Lee Dunn's List: APOSTATES

• Old Time Religion Ain't What It Used to Be
• Posted:

   

  12/15/09
• When Americans tell pollsters they're Christians, God only knows what they mean, according to two recent surveys of religious belief.
• When researchers from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life looked at belief in eight Eastern or New Age ideas, they found self-described Christians were only a few percentage points behind the rest of the population.
• Belief in astrology was 23 percent among Christians and 25 percent among the rest of the population.
• Belief in reincarnation was 22 percent among Christians and 24 percent among the rest of the population.
• Belief that spiritual energy exists in physical objects like trees or rocks was 23 percent among Christians and 26 percent among the rest of the population.
• That's between a fifth and fourth of the population on each count, which may not sound like much. But then those crafty Pew researchers bundled together the three already mentioned beliefs plus:
  
  

  • Belief in yoga as spiritual practice
  
  • Belief in the "evil eye"
  
  • Having been in touch with the dead
  
  • Consulting a psychic
  
  • Experiencing a ghostly encounter.
  
• What did they find?
• The majority of Christians (60-73 percent) believe in one or more of these, with one exception – white evangelicals.
• And they're not far enough behind to brag about it.
• Forty-seven percent of evangelicals believe or have had experience with one or more of those quite un-Christian ideas.
• What's up?
  
  Globalization. Intermarriage. Travel.
• As a result spirituality, which often includes beliefs based on personal experience and various traditions, is on the rise – inside and outside church walls.
• Two months ago, when Parade magazine published what may be the first national survey focusing on spirituality rather than formal religion, close to a quarter of Americans called themselves "spiritual but not religious." (Full disclosure: I consulted with Parade on the survey and wrote the story.)
• Only 12 percent of Americans said they believed that their religion was the only true one.
• Only 17 percent said their religion comes closest to the truth.
• By far the greatest number, 59 percent, said all religions have validity.
• When asked what is most important about their religion, only 40 percent picked "I believe it is the source of truth."
• Here's one that knocked me over: Only 15 percent of Americans who pray do so because God expects it. They pray because they need help. They like the comfort. It makes them feel good.
• After decades of watching mystical, magical ideas spread across every level of society, I wrote a book about the growing magical community. It was called, Not in Kansas Anymore, playing on Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. She wasn't in Kansas, she was in a magical place.
• The proportion of Americans who say they have interacted with a ghost has doubled over the past 13 years (9 percent in 1996 compared with 18 percent today). Eighteen percent doesn't sound like that many. But it's one out of five. Almost. And there's more.
• The Pew survey also showed a rise in such thinking:
• Nearly half of the public (49 percent) say they have had a religious or mystical experience, defined as a "moment of sudden religious insight or awakening," the Pew survey found.
• Here's the biggest take-away to me – the majority, 30 percent, are unaffiliated with any particular religion.
• "In fact," says the study, "this year's survey finds that religious and mystical experiences are more common today among those who are unaffiliated with any particular religion than they were in the 1960s among the public as a whole (22 percent).
• What's that 30 percent mean? Nobody knows. It could mean that all those kids who get saved at Christian church camps were changed but not enough to keep going to church. Or it could mean that more people outside religion are having religious awakenings than those inside religion.
• It could mean both those things.

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• WILLOW   CREEK WANTS A 'JUST' CHRISTMAS?
• By   Paul Proctor
    December 23, 2009
    NewsWithViews.com
• In a   recent article, The Christian Post reported:
• “Willow Creek Community   Church
• is asking Christ followers to make some new Christmas traditions   this year.”
• Beyond   gift exchanges, family portraits and Christmas carols, the South Barrington,   Ill., megachurch proposes serving the impoverished, visiting the lonely,   and caring for the stranger to make it
• a more "just" Christmas.
• "Just   Christmas" is the title of the prominent church's latest sermon   series.
• The more than 22,000 attendees are being asked to look at their   city and see how things can be made right so the love of Christ shines   through.
• “Just”   is a curious word to associate with Christmas.
• After all, making things   “right” in the world implies that a wrong was committed;
• but   as I understand the scriptures and the fall of man, it is God that was   wronged, not you, me, the “impoverished,” the “lonely”   or the “stranger.”
• So,   why then is Willow Creek calling for a “just” Christmas?
• Why   not a generous Christmas or a compassionate Christmas?
• Serving   others is certainly appropriate for the followers of Jesus Christ, but   since many non-Christians are involved in similar efforts around the world,   it is clear to me that one does not have to be a “Christ follower”   to help with the physical and emotional needs of others.
• The Bible does,   however, teach that we are justified by faith; and without faith, it is   impossible to please God, even with our good works.
• That   said, is it the church’s calling and duty to make things “right”   in this world?
• Is that why Jesus came and died on a cross: to make the   world a more “just” place through our good works;
• or is Willow Creek Community Church merely using Christianity to promote   social justice?
• To many liberals, that’s what Christianity is: religious   socialism.
• And, sometimes truths are used to frame lies behind a façade   of faith where the social gospel is preached.
• And, all the volunteerism Willow Creek can muster among its members at   Christmastime is not going make things “right” or “just”   in a sinful world.
• You   see, the word “just,” is not a synonym for “charity.”
• “But   we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy   rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind,   have taken us away.” – Isaiah 64:6
• Christian   charity denotes the exercise of loving compassion and a self-sacrificing   generosity toward others, especially those in need.
• It is intended to   mirror and teach the unmerited love and grace God has shown for the needy   sinner in His Son Jesus Christ, through His suffering and sacrificial   death on the cross.
• “But   God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,   Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
• But,   calling our Christian service to others “just” suggests that   the “impoverished,” the “lonely” and the “stranger”   are in need because they have been wronged and should therefore be helped   because they deserve it.
• This   subtly twists Christian charity into social engineering, which fits in   perfectly with the transformational Marxist agenda of global governance,   a global economy and a one-world religion –
• now more blatant than   when this columnist first began writing about it 10 years ago.
• Sinners   are not entitled to God’s love and blessing in their lives. It is   death that we deserve for our sin.
• The justice of God toward rebellion   is His wrath.
• If we were to have a “just” Christmas, which   frankly, is an oxymoron, there would be no one left alive to celebrate   it.
• “For   the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through   Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:23
• But   the birth of Jesus Christ is not about justice or fairness – it   is about God generously and compassionately providing a Savior we did   not deserve.
• And, because of God’s unmerited gift to us, we are   spared an eternity of separation and suffering in Hell.
• But,   if we teach the lost and needy through our good works that the service   they receive from us is “just,” will they not also believe   that God’s love and goodness toward them is deserved?
• “For   by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is   the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his   workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before   ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:8-10

• Related   article:

   

  1.   Willow   Creek Church Encourages a 'just' Christmas
• ©   2009 Paul Proctor - All Rights Reserved

• Paul Proctor, a rural resident   of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry,   retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing   important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance   writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com,   he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight   on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on   a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print.  

   

  E-Mail: watchman@usa.com 

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• Christianity and the crash
• posted by  The Editors
• More than a year into one of the worst economic downturns in American history, many minds are still at work connecting the factors that contributed, in one way or another, to the current crisis.
• In the December 2009 issue of The Atlantic, Hanna Rosin added to the debate over the causes of the crash by casting light on the role played by the prosperity gospel—a strain of Christian teaching tens of millions of believers strong, which proclaims that an unfaltering faith in God will lead to monetary and other material blessings in this lifetime.
• In the article, Rosin exposes concrete examples of banks teaming up with prosperity preachers to convert believers into subprime loan customers and examines the underlying structures and themes that maintain the prosperity gospel as a plausible theology for many Americans.
• In light of the questions raised and conclusions put forth in Rosin’s article, we asked several esteemed scholars and journalists: What can we say about the relationship between contemporary Christianity and Americans’ economic attitudes, behaviors, and notions of responsibility?
• We are pleased to offer their responses below.

• Our respondents are:

   

  Anthea Butler, Associate Professor of Religion, University of Pennsylvania

   

  John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology

   

  William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University

   

  Harvey Cox, Research Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School

   

  Michele Dillon, Professor of Sociology, University of New Hampshire

   

  Michael S. Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

   

  D. Stephen Long, Professor of Systematic Theology, Marquette University

   

  Rachel McCleary, Senior Research Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

   

  Sarah Posner, Associate Editor, Religion Dispatches

   

  James K.A. Smith, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College

   

  Mark C. Taylor, Chair of the Department of Religion, Columbia Universiy

   

  Jonathan L. Walton, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, University of California – Riverside

   

  Diane Winston, Knight Chair in Media and Religion, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California

• ______

   

  Anthea Butler, Associate Professor of Religion, University of Pennsylvania
• First, I take issue with “contemporary Christianity” or Christianity being labeled the cause of the Crash.

  • I agree Ms Butler..These friggers from the Left/Liberal have their own "witch hunts" and the imagined "witch" is by and large the Christian or Christian community. Most of these Gas Bags wouldn't know a real Christian if one slapped them between the eyes. I particularly resent someone with the sir name "Rosen" witchhunting Christianity..i.e. a "Jew." And I am not anti-semitic! In fact I am a supporter of Israel by and large. However, criticize Israel or any Jewish community and you are immediately labeled "Anti-Semitic." It is time for the Jews to apply their own rules to every other group. Jews go after Christians; Christians have the right to go after Jews.
  Add Sticky Note
• What is lost in this conversation is Christianity—at least the last time I read the New Testament, it was, in part, about caring for the poor, or “the least of them.”
• This particular “hybrid,” the “prosperity gospel,” is a strand of religious capitalism that has its roots in 19th century thinkers like E.W. Kenyon and 20th century purveyors like Norman Vincent Peale, and Oral Roberts.
• Placing fiscal responsibility in “prooftexting” of biblical scriptures is par for the course for most Americans who consider themselves biblically literate.
• Of course, that depends on what the definition of literacy is for the individual, and that is usually measured against the pastor’s teachings, as Rosin’s article shows.
• Rosin’s article is flawed at points.
• Her assertion that “Roberts’s fame had faded by the late 1980s, and prosperity preaching briefly imploded soon after” is just wrong.
• On the contrary, Prosperity preaching maintained a certain presence. What were Frederick K.C.Price, John Osteen (Joel Osteen’s dad) Kenneth Hagin, and Kenneth and Gloria Copeland doing in the last half of the 1980’s? Twiddling their thumbs?
• Much like the foreclosure crisis, the elements of this so called “implosion” have continued to be active within churches in America and around the globe. A useful exercise is to show how the financial market’s optimism and pyramid schemes had their counterparts in these types of churches on a global level.
• The upshot is that whatever American beliefs about responsibility, economics, and fiscal behaviors are, they are trumped by the belief that God is in the business of blessing, not cursing, and praying in the name of Jesus will get you a hundredfold return if you just give 10% or more.
• Prosperity is not merely an “American issue” but a global one.

• ______

   

  John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology
• The Biblical tradition is a two-edged sword.
• There is much in the Bible that connects the right relation with God to prosperity, long life, and many descendants.
• The idea that virtue pays is not a monopoly of the biblical tradition, but it certainly gets support there, and participants in the tradition can exploit such “good news” and have done so.
• This has paid off for the exploiters especially well in the context of American capitalism.
• The general idea, so prevalent in our society, that our system rewards intelligence, discipline, and hard work, has been religiously transformed and amplified by the prosperity gospel. No doubt this contributes to the consumerism that in turn makes living beyond one’s means acceptable.
• There is another tradition in the Bible that the “prophetic” one, that condemns this idea. In this tradition the reason for faith in God is not that this will lead to personal prosperity but that God loves us despite our unworthiness and calls us to love God and, therefore, the whole of creation.
• We serve our neighbors not because this is good policy but because our neighbors, and that is everyone, are beloved of God. This message is not popular, and some of the prophets were killed for their pains.
• Jesus stood in this tradition and died on a cross. He condemned the quest for wealth in no uncertain terms.
• Some Christians who condemn the quest for prosperity in this life have emphasized otherworldly rewards for virtue. But Jesus taught that the basileia theou (the “Kingdom,” or “Commonwealth,” of God on earth) is worth our sacrifice whatever happens to us here or beyond).
• Jesus’s true followers are those who out of love seek the common good here and now.
• Many of them do find joy and personal fulfillment in such a life, but they seek first the Commonwealth of God.

• ______

   

  William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University
• An evangelical-neoliberal machine created the recent economic crisis.
• Launched as early as 1981, upon the election of Reagan and publication of George Gilder’s Wealth and Poverty, this complex set the United States on a destructive and predatory course.
• The link between the right edge of neoliberalism and a large swath of evangelicals is twofold.
• The first link is through complementary beliefs. The right edge of neoliberalism presents the market as a self-balancing mechanism that retains its beauty as long as the state is limited to regulating the money supply, providing defense, punishing crime, and obstructing labor unions and consumer movements.
• And does evangelicalism? Gilder and other religious marketeers identify more volatility and chanciness in the market than neoliberals do, but they maintain the belief that it is subtended by divine providence.
• These two sets of beliefs, taken together, license investment adventurism and consumption excess, just as they oppose state efforts to tame both.

• ______

   

  Harvey Cox, Research Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School

• I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.

   

  Jesus, Gospel of John 10:10

   

  Thus the Lord blessed the end of Job’s life more than the beginning: he had fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and as many she donkeys.

   

  Job 42:12
• A bountiful life on earth in addition to eternal salvation has always been integral to the Good News. It is inequality that the Bible condemns, the denial of distributive justice.
• Biblical faith has nothing against either prosperity or abundance.
• The reason it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God is not that he enjoys worldly goods, but that he enjoys them at the expense of the poor.
• To the man who had two coats, the exhortation to give one to the poor might move him to share, but to the person who has no coat it states a claim he can legitimately make on someone who has a closetful.
• In the Bible, prosperity trumps poverty. The voluntary poverty of St. Francis or of Vincent de Paul was admirable. And it no doubt helped them to understand the bereft people they sought to serve.
• But both knew quite well that involuntary poverty is ugly and degrading. When it is voluntary, poverty is a choice; but when it is not, it feels like a curse.
• Can anyone expect a hungry mother of three in a fetid slum of Recife or Lagos to respond to a message about the spiritual benefits of poverty?

• ______

   

  Michele Dillon, Professor of Sociology, University of New Hampshire
• Of the many varied ways Christian scripture has been used throughout history to give sacred legitimacy to particular interests and political agendas, the notion that God will reward the faith-filled with material riches has always struck me as particularly pernicious pseudo-theology.
• I personally recoil at the term “prosperity gospel.”
• The Bible is certainly a document open to many diverse interpretations and there is ambiguity in several of its passages. Yet there is little equivocation in its core message that the good life is not one defined by material acquisition and ostentatious consumption but by purposeful acts motivated by generosity and concern for others.
• The Sermon on the Mount is supposed to make Christians focus on loving their neighbor, not their Mercedes Benz.
• I appreciate, nonetheless, the hold of the prosperity gospel in contemporary American society. Hanna Rosin notes that prosperity gospel churches flourish in Sun Belt states with high levels of home foreclosures.
• It may be more relevant to note that these states (e.g., Florida and Arizona) also have high levels of migration and population instability. These factors make it harder for individuals to find protective buffers against the many persuasive get-rich-quick sales agents and schemes in contemporary society.
• In unsettled times, unsettled people are vulnerable to siren calls, however well veiled by prosperity pastors, loan officers, hedge fund managers, or reality television producers.
• I don’t think we should see the prosperity gospel as a cause of the recent recession, but one among several elements in our entrepreneurial culture promising salvation through short-term investments and wishful thinking that defer the debts of accountability and responsibility toward others.

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