16AR21-17

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AR 21:17 - And a child shall lead them

In this issue:

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY - "a balanced, much-needed voice to an often-polarizing discussion"

MEDIA RELIABILITY - a healthy reminder, beware of reckless bias

MORMONISM - how to respond, not a "one size fits all" situation

SCIENTOLOGY - further leadership fallout, and consequences

Apologia Report 21:17 (1,290)

April 27, 2016

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority, by John H. Walton and D. Brent Sandy [1] -- Jonathan E. Beck, OT Research Assistant at Asbury Theological Seminary, reports in his review that in the first part's discussion of the Old Testament, Walton points out that this "ancient culture had no conception of modern science, and that God made allowances based on their culture." Thus, "the locution [of Scripture] may or may not be perfect, but for those who take the Bible's authority seriously, the illocution is inerrant.

"In Part Two, Sandy ... points out that, like the Old Testament before it, the New Testament was a product of a hearing-dominated culture. ... A focus upon hearing-dominated culture might prove disconcerting to the reader who believes that God's Word is only authoritative in its current, written form."

Part Three, includes "Sandy's observation that the New Testament is more beholden to orality rather than 'textuality' removes some of the burden to explain its many textual variants." (Consider these remarks in light of Lynn Wilder's profound discovery below.) Asbury Journal, 70:2 - 2015, pp147-8.

READER RESPONSE

After reading this issue of AR, James O'Brien wrote us: "I must confess disappointment at your apparent recommendation of Walton's most recent book. It is views like his that were fundamental to the triumph of Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th century churches; views that took the mainline churches far from the Gospel. In that day it was Charles A. Briggs leading the charge to re-read the Bible in light of its culture, rather than as the Word of God. For Walton to suggest that his views are a kind of inerrancy guts 'inerrancy' of its meaning. That is akin to moderate theologians saying that the Bible is infallible, but denying that all of it is the Word of God. Walton may be a good man, but his ideas will have consequences among his disciples. My studies in the history of American seminaries demonstrates clearly that when evangelical men begin to compromise with critical methodologies, they may continue to hold to Christian orthodoxy, but their disciples, being determined to follow through consistently with the principles they were taught, come to much more radical and destructive views about the nature and authority of the Bible. One only has to look back as far as Professor Ray Dillard at Westminster Seminary and where his disciple, Peter Enns is going (and Enns isn't done working out the implications of his foundational principles. The longer he is away from WTS, the more bold and consistent he will become. We are already seeing that. It does not require the gift of prophecy to see where Enns' disciples will end up.) We have seen this before, but we have not learned the lessons of the past."

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MEDIA RELIABILITY

"Raunchy Prince was actually a conservative Christian who reportedly opposed gay marriage" by Michelle Boorstein -- "perhaps one of the raunchiest, steamiest pop culture figures in the past quarter-century was a conservative Christian." The singer Prince "was a Jehovah’s Witness [and] apparently intended his intense, bawdy expressions of sexuality to be linked to the worship of God." Washington Post, Apr 22 ‘16 <www.goo.gl/Jb2rQm>

There is much to learn from news items like this - such as concerns regarding the credibility of what one reads, certainly. Consider also how this kind of reporting can be used by those with an agenda that is hostile toward conservative Christians. Last, think about how variations in this sort of broad generalization likely play out every day with media coverage in all its forms.

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MORMONISM

"Should Christians Confront Mormon Missionaries When They Knock on the Front Door? Three views." by L.L. (Don) Veinot Jr., Lynn K. Wilder, and Cory B. Willson (Christianity Today, May '15, pp27-28) -- less pro and con differences of opinion and more a compilation of various approaches to a problem. You'll be hard-pressed to come up with a better summary than what Veinot has done in compressing great advice on how to deal with such situations.

Willson offers the least substance (not even explaining his approach), yet includes a great quote from late Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith: "If you have come to a strong personal conviction on one side of a doctrinal issue, please grant us the privilege of first seeing how it has helped you become more Christlike in your nature, and then we will judge whether we need to come to that same persuasion."

However, we were most humbled when reminded of the pure simplicity of the gospel's power to bring about miraculous transformation by former decades-long BYU professor Wilder's pure experience: "God called us out of the Mormon church when our son Micah challenged us to read the Bible in the same way a child would." [4] Read the story in greater detail here: <www.bit.ly/JBiOkK>

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SCIENTOLOGY

Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me, by Ron Miscavige [2] -- rarely is a new title announced with so little time before it is sitting on the bookstore shelf and available for purchase. A former Marine, the author is ready for a fight.

The publisher tells us: "The only book to examine the origins of Scientology's current leader, RUTHLESS tells the revealing story of David Miscavige's childhood and his path to the head seat of the Church of Scientology told through the eyes of his father. Ron Miscavige's personal, heartfelt story is a riveting insider's look at life within the world of Scientology.

"Ron Miscavige is the father of David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology. He and his family joined Scientology in 1970, and he worked for The Sea Organization for almost 27 of those years before leaving the Church entirely in 2012. ...

"Ron Miscavige escaped from the Church of Scientology's international headquarters outside Hemet, California, on March 25, 2012. Shortly thereafter, his son and current Scientology leader David Miscavige allegedly hired private investigators to follow Ron and file reports each day about his activities: where he went, what he did, and who he spoke to. In early August 2013, after nearly a year and a half, the PIs slipped up and one was arrested, at which point they confessed the sordid details of what they had been hired to do. When the story was printed in the Los Angeles Times in April 2015 <www.goo.gl/MthCJ2> the country was aghast and shock waves spread internationally.

"Ron did not especially care for the publicity. ... The other thing he did not care for was the situation that his two daughters had cut off contact with him owing to the Church of Scientology's policy of 'disconnection,' whereby church members are forced to cut all communication with anyone who they deem has been critical of the church. Ron's departure from Scientology two years earlier placed him in bad stead with the church, and his son David prevailed upon his two sisters to sever the connection with their father. Now, having been separated from his daughters as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Ron made the decision to stand up against the church's practice of tearing families apart and strike a blow to end the abuse."

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority, by John H. Walton and D. Brent Sandy (IVP, 2013, paperback, 320 pages) <www.goo.gl/sLpGb2>

2 - Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me, by Ron Miscavige (St. Martin's, 2016, hardcover, 256 pages) <www.goo.gl/AtxTu1>

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