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AR 28:12 - Effectively challenging claims for Qur'anic origins
In this issue:
ANKERBERG, JOHN - abundant cash, abundant questions
CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT - "God Emperor" Stephen Strang vs. false prophets
ISLAM - an important - and accessible - scholarly challenge to claims for Qur'anic origins
Apologia Report 28:12 (1,609)
April 12, 2023
ANKERBERG, JOHN
"John Ankerberg's Private Jet Usage Questioned by Whistleblower" by Warren Cole Smith (Ministry Watch, Feb 23 '23) -- "Ankerberg Theological Research Institute (The Institute) <jashow.org> is one of the largest apologetics ministries in the nation. In 2021, it had revenue of more than $9 million, most of it in donations to its popular television program 'The John Ankerberg Show.'
"Like all tax-exempt organizations, The Institute is required to disclose if it has used 'charter aircraft' for executives and 'travel for companions' on its Schedule J of the Form 990.
"On its Form 990 for the calendar year 2021, it did not check the box that would have indicated that it used charter aircraft.
"Andrew Jaeger was Director of Donor Relations for The Institute from September 2019 until November 2022. Jaeger said that between March and November of 2021, Ankerberg's organization used the charter service NetJets to make at least nine flights for ministry and personal purposes. Jaeger said he was on at least a half-dozen of these trips himself.
"Jaeger disclosed this information in a Whistleblower Complaint shared with The Institute in September of 2022. ...
"Darlene Ankerberg, John Ankerberg's wife and the CEO/Comptroller of the organization, did acknowledge that the ministry uses charters in some cases. She wrote in an email to MinistryWatch: 'We do not own a plane but the plane we sometimes use is paid for by a donor.'" <www.bit.ly/3mjKLpK>
"Ankerberg Confirms Raising $20M for Audio Bibles, but Kept 80%" by Warren Cole Smith (Ministry Watch, Mar 23 '23) -- "Questions about the Ankerbergs' use of funds surfaced late last year, when Andrew Jaeger filed a whistleblower complaint with The Institute. Jaeger has since shared that complaint both with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and with MinistryWatch. ...
"The Ankerbergs [John, Darlene, and Michelle - three of The Institute's eight total board members] dispute Jaeger's story, but only in the details. In an interview with MinistryWatch, John and Darlene Ankerberg said the relationship with Faith Comes By Hearing <faithcomesbyhearing.com> actually began in 2013, not 2016. They say their ministry has taken in about $20 million for audio Bibles, not the $16-million asserted by Jaeger. They acknowledge that 'about 20 percent' of the money ended up going to Faith Comes By Hearing, or about $4-million."
Smith notes that "a review of The Institute's [IRS] Form 990s over the past decade-plus shows an organization that has grown flush with cash.
"In 2016 The Institute had about $3.5 million in annual revenue. Revenue in 2021 topped $9 million, growth of more than 250 percent. ...
"In 2011, The Institute had a negative net worth, which meant that it owed more than the value of its assets. By 2016, three years after John Ankerberg says it began its relationship with Faith Comes By Hearing, it had managed to climb out of that hole, but its net assets were still less than $500-thousand. ...
"By 2021, according to the most recent Form 990 available, assets topped $7.2 million. More than $3.9 million of that was cash." <www.bit.ly/3KFAhdS>
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CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT
"The 'God Emperor' Who Could Cost Trump the Election" by Tim Dickinson (Rolling Stone, Feb 28 '23) -- begins: "Mario Murillo <mariomurillo.org> had heard enough. The longtime Charismatic Christian preacher, who got his start ministering to Jesus hippies in Berkeley in the late 1960s, began 2023 by blasting a pair of 'false prophets.' ...
"In the free-wheeling world of Charismatic Christianity, charlatans can build devoted followings - and raise ungodly amounts of cash - by claiming divine gifts. There's no central authority to cast grifters out. So Murillo turned to the next best thing: He sought an audience with Steve Strang, the founder of Charisma Media <charismamedia.com>. ...
"A fixture since the mid-1970s, Strang is a 'God Emperor' of media in the Charismatic world, says Matt Taylor, protestant scholar <icjs.org/people/matthew-d-taylor> at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies.
"Strang isn't simply a publisher or a journalist. He's also a political activist who backed Trump to the hilt - publishing four books exhorting Evangelicals to embrace God's unlikely 'anointing' of the p*ssy-grabbing playboy philanderer president, calling Trump 'our champion.' ...
"When Murillo appeared on Charisma's flagship podcast, The Strang Report, <www.tinyurl.com/2wr2xvrf> Strang applauded the preacher's condemnation of the dodgy prophets, whose visions of heaven, Strang insisted, 'border on mental illness.' ...
"Suggesting that 'attacks from within' the church are even more dangerous than those from the secular world, Strang saluted Murrillo - 'I admire you [for] standing up' - and insisted that Charisma Media 'will stand with you.' ...
"Strang launched Charisma [magazine] in 1975, seeking to be a voice of the burgeoning Charismatic movement. Charismatic Christianity now has more than 30 million adherents in America. ...
"Taylor insists that if Strang is now serious about his new role in calling out false prophets, Flynn's roadshow offers ample targets. 'The ReAwaken America prophets are some of the craziest Trump prophets,' he says - pointing to the likes of Julie Green, who offers a daily horoscope-style prophecy, falsely declared that Doug Mastriano would become governor of Pennsylvania, and once predicted Queen Elizabeth would be murdered by Prince Charles." <www.bit.ly/3KJ61i2>
For more on Green, also see “Donald Trump Prophet Predicts Death of Democrats: 'You Will See Many Die'" by Gerrard Kaonga in Newsweek, Feb 3 '23, <www.bit.ly/3KzJx1V>
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ISLAM
Creating the Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Study, by Stephen J. Shoemaker (Professor of Religious Studies, Ira E. Gaston Fellow in Christian Studies, University of Oregon) -- the University of California Press promo explains that Shoemaker "presents the first systematic historical-critical study of the Qur'an's origins, drawing on methods and perspectives commonly used to study other scriptural traditions. Demonstrating in detail that the Islamic tradition relates not a single attested account of the holy text's formation.... Shoemaker shows how the Qur'an preserves a surprisingly diverse array of memories regarding the text's early history and its canonization. To this he adds perspectives from radiocarbon dating of manuscripts, the linguistic history of Arabic, the social and cultural history of late ancient Arabia, and the limitations of human memory and oral transmission, as well as various peculiarities of the Qur'anic text itself. Considering all the relevant data to present the most comprehensive and convincing examination of the origin and evolution of the Qur'an available, Shoemaker concludes that the canonical text of the Qur'an was most likely produced only around the turn of the eighth century." <www.bit.ly/3Gpo2zz> and available as a free ebook (pdf and ePub) at <www.bit.ly/40RuLKH>
In his review of Creating the Qur'an, A.S. Ibrahim (professor of Islamic studies; director, Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) finds that "Shoemaker masterfully questions many conventional claims about the Qur'an - claims even some scholars have naïvely accepted. ...
"He examines every significant controversy about the text and its history and provides convincing conclusions that effectively challenge traditional claims often adopted by Muslims and non-Muslims alike."
Shoemaker "challenges the core of these claims and demonstrates that even the two major Muslim sects - Sunni and Shiite - have completely different stories about the canonization process. He relies on Muslim primary sources and shows that, during Muhammad's life and after his death, there were many competing variants of the Qur'an.
"In fact, among many of Muhammad's companions, each claimed to have his own copy of a distinct Qur'an. Engaging scientific research, Shoemaker argues that the canonical text of the Qur'an took decades to form, and the final stage occurred around 700 [AD] under political influence and a highly controversial process, supervised by a ruthless governor in Iraq." World, Feb 11 '23, <www.bit.ly/3Gr4tae>
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