21AR26-24

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AR 26:24 - "Got an 'anointing' for that?"

In this issue:

CHURCH LEADERSHIP - "Anointed" leadership? "Scripture does not support such language or theology"

OCCULTISM - tarot and oracle card decks "are particularly attractive to young people just beginning a spiritual journey"

ORIGINS - "breaking the impasse" between literal and evolutionary creation camps?

Apologia Report 26:24 (1,529)

June 16, 2021

CHURCH LEADERSHIP

"Spirit-Anointing and New Testament Church Leadership: Are Our Church Leaders Uniquely 'Anointed?' by Scott MacDonald (academic dean, Baptist Theological Seminary of Zambia -- a much-needed corrective in an area long known for weak accountability.

Macdonald notes that "anointing" isn't always indicative of godly leadership. In the Old Testament, "while anointing pertains to kings like David, it also applies to disreputable ones such as Jehu." This reminds us of an OT parallel (in Jeremiah 23) to the proliferation of disreputable prophets in the church today; see <www.bit.ly/2PElTZx>

MacDonald examines "texts which expound on the Spirit's role of anointing in the church" and observes that they "do not support Spirit-anointing as a special grace upon church leaders." He asks whether we should look for "anointed leadership" in the church today, and concludes: "The Scripture does not support such language or the theology behind it." Indeed, we should expect the following consequences from obfuscating the Bible's terminology:

"First, leadership offices are arbitrarily safeguarded for a privileged status (i.e., anointed) that is not biblically delineated as a unique leadership quality. ...

"Second, Christians misunderstand the importance and role of Spirit-filling. ...

"Third, the 'anointing' label for church leaders only deepens the divide between laity and clergy. ... Ironically, the apostle Paul referenced the anointing of the Spirit as a source of unity and commonality, even as the usage of 'anointed' by many modern leaders implies the opposite. ...

"Fourth, when 'anointed' is a title reserved for a privileged class, the doctrine of the priesthood of believers suffers. ... No special sense of anointed leadership is outlined in the New Testament, and when we finagle that language into our churches, we are downplaying the relationship of the Holy Spirit with the church...." themelios, 46:1 - 2021, <www.bit.ly/3vCOIEW>

On this last point, see a related article by another Zambia-based scholar: Conrad Mbewe, "The Priesthood of All Believers in Africa," in Unio Cum Christo, Vol. 3, No. 1 (April 2017), pp171–182. <www.bit.ly/3gC10Yl>

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OCCULTISM

"Tarot booms as Generation Z sorts out spiritual path" ("Generation Z has been the driving force behind the renewed popularity and mainstreaming of the age-old esoteric system") by Heather Greene (Religion News Service, Apr 26 '21) -- "Based on a mix of European Renaissance esoterica and religious symbolism, tarot was first popularized by spiritualists in the 1800s but then found its mainstream American audience in the 1960s. Since that point, tarot has enjoyed occasional bouts of trendiness. Most recently, sales of tarot decks increased 30% in both 2016 and 2017, according to <www.nyti.ms/3pUd8bw> The New York Times, the biggest bump since the mid-1960s, part of a wider increase in occult and New Age practices.

"Tarot and divination can still run afoul of religious people - in 2014, an attempt to retire a law banning 'magic arts' in the rural town of Front Royal, Virginia, was met with unexpected backlash from those defending Christian values. ...

"Barbara Moore, an acquisitions editor at Llewellyn Worldwide, one of the leading publishers and distributors of decks, agreed that there is a noticeable upswing in interest. Moore said that Llewellyn is now publishing six new decks per year, which is double from a few years back. 'We are (specifically) seeing a demand for more diversity in tarot decks,' she said. ...

"A related form of divination called oracle decks has also been gaining popularity, specifically with younger readers. Moore explained that oracles are a good resource for people looking for daily comfort without having to spend time memorizing tarot's esoteric system. They are particularly attractive to young people just beginning a spiritual journey, she added." <www.bit.ly/2R0NFQD>

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ORIGINS

The Genealogical Adam and Eve, by S. Joshua Swamidass, MD, PhD (Associate professor, Pathology & Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis) <www.bit.ly/3cu7FCX> [1] -- IVP has just reissued this volume in paperback, stating that "Swamidass explains how it's possible for Adam and Eve to be rightly identified as the ancestors of everyone, opening up new possibilities for understanding Adam and Eve consistent both with current scientific consensus and with traditional readings of Scripture." Got that?

Writing for Apologetics 315, Lucas Giolas finds that "Swamidass challenges the common notion that the belief in an historical Adam and Eve is inconsistent with genetic science. ...

"Genealogical ancestry refers to familial connections and pedigrees, whereas genetic ancestry looks only at stretches of DNA. ... Swamidass argues that focusing on genetic ancestry is anachronistic. Instead, the issue of theological importance is genealogical ancestry. ...

"Using statistical modeling, Swamidass demonstrates in great technical detail that while common genetic ancestors only appear in the great distant past, genealogical ancestors appear much more recently.

"Furthermore, he addresses concerns about the ancestry of genetically and geographically isolated areas. Ultimately, all it takes is a single individual to mix with the population in order to get genealogical mixing, therefore geographical isolation does not require genealogical isolation. ...

"Scientifically, he outlines five historical markers for distinguishing the rise of humans. These markers range from the start of civilizations approximately 6,000 years ago to the emergence of the Homo genus 2 million years ago. Swamidass then contrasts the different theological positions on what it means to be human. Some, but not all, are entirely consistent with the monogenesis of Adam and Eve being within a larger population.

"As far as the biblical text is concerned, Swamidass argues that the definition of human is open-ended. Nevertheless, he proposes that the [biblical] text most clearly ascribes 'human' to the lineage of Adam and Eve, with the status of those outside the Garden being outside the scope of scripture. ...

"Swamidass suggests that we can recover a theologically traditional understanding of human origins alongside evolutionary science, putting to rest the apparent dichotomies between the two. In his demonstration of this, he outlines various traditions of the Christian faith that his model seeks to preserve. Among [those listed] is a literalist reading of scripture.

"He presents his model as an experiment. Swamidass is forthcoming in admitting that it is an almost entirely speculative proposal. ... As Adam and Eve's descendants mix with those outside the Garden, their fallen nature infects all of mankind. This is because genealogies have causal control over our very beings. Jesus then enters the picture at AD 1. This is a significant point in time because this is when all of the earth is inhabited by people who have Adam and Eve in their genealogical history, and therefore this is the point when the whole earth is subject to the punishment of original sin."

Giolas concludes that this is "a book that everyone ought to read, but is of special importance to those who regularly engage in the science and religion dialogue. A quick glance at the endorsements of this book reveals that Swamidass's work has gained the respect of thinkers ranging from conservative evangelical creationists to atheist secular biologists." <www.bit.ly/3xb5gFa>

In his review for Seventh-day Adventist-oriented Spectrum (Apr 28 '21), Jon Johnson says that Swamidass asks: Is it "possible to accept BOTH evolution across deep time AND a historical Adam and Eve within the Garden of Eden as ancestors of all mankind? Is it necessary, as most theistic evolutionists believe, to discard the story of Adam and Eve as mythology if one accepts evolution? He arrives at a surprising answer, as he approaches this question from a completely scientific point-of-view. He concludes that, just as science cannot exclude the existence of God, neither can science exclude the existence of a real Adam and Eve in the not-so-distant past as our common ancestors. ...

"Swamidass proposes that evolution was the method God used to create most life on this planet. He fully supports scientific evidence for common ancestry and an ancient Earth. He would support organizations supportive of evolution within a creationist framework, except that they have generally relegated Adam and Eve and other aspects of the creation story to mythological status. Swamidass uses a rigorous approach to show that this is unnecessary. Adam and Eve could very well have been specially created, within a specially created Garden of Eden, and could then have become the ancestors of all humanity. Notably, Biologos changed their stance on this issue <www.bit.ly/3gE7LsG> when presented with the evidence presented in this book."

Swamidass "is most interested in making some space for theology that has been taken away by science over the years, and in breaking the impasse in the discussion that has developed, the impasse between the literal creation and evolutionary creation camps. This, to me, is the most striking outcome of this book: I have thought that there was certainly an impasse in the debate. It now seems that there may be more room for discussion. While the writing style of this book may not hold you on the edge of your chair (it was quite repetitive and overly methodical in style), the ideas presented do cause one to pause for thought. This book is a unique contribution to the topic of origins, particularly as it is likely to pique interest on both sides of the aisle, whether traditional or progressive in view." <www.bit.ly/3g8bcsD>

We think you'll find that Amazon's endorsement collection for the book is surprisingly substantial. For more on this topic, also see Swamidass' January 2020 interview in Christianity Today <www.bit.ly/3gydtwp>.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Genealogical Adam and Eve, by S. Joshua Swamidass (IVP, 2021, paperback, 264 pages) <www.amzn.to/353pkNot>

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