RELIGION IN THE NEWS
A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.This week’s item is from The Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2008, with a headline:“Heaven Help Us, Stars Expound on Scriptures.”The following are excerpts:“In a culture awash in celebrity endorsements, it was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized the value of branding the Bible.A few years ago, Canongate issued the Pocket Canons, individual books of the Bible reprinted with introductions by various cultural luminaries.They were followed up in 2005 by Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible.The contributors to Revelations who are described as scholars, writers, religious figures, and highly influential people are a diverse group.Readers are treated to the rock star Bono’s spiritual musings on the Book of Psalms in which he claims that David performing music for King Saul is similar in spirit to the Spice Girls performing for Prince Charles.David was a star, Bono assures us—the Elvis of the Bible.Writer Kathleen Norris informs this that the Book of Revelation is best understood as prison literature and that it must be reclaimed from ill-informed fundamentalists.The Dalai Lama, reading the New Testament Book of James, compares Buddhist and Christian teachings about charity.And Peter Ackroyd calls Isaiah the highest poetry.But the overarching sensibility of Revelations—the assumption that the imagination of the novelist and the charisma of pop stars entitled them to act as amateur theologians is questionable at best.By contrast, Antonio Monda’s Do You Believe: Conversations on God and Religion tackles the question of belief directly. I asked the people I interviewed to tell me honestly if they think that God exists, and how their answer to the question has affected their choices in life.’Yet, Mr. Manda’s choice of interview subjects—18 literary and cultural celebrities including: Jane Fonda, Richard Ford, Spike Lee, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and Martin Scorsese is telling.Here we discover the motivation behind Ms. Fonda’s decision to convert to Christianity.‘Christ was the first feminist,’ she tells Mr. Monda, ‘and because of that I’ve learned from His teaching to call myself a Christian feminist.’Ms. Fonda informs us that the early Christians were seekers rather than believers, and that her faith is not a matter of traditions and dogmas, but rather a spiritual experience.”
Tom:
Dave, this Wall Street Journal article, February 1, 2008, is very similar to what we—well, I say similar, to what we addressed in the first segment.But now, instead of going to the past we’re going to the future for the future; all of these celebrities, all of these individuals who have a perspective on the Bible, and that sells Bibles.What do you think?
Dave:
Tom, why don’t we get a Muslim to write a commentary on the Bible?
Tom:
Yeah, but the Dalai Lama has a commentary on the Book of James.
Dave:
Yeah, I mean, this is so—do I dare say—stupid?It’s idiotic!What is the point?Do we look to celebrities; do they have some special wisdom?I would say most of them, from the lives they live, and wow—what they do with their private lives, and so forth, does not show much in the way of wisdom—and certainly a lot of immorality, and they are not the kind of people you would want to comment on the Bible.
Tom:
Well, Dave, these are like the Roman gods and goddess.They’re interesting, they’re fascinating, people are drawn to them, but they’re messed up, big time!
Dave:
Tom, I don’t find them interesting, in fact, but many people do.
Tom:
Just go through the check out line at the grocery store, they are stacked up there.Well, Dave, again, I’m not saying some of these people aren’t sincere when they create these bibles.Certainly money is involved, that may be the bottom line here, but some people say, well look—just as long as we can get the Bible into the hands of the people, you know, let the Bible do its work.Some of these bibles, as we’ve mentioned over the weeks, are not Bibles.
Dave:
Yeah, Let’s take the Renovaré’ Spiritual Formation Bible, very quickly. You don’t have celebrities like this, you have Bible scholars, theologians, and they trash the Bible as badly as these so-called celebrities do.And yet, that’s in the church and Christian leaders recommend it.
Tom:
Dave, what I also find interesting about this is you see the common mentality here.For example, look at Jane Fonda, here’s her quote:Ms. Fonda informs us that the early Christians were “seekers rather than believers” and that her faith is “not a matter of traditions and dogmas, but rather a spiritual experience.”Again, this is the rush to mysticism that we see pervading, not just the church but those who are partaking in Christianity.
Dave:
Faith is supposed to be in Jesus Christ and in His Word, never a matter of dogmas made up by someone or some church or traditions, we’ve dealt with that.
Tom:
So, how does doctrine differ from that, Dave?
Dave:
Doctrine is the container of truth and this is what the Bible is all about. This is what the apostles preached, and it was doctrine.And Paul says to Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 4: “Preach the Word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.”We’ve quoted that many times, but somehow it doesn’t seem to get across to the church, let alone to the Christians leaders who find doctrine boring apparently, and they want to jazz it up with whatever—Let’s find out what the early fathers did, and so forth.Tom, I’ve said it a hundred times; we need to get back to the Bible!
Tom:
Right, and Dave, as you know, the cart that follows doctrine can be a spiritual experience, but it’s got to be based on sound doctrine!