on Jesus of Nazareth, Boteach, rabbi and author of the international bestseller Kosher Sex [3], takes a brave stab at re-evaluating Jesus through an intensive look at the New Testament and historical documents. In what is sure to be controversial, Boteach asserts that contradictions in the New Testament regarding who bears responsibility for Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus' feelings toward the Jews as well as issues like Jesus' divinity and the question of Judas' existence, prove that editors of early texts chose to distort that Jesus was, in fact, a beloved member of the Jewish community who rebelled against Roman brutality, not Jewish law. Boteach reiterates that although he does not believe in Jesus as Messiah, he hopes that a new look at Jesus as a man who lived and died as an observant Jew will help eliminate anti-Semitism, establish good will between the faiths and 'strengthen Judeo-Christian values.' This well-researched analysis will certainly reopen intrafaith and interfaith dialogue." Publishers Weekly, Jan #2 '12, n.p.
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HUMANISM
Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism, by Robert Zubrin [4] -- "In this look at the rise of 'antihumanism' - an ideology that argues that humans are a cancer on the earth - scientist Zubrin ... charts the troubling shift from one's 'unalienable rights' and 'Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness' to forced mass sterilization, eugenics, and Nazism. Zubrin finds within Thomas Malthus the foundation for 'justifying human oppression and tyranny.' From Malthusianism, he continues to Darwinism - 'human compassion toward the unfortunate is not merely useless (as per Malthus) but actually morally wrong' - following the path eventually to eugenics. The book is replete with scientific studies and facts, though it's Zubrin's view on the people and history behind antihumanist movements that's the most disturbing. Whether pointing out that the first Green Party was founded under the leadership of August Haussleiter, a former Nazi SS officer; that [President Alberto] Fujimori's genocide in Peru was funded by international aid; or that [mainland China's Minister of Health] Qian Xinzhong was given the first United Nations Population Award (together with Indira Gandhi) after forcing thousands of Chinese women to abort their children, Zubrin paints a dark and disturbing picture of antihumanism that's worth- everyone's time to read." Publishers Weekly, Dec #3 '11, n.p.
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NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION
Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation, by Elaine H. Pagels [5] -- "Pagels, who changed forever how we look at Christianity with books like The Gnostic Gospels [6], here rethinks the Book of Revelation, which has always been regarded as a near-fantastic vision of the world's end. Pagels instead sees it as an attack on Roman decadence at a time when Jews were rebelling against the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. Only later was it repurposed by the emerging Christian sect as a sword thrust to anyone challenging its primacy. Of tremendous interest to educated readers." Library Journal, Oct 1 '11, p59.
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WORLD RELIGIONS
Understanding World Religions: An Interdisciplinary Approach, by Irving Hexham [7] -- in this review, Terry C. Muck (dean of missions and evangelism at Asbury Seminary) explains: "Instead of simply recounting the history, beliefs, and practices of each religion, [Hexham, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary] raises issues related to each religion. These include issues surrounding how the religion has been studied from the West and debatable issues from within the religions themselves - controversial figures, doctrinal and theological disputes, etc. In the course of raising these issues, the history, beliefs, and practices of the religions are communicated, but within the context of a controversy. ...
"Not only is the material interesting because it is controversial, but the information about the religions themselves is reliable.
"The result is what might be called an idiosyncratic approach to the teaching of world religions, a textbook written very much in the image of its author and focused on the issues he finds important. This approach extends to the way the book is divided and the religions covered. The section on African religions (four chapters) is an important one, often ignored by Western world religion texts. This section is followed by eight chapters on The Yogic Tradition (Indian religions) and twelve chapters on the Abrahamic Tradition (Judaism, Christianity, Islam).
"Perhaps for lack of space, all Chinese religions (Confucianism, Taoism) and other East Asian religions are squeezed into the Yogic tradition section in the short space of only five pages. ...
"This is a good book and the teaching style modeled is well worth trying." Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Jan '12, pp124-126.
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization, by Vishal Mangalwadi (Thomas Nelson, 2011, hardcover, 464 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/6mn5esx>
2 - Kosher Jesus, by Shmuel Boteach (Gefen, 2012, hardcover, 300 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/88ye8vs>
3 - Kosher Sex, by Shmuley Boteach (Three Rivers, 2000, paperback, 304 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/6sjm8kr>
4 - Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism, by Robert Zubrin (Encounter, 2012, hardcover, 312 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/74elqce>
5 - Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation, by Elaine H. Pagels (Viking, 2012, hardcover, 256 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/6qwqyu9>
6 - The Gnostic Gospels, by Elaine H. Pagels (Vintage, 1989, paperback, 182 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/7c6e54z>
7 - Understanding World Religions: An Interdisciplinary Approach, by Irving Hexham (Zondervan, 2011, hardcover, 512 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/6w2bmru>
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