15AR20-42

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AR 20:42 - Recent scholastic conflict over the Book of Mormon

In this issue:

MORMONISM - "the single most influential book on Mormonism published this century" ... isn't very LDS-friendly

+ Daniel Peterson appeals to scholarship in support of the Book of Mormon -- but watch out, Philip Jenkins happily counterstrikes

POLITICS - have "conservatives disproportionately fired the first shot" in our culture wars?

SECULARISM - when "religious conflict is not a result of too little secularization but a clear consequence of secularity"

Apologia Report 20:42 (1,271)

December 9, 2015

MORMONISM

It appears that Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith [1], Jon Krakauer's 2003 nonfiction book about Warren Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), has had a much greater impact than expected. In his Religion & Politics blog profile, "Mormonism and the Problem of Jon Krakauer," contributing editor Max Perry Mueller explains: "As Matthew Bowman, the author of The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith [2], explained to me, Under the Banner of Heaven 'rode the wave of Warren Jeffs for a few years until it became entrenched' as the single most influential book on Mormonism published this century. ...

"The fact that the LDS Church hasn't been able to shake off the scarlet letter of polygamy has a lot to do with, I would argue, the continuing popularity of Under the Banner of Heaven. This is what I call the 'Krakauer problem': more than twelve years after it was first published, and after Romney's presidential campaigns helped make Mormonism an acceptable American religion, Under the Banner of Heaven remains the definitive book on Mormon history in popular culture. Under the Banner of Heaven spent months on The New York Times bestseller list, and it is still ranked number one on Amazon's bestsellers in the 'Mormonism' list. Its popularity is also reflected at social events - even social events with other scholars of religion. When historians of Mormon history like me explain what they study, most of those who have read one book on the faith will tell us that they've read Under the Banner of Heaven. And, as Krakauer himself intended, they will also tell us that they understand it to be not only an exposé of Mormon fundamentalism, but also a reliable history of the origins of the LDS Church, too.

"To be sure, this is a problem for the LDS Church and for its members." Mueller explains in detail how he reached this conclusion. <www.goo.gl/G9Dh0s>

Visit <www.goo.gl/tk0XrG> for review summaries of Under the Banner of Heaven in past issues of AR.

Speaking of difficult reading for Mormons, longtime Mormon apologist Daniel C. Peterson makes a surprising admission in his justification of Book of Mormon apologetics and scholarship: "Even if they can't prove it, those who argue for the antiquity of the Book of Mormon can be, and often are, engaged in reasonable and justifiable scholarship." He further asserts that that it's "entirely justifiable to take the claimed antiquity of the Book of Mormon as a serious possibility. And, so long as that claim to an ancient origin remains unrefuted, believing it to be genuinely ancient is scarcely irrational.

"Moreover, this is especially so *if,* as many competent scholars have argued in hundreds of articles and books over many decades, there are aspects of it that cannot easily be explained except as the result of real antiquity." <www.goo.gl/i2WUXy> If, and only if ...

Indeed, Peterson's protestations beg the question: "How do *non-LDS* scholars approach arguments for the antiquity of the Book of Mormon?" The formidable Philip Jenkins (Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor University) has given the subject ample (and unsparingly harsh) attention this year. (Sample quote: "... we cannot even speak of a debate or controversy about the historicity of the Book of Mormon. The Book is a product of religious faith, and must be received on the basis of religious faith. It has nothing to do with scholarship.") Visit <www.goo.gl/WgwSG2> to begin exploring the online battle between Jenkins and beleaguered BYU professor William J. Hamblin.

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POLITICS

Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections): The Battles That Define America from Jefferson's Heresies to Gay Marriage, by Stephen Prothero [3] who "gives hope to liberals who think conservatives are taking over. The author shows how today's hyperpartisanship is a byproduct of the culture wars. Conservatives disproportionately fire the first shot but often flame out. Prothero focuses on culture rather than race and on tolerance, inclusion, and pluralism. ... As Prothero shows, [our culture's] conflicts were contests between homogeneity and diversity. Conservatives usually strive to preserve their way of life, while liberals cite the Bill of Rights and seek to progress. The cycle repeats itself: the right strikes, the left responds, there is accommodation, and liberals often win with a new consensus. As a way forward, the author counsels to "listen a little less to Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher and a little more to Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy, to realize that our cultural contests need not be life-or-death battles between patriots and traitors." Prothero brilliantly shows how the same groups drive conflicts year after year and often lose - and how the results eventually make us stronger. Useful, instructive reading for all voters in the upcoming election year." Kirkus, Oct '15 #2. [5]

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SECULARISM

Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report, by Saba Mahmood [4] who "explores secularism by considering the situation of religious minorities in Egypt. For Mahmood, secularism contains an intense irony, in that the supposed inability of the state to dictate religion leaves few avenues for minorities to redress grievances. Looking at the situation of Coptic Christians and Bahais, she persuasively argues that religious conflict in Egypt is not a result of too little secularization but a clear consequence of secularity. Perhaps the strongest chapter covers family law, where she shows how secularism's relegating religion to the private sphere intensifies religion's control over the other key elements of private life - especially gender and sexuality. Her work contains enough history of Egyptian politics to show how secularism is both an imposed norm of European colonialism and a development internal to Islam. In crisp prose, Mahmood convincingly shows that secularism's promise for equal protection under the law for all religious believers has deeply shaped the modern world, despite the ways in which secularism itself thwarts this hope. This book challenges Western perceptions of the Middle East while deeply questioning the ability of secularism to live up to its promises." Publishers Weekly, Oct '15 #3. [6]

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, by Jon Krakauer (Anchor, 2004, paperback, 432 pages) <www.goo.gl/Shp7s9>

2 - Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith, by Matthew Bowman (Random House, 2012, paperback, 368 pages) <www.goo.gl/mFQbhI>

3 - Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections): The Battles That Define America from Jefferson's Heresies to Gay Marriage, by Stephen Prothero (HarperOne, 2016, hardcover, 336 pages) <www.goo.gl/VzkfmH>

4 - Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report, by Saba Mahmood (Princeton Univ Prs, 2015, paperback, 248 pages) <www.goo.gl/1hoZXA>

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