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Apologia Report 18:9 (1,145)
February 28, 2013
Subject: TM's quest for peace evades its leaders
In this issue:
ABORTION - Salon writer contends: "A fetus is indeed a life. A life worth sacrificing."
SCIENTOLOGY - two books on Scientology among the top five New York Times bestsellers
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION - the legal battle to control its teaching
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ABORTION
"So what if abortion ends life?" by Mary Elizabeth Williams -- "I know that throughout my own pregnancies, I never wavered for a moment in the belief that I was carrying a human life inside of me. I believe that's what a fetus is: a human life. And that doesn't make me one iota less solidly pro-choice."
You read that right. This is one conscience-free woman. She believes that she is vindicated because "support for abortion rights is at an all-time high, with seven in 10 Americans in favor of letting Roe v. Wade stand, allowing for reproductive choice in all or 'most' cases. That's a stunning 10 percent increase from just a decade ago. And in the midst of this unique moment, Planned Parenthood has taken the bold step of reframing the vernacular - moving away from the easy and easily divisive words 'life' and 'choice.' Instead, as a new promotional film acknowledges, 'It's not a black and white issue.'"
Well, Williams seems to think that it is black and white. "All life is not equal. That's a difficult thing for liberals like me to talk about, lest we wind up looking like death-panel-loving, kill-your-grandma-and-your-precious-baby storm troopers. Yet a fetus can be a human life without having the same rights as the woman in whose body it resides. She's the boss. Her life and what is right for her circumstances and her health should automatically trump the rights of the non-autonomous entity inside of her. Always. ...
"I know women who have been relieved at their abortions and grieved over their miscarriages. Why can't we agree that how they felt about their pregnancies was vastly different, but that it's pretty silly to pretend that what was growing inside of them wasn't the same? Fetuses aren't selective like that. They don't qualify as human life only if they're intended to be born."
For Williams, abortion "saves lives not just in the most medically literal way, but in the roads that women who have choice then get to go down, in the possibilities for them and for their families. And I would put the life of a mother over the life of a fetus every single time - even if I still need to acknowledge my conviction that the fetus is indeed a life. A life worth sacrificing." Salon, Jan 23 '13, <www.ow.ly/hZils>
Denny Burk, Associate Professor of New Testament and Dean of Boyce College, responds: "What is in dispute is whether every person has an intrinsic right to life. According to Williams, some people do have that right and some people don't. I wonder if she would allow that argument to be applied to other classes of persons as well.
"Williams contends that a woman's 'life' always trumps the life of the unborn baby. At this point, the author equivocates on the meaning of the word 'life.' For the baby, 'life' refers to physical life. For the mother, 'life' refers more generically to the 'way of life' that a woman chooses for herself. In short, a woman's chosen 'way of life' is more important than protecting the physical life of her child. ...
"Behold the pro-death regime at its most honest. The cause of feminist equality must be preserved at all costs, even if it means killing one's own child to achieve it." <www.ow.ly/hZiKT>
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SCIENTOLOGY
"Scientology exposé Beyond Belief No. 1 bestseller in Canada" by Greg Quill -- What is interesting about this is that still another Scientology exposé is a bestseller at the same time here in the U.S. Quill writes: "Beyond Belief, by former church member Jenna Miscavige Hill [1], went on sale without fanfare in Canada Feb. 5 and topped the country's non-fiction bestseller list last week. Meanwhile, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright [2], has been withheld from publication in Canada and the U.K. while Knopf completes a legal review of its libel exposure. HarperCollins, the New York publisher of Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape, has apparently decided to brave the fear of libel action in Canada that prevented Alfred A. Knopf from releasing Going Clear."
More importantly, "Going Clear has stirred up a maelstrom of controversy while its author and Scientology officials battle it out in the media. The book was No. 5 on the New York Times bestseller list last week, while Beyond Belief made its debut at No. 4." That's two books critical of Scientology among the top five New York Times bestsellers. A Scientology nightmare for sure. Toronto Star, Feb 18 '13, <www.ow.ly/hZjJJ>
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TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
"Legal Battle Over Meditation Far from Tranquil in Iowa" (no byline) -- "The followers of a meditation practice that has roots in ancient India say it's simple: Close your eyes, silently repeat a mantra and relax. But a dispute among rivals for control over its teaching is anything but peaceful, featuring personal attacks, aggressive lawyering and accusations of improper business practices.
"The feud pits the Iowa nonprofit that has taught transcendental meditation for decades against Thom Knoles, a former associate who left and built his own group of followers. The outcome could decide whether the Fairfield, Iowa-based Maharishi Foundation <tm.org> will continue to control the teaching of U.S. transcendental meditation - or whether rivals can market similar services and its benefits without obtaining a license from the group.
"The sides are fighting for customers and to protect their reputations in a federal-court case over whether the foundation can enforce its trademark rights and claims of false advertising against Mr. Knoles and other teachers of his rival Vedic Meditation <www.thomknoles.com>.
"To the foundation, Mr. Knoles and his followers are using the credibility and positive image associated with its technique to promote themselves and mislead customers. To Mr. Knoles' backers, the foundation is unfairly seeking a monopoly on a technique that's existed thousands of years.
"Supporters say the technique originated with the Vedas, sacred Hindu texts. Its modern incarnation was developed in India in the 1950s by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who later spread the technique worldwide. Maharishi founded a university that settled in Fairfield in the 1970s. His backers manage the foundation, which teaches classes to thousands of students annually and owns trademarks for Transcendental Meditation and its TM nickname." Hindu Press International, Jan 25 '13, <www.ow.ly/hZnws>
Of related interest: New York Times Magazine ran the Feb 22 story (pp26–32): "David Lynch Is Back ... as a Guru of Transcendental Meditation" by Claire Hoffman <www.ow.ly/i7pEu>. (Lynch is best known as an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Notable works: Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, Eraserhead)
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape, by Jenna Miscavige Hill (Morrow, 2013, hardcover, 416 pages)
2 - Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright (Knopf, 2013, hardcover, 448 pages) <www.ow.ly/gLiKS>
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