25AR30-03

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AR 30:3 - Atheists Fall for a New Religion

In this issue:

ATHEISM - "If there is a god-shaped hole in us then without established religion, something else is likely to take its place"

COMPENSATION - "a growing trend among Christian ministries to identify as churches and thereby withhold their Form 990s"

STATE OF THE CHURCH - "Top 10 Theology Stories of 2024"

Apologia Report 30:3 (1,692)
January 23, 2025

ATHEISM

"How Atheists Fell for the New Religion of Gender Identity" by Debbie Hayton (Spectator, Dec 31 '24) -- "The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) is probably not on the radar of most people in the UK. It's a US-based non-profit organisation that campaigns for the separation of church and state. ...

   "But it seems that this association of 'atheists, agnostics and skeptics of any pedigree' has fallen hook line and sinker for gender identity ideology. Yesterday, it was reported that Richard Dawkins had quit the FFRF Board over its 'imposition' of a new religion

His departure followed two other scientists - Jerry Coyne and Steven Pinker - after the FFRF retracted a paper Coyne had written to counter an earlier piece that concluded, 'a woman is whoever she says she is'. Those were the words of Kat Grant (pronouns: they/them)...."

   Coyne "argued that Grant's conclusion was a tautology, and went on to state that, 'In biology… a woman can be simply defined in four words: "An adult human female." '

   "Coyne then questioned the FFRF's incursion into gender activism, pointing out that tendentious arguments about the definition of sex are not part of the association's mission to educate the public about atheism, and keeping religion out of government and social policies. ...

   "The issue that is of wider concern is the censorious approach taken by those who hold to transgender ideology. The FFRF removed Coyne's paper and posted a grovelling apology in its place....

   "It seems that those values and principles are no longer to keep the old religions out of schools and public institutions but to impose a new quasi-religious philosophy upon them. ...

   "As a Christian, I take issue with the FFRF's claim that 'The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion.' The scientific enlightenment took place in a society rooted in Christian traditions. Those who are truly confident in their faith do not fear challenge, and certainly do not censor mere differences of opinion.

   "Gender identity ideology might well share the hallmarks of religion - 'complete with dogma, blasphemy, and heretics' according to Pinker - but it appears to offer neither confidence nor certainty to its adherents, if they cannot abide those who might think differently to them.

   "An atheistic organisation worth its salt would oppose these movements in the same way that it opposes established religion, so Coyne, Pinkner and Dawkins are right to walk away. But maybe the key lesson from this sorry debacle is that it is not so easy to expunge the need for religion from human beings than atheists might like to think. If there is a god-shaped hole in us then without established religion, something else is likely to take its place." <www.tinyurl.com/3kmvsxv7>

   Look for more from Hayton in her new book, Transsexual Apostate: My Journey Back to Reality <www.tinyurl.com/h3bayh94> 

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COMPENSATION

"100 Highly Paid Ministry Leaders - 2025" by Warren Cole Smith (MinistryWatch, Jan 5 '25) -- the leading offender, "Inspiration Network again tops the list. ...

   "Also, MinistryWatch has identified a growing trend among Christian ministries to identify as churches and thereby withhold their Form 990s. We think this is a troubling trend...."

   Currently, there are "nearly 100 ministries in the MinistryWatch 1000 who have made this election. They include: CRU/Campus Crusade for Christ, The Navigators, Gideons International, Willow Creek Association, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Joyce Meyer Ministries, Denison Forum, and Ethnos360/New Tribes Mission.

   "In addition, many megachurches and their related radio and television ministries also withhold their Form 990s. These organizations and individuals include: Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, and Kenneth Copeland." <www.tinyurl.com/4uvsc2f7>

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STATE OF THE CHURCH

"Top 10 Theology Stories of 2024" by Collin Hansen (The Gospel Coalition, Dec 10 '24) -- after an initial brief review of 2023's "Stories" for comparison, a reverse-order current countdown begins:

* - "10. Bible sales spike. [With] a 22 percent increase.... Also of note was the English Standard Version reaching #1 on the translation bestseller list in October."

* - "9. Demographic collapse triggers national debate." More specifically, "civilizational collapse became a primary concern." In which "no one seems to know how to cure the modern malaise of individualism that inhibits marriage and child-rearing. The challenge for churches will be discipling larger single populations with theology that values singleness, from young to old, while still helping families cut against the grain of modern life."

* - "8. Mainline decline heightens need for Global South leadership. ... [T]he cost was revealed for the mainline denomination joining others in affirming same-sex marriage. Nearly 8,000 UMC churches—26 percent of the total—left for the newly formed Global Methodist Church or closed. ... The Fourth Lausanne Congress, held this year in South Korea, facilitated more than 50 years of handoff from global church leaders mostly in the West to places such as East Africa, where birth rates continue to rise alongside more orthodox Christian faith.

* - "7. Assisted suicide advances in the United Kingdom. ... Much debate has focused on individual autonomy and the right to die. Journalist Andy Crouch cut through the misleading rhetoric: 'You will have 'the right to die' for approximately 15 minutes before you start to feel 'the obligation to die,' which will be approximately 15 minutes before you are informed that (for the greater good, to be sure) you are 'required to die.' For the modern West, a bigger question is at stake: Why bother to live if humans are no different from other creatures?

* - "6. Amid IVF backlash, GOP becomes pro-choice.

Popular opposition to a surprising decision by the Alabama Supreme Court to consider embryos as children helped lead the GOP toward abandoning pro-life convictions, a likely outcome since the 2022 Dobbs decision. ...

* - "5. Theological educators seek foothold amid overall slide in student enrollment. ... Facing its own financial headwinds, Fuller Theological Seminary seems headed in the opposite direction as it reconsiders its previous sexuality standards. Fuller professor Christopher Hays joined his father, Richard (retired from Duke Divinity School), in authoring a book that suggests God has changed his mind. ...

* - "4. Paris flaunts post-Christian buffet before Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens.

Few events can still elicit truly viral engagement on fractured social media. The Paris Olympics gave us two. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif confused everyone on the way to a gold medal by dominating the undermanned female competition. And the opening ceremonies launched a million hot takes and even hotter rebuttals over the Last Supper parody, the latest sign of a decadent Western culture that can tear down the past but can't generate a vision for the future. ...

* - "3. Cass Review tells the truth about transgender treatments.

I asked a cultural commentator why the report led in the United Kingdom by Hilary Cass, "the largest review ever undertaken in the field of transgender health," barely registered in the United States. Easy answer, turns out: because U.S. hospitals and doctors backed by the Biden administration make a lot of money on these so-called treatments, despite their ineffectiveness. This month, the U.S. Supreme Court took up a challenge to Tennessee's ban on some procedures for minors and will rule in June. Expect court cases to mount....

* - "2. Gen Z shows signs of spiritual revival. [Where] in 2024, for the first time since pollsters began asking, men identified as more religious than women. Or at least they did in Gen Z, where the church offers refuge from rampant gender confusion. Consider that more than 14,000 young adults signed up for Cross Con. Or hear the prominent Christian testimonies alongside mass baptisms on college campuses, and you can sense the rumblings of revival. ...

* - "1. Trump wins presidential election." Hansen's theme here appears to rest solely on the remark: "Our theology of providence reminds us to thank God for the good he allows and the evil he restrains." <www.tinyurl.com/5ku97jvx> 

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