16AR21-24

( - previous issue - / - next issue - )

AR 21:24 - It may not be “socialism,” but something has changed

In this issue:

MORMONISM - a secular acknowledgement of yet another Jesus

PSYCHICS - the devil you say? Beware of potential occult scams

ROMAN CATHOLICISM - and you thought only the Protestants had denominations?

SOCIALISM - what's Bernie done for the cause?

SUPERSTITION - the weird and grisly from Thailand

Apologia Report 21:24 (1,297)

June 30, 2016

MORMONISM

The Mormon Jesus, by John G. Turner [1] -- in his brief review for Library Journal (Apr '16 #1, p96), David Azzolina (Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia), reports that the "Mormon understanding of Jesus has changed since the church was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. Turner (religious studies, George Mason Univ.; Brigham Young) demonstrates how this is the case in this well-documented biography. The early church, like many sects of its era, was far more apocalyptic than it is now and looked forward to Christ's imminent return. One of the more controversial teachings of religious leader Brigham Young was the so-called Adam-God doctrine, which has long been disowned by church leaders as has his teaching that God the Father was the literal physical partner of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Turner also probes another touchy subject from the Mormon past - the notion that Jesus was married and likely a polygamist. Of course, this idea must be understood in the polemics of the 19th-century defense of the doctrine. In his conclusion, Turner argues that the church's emphasis on Jesus in the past few decades, such as referring to the Book of Mormon as 'Another Testament of Christ,' are to an extent cosmetic; there is a difference between Mormonism now and that of 50 years ago. VERDICT This work deserves a wide academic audience in religious studies and will be read profitably by laypersons." [3]

---

PSYCHICS

Could it be that conservative Christians often jump to the wrong conclusion by believing that psychics are empowered by the devil? Consider "Theresa Caputo" by Massimo Polidoro (Skeptical Inquirer, 40:3 - 2016, p16-17). Caputo's reality TV show, Long Island Medium on the TLC channel, is analyzed by Polidoro. He finds that "her apparently paranormal demonstrations are perfectly explainable and, interestingly, most of them would not have been possible only a few years ago. ...

"Caputo places in the front rows [of her show] those she already knows [by taking advantage of] the information found on Facebook and other social media that she can astound her public.

"Thanks to an expose by magician and skeptical investigator Mark Edward, who worked on a 'sting operation' on Caputo for Inside Edition, her methods are now quite clear. 'In combination with selling seats through Ticketmaster and the use of credit cards, Facebook, Forusquare, Twitter and all the rest of the latest places people post private information, our own egocentric fascination with ourselves makes it easy for the techie-smart agent or producer to make seeming miracles happen,' explains Edward. ...

"Edward relates several such episodes, revealing how absurd this can get: 'At one point Theresa asked a woman, " ... Why am I picking up baby clothes?" To which the woman replied, "Oh, that's weird. I just put up a bunch of pictures of baby clothes on my Facebook page!" Not weird at all, really.'

"It is enough for her to have a few similar bits of information placed beforehand on a seating chart of the show. Her staff can then cue her to the right spots, since all seats are numbered and far apart. She really can't miss. Even the casual encounters that she seems to have on the street during her 'reality' program are carefully choreographed. 'In classic mentalist style,' continues Edward, 'every one must sign a pre-show waver or agreement to have their image used on television."

Following this, Polidoro connects the dots with other mediums such as Rosemary Altea, John Edward, Sylvia Browne, and James Van Praagh. [5]

---

ROMAN CATHOLICISM

The Other Catholics: Remaking America's Largest Religion, by Julie Byrne [2] -- Publishers Weekly (Apr '16 #2) reports that "In this probing study, Byrne, associate professor of religion at Hofstra University, provides a history and overview of independent Catholic churches in America, which have been largely invisible in the shadow of the Roman Catholic Church. Her research involved access to independent Catholic archives, surveys, clergy interviews, and years of ethnographic ('participant-observation') field work. ... Diverse, independent Catholics share the apostolic succession of bishops, celebration of seven sacraments, and a reverence of saints. They also incorporate mysticism.... As 'worker-priests,' holding day jobs and ministering without salary, clergy focus on 'sacramental justice' issues such as ordaining women and non-celibate men and practicing open communion, which they frequently administer, upon request, to Roman Catholic laity." [4]

---

SOCIALISM

What is there to learn from Bernie Sander's bid for America's top office? Writing for The Atlantic (May '16, pp24-27), Molly Ball interviews Eugene Puryear, "a real-life socialist politician [who] is running for vice president on the ticket of the Party for Socialism and Liberation." Titled "The Socialist Case Against Bernie," Ball introduces the significance of the topic by explaining that "Until recently, *socialist* was effectively a slur in political circles. ... For a political movement long confined to the fringes of American discourse, Sanders would seem to have done an enormous service.

"But as it happens, the real socialists - the ones toiling, lonely, in the trenches; the ones who never felt a need to temper their philosophy with a mitigating adjective like democratic, as Sanders does - are strikingly ungrateful. Puryear's party, the PSL, issued a statement last August, when Sanders began to gain traction, tartly rejecting his campaign. 'His program is not socialist,' it noted.

"He does not call for nationalizing the corporations and banks, without which the reorganization of the economy to meet people's needs rather than maximizing the profits of capitalist investors could not take place … He is clearly seeking to reform the existing capitalist system" it concludes.

"Some in the socialist blogosphere [such as] Socialist Action, a Trotskyist organization, accused Sanders of a pernicious 'lesser-evil politics' designed to hoodwink workers into supporting the corrupt Democrats."

Ball finds that "when it comes to substance, Puryear considers Sanders's policy ideas inadequate." To support this, Ball follows Puryear's observations with the note that "A January poll by YouGov found that 43 percent of Americans ages 18 to 29 have a favorable view of socialism - nearly double the proportion of those 65 and older. ... In the same poll, just 32 percent of young people had a favorable view of capitalism, versus 63 percent of seniors.

"Sanders himself never sought to identify as a socialist: Only when his enemies started accusing him of being one did he, in characteristically pugnacious fashion, reappropriate the insult as a badge of pride. Some critics have pointed out that it would be more accurate to call him a social democrat, rather than a democratic socialist. After all, Sanders has said he defines democratic socialism as something akin to the systems in Denmark or Finland - countries with high taxes and a capacious welfare state, but relatively free markets. ...

"When I asked Puryear about communism's failures around the globe, he became defensive. The past century's worth of socialist experiments were limited, he said, and undermined by U.S. meddling." (Oh well. At least Ball broached the obvious. - RP) <www.goo.gl/PvdhF9>

POSTSCRIPT Jul 4 '18: Regarding that last paragraph, in its review of Fallout: Disasters, Lies and the Legacy of the Nuclear Age by Fred Pearce, The Economist (Jun 9 '18, p73) mentions "the world's most radioactive river; Mr Pearce reckons it may have been responsible for more sickness than all of the other nuclear incidents in history combined. Upstream [of the Russian village of Metlino on the Techa river in the Urals] sat the Mayak power plant, which 'poured into it an average of one Olympic swimming pool's worth of highly radioactive liquids every two hours.' Villagers received 'staggering' doses of radiation [while] scientists quietly monitored the rates of illness and death."

---

SUPERSTITION

"Fake Children" by Audrey Wilson is just a side-bar item that is unrelated to neighboring content. She reports that in Thailand "adults have lately been towing around lifelike dolls known as *luk thep* (commonly translated as 'child angels'), which are believed to be inhabited by spirits that bring good fortune. ...

"[C]lose observers say the *luk thep* craze is more strongly connected to Thailand's complex religiosity. Although nearly 95 percent of Thais practice Buddhism, many also make offerings to Hindu gods, and the country has a long tradition of object worship, thought to have roots in animism. ...

"Some onlookers have compared the trend to a gruesome Thai practice from centuries past: *kuman thong,* dolls that were made from the remains of a stillborn baby and were believed to retain the infant's spirit." (File that away with last week's item on death. - RP) The Atlantic, May '16, p27.

-------

SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Mormon Jesus, by John G. Turner (Belknap, 2016, hardcover, 368 pages) <www.goo.gl/rw6OzJ>

2 - The Other Catholics: Remaking America's Largest Religion, by Julie Byrne (Columbia Univ Prs, 2016, hardcover, 432 pages) <www.goo.gl/J5lM5b>

------

( - previous issue - / - next issue - )