19AR24-03
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AR 24:3 - The Bible, "confusing mess," or "inspiring resource"?
In this issue:
BIBLE INTERPRETATION - college professor "challenges Christians to reconsider the true purpose of the Bible"
CULTURE - is the United States going the way of decadent Rome?
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES - their reputation further damaged by a moving film portrayal
Apologia Report 24:3 (1,411)
January 17, 2019
BIBLE INTERPRETATION
How the Bible Actually Works, by Peter Enns <www.bit.ly/2CfAu2V> [2] -- it's the subtitle that draws attention: "In Which I Explain How an Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather than Answers - and Why That's Great News."
Publishers Weekly (Dec 24 '18): "Enns, professor of biblical studies at Eastern University, challenges Christians to reconsider the true purpose of the Bible. He begins with three characteristics he asserts make the Bible worth reading: ancientness, ambiguity, and diversity. For Enns, the Bible does not actually tell readers what to do, as Old Testament laws leave much room for interpretation depending on context. ... Enns illustrates the fact that humankind's reimagining of God is an ongoing process [and] how the nature of God and the problem of evil changes along the way."
HarperCollins: "Controversial evangelical Bible scholar, popular blogger and podcast host of The Bible for Normal People <peteenns.com> ... explains that the Bible is not an instruction manual or rule book but a powerful learning tool that nurtures our spiritual growth by refusing to provide us with easy answers but instead forces us to acquire wisdom. ... 'The Bible becomes a confusing mess when we expect it to function as a rulebook for faith. But when we allow the Bible to determine our expectations, we see that Wisdom, not answers, is the Bible's true subject matter,' writes Enns. ... Rather than considering the Bible as an ancient book weighed down with problems, flaws, and contradictions that must be defended by modern readers, Enns offers a vision of the holy scriptures as an inspired and empowering resource to help us better understand how to live as a person of faith today." Any questions?
For scholarly rebuttals to some of Enns's earlier work, see <www.bit.ly/2Rx4EZZ> <www.bit.ly/2CoH5s2> and <www.bit.ly/2VRawf4>
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CULTURE
Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell Into Tyranny, by Edward J. Watts [3] -- a history lesson from Yascha Mounk, a lecturer <yaschamounk.com> at Harvard University, for the New York Times Book Review (Dec 30 '18, p12): "Near the beginning of the third century B.C., the Republic of Rome faced an acute threat to its domination of the Italian peninsula. In a series of brutal battles, Pyrrhus of Epirus and a fearsome parade of 20 war elephants had managed to vanquish Rome's armies. ...
"Edward J. Watts <www.bit.ly/2MgfOwu> shows in Mortal Republic, thanks to the unrivaled strength of Rome's political institutions that Pyrrhus' victories ultimately issued in his proverbial defeat. ... By giving in to Pyrrhus, Claudius warned, the Roman Republic would only invite more outside powers to mess with it. Low as the odds of victory might be, Rome had no choice but to keep fighting. ...
"Since the founding fathers explicitly modeled the United States on the Roman Republic, a study that investigates the circumstances of its demise promises to hold considerable relevance for our own times. ...
"In Watts's telling of the Roman Republic's agonizing death, slow-moving structural transformations gradually sowed the seeds of demise. ...
"It took a long time for these tensions to build. But once they reached a critical point, Rome's descent into chaos and dysfunction was astonishingly swift [once the] taboo on naked power politics had been broken, never to recover. ...
"Within two generations, Rome fell into civil war.
"If we are to avoid the fate that ultimately befell Rome, Watts cautions, it is 'vital for all of us to understand how Rome's republic worked, what it achieved and why, after nearly five centuries, its citizens ultimately turned away from it and toward the autocracy of Augustus.' In a sense, the book fails in this ambition. Especially as it progresses, Watts, a professor of history at the University of California at San Diego, abandons a careful analysis of the larger trends for a blow-by-blow account of the many conflicts that divided the republic in the last century of its existence."
The telling, an "endless onslaught of calamities ... starts to numb the mind. ...
"Far from single-handedly destroying our political system, [Trump] is the transitional figure whose election demonstrates the extent to which the failings of our democracy are finally starting to take their toll.
"The bad news is that the coming decades are unlikely to afford us many moments of calm and tranquillity."
Ominously, Mounk predicts: "If the analogy to Rome is correct, the coming decades will be ones of chaos and fear." What appears to be missing is an acknowledgement that both sides of the 21st century partisan political aisle share ample blame. <www.nyti.ms/2FkwLVG> (The print and online version sport significant textual differences.)
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JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
"Apostasy [1] is a heartbreaking look at life as a Jehovah's Witness" -- last summer, The Economist (Jul 25 '18) featured this review of the film which was "showing in Britain from July 27th." The subhead reads: "Written and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo, a former believer, the film is clear and courageous on the organisation's failings." It begins: "The most sinister aspect of Jehovah's Witnesses, as they are portrayed in 'Apostasy', is the way their apocalyptic and authoritarian beliefs are disguised....
"A former member of 'God's organisation' himself, Daniel Kokotajlo has written and directed a sober yet revelatory drama which covers about a year in the life of three women in an unnamed northern suburb.... The women are 18-year-old Alex (Molly Wright), her big sister Luisa (Sacha Parkinson), and their determinedly devout mother Ivanna (Siobhan Finneran). ...
"Anyone who isn't a Jehovah's Witness may well be appalled not just by the brainwashing and all-round cultishness on display, but by the matter-of-fact callousness: doubters can be expelled from the group with less ceremony than if they were being downsized from an office internship. On the other hand, anyone who is a Jehovah's Witness may well conclude that the film portrays the organisation fairly, and even positively. ...
"In contrast with the recent films about Scientology, the pared-down, austere 'Apostasy' doesn't have the action-movie pace or skulduggery to attract a wide audience. ... But it isn't a cold factual exercise, either." <www.con.st/2TO9kHH>
The review-aggregation web site Rotten Tomatoes gives Apostasy a 100% score based on film critics' evaluations, and a 90% audience score. <www.bit.ly/2CphNdl>
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SOURCES: Films
1 - Apostasy (Actors: Siobhan Finneran, Sacha Parkinson; Director, Writer: Daniel Kokotajlo; Rated: NR; DVD Release Date: June 4, 2018; Run Time: 95 minutes) <www.amzn.to/2smDmGG> and <www.bit.ly/2Fv7p7L>
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