Apologia Report 4:17
May 24, 1999

ANTI-CULT MOVEMENT
May 15, 1999 was a historic date for all cult watchers. On this day in St. Paul, Minnesota, two leaders of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna CONsciousness -- the Hare Krishnas) were featured participants in a public conference sponsored by the formerly antagonistic, American Family Foundation (AFF), the leading secular anti-cult watchdog group in the U.S. During the panel discussion (entitled "Can Cultic Groups Change? The Case of ISKCON") the movement's representatives admitted serious ethical errors in their ranks, discussed concrete steps being taken toward correction and reform, and responded to questions from audience members in a positive atmosphere of openness and mutual understanding. (The session can be purchased from AFF on video.)
   Ironically, at the same time, local Scientologists  picketed outside with signs accusing AFF of bigotry.
   Also in attendance were officials, scholars, and activists from Japan,
France, England, Spain, and Sweden -- along with members of the religious studies camp in the field of sociology (including Eileen Barker of INFORM
/U.K. and Stephen Kent of the University of Alberta/Edmonton) as well as evangelical apologetics ministries (including Craig Branch of the Apologetics Resource Center, Paul Carden of the Centers for Apologetics Research, and Rich Poll of Apologia).

 CULTURE
"'Star Wars' Movies Incorporate Spiritual Themes" by Peggy Fletcher Stack -- notes that the film's creator, George Lucas, "scoured the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell and psychologist Carl Jung and then infused his trilogy with spiritual themes drawn from age-old religious traditions. ... "There definitely aren't enough answers in `Star Wars' to constitute a religion," [Lucas] said. "The point is for [viewers] to go and look through the religions and find something that has some answers for them."
   The article goes on to describe how the Star Wars trilogy is "not necessarily theologically correct" and then offers a closing quote from Lucas: "I would hate to find ourselves in a completely secular world where entertainment was passing for some kind of religious experience.". Salt Lake Tribune, May 15 '99, n.p.

 EVANGELICALISM
The Remaking of Evangelical Theology, by Gary Dorrien (Westminster John Knox, 1998, paperback, 264 pages, ISBN 0-6642-5803-4) -- reviewer Rodney Clapp identifies Dorrien as an outsider and "self-professed 'Anglican social-gospeler and dialectical theologian.'" Clapp recognizes that Dorrien offers "a clear-eyed reading of the [evangelical] tradition." Dorrien "singles out three main branches in the evangelical family tree: classical evangelicalism, rooted in the Reformation and Radical Reformation; pietistic evangelicalism, based in the eighteenth-century German and English pietistic movements and the Great Awakenings in America; and fundamentalist evangelicalism, derived from the fundamentalist-modernist conflict of the nineteenth-centuries." Dorrien "concludes with the detection of an emerging fourth branch in the tree: postconservative evangelicalism" which he clearly favors. This camp includes Clark Pinnock, William Abraham, Robert Webber, Donald Bloesch, Stanley Grenz, Miroslav Volf, Nancey Murphy, Henry Knight III, Roger Olson, Philip Kennneson, Brian Walsh, Richard J. Walsh, the later work of Bernard Ramm, and Clapp himself.
   Dorrien is well aware that some see the "rethinking of evangelical claims currently under way [as] a disaster." Clapp cites the current direction of the Evangelical Theological Society as an example considering the "proposed revisions to the society's doctrinal confession, written especially to exclude progressive theologians."
   Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we will offer our own review of The Remaking of Evangelical Theology -- a potentially influential book given its disapproving view of strict inerrancy and lucid description of evangelicalism. Books & Culture, May/Jun '99, p25.

 HINDUISM
"Our Religion Is Based on Verifiable Truths!" by Swami Ranganathananda Maharaj -- briefly attempts to argue that "the unshakable power of Hinduism is the experiential reality of the soul's divinity." Significant in view of traditional eastern mystical arguments, which tend to discourage the application of evidential reasoning. Hinduism Today, May '99, p52.

"Orientalism and the Modern Myth of 'Hinduism'" by Richard King -- proposes that there is no "single ancient religion designated by the catch-all term 'Hinduism" and that the term is "merely a fairly recent social construction of Western origin." King says the fault of this misunderstanding is "largely dependent upon the Christian presuppositions of the early Western Orientalists." NUMEN, 46:2 - 1999, pp146-185.

 HOMOSEXUALITY
"Of God and Gays" by Michelle Cottle -- subtitled "The Next Jerry Falwell?" Cottle goes after D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and his Center for Reclaiming America, which is running "a series of television spots based on the print campaign" which lit up angry responses from the homosexual community across the nation in 1998 because it featured former homosexuals who have become Christians. The cover line for this hostile story reads: "The Man Behind 'Gay Conversion." The contents summary continues: "Thanks to his 'gay conversion' campaign, the Reverend D. James Kennedy may become the next Pat Robertson. And, when he's done saving gays, he'll get to work on everyone else." New Republic, May 10 '99, pp23-25.

 MORMONISM
"Mormon Studies" by Richard D. Oullette -- a sociological multi-book review and bibliographic essay covering the past decade. Oullette observes that the "explosion in Mormon scholarship three decades ago shows no signs of waning." He describes the LDS faith as "a highly distinctive form of Christianity [and] the most successful of America's indigenous religions." He points out that "because LDS truth claims revolve around historical events, such as Joseph Smith's first vision, students of Mormonism have devoted most of their attention to its history. ... Despite the LDS church's somewhat restrictive archival policies, 'early Mormonism may soon rival the Puritans as the most studied of American religious phenomena.' ... By contrast, LDS theology, ritual, and scripture have drawn little attention." Substantial. Includes a 35-item bibliography. Religious Studies Review, Apr '99 (rec'd May 3), pp161-169.

 NEW AGE MOVEMENT
Remaining true to its long history of specialization on the New Age, the latest SCP Journal (22:4/23:1 - 1999) includes several related items.
   "Secrets of the Soul: Gary Zukav, Putting God in Small Packages" by Tal Brooke (pp 4-17) -- profiles Zukav and his influence, focusing on his book Seat of the Soul (Fireside, 1990, paperback, 256 pages, ISBN 0-6716-9507-X). "Zukav reveals that reincarnation is the hidden engine that makes us the people we are."
   "Lost in the Supermarket: Pop Music and Spiritual Commerce" by Alison Lentini (pp 18-25) -- describes the current "spiritualization of the pop music marketplace" as a mainstream phenomenon. Artists mentioned include Tori Amos, Alanis Morrisette, Jewel, and Madonna.
   "The Oprah Effect" by Ron Rhodes (pp 26-37) -- describes Oprah Winfrey's effective use of television to propagate the New Age gospel and accelerate the literary impact of numerous New Age writers. Mentions Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, James Van Praagh, Betty Eadie, and Gary Zukav.
   "The United Religions Initiative: Foundations for a World Religion" by Lee Penn (pp 38-70) -- the most substantial analysis we've seen of the United Religions Initiative (URI) effort to build a religious version of the United Nations. Reviews the URI's origins, work, "antichristian agenda," "global ethic," and other themes. Utilizes nearly 300 end notes.
   (Postscript: The lengthy second part of this series on the URI, "The United Religions Globalist & New Age Plans" [pp36-73] is featured in the SCP Journal designated 23:2/3 of 1999 and *it* has over 400 end notes.)

 PENTECOSTALISM
"Pentecostal Trends of the '90s" by Vinson Synan -- a mostly uncritical description of Pentecostalism's seven most significant trends. Synan uses the trend description "Convergence movement" in noting the rise of the Charismatic Episcopal Church and, more briefly, Pentecostalism's influence on the Antiochian Evangelical Orthodox Church. Another major Pentecostal trend cited is the New Apostolic Church movement birthed by C. Peter Wagner (Synan makes a passing reference to Wagner's recent book, The New Apostolic Churches (Gospel Light, 1998, hardcover, ISBN 0-8307-2136-3). Modern revivalism is counted as the last major trend. The sidebar "World Populations, Christians and Pentecostals" records that the total worldwide attendance of Pentecostal/ Charismatic crowd amounts to more than a quarter of the size of the estimated two billion Christians today -- of which Roman Catholicism accounts for half. Ministries Today, May/Jun '99, pp60-64, 77.

 PHILOSOPHY 
"A Swift and Simple Refutation of the Kalam Cosmological Argument?" by William Lane Craig -- responds to a paper in an earlier issue of this journal by John Taylor who argued from an anti-realist position on the Big Bang theory "without sufficient warrant for singling out the theory as non-realistic." Religious Studies, Mar '99, p57.

 SCIENCE OF MIND 
That Was Ernest: The Story of Ernest Holmes and the Religious Science Movement, by Reginald C. Armor (DeVorss, 1999, paperback, 176pp, ISBN 0-8751-6712-8) -- from an ad we just discovered in the Mar/Apr '99 issue of NAPRA ReView (p30).

 UFOs
"High-Tech Whiz Kid Joe Firmage Goes UFO Bonkers" by David E. Thomas -- opens with a description of Firmage's $81,000 full-page ad in the February 19, 1999 edition of USA Today. Described as an "Internet whiz kid multimillionaire," Last November Firmage, 28, left behind the wildly successful company he founded in 1995, USWeb (now worth about $2 billion), to launch the International Space Sciences Organization <http://www.thewordistruth.org>. Firmage reportedly suggests that Jesus did his miracles as a result of "mating with a higher species." Thomas interprets this for those left blinking their eyes in stunned confusion: "In other words, Jesus was an alien hybrid!" Skeptical Inquirer, May/Jun '99, pp7-8.