15AR20-14

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AR 20:14 - Muslims to equal or surpass Christians numerically? (Pew)

Apologia Report 20:14 (1,243)

April 8, 2015

In this issue:

ISLAM - is the Insider Movement "laden with critical doctrinal compromises and pervaded by syncretism?"

SIN - new book finds that the Apostle "Paul's Adam wrecked the world"

+ Ayn Rand disciple complains that "the code of self-sacrifice is unjust and destructive"

WORLD RELIGIONS - global Muslim population may equal that of Christianity by the year 2070 according to new Pew study

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ISLAM

"The Insider Movement: Origins, Principles, and Problems" by Brian Zegers -- includes discussion of its relationship to missions and the Emergent Church movement. "Westerners have now been forced to reckon with understanding what Islam is all about, and a major part of understanding Islam is involves coming to grips with the hostile nature of this religion and the threat it poses to western civilization. Interestingly, it is in this cultural milieu - one in which the 'threat' of Islam has been renewed - that a new, pragmatic model for missions to Muslims has emerged, namely the Insider Movement (subsequently denoted by the abbreviation 'IM').

"The IM, which is also known as 'C5,' 'Messianic Islam,' or 'Movements to Christ,' is a new, 20th century model for missions to Muslims which claims to offer the ideal and successful approach for the evangelization of Muslims. The movement is barely three decades old and is quickly gaining traction throughout the broader evangelical world. Rev. John Stringer [editor, St. Francis Magazine] observes that 'missiological journals, Christian magazines and newspapers have been awash in anecdotes ... extolling this purportedly new, biblical approach to ministry.' Unfortunately, though, this movement is something which orthodox Christians ought to be very concerned about, for it is laden with critical doctrinal compromises and pervaded by syncretism.

"Generally speaking, the IM permits, if not encourages, converts to continue living within the context of their Islamic cultural, political - and yes, even religious - environments. Converts are encouraged to continue practicing their Islamic faith outwardly in the mosque while supposedly remaining 'Christian' inwardly. Thus, advocates of the IM do not emphasize need for converts to join a local church. To the contrary, proponents of the IM encourage converts to remain within their own Muslim families, culture, and religious context." Lengthy. <www.goo.gl/Y15cBI>

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SIN

Saving the Original Sinner: How Christians Have Used the Bible's First Man to Oppress, Inspire, and Make Sense of the World, by Karl Giberson [1] -- take bile, add invective, stir briskly. "An exploration of the portrayal of Adam throughout Christian history. Former evangelical Christian Giberson (Science and Religion/Stonehill Coll.) takes readers on an intriguing journey through the role and importance of the biblical Adam since the inception of Christianity. The author begins by explaining his own abandonment of the classic creation story as literal history, and his work is made to stand, mildly, against evangelical or fundamentalist teachings in this area. He explains that the Christian writer Paul was the man responsible for changing Adam from a character in Jewish lore to a central figure in Christian theology. 'Paul's Adam wrecked the world,' writes Giberson. If Paul placed Adam center stage, however, it was Augustine of Hippo who defined him for the remainder of history. Augustine's concept of original sin, laid squarely on Adam's shoulders, would color the West's understanding of humanity from the fourth century onward. Whereas the world's evils were once blamed on demons or the devil, after Augustine they would be blamed on humankind's sinful and broken nature. Even as science began to assert its position in Western thinking, Adam's role remained unchanged and unchallenged. Discussing the Middle Ages, Giberson writes, 'one listens in vain for a whisper that Adam may not have been a real, flesh-and-blood character.' Of course, the age of Darwin and of biblical criticism began to change the thinking [sic]. Nevertheless, Christianity enters the 21st century with a largely unbroken literal view of Adam and his role as cause of the fall of humankind. Giberson provides a well-constructed survey of books throughout Western history, some famous, others obscure, and his fascinating historical account is brief yet comprehensive. His contribution to the modern faith vs. science debate is less certain. An erudite exploration of the Bible's first man." Kirkus, Mar '15 #2.

In Defense of Selfishness: Why the Code of Self-Sacrifice Is Unjust

and Destructive, by Peter Schwartz [2] -- "Emphasizing the 'I' in Selfishness. Ayn Rand Institute <aynrand.org> distinguished fellow Schwartz ... asserts loudly throughout this incendiary book that altruism 'is ultimately a call for servitude,' requiring that individuals 'subjugate' themselves to others, 'shackled to their needs. It is the demand, not that you respect other people's property - but that you become their property.' Selfishness, on the other hand, is a virtue to be celebrated. 'To be selfish,' the author writes, 'is to regard your life as something precious, as something to be passionately embraced, not self-effacingly surrendered. To be selfish is to strive to achieve the best that is possible to you. To be selfish is to remain loyal to your ideas.' Selfishness protects what an individual has achieved, notably wealth. Schwartz finds ludicrous the notion that 'it takes a village to make a billionaire'; self-made wealth, he insists, is no myth . 'Public Interest,' though, is a myth, a ploy by politicians (never mind that they have been elected by citizens) to force people to pay for what they don't want: national parks, arts funding, public housing, and even public schools. Value, in the author's eyes, is determined by the market. Surely, a profitable Disneyland better fulfills the public interest than the government-funded Yellowstone National Park. Schwartz condemns progressive education for teaching 'that there are no objectively right and wrong answers' and for training children 'to value the crowd over the self, conformity over independence, emotional solidarity over rational judgment.' The author slyly uses the communism-tainted term 'collective' rather than community, scorning collectivism that 'takes the form of sacrificing 49 percent of the population to 51 percent.' The collectivist approach to government, he writes, 'regards man as an ineffectual, perpetually needy entity.' For readers concerned with community, justice, and equality, this book is a real tear-jerker." (Sounds like a chip off the ol' Ayn.) Kirkus, Mar '15 #2.

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WORLD RELIGIONS

"The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050" -- new demographic projections from the Pew Research Center concerning global religious trends. The lengthy April 2 report is subtitled "Why Muslims Are Rising Fastest and the [religiously] Unaffiliated Are Shrinking as a Share of the World's Population." These changes are "driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world's major religions, as well as by people switching faiths." Other findings, "if current trends continue," by 2050 include: 40 percent of world Christianity will live in sub-Saharan Africa, while Muslims will make up 10 percent of Europe's population and have their greatest numbers shift from Indonesia to India. In fact, after 2070 Muslims may outnumber Christians for the first time. The impact of Christianity in China is seen as an unknown that could have a major impact on these trends. <www.goo.gl/RLZcD1>

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Saving the Original Sinner: How Christians Have Used the Bible's First Man to Oppress, Inspire, and Make Sense of the World, by Karl Giberson (Beacon, June 2015, hardcover, 240 pages) <www.goo.gl/f4D6TT>

2 - In Defense of Selfishness: Why the Code of Self-Sacrifice Is Unjust and Destructive (Palgrave, June 2015, hardcover, 256 pages) <www.goo.gl/8ozXcx>

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