18AR23-07

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AR 23:7 - Evangelicalism, a "once-powerful force"

In this issue:

EVANGELICALISM - "a standard text for understanding contemporary evangelicalism"?

HOMOSEXUALITY - identity politics and worldview

SCIENCE - does the academic community take "pseudoscience" seriously?

Apologia Report 23:7 (1,373)

March 2, 2018

EVANGELICALISM

Would it bother you to learn that someone who didn't know or really understand you published your biography? That sort of thing often happens with worldview description -- by Christian apologists (Yes. I've made my share of gaffs too. - RP) and non-Christians alike.

In her latest book, The Evangelicals [1], Frances FitzGerald has given it a good try. Library Journal (Mar '17, #1) even says "FitzGerald has provided readers of U.S. history and religion an excellent work that is certain to be a standard text for understanding contemporary evangelicalism and the American impulse to reform its society." Further, "Evangelicalism might appear as a monolithic movement that regularly rises and flames out while attempting to impose its will upon society. FitzGerald provides a more nuanced and diverse portrayal of evangelicalism. The first third of this book is a historical overview of evangelicalism from the First Great Awakening in the 18th century to the Neo-Evangelical movement of the 1940s and 1950s. A clear historical arc provides insights into the background and dynamics that animate evangelicals today and the history they share with so-called mainline denominations. FitzGerald's focus, however, is a detailed exploration of the last 50 years, with a particular emphasis on the rise of the Christian Right and its role in politics and the Republican Party. Given the relatively compressed time frame, FitzGerald does a remarkable job of navigating through the weeds, putting caricatures of evangelicals to rest."

Risking the repetitive from other reviewers, you'll at least get an impression of how well received this book is. Publishers Weekly (Feb '17, #2): "Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and historian FitzGerald provides a compelling narrative history of 'the white evangelical movements necessary to understand the Christian right and its evangelical opponents.' Dispatching pre-20th-century events in the first three chapters, and the period from 1900 to 1945 in just two more, FitzGerald focuses most closely on evangelical culture and politics from the rise of Billy Graham through the Obama presidency. She skillfully introduces readers to the terminology, key debates, watershed events, and personalities that have populated the history of white American evangelical Protestant culture in the last half-century. She explains issues such as fundamentalism, biblical inerrancy, Christian nationalism, civil religion and anticommunism, the charismatic movement, and abortion, and introduces such diverse figures as Karl Barth, Jerry Falwell, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Pat Robertson. Also present, though less prominently featured, are members of the evangelical left, such as Ron Sider and James Wallis. Attention to intraevangelical theological and political differences is especially welcome at a time when evangelical and even Christian have become stand-ins for the Christian right."

Choice reports (Nov '17) that in her introduction, "FitzGerald writes that to 'understand the Christian Right,' one must understand 'white Evangelical movements.' ... In contrast to other interpreters of the Evangelical subculture, FitzGerald includes the voices of those within the Evangelical movement who opposed the work and values of the religious Right. Although the book is intimidating in length, committed readers will be rewarded with an impressive, clear, and authoritative description of a once-powerful force in US culture and politics. This reviewer was left hoping for a revised version that adds a chapter on the impact of the Trump presidency on the movement."

Kirkus has the most to say (and repeat, but still remains significant). See for yourself here: <www.goo.gl/vDSXaT>

POSTSCRIPT (Jul 4 '18): Also reviewed in:

* - New York Times Book Review (Apr 2 '17, pp1, 20) which predicts it will be known as "a fair-minded" and "trusted guide."

* - Time (Apr 10 '17, p54) -- ehh.

* - New York Review (Apr 20 '17, p26-29) finds evangelicalism's "do-it-yourself religion" is just smoke and mirrors.

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HOMOSEXUALITY

"Wrestling with the 'Gay Christian' Label" by Joe Dallas -- this review of Single, Gay, Christian, by Gregory Coles [2] notes: "Endorsed by other high-profile gay Christians such as Eve Tushnet, Wesley Hill, and Preston Sprinkle, along with more traditional figures such as D.A. Carson, president of The Gospel Coalition, Cole's book is moving and troubling.

"It's moving because much of what Cole says needs to be said." And, troubling: "From the beginning of my read, I found myself asking aloud, 'Is it ever biblical to identify oneself by a sinful tendency or to label that tendency with a positive term such as *gay*?" [Have you noticed that the term "homosexual" is now considered a pejorative by some or perhaps even a majority in the movement? Yet another aspect of identity politics and worldview.]

"This approach of labeling Christians who experience homosexual temptations as 'gay' is growing in acceptance among churches that are otherwise doctrinally sound. Yet if we encourage such believers to 'come out' as 'gay Christians' who find community and identity based on such temptations, are we not establishing within the church a sanitized version of a gay pride parade? Should we therefore be surprised when their identification with their homosexuality morphs into approval of it, as this man's [the author's] did?" Christian Research Journal, 40:6 - 2017, p56.

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SCIENCE

"Why Pseudoscience Should Be Taught in College" by Alegandro Borgo, director of the Center for Inquiry Argentina -- if ever there was a title designed to grab the attention of Skeptical Inquirer's avid readers, this would seem to be it (Jan/Feb '18, pp9-10). Borgo leads with the objection that "The academic community doesn't seem to take the spread of pseudoscience seriously. ...

"The problem is this: Very few teachers and professionals know what pseudoscience is. ...

"It's remarkable that pseudoscience is practiced not only by charlatans without a university degree but also by some professionals. That's why a physician may give a course on 'Past Lives Therapy' and why many psychologists trust in psychoanalysis, Rorschach tests, and 'therapies' such as Reiki, 'family constellation therapy,' and a huge number of other bogus therapies and treatments.'"

Under the heading "What Should We Do?" Borgo recommends: "We should adopt this simple program:

* - "What is pseudoscience?

* - "Why is a specific discipline a false science?

* - "How to recognize pseudoscience

* - "Revealing investigations" (debunking efforts)

* - "What are the dangers of pseudoscience?"

For Borgo, it is evidently so "simple" that he doesn't feel the need to explain himself. None of these points receive discussion.

Other examples of pseudoscience mentioned by Borgo include UFOs and the Bermuda Triangle. Again, he never gets around to providing a definition or attempting a general description.

To support his opening argument that "Very few teachers and professionals know what pseudoscience is," Borgo mentions an unspecified video featuring "a charlatan who claimed that people should abandon conventional medication against AIDS and other diseases." Borgo showed the video to a past president of the AMA (Argentina Medical Association), who responded "You cannot deny that there are people with paranormal powers."

"I understood immediately that only a few physicians knew what pseudoscience is about. Why? Because in the faculty of medicine they don't teach you why 'alternative medicines' ... don't have a scientific basis."

Let us not overlook that Borgo and his tribe would certainly apply the label under consideration here to miracles and creationism as well.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, by Frances Fitzgerald (Simon & Schuster, 2017, hardcover, 752 pages) <www.goo.gl/oP1oKZ>

2 - Single, Gay, Christian, by Gregory Coles (IVP, 2017, paperback, 144 pages) <www.goo.gl/Jt2DF1>

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