Theology in the News

Randy Alcorn takes Christian leaders and organization to task for their dishonesty. Among other things, he talks about Christian “ghostwriting.” This is the process of having a book written with another person’s name on it. Concerning this he says:

I believe Christian ghostwriting is a scandal waiting to explode. If we in the Christian community don’t clean up our act soon, we’re going to face widespread loss of credibility. What a tragedy if 60 Minutes were to expose this practice we should never have tolerated. Can’t you see Steve Kroft or Ed Bradley holding up a book and asking well-known Christian authors, “Did you really write this book?” Envision the neatly edited scenes of embarrassment, head-hanging, evasions, rationalizations, and reports that “so-and-so author and publisher wouldn’t return our calls.”

This could be a major setback for Christian publishers and authors at the very time Christian books have made unprecedented inroads into the mainstream culture. We need to confess, repent of, and change our policies—and stop being driven by money-love and ego building.

If we’re not telling the truth about who wrote the book—on the cover, in large print—why should people believe what we say inside the book, in small print?

Read the rest here.

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More kids are leaving the faith of their parents and not returning. Drew Dyck discusses this in his latest piece at Christianity Today:

“What pushed them out? Again, the reasons for departing in each case were unique, but I realized that most leavers had been exposed to a superficial form of Christianity that effectively inoculated them against authentic faith. When sociologist Christian Smith and his fellow researchers examined the spiritual lives of American teenagers, they found most teens practicing a religion best called “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” which casts God as a distant Creator who blesses people who are “good, nice, and fair.” Its central goal is to help believers “be happy and feel good about oneself.”

Where did teenagers learn this faith? Unfortunately, it’s one taught, implicitly and sometimes explicitly, at every age level in many churches. It’s in the air that many churchgoers breathe, from seeker-friendly worship services to low-commitment small groups. When this naive and coldly utilitarian view of God crashes on the hard rocks of reality, we shouldn’t be surprised to see people of any age walk away.”

Read the rest.

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Not likely. Some resent interviews to

“If anything, my contempt for the false consolation of religion has increased since I became aware that I probably don’t have very long to live,” he replies.

Since Hitchens’ cancer diagnosis in June, he has received thousands of letters and e-mails, some from believers asserting that he’s getting what he deserves, more from people saying they’re praying for his recovery. Hitchens says he has been overwhelmed by the outpouring. But he is annoyed that some writers hope he’ll have a last-minute conversion to Christianity.

“Under no persuasion could I be made to believe that a human sacrifice several thousand years ago vicariously redeems me from sin,” he says. “Nothing could persuade me that that was true — or moral, by the way. It’s white noise to me.”

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The Liberty Council has put together a list of stores that support Christmas . . . and those that don’t, but want your business anyway. The idea behind this naughty and nice list is to help concerned citizens choose to support those stores that support Christmas rather than support the stores that don’t support the idea of Christmas, but enjoy the money they can make from those who do support the idea of Christmas.

Among the “naughty stores”:

77kids – “An American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. brand. Web site: Wish 4 Snow and Spread the holiday love themes on home page. Gift Guide populates to numerous click-throughs with “Christmas” not mentioned anywhere on site. “Christmas” search produced 0 items. American Eagle traditionally “Christmas” unfriendly.

aerie – An American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. brand. Web site: Christmas not mentioned anywhere on site. “Christmas” search produced 0 items. Company unusually “Christmas-unfriendly.”

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. – Web site: Holiday Catalog 2010 on home page and search yielded no “Christmas” items. Entire site purged from “Christmas” references.

Athleta – A Gap, Inc. brand. 2010 Web site: Winter snow theme but does not mention “Christmas.” Search yielded no “Christmas” items. Company does not promote “Christmas” in stores or other advertisements.

Banana Republic – A Gap, Inc. brand. Web site: Again, winter snow theme with no mention of “Christmas.” Company purged “Christmas” in stores or other advertisements.

CVS/pharmacy – Web site: Give More, Save More this holiday season on home page. Link populates to more holiday links but no “Christmas” links. Even “Christmas” items were renamed holiday. CVS does not appear to promote “Christmas.”

See the list here.

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A New Jersey pastor is telling his flock to give up Facebook. The AP reports that Reverend Cedric Miller of the Living Word Christian Fellowship Church has been hearing of Facebook causing problems in marriages.

“I’ve been in extended counseling with couples with marital problems because of Facebook for the last year and a half,” he said. “What happens is someone from yesterday surfaces, it leads to conversations and there have been physical meet-ups. The temptation is just too great.”

Miller says he plans to delete his Facebook account, and order his 50 married church officials to do the same. Previously he had advised couples to share Facebook passwords.

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The American Academy of Religion is familiar with religious diversity. As part of their mission statement they hope to facilitate ”ongoing reflection upon and understanding of religious traditions, issues, questions, and values.”

But what about the Paranormal? What about Alien abduction? This is the objection posed by Jeffrey J. Kripal, a professor of religion at Rice University in Houston. He is described as ”a renegade advocate for including the paranormal in religious studies.” His new book, “Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred” (University of Chicago Press), is all about trying to convince his peers about the validity of studying the “fringe” supernatural.

Maybe the Ghost Hunter will be presenting at AAR next year. It actually might bring some life to it.

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“The most religious Americans also have the highest rates of well-being, according to a new Gallup survey.

The finding is based on a survey of more than 550,000 people about their physical and emotional health and their work environment.

Overall, the very religious received a score on Gallup’s well-being index of 68.7 percent, while both the moderately religious and the nonreligious received a score of 64.2 percent. The very religious were defined as those who said religion is an important part of their daily lives and they attend worship services at least every week or almost every week.

Researchers did not determine why the very religious had higher levels of health and happiness.

“It is possible that Americans who have higher well-being may be more likely to choose to be religious than those with lower well-being,” the organization said in a report announcing the findings.

But it is also possible that being religious can contribute to higher levels of personal well-being.”

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