18AR23-21

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AR 23:21 - Does the Bible support contemporary Jewish leftism?

In this issue:

BELL, ART - his *legacy* comes to an end

EDUCATION - new book finds evangelical higher education "irreconcilable with academic standards of research"

JUDAISM - a critique of the Jewish social justice movement

Apologia Report 23:21 (1,387)

June 27, 2018

BELL, ART

"Woomonger Radio Host Art Bell Dies at Seventy-Two" by Benjamin Radford -- "Longtime radio talk show host and paranormal promoter Art Bell died on April 13, 2018, at ... his home in Pahrump, Nevada. Bell achieved national prominence for Coast to Coast, a five-hour overnight show devoted to conspiracy theories, UFOs, and all manner of the paranormal. Much of the show was devoted to unscreened (and often unhinged) listeners calling in with their personal stories of seemingly inexplainable and sinister phenomena. Coast to Coast was broadcast from 1989 to 2003; at its peak in the 1990s, the show reached as many as 10 million listeners a week. ...

"Bell may be most notorious among skeptics for his role in the death of thirty-nine members of the Heaven's Gate UFO cult in 1997" by spreading the rumor of "a 'companion UFO' trailing comet Hale-Bopp....

"Whether Bell believed the stories he helped popularize is unclear, but his influence on American popular culture is undeniable, and his legacy of broadcasting anecdotes and evidence-free conspiracy theories lives on in media personalities such as Alex Jones." Skeptical Inquirer, Jul/Aug '18, p9 [6]

Coast to Coast is now hosted by Bell's successor, George Noory <www.coasttocoastam.com/shows>

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EDUCATION

Fundamentalist U: Keeping the Faith in American Higher Education, by Adam Laats [1] -- the book's promo describes it as targeting "the conservative evangelical Protestant network of higher education" and complaining that "Instead of encouraging greater personal freedom and deeper pluralist values, conservative evangelical schools thrived by imposing stricter rules on their students and faculty."

Laats <www.bit.ly/2yNPHda> wonders "how have students responded to schools' attempts to cultivate ... vital notions about their selves?

"In order to understand either American higher education or American evangelicalism, we need to appreciate the role of this influential network of dissenting institutions. Only by making sense of these schools can we make sense of America's continuing culture wars."

Library Journal (Feb '18 #1) observes that "Fundamentalists and evangelicals (hereafter simply 'evangelicals') are frequently portrayed as conservative anti-intellectuals, whose institutions are centers of indoctrination." However, Laats "insists that they have pursued the general academic trends in higher education while attempting to navigate the vagaries of defining this specific branch of faith." Schools considered by Laats "were those associated with Evangelicalism generally and not a particular denomination. Using a thematic-historical narrative, the development of these institutions is shown against the backdrop of both academic trends and the evangelical subculture. ... VERDICT Laats goes into great detail when discussing the development of his subjects, yet the actual progression of evangelical subcultures themselves is somewhat lacking, detracting from part of his thesis. Also unclear is to what extent colleges have affected this subculture. Even so, Laats' book is a valuable resource for those interested in the history of education or conservative Christianity." [4]

Publishers Weekly (undated) adds: "In this fastidiously researched but biased study, Laats, professor of history at Binghamton University, describes the development of fundamentalist higher education since the 1920s as an attempt to modernize evangelical training schools in response to secular education. Laats links this new brand of higher education to the shared goal throughout fundamentalist communities of providing a competitive education in an environment with strict standards for student conduct and an academic curriculum that wouldn't contradict beliefs in biblical inerrancy. ... The book concentrates mainly on Bob Jones (and his heirs) and Clifton Fowler at the Denver Bible Institute, both of whom conducted staff purges and placed personal loyalty above educational excellence. Laats's other large concern is the schism between mainstream evangelicals and the fundamentalists who objected to their 'big tent' policies. Although Laats concedes that much of fundamentalist orthodoxy is irreconcilable with academic standards of research, he minimizes the importance of the teaching of evolutionary science as a driving force behind the rise of fundamentalist institutions, and glosses over disputes about geologic time alternatives. Delving into these issues may not be necessary for specialists, but general readers will be frustrated by the lack of broader context in an otherwise enlightening book." [5]

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JUDAISM

When one reads about conservatives in Apologia Report the context is usually Christian, and occasionally Muslim.

Consider this Jewish analysis. To Heal the World?: How the Jewish Left Corrupts Judaism and Endangers Israel, by Jonathan Neumann [2] -- the publisher describes the book as "A critique of the Jewish social justice movement and its presumed theological basis in the concept of tikkun olam or 'healing the world.' What is tikkun olam? ... [A]ccording to Jonathan Neumann <www.bit.ly/2KnXSBu> it is the master concept that rests at the core of Jewish left-wing activism and its agenda of transformative change. Believers in this notion claim that the Bible asks for more than piety and moral behavior; Jews must also endeavor to make the world a better place. In a remarkably short time, this seemingly benign and wholesome notion has permeated Jewish teaching, preaching, scholarship and political engagement. There is no corner of modern Jewish life that has not been touched by it. This idea has led to overwhelming Jewish participation in the social justice movement, as such actions are believed to be biblically mandated. There's only one problem: the Bible says no such thing. In this lively theological polemic, Neumann shows how Tikkun Olam, an invention of the Jewish left, has diluted millennia of Jewish practice and belief into a vague feel-good religion of social justice. Neumann uses religious and political history to debunk this pernicious idea, and shows how the Bible was twisted by Jewish liberals to support a radical left-wing agenda. Neumann explains how the Jewish Renewal movement aligned itself with the New Left of the 1960s, and redirected the perspective of the Jewish community towards liberalism and social justice. He exposes the key figures responsible for this effort, shows that it lacks any real biblical basis, and outlines the debilitating effect it has had on Judaism itself."

Publishers Weekly (Apr 23 '18) explains: "Neumann, a former fellow at Commentary magazine [3], questions whether the Hebrew Bible supports the political agenda of liberal American Jews in this provocative but flawed assessment of the basis of Jewish social justice movements. Neumann is at his best as he grounds his arguments with close readings of texts. His analysis of Abraham's argument with God about the fate of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah is particularly well done. Instead of seeing Abraham as an exemplar of the human insistence on justice (even in the face of divine opposition), Neumann persuasively argues that Abraham's capitulation to God's decree was an acknowledgment that God was acting justly. But while Neumann offers logical arguments on how the Hebrew Bible has been selectively used by the left, he resorts to ad hominem attacks to make his points - spending, for example, a disproportionate amount of time on Tikkun magazine <www.tikkun.org/nextgen> founder Michael Lerner. Even open-minded readers are likely to find Neumann undermines his case with offensive statements such as his contention that Jews pursuing social justice are looking to rebrand 'Marxism as Judaism.' Though the author's tendency toward inflammatory language and generalizations will turn some readers off, the work nonetheless will spark useful discussions about the intersections of Judaism and politics." [5]

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Fundamentalist U: Keeping the Faith in American Higher Education, by Adam Laats (Oxford Univ Prs, 2018, hardcover, 360 pages) <www.amzn.to/2toK8Nc>

2 - To Heal the World?: How the Jewish Left Corrupts Judaism and Endangers Israel, by Jonathan Neumann (All Points, 2018, hardcover, 288 pages) <www.amzn.to/2ltSgaI>

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