Subject: AAFWD: TheistWatch for 3/3/96 (THEISTWATCH is a service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a n
From: Cgastbook@aol.com
Subject: AAFWD: TheistWatch for 3/3/96
(THEISTWATCH is a service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement founded
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair for the advancement of Atheism, and the total,
absolute separation of government and religion. It is distributed to members
and supporters on the AAFWD list - our thanks to Rich Daniels for operating
this list. Edited and written by Conrad F. Goeringer.)
***************
THEISTWATCH SHORT-SHOTS
In the "Who Cares?" department, consider the case of retired Episcopalian
Bishop Walter S. Righter, who is being tried on a heresy charge for signing a
statement favoring ordination of homosexuals for the priesthood, and his
ordination of a gay man as a deacon. On one hand, does it really make a
difference if the person behind the pulpit babbling about the efficacy of
prayer and other religious clap-trap happens to be gay, or female, or black,
or something else?
There is an interesting history, though, behind the nasty charge of
heresy. Protestants were long considered heretics to the Roman Catholic
Church; even before the Protestant Reformation, the charge of heresy was used
to combat any sects which challenged the political and theological hegemony
of the papacy. In the early 1200's, for example, Pope Innocent III led a
vicious campaign against the Cathars, a cult which taught that two gods --
one good, the other evil and in control of the material world -- existed. In
Southern France, the sect became so popular that it displaced the establish
Catholic institutions.
The Vatican counter-offensive against the so-called Albigensian heresy
lasted over a decade; tens of thousands of victims were murdered; property
was forfeited, and handed over to those who supported the Pope.
In some cases, heretics becomes heroes. Not so long ago -- about 30 years
-- the present dean of the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University was
branded a heretic for wanting to allow blacks into the congregation of a
Virginia church.
But if we change our thinking about the righteousness of heretics -- and
if heresy is "time bound" as some have suggested -- what does this say about
the alleged role of "Divine Revelations"? Like the texts of the bible, or
the competing holy books of the world's religious sects, the issue of what is
judged sacred or profane is very much in the bias of those who sit in
judgment.
*************
In New York, a fundamentalist Christian couple are continuing the fight to
keep their 5-month old baby on artificial life support, although the child is
"brain dead" and legally a corpse under state law.
The case involves Malcolm and Jois Scoon of Jamaica, Queens; the pair are
under investigation for possibly causing the damage to their daughter, named
Mariah. But if Mariah is no longer a viable human being, legally a corpse in
fact, why the continued use of expensive and unusual life support? One
reason is a State Health Department regulation that requires doctors to make
"reasonable accomodation" for those with peculiar religious beliefs;
according to the New York Times, this exceptional standard is allowed only in
New York and New Jersey. Jewish groups originally demanded the special
treatment, but the case has attracted interest from various "pro-life'
advocates. It becomes part of the heated, at times murky debate over "life",
when it begins and when it ends.
According to George Anmas, professor of health law at Boston University
School of Medicine and Public Health, the case of Mariah Scoon has
implications for social policy, including organ donation, will, even life
insurance. Anmas notes that doctors consider brain death to be just that,
death. Other definitions, however, including those advanced on religious
grounds would allow corpses to be kept in an artificial state indefinitely,
with pumps circulating blood, or other devices maintaining the beating heart.
Anmas calls this something "bizarre and arguable a violation of basic human
dignity."
"The definition of death clearly has moral and religious dimensions," he
notes, adding that "neither courts nor legislatures can restore life to
Mariah." He calls on society to abandon even the notion of using phrases
like "brain dead." Victims of such tragedy are just dead.
There may be parallels in those who insist that a "soul" enters clumps of
fetal tissue or even cells forming at conception, and those who believe that
our "soul" lingers on, ensconced in bodies of those whose brains display no
measurable activity. This phantom serves as a basis for stopping abortion
(for some, even to save the life of a mother), or declaring that those
suffering in agony from terminal disease have no right to end their life.
Should this peculiar doctrine, though, be granted the status of law? Dr.
Anmas is right when he declares, "Just as we separate church and state, we
must separate religious beliefs from medical facts."
****
The upcoming elections in Iran are sure to be tainted, at least if charges
by the Human Rights Watch-Middle East division are true. The group charges
that a government-sponsored gang of Muslim clerics known as the "Council of
Guardians" has devised a series of parliamentary election rules so cumbersome
that over 2,000 of the 5,121 candidates who wanted to run have been
kicked-off the ballot. And if the rules weren't enough, the Council -- which
scrutinizes candidates for the allegiance to the Islamic religion -- is not
required to even say WHY a would-be contender is blackballed. Talk about "One
Nation Under God"!
*******************
THEISTWATCH has reported on the religious turf wars which have erupted in
the former Soviet Union. New age cults, the Catholics, Protestant
evangelists, fundamentalists, Pentacostalist -- all are scrambling to recruit
new followers. The new Russian government has fueled the hysteria by
spending money to "re-build" churches, mostly those claimed by the ruling
Russian Orthodox Church.
But just as Red Army divisions enforced doctrinaire communism in
neighborhing countries, now the Orthodox hierarchy is trying to re-assert
control over straying sheep in places like Estonia. The problems started in
1940 when Soviet troops occupied the Baltic nation, and Josef Stalin allowed
the Russian Orthodox hierarchy (which had ties to the Soviet secret police)
to take control over the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. When the Soviet
Union crumbled, though, the Estonian church's independence from Moscow was
restored by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Russian priests don't
like that arrangement, insisting that they should maintain control in
Estonia.
How this latest squabble will be decided is anyone's guess. But in this
argument, TW suspects that neither side makes much sense!
**********
Speaking of Russian Orthodoxy, the current Patriarch, Alexi II, may have
something to gain if either fascist nationalists or aging communist party
oligarchs seize power in the next Presidential elections. Western Christians
-- especially evangelicals and Pentacostalists who are pouring considerable
effort into recruiting followers in the former Soviet Union -- are now
worried about the "dim outlook for religious freedom" in that country. The
magazine CHRISTIANITY TODAY reports that the recent elections, which tripled
the number of communists in the legislative duma, may be a prelude toward
restricting the activities of foreign religious groups. The publication
quotes a former Deputy in the Duma, Gleb Yakunin who says that "those who
would limit freedom of religion may seize their opportunity to change the
law." But even Yakunin notes that "the next attack...will come against
Protestants and Catholics who disagree with powerful Orthodox Patriarch Alexi
II," noting that half of Russia's 150 million people are reportedly Orthodox.
The Russian Orthodox Church has actively campaigned against liberalized
laws which open the door to religious activities by competing sects,
demanding that these groups be legally registered with the government and
"invited" in by the church.
Meanwhile, there is a small scandal over the death of Vitali Savitsky,
president of the Christian Democratic Union. Savitsky was killed in a
"suspicious" car accident days prior to last December's election; he had been
combatting attempts by the Russian Orthodox Church to alter existing laws and
clamp down on religious proselytizing by foreign groups.
**********
Maybe it's the hot lights, or the pace, or the money, or something. Over
the years, Hollywood has produced more than its share of weirdos, cranks and
zanies. John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and a slew of others are
into Scientology -- the sci-fi cult that talks about e-meters, intergalactic
wars, and some cosmic bad-guy named Xemu. Shirley Maclaine has done her
share of damage to the world's tree supply with her endless stream of new age
books on channeling, reincarnation and other delusions. Now comes Demi Moore
(who we used for admire for her guts in baring so much for Vanity Fair much
to the outrage of prudes and zealots), who happens to be the world's highest
paid movie star. She is now on the stump for new age guru Deepak Chopra, and
showed up in India last week for some words-of-wisdom which pretty much speak
for themselves. Says Demi, "We're all on a journey, and the journey is
actually the destination." She made the remark to a group called the Young
Presidents Organization which, we hope, if elected will display some critical
thinking toward Ms. Moore and other pop-culture vendors of modern
obscurantism.
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