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And Now For Something Completely Different: Focus on the Family vs. John Cleese

Monday, February 22, 2010

screwtapeIf there’s one thing Monty Python star John Cleese and Focus on the Family agree on, it’s that hell is a decidedly British place.

At least, that’s what one might assume after hearing their competing audio interpretations of C.S. Lewis’ classic book, The Screwtape Letters.

John Cleese’s masterful interpretation of Screwtape is full of all the eloquence and humor we’ve come to expect from the Python master.  His off-the-wall demeanor is well suited to the unusual subject matter, and his ability to transition swiftly between the light-hearted and the dour makes for a reading that is both laugh-out-loud funny and truly terrifying at almost the same time.

Focus on the Family’s latest Lewisian drama departs somewhat from the original text, providing not merely an audiobook but rather a full-cast dramatization of the work.  Andy Serkis of Lord of the Rings fame presents a chilling performance of Screwtape, while Bertie Carvel portrays a properly subservient Wormwood.

It’s a beautifully performed drama, with relatively minimal departures from the book.  Rather than corresponding, for example, Screwtape and Wormwood plot and pander in person-an adaptation that makes for some impressive sound effects when Screwtape inadvertently transforms himself into a large centipede.  These, combined with an original score composed for the production, make for a experience that small children may find too frightening for comfort.  Given the subject matter, this is probably just as well.

It’s also a beautifully packaged drama; Cleese may give Serkis a run for his money rhetorically, but it would be difficult to match Focus on the Family’s choice of artists and typographers.  The set of five discs includes a DVD presentation of behind-the-scenes footage of making  The Screwtape Letters, and a playlist of original songs composed for the drama and inspired by the text.

It’s such a beautiful production, in fact, that one wonders what the point is.  Why should one dramatize a perfectly readable book?  Much as I enjoyed this audio presentation, I can’t help being bothered by the fact that this new interpretation puts a barrier between reader and text that simply isn’t necessary.  There are definite advantages to audio books, but books read aloud are generally best when presented simply and eloquently, as John Cleese does so well in his Screwtape.

Then again, this is a story about hell in all its fury.  Perhaps a little distance is wise after all.

Thank you to Tyndale for providing me with a free copy of this work in exchange for my candid review.

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Declare the Word in Zion: America and the Middle East

Monday, February 22, 2010

flagsRelations between the United States and the Middle East have always been complicated.  Given that the Middle East enjoys complicated relationships with every other region in the world as well-including itself-this should come as no surprise.

On 9/11, however, many Americans were surprised.  In the days just after the attack laymen and newscasters alike tried to explain the disaster with theories ranging from the absurd to the offensive.  Former President Bill Clinton, for example, was quick to point to the assumed cruelty of Western Crusaders when searching for an explanation-this despite the fact that, as Rodney Stark points out, Muslim ire regarding the Crusades is a relatively recent phenomenon which did not become intense until after the state of Israel was founded.

The average American pre-9/11 knew hardly anything about the Middle East, let alone the region’s Gordian relationship with our own nation.  He knows a little more now-though usually not enough to help him really understand the many difficulties we have faced in the region.  This puts him at a severe disadvantage because, troop withdrawal deadlines notwithstanding, the age-old conflicts between West and East aren’t going to become simpler anytime soon.

Ambassador Michael Oren’s Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present offers the first comprehensive historical treatment of the United States’ involvement in the Middle East.  Ambassador Oren unpacks and explains the complexity of our relations with the region in a book that is fascinating, easy to read, and vigorously well researched.  He is well qualified to do so; a graduate of Columbia and Princeton and a visiting lecturer at Harvard and Yale, the American-born Ambassador is also Israel’s highest-ranking official in the United States.

Though he lives in Jerusalem, Ambassador Oren is well acquainted with Western perceptions of the Middle East-a good thing, since his book addresses not only the factual chronology of political conflicts and alliances, but also the evolution of the West’s perceptions of the mythically exotic setting for 1001 Arabian Nights. It also addresses the 19th century exodus of protestant missionaries, zealous to convert the infidels in the holy land, be they Muslims or long-standing members of the Orthodox Church.

America’s fascination with the Middle East, argues Oren, began not with 9/11, not with the discovery of oil in the region, not with 19th century protestant missionary endeavors, and not even with the Barbary Wars:

“Come, let us declare in zion the word of God,” proclaimed William Bradford, the future governor of the Plymouth Colony, as he stepped off the Mayflower in 1620.  Bradford was quoting Jeremiah, but “Zion,” for him, was not the old Promised Land of Canaan but its new incarnation, America.  Its inhabitants were not the ancient Israelites but the 101 passengers who had arrived with Bradford, his fellow Puritans.” (p. 83)

The Puritans, explains Oren, fiercely identified with and embraced the Israelites’ mythic escape from Egyptian oppression and search for a Promised Land.  These colonists, familiar as they were with Old Testament descriptions of the Holy Land, “superimposed the map of the old Canaan over the new one they now settled.” (p. 84)

America and Israel, in other words, were joined together mythically, spiritually, and, in a sense, even geographically, in innumerable ways long before they had any political dealings with each other.  As much as the public might like to ignore the problems in the Middle East post-9/11, we are inescapably married to them-and we always have been.  We can withdraw our troops from the region, but we can’t erase the results of centuries of complex American victories and defeats in the Middle East-nor should we.  Fortunately, Ambassador Oren and his writings will continue to avail those who wish to understand the background to the  innumerable challenges that always have and probably always will challenge our relationship with the Middle East.

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Barack Obama: The Populist Professor?

Friday, January 29, 2010

Last night’s State of the Union address changed nothing, aside from Chris Matthews’ eyesight, which I trust has returned to normal.  President Obama is still committed to the same unpopular policies that have left him with a dropping approval rating, and he “won’t quit”.

Neither will Republicans, despite-or perhaps because of-the verbal reprimand they received last night:

“Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership.  We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.”

Despite his pledge to “show the American people we can do it together”, the President has firmly refused to rethink the fundamentally divisive policies Republicans have voted against.  In a way, there’s nothing wrong with that.  President Obama is consistently a leftist, through and through.  He absolutely believes what he preaches, and his apparent refusal to compromise on his core beliefs should come as no surprise-it should, however, serve as a warning to Republicans, whose recent victory in Massachusetts has left some emboldened and others in danger of becoming over-confident.

In light of that, it’s odd that Obama chose to compare himself with President Reagan.  He’s certainly no Reagan politically-nor should he claim to be, if he wants his actions to be consistent with his beliefs.  As time has worn on and the now-famous teleprompter has been a player in so many political dramas this year, we’ve learned that he’s not even much like Reagan rhetorically.  It made sense for a candidate Obama to try to link his name with that of Reagan, but as a sitting President who is thoroughly committed to the very leftist ideals Reagan eschewed, it’s a little strange.

Even more strange were Obama’s populist appeals spoken in his habitually professorial tone.  Believe it or not, it’s hard to be intelligent in America-especially if you are a politician.  No one wants to be stupid, but neither do you want to come across as too smart-at least not if you want people to like you.  Bill Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar, but fortunately for him he was also very good at acting like “one of the guys”.  This let him make full use of his intelligence without appearing stuffy or abnormal in ways that would have hurt his political career.

President Obama, on the other hand, is decidedly academic in both tone and demeanor.  While watching last night’s speech, Chris Matthews says he forgot our President was black.  I nearly forgot he wasn’t one of the visiting lecturers who used to speak for Capitol Hill interns on the house floor when Congress was out of session.

This academic approach obviously works for the younger generations, or at least it did during the election; 66 percent of the 29 and under crowd voted for Obama.  Will his populist appeals also work, or will his habitual aura of superior intelligence turn more and more voters off as they become accustomed to his habits?

Only time-and the next election results-will tell.  Meanwhile, Republicans can rest assured that they can expect more of the same liberal policies they’ve been fighting, without let-up and without compromise.  And unless the GOP manages to utterly take over the Congress in the next election cycle, Chris Matthews can expect to need glasses.

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Global Warming Facts, Fiction, and Freedom

Monday, January 25, 2010

j0437292

Global warming might be real, but that doesn’t mean you have to do anything about it.  If fact, if your actions are motivated by guilt or fear, Katharine Hayhoe and Andrew Farley would rather you didn’t act at all.

Hayhoe and Farley are the authors of A Climate For Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions.  Though I am personally still skeptical of many global warming claims, it’s hard to imagine a team more qualified to write this book.  Katharine Hayhoe is a scientist and professor whose research has been used by the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.S. Congress, various state and federal agencies, and over two hundred newspapers and media outlets worldwide.  Andrew Farley is a pastor, professor, and the author of The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church.  Together, this husband-wife team combines a clear presentation of scientific findings with a Biblically-centered interpretation and call to action.

A Climate for Change argues that, despite what many evangelicals may still tell you, climate change is real-and it’s happening now.

The authors begin by addressing several of the most common objections to the theory of climate change, arguing that these objections are neither scientifically founded nor realistic.  They pay particular attention to some common evangelical objections, recognizing that this is a sticky subject for many Conservatives and for many Christians:

As Christians, we’re naturally suspicious of people who believe differently from us.  How can such activists-those whose voices have so often been raised against us on fundamental issues like family and the sanctity of life-have anything worthwhile to say about the environment?

In the past, we may have seen climate change used as a political tool on the part of this party or that organization to manipulate and get what they want.  Our hesitations are justified.  It’s hard to trust information from sources we feel might manipulate facts to suit their political agenda.

But the issue of climate change really is different.  It’s not about blue politics or red politics or any kind of politics.  It’s about thermometer readings and history.  It’s about facts and figures.  It’s about reality.  And that’s what we want to explore with you in this book. (p. XV)

For one thing, many have objected to claims of global warming because of severe cold weather conditions.  It’s hard to take global warming seriously, for example, in the middle of a severe snowstorm.  This, argue the authors, is due to a misunderstanding of the fundamental difference between climate and weather:

Don’t let your memory of some recent extremes, whether hot or cold, influence whether you believe global warming is really happening.  The reality is that global warming is about long-term changes in climate, measured over many decades or more.  It’s not about short-term changes that we see in the weather from one day to the next, or even from year to year. (p. 59)

Thanks to the recent “Climate-gate” scandal, global warming facts and fiction are more difficult than ever for the public to distinguish.  This book was released in October 2009, just before the email scandal broke, so it’s unclear how or whether the facts cited might be different had the book been written today.  The authors do mention, however, that the facts on which they base their claims are both old and indisputable.  They quote Sir John Houghton:

I’ve worked with hundreds of scientists and the vast majority…know that it is happening and understand the science.  The basic science after all is very old science; it’s been known for two hundred years that we are as warm as we are at the moment because of greenhouse gases.  If you put up more of these gases, the world become warmer.  There is no doubt about that from a physics point of view or from a basic science point of view.  No scientist who knows anything will dispute that. (p. 67)

The final section of A Climate for Change contains both common-sense lifestyle change suggestions and some good teaching on Christian social responsibility.  Caring for the earth, the authors argue, is a way of caring for the poor, since they are the people most directly impacted by environmental changes.  People cannot redeem the earth-only God can do that, and he certainly does not need our help.  On top of that, he never commanded the New Testament Church to care for the natural world.  Even the commands found in Genesis 1:27-31 are more general than is sometimes assumed:

If we’re honest, there really is nothing here beyond be fruitful, increase, rule over the animals, and eat anything you want. Furthermore, if we conclude that there is an ecological mandate for today within this passage, then we must equally conclude that our mandate is to have more and more children and to increase the world’s population.  This would, in turn, contribute to more climate change and environmental issues, not diminish them. (p. 133)

While the authors would like you to believe their claims about global warming, they do not want you to act without proper motivation.  Far from imposing a guilt trip on their readers, Hayhoe and Farley instead advocate simple, common-sense, money-saving solutions that will inevitably benefit both you and your neighbors even if nothing is wrong with the climate-and they suggest that you make no changes at all if you are acting out of a sense of guilt:

…the true Christian message is one of freedom of choice, not guilt of duty… The moment we adopt any action out of obligation, we set the wheels of human effort in motion.  Then it is no longer Christ in us and Christ through us.  Instead, it is merely the human-driven notions of philanthropy or activism…If you decide you don’t want to individually contribute to a solution to climate change, so be it.  You are free in Christ to decide that.  Conversely, if you as an individual decide to make decisions that will help, that is great.  You won’t earn status points with God.  (p. 139)

I still don’t know whether global warming is real.  Hayhoe and Farley believe it is, but as a non-scientist I am not qualified to critique their evidence.  I do know, however, that if I’m going to continue in my skepticism I’ll have to find some new arguments, as A Climate for Change effectively dismantled my previous assumptions.  The book is worth reading no matter what you believe about the global warming debate-and who knows, you may find, like me, that you don’t know as much about the subject as you thought you did.

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Introverts in the Church: Ministering to People Who Hate Parties

Sunday, January 17, 2010

introverts-in-the-churchHello, my name is Rachel, and I am an introvert.

There are more of us than you might think. In fact, it’s thought that we are the majority with 50.7 % of the population.  And we don’t all fit the awkward-wallflower stereotype; introversion and extroversion indicate whether a person is sapped or energized by social interaction, not their personal preference for it.  With so many introverts in the world, you’d think we’d be well represented in society and especially in ministry-but, thanks perhaps in part to our natural tendency to keep to ourselves, this simply isn’t the case.

We are an often misunderstood group.  Freud, for example, believed introversion was just a few steps away from the unhealthy self-infatuation of narcissism.  Those who are naturally gregarious often misinterpret natural introverted tendencies.  Pair a societal bias towards extroversion with an evangelism-driven church culture and you have a lot of burned-out introverts who try so hard to be like their extroverted friends that they hardly even know their own gifts.

Fortunately, Adam McHugh’s Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture offers, among other things, both an accessible explanation of the differences between extroversion and introversion, and a plan of action for those whose extrovert-driven churches have left them spiritually dry.  McHugh argues that introverts have many unique and valuable contributions to offer a church that is too often driven by endless activity and shallow relationships.  Far from being natural wallflowers destined to evangelistic impotence, for example, introverted Christians can communicate the gospel to an entire portion of the population - other introverts - for whom traditional evangelistic methods are unappealing and ineffective.  Introverts can also help remind a frenetic congregation how to slow down, rest, relax, and draw strength directly from Jesus and his word, not just from church activities:

In an increasingly fragmented, fast-paced, chatter-filled world, I consider the greatest gift introverts bring to the world and to the church to be a longing for depth. Spiritually mature introverts offer an alternative to our contemporary lifestyle, one that is thoughtful, imaginative, and slower. (p. 69)

At the same time, however, introverts must be careful not to let their natural habits distract from the growth and relationship-building that are necessary to build a healthy church:

Understanding our introversion is not the end of our self-discovery and growth; it is a beginning point for learning how to love God and others as ourselves… We find wholeness as we engage in what have traditionally been called the “outward” disciplines, such as fellowship, celebration, service and confession to others… we are not aiming to become extroverts; we still firmly remain introverts and have a preference toward solitude.  Our goal, rather, is to stretch our personality preferences without distorting them. (p. 59-60)

Introverts in the Church is a tremendously practical book that will help bring healing to introverts and extroverts alike by explaining how the differences between the two personalities can play out both physically and spiritually, and by offering a clear plan of action for those introverts whose own spirituality mystifies them.  Perhaps the best part of the book is the discussion of the “introverts’ rule of life”, a set of habits designed to enhance and make intentional an introvert’s own approach to spirituality:

A rule of life is an ancient practice; it is a way of structuring life in order to bring every aspect under God’s gracious authority and to increase our awareness that all of life is permeated by God’s presence… While people of all personality bents will find a rule helpful, introverts in particular can benefit from the order and discipline it offers…. I propose the following questions for helping other introverts discover their own rules of life:

1.    What are the times of day when I feel the most energized?

2.    When do I feel the most tired?

3.    How much sleep do I need?

4.    What are the physical habits that energize me? drain me?

5.    When do I most feel the need for solitude?

6.    How do I find soul rest?

7.    What are the spiritual disciplines where I feel most restored by God?

8.    What are the relationships in which I feel the most refreshed? the most drained?

McHugh also warns his readers of some common traps introverts often fall into, offering practical insights into these dilemmas.  For example, introverts tend to withdraw from relational conflict because they are not as verbally quick on their feet as extroverts.  This can lead to further tensions and can make it difficult to sort out real problems; on the other hand, when introverts learn to approach conflict appropriately, their habitual tendency to be composed and calm can prevent difficult situations from escalating, and their comparative verbal slowness can give them time to act diplomatically.

McHugh argues that the church would benefit from a careful rethinking of its assumptions about who is fit for leadership.  A societal bias against introversion has leaked into the church, which has a noticeable preference for gregarious, extroverted pastors.  Fortunately, he says, both the church at society are beginning to see the advantages introverted leaders can bring:

“…the door of the leadership world has been opened to introverts and the strengths they have to offer.  Though extroverts may continue to be seen as “ideal” leaders and introverts may have feelings of displacement in leadership positions, the fact is there are introverts leading in the corporate world, in in non-profit organizations, and in the church… In fact, a recent USA Today article reports that four in ten top executives are introverts, and in a 2006 Barna study, 24 percent of Protestant senior pastors self-identified as introverts.” (p. 128)

McHugh’s observations are paired with suggestions for how introverts might utilize their unique gifts to evangelize effectively in ways that extroverts cannot.  Introverts in the Church is a much needed resource that will hopefully lead to an examination of traditional evangelism methods and of social attitudes within the church.

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God’s Battalions: Those Other Caped Crusaders

Sunday, January 17, 2010

crusadersmoslemsRemember the days just after 9/11 when many claimed the West was finally paying for its crimes against Muslims during the Crusades?  They were wrong - and they weren’t the first to misunderstand what happened during the years of fighting between Christian Crusaders and Muslim soldiers.

Rodney Stark’s newest book, God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades, helps explain and dispel several of the most common myths about the crusades - and he has quite a few myths to choose from.  Rather than making new claims about the period, Stark instead summarizes much of the historical work already done on the crusades, providing an easy to read and relatively brief synthesis of events which have always been easy to misunderstand.   The book is a well-written and balanced introduction to the subject and to several of the most prominent interpretations of the source materials.

The crusades ended in the 13th century, but even so the image of the chain-mail garbed man with his emblematic red cross still permeates our popular culture.  Our children play with Lego crusaders.  Some enjoy crusader video games.  Crusader costumes are available for all ages, and the iconic image of the crusader may be found in both cartoons and popular movies - but what do most of us actually know about these men and about their fight?

Not much - at least not much that is accurate, argues Stark. And this is nothing new.  For one thing, it has often been assumed that the crusaders were motivated by greed rather than piety.  Why else would tens of thousands of men travel so far and leave their homes for so long?  Surely they expected to gain from their exploits, right?

Wrong.  Actually, points out Stark, crusading was prohibitively expensive - so expensive that it was virtually impossible to make a profit as a crusader:

“The best estimate is that a typical crusader needed to raise at least four or five times his annual income before he could set forth.  This reveals the absurdity of all claims that the crusaders were mostly landless younger sons, since it would have been cheaper for families to have kept such sons at home and provided them with an adequate inheritance.” (p. 113)

Far from being the hot-headed, blood-thirsty imperialists historians have often envisioned, most crusaders were primarily motivated by their faith:

“Had the crusaders been motivated not by religion but by land and loot, the knights of Europe would have responded earlier, in 1063, when Pope Alexander II proposed a Crusade to drive the infidel Muslims out of Spain.  Unlike the Holy Land, Moorish Spain was extremely wealthy, possessed an abundance of fertile lands, and was close at hand.  But hardly anyone responded to the pope’s summons.  Yet only thirty-three years later, tens of thousands of crusaders set out for the dry, impoverished wastes of faraway Palestine.  What was different?  Spain was not the Holy Land!  Christ had not walked the streets of Toledo, nor had he been crucified in Seville.” (p. 118)

Stark also points out that, while the conflicts that led to the Crusades go back to at least the 7th century, Muslim antagonism about the Crusades is a fairly new development:

“…claims that Muslims have been harboring bitter resentments about the Crusades for a millennium are nonsense: Muslim antagonism about the Crusades did not appear until about 1900, in reaction against the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the onset of actual European colonialism in the Middle East.  And anti-crusader feelings did not become intense until after the founding of the state of Israel.” (p. 8-9)

So much for the 9/11 theory.

Stark also tackles the claim that the Crusades were imperialistic attacks on a peaceful, tolerant, intellectually superior Muslim culture.  For one thing, the settlements that crusaders did manage to found in the Holy Land were outrageously expensive to maintain; far from providing a source of income, they instead added to the already prohibitive expenses the crusaders had taken on in order to join the fight.  Imperialism would have been impractical at best:

“In terms of economic exploitation, it would be more apt to identify Europe as a colony of the Holy Land, since the very substantial flow of wealth and resources was from the West to the East!” (p. 173)

Though Arab societies did have better access to great works of Greek philosophy and literature than Europe did, they made poor use of them; in fact, Greek authors like Plato and Aristotle were actually bad for Arab scholarship.  Stark writes,

“…rather than treat these works as attempts by Greek scholars to answer various questions, Muslims intellectuals quickly read them in the same way as the read the Qur’an-as settled truths to be understood without question or contradiction-and thus to the degree that Muslim thinkers analyzed these works, it was to reconcile apparent internal disagreements.”  (p. 62)

Contrary to popular belief, the West was technologically as well as intellectually superior to the Arabs at this time.  While sources from this period are often unreliable, we do know that following the Muslim conquest of North Africa and Spain the wheel fell out of use for centuries-not because people forgot about it, but because their refusal to build on the knowledge they did have led them to believe they had no use for such a device.  In contrast, Westerners used these centuries to develop not only wheeled vehicles but also horses and harnesses, plows, crossbows, productive agriculture, and a host of many other things.  It’s no wonder the crusaders were able to successfully fight the Muslims despite the great expense and distance from their homeland.

In addition to addressing these myths, Stark also narrates each of the crusades chronologically, giving the causes and methods of each campaign while also illuminating internal political conflicts of the time.  God’s Battalions treats both Muslim and Christian sources fairly, allowing the reader to glimpse a little of the lives and culture of those on each side of the conflict.  Stark’s introductory work will be valuable to both seasoned scholars and curious laymen for some time to come, and offers much-needed context for those who seek to understand today’s conflicts between the West and the Arab world.

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Political Science: BPA and the FDA

Thursday, January 7, 2010

xkcdThe FDA will soon release its latest findings on the plastic-strengthening chemical, bisphenol A (BPA).  As I’ve written before, BPA’s supposed health risks have been highly publicized to the benefit of both businessmen and politicians-so much to their benefit, in fact, that it would be hard to believe all the rumors even if the FDA, EPA, and numerous independent studies hadn’t already declared the chemical harmless.

BPA is just one example of the many ways in which science has historically been shaped by political concerns.  Unfortunately, this misuse of the discipline isn’t going to end anytime soon, especially if media outlets get their way.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the LA Times in particular have stated that the FDA ought to rule the chemical unsafe-and that it ought to do so before the new study comes out in the next few days or weeks.  If the new study does prove that BPA is definitely harmful, then plastics containing the chemical should by all means be pulled from shelves.  If there really is a danger here, something must be done about it - but danger seems unlikely given current research.

What does seem likely is that people will continue to take advantage of BPA’s carefully crafted poor reputation in order to advance their own political careers and agendas.  I’ve written before about Senator Schumer’s BPA-free Kids Act, which would ban the chemical from all food and beverage containers intended for use by children, thus tremendously boosting those companies that manufacture BPA-free products-many of which, by the way, work with Fenton Communications, the public relations firm behind the “General Betray Us” ads.  Now Wisconsin is also considering a pre-emptive ban:

Madison - The sponsor of a state bill to ban bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups said Wednesday she is confident there is enough support to institute such a ban in Wisconsin.

State Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) said a Senate committee vote on the matter could come in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, the Assembly’s Committee on Consumer Protection held a 2 ½ -hour hearing Wednesday on the merits of the bill. Health advocates spoke in support of the measure, noting that the chemical has been linked to breast cancer, reproductive failures, behavioral problems, obesity and sexual dysfunction.

Food manufacturing representatives and chemical industry employees, including Steve Hentges, the chief lobbyist for the chemical makers, urged the committee to turn down the bill. He said science does not show any danger to human health. He noted that no government agency has found BPA to be of concern.

Politicians should not rely on unproven scientific claims to advance their own agendas.  The FDA should not ban a substance that its own researchers have so far declared harmless, and it should not compromise the objectivity of its upcoming report with such a declaration.  Science and politics have always had trouble mixing well, but scientists should especially take note when their findings stand to benefit - or decimate - so many financial and political interests.

Image credit xkcd.com

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The Good, the Bad, and Stephenie Meyer

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

thehostcover

Stephenie Meyer is a thoughtful, careful writer.  The depth and subtlety of her plot is fantastically mirrored in the multi-layered facets of her characters, wherein the complexity of her thought is revealed.  One is simultaneously unable to stop reading and also drawn to careful consideration of such things as community, prejudice, self sacrifice, dualism, the other, and the heartbreaking complexity of love.

But don’t look for any of this in her unfathomably popular Twilight series.  You won’t find it.

Meyers’ most recent novel, The Host, puts to rest any speculations about Twilight’s possible veiled greatness.  Readers may now rest assured, if they had any doubt, that Twilight is no work of genius.  It is, however, the work of, if not a genius, at least a very quick learner.  The Host is the work of a much improved and much matured writer whose clear prose and thoughtful execution reminds one more of Ender than of Edward.  It bears little resemblance to Meyers’ more widely known Twilight saga, whose teenaged audience will neither fathom nor enjoy The Host.

The Host invites readers to inhabit an earth almost completely annexed by a parasitical alien race.  The small silver aliens who attach themselves to the human nervous system subdue the earth with little effort, suppressing each human host’s personality, but not his memories.  The “souls”, as they are called, are gentle, peaceful beings who abhor violence of all kinds and believe the earth has been much improved by their orderly and compassionate presence.  Crime all but disappears, as most hosts cannot even bring themselves to break speed limit laws.  Conflict of any kind is nearly unheard of, even in popular entertainment - a fact, we are reminded often, which makes for very bad television.

Then Wanderer comes.  After living out the lives of species on nine other planets, Wanderer is implanted into a human host, a young woman named Melanie.  As sometimes happens, Melanie’s personality is initially difficult to subdue: Melanie wants to live.

It’s not easy to write from the point of view of two simultaneous main characters, but Meyer does so gracefully.  Her skillful depiction of the complex relationship that develops between the two beings which inhabit Melanie’s body successfully captures the constant tension between the two without exaggerating or overemphasizing it.  The reader comes to sympathize with both characters - indeed, with all the characters in this book, both good and bad.

This is not to say that The Host is perfect.  While many of the players (and there are many of them) are beautifully portrayed, others - especially the male love interests - are disappointingly one-dimensional through most of the book.  Not everyone in a story needs to be interesting, but the love interest whose devotion drives much of the plot certainly should be.  Also, for a race that can’t even bear to see common social awkwardness in its entertainment, the souls are just a little too good at dominating planets.

Then again, science fiction is typically not known and enjoyed for its plausibility.

Orson Scott Card fans will quickly note the Ender’s Game author’s influence on Meyer’s work.  Indeed, The Host may well join the Ender books as a cult classic, cementing Meyer’s status as a great Mormon author long after Edward and Bella are forgotten.

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Saving the Corporate Animals

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

funny-pictures-corporate-fat-cat-is-keeping-the-bonusRemember this post about PETA’s fishy fundraising scheme? I’m not the only one who noticed.  Apparently PETA is just as selective with its corporate friends as with its animal friends.  From Human Events:

Americans know the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for its wild publicity stunts in the name of protecting cows, chickens, and other eatables.But a closer look at media-savvy PETA shows it also has become a corporate animal.

Its websites are full of invitations to corporate America to form partnerships, and in the process, cut PETA in on some of the profits. How else has the Washington-based group grown to a $34 million budget and displayed help-wanted ads for more employees in the time of a deep recession?

In one case, PETA castigates a credit card company for backing a circus; yet PETA promotes its competitor who sponsors horse racing and beef eating — two PETA no-nos it is trying to abolish.

PETA now operates a “Business Friends” program. For $500 (Silver), $1,000 (Gold) and $5,000-plus) Platinum, PETA grants access to its members and their money.

“PETA Business Friends is an innovative partnership for compassionate companies willing to assist in PETA’s groundbreaking work to stop animal abuse and suffering,” the web site says.

Platinum members include what one might expect for a group that promotes a vegetarian, or more austere, vegan lifestyle. There is Harbor Candy Shop, which makes vegan candies and kicks back 20 percent of proceeds to PETA. And there is MooShoes Inc., which sells animal-free footwear.

Also on the list is VISA, the giant credit card company. The two boast a special relationship. There is the PETA VISA card, featuring a photo of a pig. Purchases on this card result in a 1 percent royalty to PETA. It urges customers to shop at its own mall, where vendors return even more profits to PETA on each sale.

The VISA-PETA alliance makes odd bedfellows. For one, VISA is a prime sponsor of the Kentucky Derby, the world’s most famous horse race.

Yet PETA wants to end thoroughbred racing. A PETA “fact sheet” states: “Help phase out this exploitative ’sport’: Refuse to patronize existing tracks, work to ensure that racing regulations are reformed and enforced, lobby against the construction of new tracks, and educate your friends and family members about the tragic lives that racehorses lead.”

After the filly Eight Belles collapse and died in finishing the 2008 Kentucky Derby, PETA launched a series of press statements and blogs complaining about the derby and horse racing in general. But there was no criticism of VISA.

VISA also has a relationship with Omaha Steaks. VISA offers a whopping 68 percent discount when you use the card to buy a mail-order sampler box. In other words, VISA is trying to entice people to begin eating prime beef.

Just this week, PETA’s vice president spoke at the University of Pennsylvania on the evils of meat eating.

A PETA press statement said, “At a forum at the University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich will describe the horrifying abuse that animals face when they’re raised and killed for food. Friedrich will also discuss the massive environmental devastation caused by meat production as he makes the case for a vegan diet. “

PETA’s current major campaign is to pressure the Canadian government to end an annual seal hunt during which the animals are bludgeoned to death. PETA’s tactic is to urge the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee “to use its clout to help stop the Canadian seal slaughter.”

A favorite PETA tactic is to call for a boycott. But it has not urged one for the 2010 winter Olympic sponsors, a major one of which is VISA.

The Washington PETA office did not respond to questions from HUMAN EVENTS.

PETA has gone after VISA’s major competitor, MasterCard, on the sponsorship issue. PETA uncovered the abuse of elephants by the Ringling Brothers Circus. Using the phrase “NastyCard,” it launched a national campaign in 2003 to force the company to cut ties with Ringling, which it ultimately did.

Corporate partner VISA promotes horse racing and beef, yet is immune from such PETA campaigns.

“I think what they were doing was trying to shake down MasterCard,” said Steven Milloy, publisher of JunkScience.com. “Where do we start with PETA. I mean, PETA destroys how many animals every year. PETA kills way more animals than the circus. Circus employs animals and probably treats them very well … They’re in bed with VISA, not MasterCard.”

The website Petakillsanimals.com reports that PETA killed 95 percent of the dogs and cats in its care in 2008 at a Virginia shelter, according to the group’s report to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Since 1998, PETA has opted to ‘put down’ 21,339 adoptable dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens instead of finding homes for them,” the website says. In 2007, PETA took in 2,225 animals and killed 1,911. It said shelters in the area have a much better record of finding homes for pets, and notes it is less costly to kill a dog or cat than to foster it.

Correction: PETA did respond to Rowan Scarborough’s inquiry, contrary to what the story reports.  On 29 September, at 6:45 pm, a PETA spokesman e-mailed Mr. Scarborough saying, “We are an equal opportunity critic: Visa ended its partnership with Ringling Bros. many years ago after we wrote to the company, and we were pleased that MasterCard followed suit in 2004 after learning that Ringling beats elephants and chains them around the clock. We encourage all companies to make more responsible decisions by not sponsoring or supporting animal abuse.”

However, PETA’s “response” is unresponsive to the story’s reports that PETA has special corporate relationships with one company that is involved in things such as horseracing and selling meat for human consumption both of which PETA considers “animal abuse” and wishes to abolish.

For example: VISA sponsors horseracing.  PETA has called for an end to horseracing.

Mr. Scarborough’s question stands: Why does PETA refrain from campaigning against VISA if not because of its financial relationship with the credit card company, as it did against Master Card for sponsoring a circus in which PETA said animals were abused?

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Mad Church Disease: Compassion Meets Accountability

Monday, September 28, 2009

madchurch

Is your church killing you?  If you are a pastor or other church worker, it might be:

*90 percent of pastors work more than 46 hours a week.
*80 percent believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively
*75 percent report they’ve had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry
*40 percent report a serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.
*70 percent do not have someone they consider a close friend

*70 percent say they have a lower self-esteem now than when they started out

*45.5 percent of pastors say that they’ve experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry.

Combine long hours, limited finances, and each congregation’s unique dysfunctions, and  it’s no wonder an estimated 1500  pastors leave the ministry each month.  Worse, the problem isn’t limited only to pastors.  Ministry workers of all sorts suffer in their vocations: Clergy, volunteers, office staff, those who work in para-church ministries and other non-profits, and their families.

There aren’t many resources available for those experiencing ministry-related burnout, and it can be hard to fully understand to the phenomenon if you’ve never experienced it yourself.  Ministry burnout is a woefully under-treated  tragedy.  So who will minister to the ministers?

Anne Jackson will, for starters.  In Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic, Jackson offers both empathy and a path forward to those in need of restoration after time spent in ministry.

Jackson is familiar with the unique challenges ministry workers face.  As a pastor’s daughter, she quickly learned that even the most successful Christian leaders and vibrant ministries can have a dark side.  After watching her father slowly sink deep into depression when church after church grossly mistreated him, Anne promised never to allow herself to be demolished the way her father had been.  Years later, when a stressful ministry job put  her in the hospital with serious medical difficulties, she realized she had to somehow break outside the devastating cycle.

Mad Church Disease combines an insider’s understanding with a healer’s firm hand - Jackson gently nurtures the hurting while pushing them to take responsibility for their own choices, their own dysfunctions, and their own healing.

This is not a book for those unwilling to do something about the pain they have suffered:

There may be many external reasons why you’re burned out.  Your senior pastor could be a jerk.  You may have had some difficult health issues, and now you’re just trying to make ends meet because of all the medical bills that have piled up.  Maybe you have genetic chemical imbalances and struggle with depression.

However, we all make choices.  And the effect of the decisions you have made over time has led you now to burnout… The first step on this path is taking responsibility. You are responsible both for the choices you’ve made in life and for seeking God’s plan for your healing.  Are you ready? (p. 106)

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