APOLOGETICS
Reason for the Hope Within, Michael J. Murray, ed. [1] -- reviewer Mark R. Talbot observes that "Christian philosophers and theologians need each other. Christian philosophers who are poorly versed in biblically based systematic theology tend to reinvent old Christian heresies. Christian theologians who lack philosophical training often present the faith's great truths less clearly and cogently than they should. Vigorous orthodoxy benefits when the line between philosophy and theology is blurred.
"This book contends that seminary apologetics courses would profit from incorporating more contemporary Christian philosophy." Modern Reformation, Nov/Dec '00, p49.
DEMONOLOGY
"Exorcism Flourishing Once Again" by Teresa Watanabe -- summarized: "Hundreds of ministries now exist, at least one providing the service over the radio. The resurgence has sparked a debate on the nature of evil and the ritual's role among Christians." The story begins with what amounts to a circus act overview featuring Bob Larson vs. Hank Hanegraaff. This is followed by an overview of various approaches.
"[A]ccording to historians, exorcisms declined in Western churches about 200 years ago only to begin resurfacing in the 1970s.
"Recent growth seems brisk: An international exorcism association established by the Vatican's chief exorcist attracted just six practitioners to its first conference in 1993, but drew more than 200 exorcists and their lay assistants this summer.
"In the United States, the Catholic Church has quietly increased the number of appointed exorcists from just one in 1990 to between 15 and 20 today, according to Michael W. Cuneo, a Fordham University associate professor and author of a soon-to-be published book, 'American Exorcism [2].' Moreover, he says, countless maverick priests are performing bootleg rites without their bishops' required permission. ...
"Among theologically conservative evangelicals alone--those who don't believe in speaking in tongues and other Pentecostal gifts--Cuneo says exorcism ministries have skyrocketed from a handful in the early 1980s to more than 600 today. ...
"'When anything and everything can be demonic, you are setting yourself up to be a spiritual paranoid,' says Father Mitchell Pacwa, a Jesuit priest and University of Dallas scholar who has studied exorcisms for 25 years.
"Cuneo attributes the apparent rise in exorcism requests to popular culture. From the 1973 release of the movie 'The Exorcist,' which was re-released last month, to Harry Potter books today, an endless string of films, books and TV talk shows has made the occult part of general discourse, he says. ...
"America's most well publicized Catholic exorcist, Father James LeBar of New York, agrees--to a point. 'The Exorcist' publicized the possibility of possession and the fact that the church could help, he says, fueling the growth in requests for services.
"But the larger driving force is a rise of Satanic cults, music and other malevolent influences that has opened more people to evil, he believes.
"A decade ago, LeBar received no requests for exorcisms; today he is referred to 25 to 30 cases a month. ...
"LeBar says only 5% to 10% of all cases he examines warrant an exorcism.
"Despite that screening, Richard Woods, a Catholic priest and psychotherapist with Loyola Hospital in Chicago, says he has examined hundreds of cases and has not yet found one that convinced him of genuine demonic possession.
"Even the celebrated St. Louis case on which the book 'The Exorcist' was based has been grossly exaggerated, Woods says. The psychotherapist was able to read the eyewitness note taker's confidential transcript of the 1949 exorcism and found nothing more dramatic than 'a frightened boy' of 13. ...
"Hanegraaff adds a theological twist, arguing fiercely that Christians cannot be possessed by demons at all because they are filled with the superior power of the Holy Spirit. The fact that so many Christians believe otherwise demonstrates an appalling degree of Bible illiteracy, he says.
"By contrast, Landry at Harvest Rock says demons may enter anyone who sins.
"And Larson not only believes Christians can be possessed, but he also has developed an elaborate system explaining how. ...
"In 1994, Biola University in La Mirada began a course on exorcism and the related concept of 'spiritual warfare,' which primarily views the Christian life as one of battle between God and Satan.
"Last week, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena convened the first in a yearlong series of meetings among its schools of psychology, theology and missions to begin exploring how to train its future ministers to deal with the controversial topic.
"Among other things, says Fuller Provost Russell Spittler, some of the school's Asian faculty had expressed dismay that spiritual warfare proponents are overtaking churches in South Korea." Los Angeles Times, Oct 31 '00, pA1. http://www.latimes.com/l
HINDUISM
Hinduism Today magazine is launching "the first all-Hindu news service: Hindu Press International. HPI is a "summary of Hindu news and events drawn from Internet and print sources around the world. It appears about 20 times each month. HPI covers all types of news which impacts or involves Hindus, but is non-political and non-sectarian." To join send e-mail to: <hpi_list-on@hindu.org> or see <http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/>
INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES OF CHRIST
"The Proliferation of a Movement, Part II" by Danny Aguirre -- the conclusion of last year's instantly classic SCP Journal article (23:2/3) using the same title. This essay is made up of sections discussing the ICC's revision of church history, exclusivism, hermeneutics, "coming of the kingdom" emphasis, "theological incoherence," persuasion, sotierology, and authoritarianism. A list of resources at the end of the article recommends <http://www.reveal.org>, <http://www.tolc.org>. Following this is the four-page sidebar "Refuting Baptismal Regeneration: An Inductive Bible Study." Substantial. SCP Journal, 24:2/3 - 2000, pp44-61.
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
David Reed's Comments from the Friends newsletter has released its final print edition (Vol. XIX, No. 4, October/December 2000). Future issues will be online at <http://www.cftc.com>. This last printed edition features "Jehovah's Witnesses Must Still Refuse Blood or Be Punished Despite 'U-Turn' Reported in Media" (p2).
RELIGION, GENERAL
"Top 10 Religion Sites" (no byline) -- Galaxy, an Internet subject directory (www.galaxy.com), recently conducted a month-long review of Web sites, rating them in 30 categories and coming up with a "Top 10" list of finalists. Criteria included thoroughness, creativity, organization, loading speed, graphics and uniqueness. The site maintained by Christianity.com. was judged the winner in the religion category. Here is the complete list of religion finalists:
* - Baha'i World: www.bahai.org
* - Beliefnet: www.beliefnet.com
* - BuddhaNet.net: www.buddhanet.net
* - Catholic Online: www.catholic.org
* - Christianity.com: www.christianity.com
* - Hindu Universe: www.hindunet.org
* - IslamiCity: www.islamicity.org
* - Medea's Chariot--The Opinionated Pagan Research Center:
nexus.mnic.net/rajchd
* - Sikhism: www.sikhs.org
* - Torah.net: torah.net
The above text constitutes the entire entry. Washington Post, Nov 4 '00, pB9. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12348-2000Nov4.html>
SPIRITISM
"A Voice From the Other Side" by Ruth La Ferla -- reports that "[a] Gallup poll found that 20 percent of respondents in 1996 believed the dead could contact the living. Another 22 percent allowed that it might be possible - a willingness to suspend disbelief that has lent one of the oldest of the psychic arts a new luster.
"'Without a doubt, visiting spirit mediums is becoming amazingly popular,' said Cathy Cash Spellman, whose novel 'Bless the Child,' about a spiritually gifted little girl, was made into a film with Kim Basinger that was released over the summer. ...
"Ms. Spellman attributed the heightened interest in mediums - or spiritists, as they like to call themselves - to a spillover from the growing interest in alternative medicine and Eastern spirituality. ...
"'They're talking to angels,' [Spellman] added. 'At that rate, why not talk to the dead?' ...
"'There is something in our culture today that is more accepting of things you can't quite get your mind around,' said Bonnie Hammer, the executive vice president of the Sci-Fi Channel on the USA cable network, which last summer introduced 'Crossing Over With John Edward,' a talk show whose host attempts to relay messages from departed souls to audience members. It has gained a cult following. ...
"Uncanny messages and occult encounters ... form the backbone of inspirational books, including 'Life on the Other Side' by Sylvia Browne [3] and One Last Time by Mr. Edward [4], each of which is on a New York Times best-seller list. And they create a subtext for films, including "The Exorcist," recently rereleased, in which a precocious little girl tries to break through to the spirit world via a Ouija board.
"Spiritism has also spawned Web sites like Afterlifecodes.com, on which people can leave encrypted messages for loved ones to decode after they die; a proliferation of Learning Annex seminars; and countless private consultations costing anywhere from $2-per-telephone minute to $300 for a face-to-face meeting with a hot psychic like Mr. Edward, whose show, originally broadcast on Sunday nights, is now on five nights a week. ...
"Today, a renewed preoccupation with the spirit world has been variously ascribed to millennial angst, intimations of mortality among baby boomers and disenchantment with organized religion." New York Times, Oct 29 '00, n.p. <http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/29/living/29DEAD.html>
Sources, Monographs:
1 - Reason for the Hope Within, by Michael J. Murray (Eerdmans, 1998, paperback, 445 pages, ISBN 0-8028-4437-5)
2 - American Exorcism, by Michael W. Cuneo (publisher unknown at this time, hardcover, slated for release in October 2001, ISBN 0385501765)
(Note: Cuneo is also author of Smoke of Satan : Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism [Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr., 1999, paperback, 226 pages, ISBN: 0-8018-6265-5]
3 - Life on the Other Side: A Psychic's Tour of the Afterlife, by Sylvia Browne (E P Dutton, 2000, hardcover, 304 pages (ISBN 0-5259-4539-3)
4 - One Last Time : A Psychic Medium Speaks to Those We Have Loved and Lost, by John Edward (Berkley PG, 2000, paperback, 231 pages, ISBN 0-4251-6692-9)
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