Volume 15: Number 11 (1,016)
March 24, 2010

In this issue:

MORMONISM – can Stepheie Meyer’s Twilight books, written “for LDS
moms,” be edifying for all?

PHILOSOPHY – the contributions of Alvin Plantinga to Christian
apologetics

PORNOGRAPHY – online severity and solutions

THEISM – why “an immaterial personal creator with the
omni-properties may reasonably be judged inadequate”

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Apologia Report

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Copyright 2010 by Apologia . All rights reserved.
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Apologia Report 15:11 (1,016)
March 24, 2010

MORMONISM
“Twilight’s Vast Gleaming” by John Granger — explains why someone
who “writes for Mormon moms,” as Stepheie Meyer does with her
Twilight series, happens to find acceptance from such a wide swath
of society, having sold upwards of 60 million books. Granger
provides a “snapshot of the allegorical meaning of the series: a
Harlequin [mass-market romantic fiction] version of Mormon ideas
about God and man. Harold Bloom of Yale University once wrote that
Joseph Smith, Jr., the LDS prophet and author of The Book of Mormon,
is America’s only religious genius. I agree.”
The real surprise here is that Granger’s back story tops all of
that. He is most interested in the how and why of this phenomenon.
“One reason why bestselling books are such is that their plots
create mythic experiences outside ourselves. …
“I turn to Mircea Eliade’s claim in The Sacred and the Profane
[1] that secular cultural entertainments, but especially reading,
serve a mythic or religious function. …
“If it is true that people read for religious experience, then
those books that have authentic religious content, whether
sentimental or profound, will be the most popular. … The reason
that books such as Twilight and Harry Potter work is that they are
postmodern epics about apotheosis or divinization through loving
sacrifice. In other words, they are the secular equivalent of
religious novels. …
“The attachment and profundity that mark [the] reading of these
books are such that they want to know more about what caused this
religious experience.” And this is why Granger has authored numerous
books that look at the Harry Potter phenomenon
. Granger explains: “C.S. Lewis once said
that any book that doesn’t get beneath your conscious understanding
hasn’t penetrated very deeply and doesn’t stand much of a chance of
having an influence.”
In reference to the Mormon component of the Twilight series being
seen as a negative influence, Granger says the concern “makes me
skittish, no doubt because of post-Potter pandemonium syndrome. It
was the question that Harry haters asked about the witchcraft in
J.K. Rowling’s books, and it caused them to miss the layer upon
layer of Christian content and edifying meaning in Harry Potter that
directly reflects the traditions of English fantasy literature.
“How about rephrasing the question? If you were to ask me whether
the [Twilight] books are edifying, for example, I would answer that
they are.”
Granger explains all this and more in his new book Spotlight: A
Close-Up Look at the Artistry and Meaning of Stephenie Meyer’s
Twilight Saga [2]. In it he stresses that he is “trying to
demonstrate how good these books are, as well as how books should be
read to reveal their worth.” Granger also wrote the book to “explain
how to read Meyer as a non-proselytizing Mormon artist, apostate,
and apologist. I think this section will challenge conventional ways
of reading books, and I hope that it will cause readers to reflect
on how they understand not only books, but also themselves in the
world.” Salvo, Issue 11 – 2009, pp7-10. [5]

—

PHILOSOPHY
Alvin Plantinga and Christian Apologetics, by Keith A. Mascord [3]
— reviewer Joshua Seachris acknowledges that Plantinga’s presence
has “loomed large within the analytic philosophical tradition now
for the last half century, and, humanly speaking, he shares a
substantial part of the responsibility for the resurgence of
Christian philosophy within the discipline. …
“Those outside the discipline who desire a concise yet accurate
glimpse of the contemporary dialectic in those areas of philosophy
with which Plantinga is engaged would do well to consider this book.
However, those without at least some background in philosophy,
especially epistemology and philosophy of religion, will be at a
disadvantage, though not an insurmountable one. …
“Mascord’s aim is to present and evaluate the philosophical
contributions of Plantinga within the content of Christian
apologetics as construed both *negatively* (that is, broadly with
the goal of rebutting challenges to Christian belief) and
*positively* (broadly with the goal of offering positive evidence
and argumentation in support of Christian belief). In service to
this aim, he navigates a substantial portion of the philosophical
territory relevant to the task of Christian apologetics where
Plantinga’s presence has been felt.”
Speaking of the different philosophical and methodological
schools of Christian apologetics, Seachris exclaims that “surely
there is much dialogue to be had and progress to be made as we
consider the philosophical and theological nuts and bolts of how we
are to *contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the
saints.* … Mascord helpfully nudges us in such a direction.”
Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology, 27:1 – 2009, pp110-112.
[6]

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PORNOGRAPHY
“Blindsided Kids” by Marcia Segelstein — reports that “The average
age of first exposure to internet porn is estimated to be 11. Among
15-to-17-year-olds, 80 percent have been exposed to hardcore
pornography multiple times. … There is evidence that much exposure
is accidental, often happening in the course of doing homework.”
In a book recommended by Segelstein, What’s the Big Deal About
Pornography? [4], Jill Manning writes that “young people who are
exposed to pornographic images at a formative stage of their growth
as sexual beings will often come to see sexuality as completely
disconnected from relationships, and certainly from any spiritual
context. …
“[S]udies have indicated that during certain periods of
childhood, the brain undergoes a kind of programming for sexual
orientation. It becomes ‘hardwired’ for what the person will be
aroused by. So exposure to unhealthy sexual norms in the form of
pornography has the potential to permanently imprint sexual deviance
on a child’s brain. …
“Today’s pornography has become deviant, vile and graphic. Young
people are witnessing rape, torture, and all kinds of degrading
material.” In describing the negative effects of pornography, Dr.
Judith Reisman notes an “FBI study which found that nearly all
serial rapist-murderers admit pornography as their major interest.”
Dr. Ana Bridges, a psychologist at the University of Arkansas,
notes that “A study of 50 top-selling adult videos revealed the
prevalence of a theme: Women were overwhelmingly depicted as victims
of aggression. And if that weren’t enough, only a tiny percentage of
those aggressive acts elicited a negative response from the victim.”
Regarding the predatory nature of porn providers, “searches for
26 popular children’s character names such as ‘Pokemon’ and ‘My
Little Pony’ led to thousands of links to porn sites. Another survey
determined that approximately one quarter of pornographic websites
use popular brand names, some of which are specifically aimed at
children, such as ‘Disney’ and ‘Barbie.’ Another common practice is
to use domain names similar to legitimate ones, even official
government agencies” by targeting misspelled web address entries.
In suggesting ways to combat the problem, Segelstein recommends
for parent safety-net resources. Salvo, Issue 9 –
2009, pp18-24. [5]

—

THEISM
“Towards a Religiously Adequate Alternative to OmniGod Theism” by
John Bishop — the abstract reads: “Theistic religious believers
should be concerned that the God they worship is not an idol.
Conceptions of God thus need to be judged according to criteria of
religious adequacy that are implicit in the ‘God-role’ – that is,
the way the concept of God properly functions in the conceptual
economy and form of life of theistic believers. I argue that the
conception of God as ‘onmiGod’ – an immaterial personal creator with
the omni-properties – may reasonably be judged inadequate, at any
rate from the perspective of a relationship ethics based on the
Christian revelation that God is Love. I go on to suggest that a
conception of God as the power of love within the natural universe
might prove more adequate, with God’s role as a creator understood
in terms of final rather than efficient causation.” Sophia, 48:4 –
2009, pp419-433.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 – The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion, by Mircea
Eliade (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987, paperback, 256 pages)

2 – Spotlight: A Close-Up Look at the Artistry and Meaning of
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, by John Granger (Zossima, 2010,
paperback, 296 pages)

3 – Alvin Plantinga and Christian Apologetics, by Keith A Mascord
(Wipf & Stock, 2007, paperback, 233 pages)

4 – What’s the Big Deal About Pornography? A Guide for the Internet
Generation, by Jill C. Manning (Shadow Mountain, 2008, paperback,
176 pages)

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SOURCES: Periodicals

5 – Salvo,

6 – Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology,

Copyright 2010 by Apologia, all rights reserved.