19AR24-28

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AR 24:28 - Benny Hinn's nephew speaks out

In this issue:

ATHEISM - a dispute over "none" things

WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT - Kenneth Copeland criticized by someone from the Hinn clan

Apologia Report 24:28 (1,436)

July 9, 2019

ATHEISM

Writing for The Daily Wire (Apr 7 '19), Michael Knowles <michaeljknowles.com> announces: "God Help Us: Atheism Becomes Largest Religion In U.S."

He begins: "For the first time in history, atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have 'no religion' has increased 266% over the past three decades and now account for 23.1% of the population, just barely edging out Catholics and Evangelicals <www.bit.ly/2XvuVpI> as the nation's dominant faith. Mainline Protestant churches have suffered the greatest collapse, declining 62.5% since 1982 and now comprising just 10.8% of the U.S. population." <www.bit.ly/30aTOJ4>

Vigorously disputing this at The Federalist <www.bit.ly/2JtPLkf> on April 24th, Glenn T. Stanton explains that "No, Non-Believers Are Not Increasing in America." He adds that "CNN just reported something similar: 'There Are Now as Many Americans Who Claim No Religion as There Are Evangelicals and Catholics.'

"It's not true. Not even close.

"If you ask anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention to what's happening with religious faith in America, they will tell you with the confidence that the Nones (those reporting no particular faith) have grown by leaps and bounds, marking a growing secularization in America. This is not true either."

Stanton explains that the dispute is due to interpreting the available data: "[T]he nones are not some new and growing crowd of atheists, agnostics, or unbelievers.

"Other leading sociologists of religion report the same thing. Rodney Stark <www.bit.ly/2Jgnjn8> of Baylor University, one of the world's leading and most distinguished scholars in this field, [explains that] 'this change marks a decrease only in nominal affiliation, not an increase in irreligion.'" ...

"Professor Barry A. Kosmin, director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture <www.bit.ly/2JvUjqt> at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, the man who coined the term 'the nones,' expresses frustration that the larger press has not really gotten the story right.... He told me, 'The rise of nondenominational Christianity is probably one of the strongest [religious growth] trends in the last two decades' in the United States. ...

"Greg Smith, the long-time associate director of research at the Pew Research Center, adds heft to the conclusion that evangelicalism is actually growing."

Researchers Landon Schnabel of Indiana University Bloomington and Sean Bock of Harvard <www.bit.ly/2XAbpYY> "found the same thing, explaining 'evangelicals are not on the decline' but 'grew from 1972 when they were 18 percent of the population, to a steady level of about 28 percent' from the late 1980s to the present. ...

"'Second, the United States is not growing more secular.' They reported: 'We show that rather than religion fading into irrelevance as the secularization thesis would suggest, intense religion - strong affiliation, very frequent practice, literalism and evangelicalism - is persistent, and in fact, only moderate religion is on the decline in the United States.'"

For the larger story, read Stanton's new book The Myth of the Dying Church: How Christianity is Actually Thriving in America and the World. [1]

Does nonsense become commonsense when it's all dressed up? Peter Atterton, a professor of philosophy at San Diego State University, argues in New York Times (Mar 25 '19) that we have "A God Problem: Perfect. All-powerful. All-knowing. The idea of the deity most Westerners accept is actually not coherent." In doing so, he elevates grade-school playground word games to fantastic heights.

Atterton begins <www.nyti.ms/2VWUHat> with omnipotence, asking: "Can God create a stone that cannot be lifted? If God can create such a stone, then He is not all powerful, since He Himself cannot lift it." Internet columnist Matt Walsh replies <www.bit.ly/2L7325E> simply: "What's really being asked here is this: 'Can God create a liftable unliftable stone.' No, He cannot, just as He cannot make an elephant that is also a pine tree. God cannot do nonsensical things, precisely because He exists. Only non-existent things can be nonsense."

Atterton also lumps the question "Can God create a world in which evil does not exist?" into his challenge of omnipotence, saying: "Indeed, if God is morally perfect, it is difficult to see why he wouldn't have created such a world. So why didn't He?" Walsh observes that Atterton "is debunking an argument no one is making. Nobody says that 'evil is necessary' for free will to exist. Rather, the possibility of evil is necessary." Walsh discusses this further.

As for omniscience, Atterton actually floats the idea that "God must know things that we do, like lust and envy. But one cannot know lust and envy unless one has experienced them. But to have had feelings of lust and envy is to have sinned, in which case God cannot be morally perfect." Walsh responds: "This is absurd. ... It makes no sense to claim that's God's infinite knowledge and wisdom prevents Him from sinning and that, therefore, He is not infinitely wise and knowing."

Evangelical apologists lined up to answer Atterton. See, for example: <www.bit.ly/2NHMtz9> and <www.bit.ly/2XTeurp>

Play with these ideas to stretch your own discernment skills. What's Atterton really up to? This exchange is a helpful reminder of how important it is to identify faulty assumptions before responding to challenges.

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WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT

Did you know that Benny Hinn's nephew, Costi Hinn, is executive pastor at Mission Bible Church in Tustin, California, and an eloquent opponent of the prosperity-gospel message? In an item for the Religious News Service (Jun 6 '19), he begins: "If you haven't seen the video <www.bit.ly/2Xxmx94> of Fort Worth, Texas, televangelist Kenneth Copeland attempting to answer questions about his private plane and the prosperity gospel in a rare and unexpected interview <www.ietv.co/2LhhyIf> with Lisa Guerrero of Inside Edition, do so. It's stunning, and important. ...

"Copeland's outlandish statements and patronizing remarks did nothing more than misrepresent the true Christian gospel. Further, the interview served as a sobering reminder of how badly prosperity preachers represent Christian ministry and reliable ministers who serve faithfully. ...

"The heartbreaking reality of the prosperity gospel is that by the time you reach the top of the pyramid, you're still empty. Many preachers spend the better part of their ministry exploiting people to have it all, only to weep with regret decades later when they realize they've got a date with destiny coming for them.

"No matter what you believe, you have to believe that prosperity preachers who exploit the poor and target sick people in Third World countries have a scary reality awaiting them in the next life if they don't make things right in this one." <www.bit.ly/2XMSTAZ>

Blogger/apologist Tim Challies reviews Costi Hinn's new book, God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies [2] <www.bit.ly/30hoaJQ>, praising it as "a purposeful biography that uses his story as a means to teach truth."

Also see "From the Prosperity Gospel to Jesus Christ: Benny Hinn's Nephew Shares His Conversion Story" <www.bit.ly/30hJpva> and "God, Thank You I'm Not Like Those Prosperity Preachers" <www.bit.ly/2JovEFt>

For background on Benny Hinn from our past issues, see <www.bit.ly/2NCsyBQ>

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Myth of the Dying Church: How Christianity is Actually Thriving in America and the World, by Glenn T. Stanton (Worthy, 2019, hardcover, 224 pages) <www.amzn.to/2LKmtAR>

2 - God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies, by Costi Hinn (Zondervan, 2019, paperback, 224 pages) <www.https://amzn.to/2Jl5T8W>

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