At Home On Piety Hill

JF has a blog and it’s totally boss! Comments are switched to “on” and the posts so far are fab.

Sadie commented on Orrin Porter Rockwell’s piercing eyes — said he “creeped her out.” I thought we would close out LDS week with a gallery of OPR photos, spanning the life of the legendary frontiersman and gunslinger. If you would like to learn a bit more about ol’ Port and his exploits, check out these links:

• Orrin Porter Rockwell by Harold Schindler
• Porter Rockwell in Wikipedia
• Article from the Hurricane Weekly Journal in Hurricane UT

Cal Thomas penned a sober and pragmatic assessment of the typical conservative, Evangelical Christian, pro-family voter (if there is such a specimen): The Maturing of the Right.

After a factual and fair rundown of the candidates for President on the Republican side, Thomas concludes with this analysis:

That substantial numbers of conservative evangelical voters are even considering these candidates as presidential prospects is a sign of their political maturation and of their more pragmatic view of what can be expected from politics and politicians. It is also evidence that many of them are awakening to at least two other realities — (1) they are not electing a church deacon; and (2) government has limited power to rebuild a crumbling social construct.

I think Mr. Thomas has it right here, which would explain why Giuliani is polling so well among social conservatives. But, he doesn’t stop there and points out that, perhaps rather than simply voting “right,” professing believers need to live “right.”

Until this election cycle, most social conservatives supported candidates and policies based on the married with children “ideal” family model. It may be the ideal, but it is no longer widely practiced, including by many conservative evangelicals. Researchers have found many conservative Christians live in states where divorce rates are highest. These states overwhelmingly oppose same-sex marriage. Too bad they don’t do a better job supporting opposite-sex marriage in which they claim to believe.

Thomas interjects a potent dose of pragmatism, when he writes:

While “character issues” can overlap with other concerns when considering for whom to vote, conservative evangelicals are beginning to see them as less important than who can meet the multiple challenges faced by the nation. Put it this way: if you are about to have major surgery and your only choice was a church-going doctor with a high mortality rate, or an agnostic with a high success record, which would it be? I’d choose the agnostic.

I think this would square well with Paul the apostle of Jesus, who recognized the God-given role of secular government and who appealed to his rights as a citizen on a number of occasions. He never seemed to care if he was heard by a pagan, a Jew or a Christian. He simply sought basic human and civil rights.

What does Thomas’ column have to do with LDS week here at PietyHill Press? He seems encouraged that some Evangelicals will overlook Romney’s peculiar beliefs, and consider his position on issues.

Romney, a Mormon, is the poster boy for family values: one wife, handsome children, and no apparent personal skeletons in his closet, but some, not all, evangelicals can’t get over the Mormon belief that Jesus once visited America.

Orrin Porter Rockwell; Man of God, Son of Thunder by Harold Schindler. From the University of Utah Press:

Was Orrin Porter Rockwell a coldblooded killer or a saint? In this balanced account, Schindler paints the thrilling portrait of a genuinely colorful individual, a unique man of the frontier west. This electrifying, stunningly illustrated biography of the most mysterious and controversial figure in Mormon history won the American Association for State and Local History’s prestigious Award of Merit.

In his fast-paced and lucid style the author pursues the man behind the legend. Was the devoted bodyguard of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young a stalwart pioneer or a vicious murderer of scores of innocent victims? Schindler’s enlightening answers make truly fascinating reading.

“One of the best biographies of its kind.”
—The Los Angeles Times

This was the first “real” LDS history book I read, during the time Denise and I were faithful Latter-day Saints. As I remember, it did not shake my faith, but changed my view of Mormon history in a positive way and added the ballast that seemed to be missing from those other histories I had read — exciting and well-written, but “thin.” It also brought me to the realization that actual characters and events are often much more interesting and engaging than anything a fiction writer can come up with. I should also mention that the book is illustrated with some very cool pen and ink drawings.

I would conclude that Rockwell was closer to the vicious murderer side of the scale and never really came away with any affection for him. He was colorful, but not in a likeable way… more like a maniacal, scary Taxi Driver colorful. To this day, I still cannot travel along the Sevier River and drive through Nephi UT without feeling haunted by the ghosts of the Aiken brothers and other hapless people ol’ Port took down there to “use up.”

Here are some interesting Porter Rockwell tidbits:

• Rockwell always had “any number of shooting irons and other deadly weapons in abundance on and about his person.” When he was arrested in 1846 at Nauvoo IL, the headquarters of the LDS church, he had enough weapons to fire 71 rounds without reloading and “an array of knives.” These were the days before repeating rifles.
• After shooting Lieutenant Frank Worrell from a galloping horse with a shot to the abdomen, Rockwell coldly remarked “I aimed for his belt buckle,” and added, “I was afraid my rifle couldn’t reach him, but it did, thank God.”
• Joseph Smith prophesied over Rockwell at a Christmas celebration in 1843, “…in the name of the Lord, that you — Orrin Porter Rockwell — so long as ye shall remain loyal and true to thy faith, need fear no enemy. Cut not thy hair and no bullet or blade can harm thee.” It appears to be the only prophecy of Smith’s that came to pass. Rockwell did cut his hair in 1855… I believe he was in California at the time and, believe it or not, he looked even scarier with the buzz cut. Rockwell died of a heart attack.
• Rockwell enjoyed a good smoke and a drink. In fact, Joseph Smith once contracted Port to operate a bar at the Mansion House, which was the church headquarters in Nauvoo, as well as Smith’s private residence! This took place when the prophet’s wife was down river. Emma came home to a polished bar, with Rockwell setting up drinks, “scrubbed and combed.” Emma gave Joseph the ultimatum, “You are at liberty to make your own choice. Either that bar goes out of the house, or we will!” Joseph saw the light and the bar was removed.
• Legend has it that Rockwell was once in a tavern where he got into an argument with another customer. The man held a gun to Rockwell and shot, point blank — the bullet came out of the barrel, hit Rockwell’s chest and fell to the ground.

I called into the Laura Ingraham show to talk to Hugh Hewitt about his book, A Mormon in the Whitehouse? and the problems Mitt Romney will have attracting Evangelical Christians to his campaign.

I said something to the effect that “I’m an Evangelical Christian, a former Mormon — I’ve been through the Temple and sworn the blood oaths. I could vote for Mitt Romney for President. But, there are valid concerns that Evangelicals have and I think Mitt could answer them to their satisfaction.” I expected to be asked what those “concerns” are, but they moved right along with Hugh basically agreeing with me. I was followed by a caller who stated, “I’ve been LDS for 30 years, I’ve been through the Temple and I never took any blood oaths. I’ve never sacrificed a goat or anything (chuckle, chuckle).” The call tailed off into the usual dismissal of “anti-Mormons” and their erroneous claims.

If that 30 year Mormon had been through the Temple endowment and can state that he didn’t make a blood oath, then he didn’t go through the same endowment ceremony I did. What did he think he was doing when he drew his thumb across his neck and across his midsection, repeating the words “Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken” if he divulged what he had seen and heard in the Temple? He must not have been paying attention to the official administering the endowment, explaining that those motions describe the various ways in which one’s life could be taken. Of course, he may have gone through the Temple after the ceremony was changed in 1990, as it had been a number of times since it was restored by Joseph Smith in the 1840s.

The next day, I called Hugh’s show and told him that my call on the Laura Ingraham show illustrated the problem I see with Romney and Evangelicals, namely: When Evangelicals discuss some of the more obscure points of LDS doctrine and history with Mormons, they appear dumfounded or totally ignorant like the caller who followed me. The Evangelical will often know more about LDS history and doctrines than the rank and file Mormon, which contributes to the perception of the LDS church as a secret society, keeping their world domination conspiracy on the DL. So, I repeated the suggestion that Hugh interview Romney and ask him questions that would address valid misgivings about Romney’s first allegiance as President of the United States. Again, Hugh agreed there was a problem and moved on to another LDS caller who made my point by declaring how ridiculous it is to think that a non-Mormon could be more knowledgeable than a Mormon about their own doctrine or history.

LDS leaders, scholars and apologists for years have acknowledged this situation and I won’t belabor the point here. Rather, I will bring up a one major concern I would have with a Mormon in the White House, which Romney would need to address before I could even consider his policy positions or leadership qualifications. That would be:

The Council of Fifty

I think Wikipedia does a good job describing this body in their brief article:

The Council of Fifty… was a theocratic Latter Day Saint organization established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1844 to prepare the way for a theocratic Kingdom of God that Smith thought would soon be established on the earth during the Millennium. The Council had a significant role in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1844 to the late 1800s… Joseph Smith, Jr. and other early Latter Day Saint leaders believed this kingdom was not just the Church of Christ, but a political theocracy which Jesus would establish upon his second coming… This organization was formally established in Nauvoo, Illinois on March 11, 1844. The “clerk of the Kingdom”, William Clayton, recorded that exactly one month later, Joseph Smith was “chosen as our Prophet, Priest, and King by hosannas”, and then an ordinance was performed in which Smith was “ordained to be a king, to reign over the house of Israel forever… Unlike other organizations formed by Joseph Smith, members of the Council of Fifty were not necessarily Latter Day Saints. At its formation, there were at least three non-Latter Day Saint members. Smith was the president of the organization during his lifetime, after which Brigham Young presided, and then John Taylor… In Utah, the Council became a provisional legislative body in the government, until September 1850, when Congress organized the Territory of Utah. After Utah became a territory, the Constitutional requirements of separation between church and state sharply diminished the Council’s official role in government. The Council then suspended meetings in October 1851. Briefly, the Council resurfaced again in during the administration of John Taylor, in an advisory role on the issue of polygamy. The Council’s last recorded meeting was in 1884.

At this point I would be interested to know what Mitt Romney thinks about the Council of Fifty and if he thinks it will be necessary to prepare America for the Millennium. I doubt he gives the matter much serious thought, but he could quickly dispel any concerns with a simple statement. The early prophets of the LDS church took the Council very seriously, so I would also be interested to know what the prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, and current LDS leaders have to say on the matter.

In a previous post, I identified Camille Paglia as my favorite feminist, lesbian, atheist humanities professor. Her latest opinion piece, Hillary vs. Obama: It’s a drawl!, is another splendid analysis of poilitics, pop culture and media. Camille rarely disappoints, so if you’re not a regular reader of her salon.com column, perhaps you should be. Here are some of her gems:

On Hillary Clinton
Hillary didn’t help herself with her over-the-top sermon at the First Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama, two weeks ago. Her aping of a black Southern accent from the pulpit was so inept and patronizing that it should get a Razzie Award for Worst Performance of the Year. At times, it approached the Southern Gothic burlesque of Bette Davis chewing up the scenery in “Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte.”

The Fossilized Media
Of course, any Salon readers who still follow the mainstream media out of numbed habit will never have heard Hillary’s most extreme flights of faux gemutlichkeit. All that Sunday, network radio news, for example, betrayed its liberal bias by running clips of only her noblest phrases. Heaven help any Republican who had made so lurid a gaffe! Fortunately, alternative media now exist: On his radio show that night, Matt Drudge ran huge, hilarious swatches of prophesyin’ Hillary camping it up.

Fox Right Wing Bias
But Fox is certainly disingenuous with its absurd “fair and balanced” motto. Oh, come on, give it up! Why can’t Fox honestly admit its conservative agenda, as do major radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and simply argue that it represents a culturally necessary antidote to the omnipresent liberal line?

Thumbs Up On Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein is far more presidential than Hillary Clinton, who alternates between smugness and defensiveness before pulling out that tiresome middle-aged mom card. Feinstein, even when maneuvering strategically, always seems genuinely focused on the idea at hand, while Hillary isn’t really there — she’s just riffling mentally through her team’s cue cards.

A Sober Take On Ann Coulter
Coulter is a smart woman with formidable energy, and whether liberals like it or not, she is a high-profile feminist role model in her appetite for aggressive debate. But Coulter seems to be regressing rather than growing intellectually and sharpening her analytic skills. She evidently leaves no room in her life for study and reflection… Her books may rake in millions but won’t last because they are shoddily constructed. Coulter should be using her syndicated column for her topical opinions but her books for more considered contributions.

Cheney and Bush
The relationship between Cheney and George W. Bush is also perplexing. Despite the nearness in their ages, Cheney acts like Bush’s father (no coincidence since Cheney served in George H.W. Bush’s administration). There’s something creepy about how Cheney, after heading the candidate search, insinuated himself into the vice presidency. He locked onto Bush like a limpet… It’s an unsavory, toxic relationship, a vampiric pseudo-marriage like that of the shadowy, Machiavellian Roger Chillingworth and the impressionable, waffling Arthur Dimmesdale in Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”

A Diversion
I had a diverting experience last Saturday… While my family was at the Camden Aquarium for a special appearance by a SpongeBob impersonator, I walked around the once ravaged and still patchy and economically struggling neighborhoods, where Hispanic immigrants have settled. Suddenly, there was a stream of African-American men cutting across the streets and heading toward the Beckett Street Terminal for what was clearly the start of a work shift. I followed from a distance and gawked at the great warehouses of the South Jersey Port Corporation, which were stacked from floor to ceiling with tens of thousands of burlap bags containing a mystery product. As I approached the main security booth, beyond which only authorized workers could enter the dockyard, flatbed trucks with bright yellow cabs were emerging, one after the other, all laden with fat burlap bags. It was a phenomenally precise and synchronized procession, as each truck swept to a warehouse, was offloaded, and then circled back through the gate to the ship. I was full of admiration at this demonstration of the beauty and efficiency of the modern distribution system, which I extolled in the first chapter of “Sexual Personae” as a male-created artifact of civilization. It is one of the many gifts of capitalism that are invisible to academic leftists, who nevertheless expect the light switch to work, their cars to start, and the grocery store to be constantly stocked with fresh milk, orange juice and produce… I asked a guard what they were: “Cocoa beans”… With great delight, I spent the next 15 minutes dodging the trucks and filling my pockets with the best beans (to send with our son to preschool science class).

What About Capitalism?
Capitalism, which spawned modern individualism as well as the emancipated woman who can support herself, is essentially Darwinian. It expands any society’s sum total of wealth and radically raises the standard of living, but it leaves the poor and weak without a safety net. Capitalism needs the ethical counter-voice of leftism to keep it honest. But leftists must be honest in turn about what we owe to capitalism — without which Western women would have no professional jobs to go to but would be stuck doing laundry by hand and stooping over pots on the hearth fire all day long.

Britney Spears Gets A Break
I’ve commented on Britney’s travails and tacky exhibitionism for Us magazine and for the March issue of Allure (”A Case of Exposure”). The final question (from a lively young woman) after my lecture [video link] on religion and the arts at Colorado College last month was about Britney. My circuits began visibly to sputter and fry, like the overloaded mega-computer at the end of “Desk Set,” because as a public speaker I, unlike Ann Coulter, believe in tempering one’s witticisms out of respect for one’s hosts. Despite her current descent into squalor, I still see Britney as animated by a flame of original energy. Great stars make comebacks. Let’s see what Britney’s got!

ReadyMade: Instructions for Everyday Life. I love this magazine — I mean the layout and style. I would never consider myself a handy man or hobbyist but, if I were, I would have a subscription to this fun and fabulously conceived periodical. The articles, projects and even the adds are all attractive, informative and sassy (to borrow a phrase from Denise). It’s obviously targeted to the Gen-Xers, who have figured out that not only are they not living in the shadow of the Boomers, but they can have a good job, pockets full of cash and out-consume their forerunners with kick. Check out this wonderful mag and don’t forget to visit their online store, where you will find these must-have items.

Overnight Bag Kit

Bed-In-Box Kit

“How To Use” Tee Shirt

Build Your Own Modular Dwelling Kit

How do you take your Christianity? Anthropo or Theo - centric? It really does make a difference and it comes through in our conversation. God is my starting point… He is transcendant… yet, I often find myself falling back into my old way of thinking, evaluating what He says and does; what He wants me to say and do, by my own subjective notions of right and wrong, good or bad, practical or unhelpful. I’m happy for people like John Piper, who bring me back to the ultimate center of my life — the Person Who alone is the beginning of all wisdom and understanding. John Piper spoke these words on September 9, 2001 — 9/9/01.

The world views Christianity, and other religions, as useful, depending on what social, psychological, or physical benefits it may bring. In other words, the world doesn’t assess Christianity in the categories of true or false, but in the categories of useful or harmful. The world does not think of Christianity as divine revelation but as human opinion. The world does not believe that God must reveal our deepest need, and then provide the remedy in Jesus Christ. The world believes that we know our deepest needs and that religion can be respectable if it helps meet them.

The essence of Christianity is that God is the supreme value in the universe, that we do not honor him as supremely valuable, that we are therefore guilty of sin and under his omnipotent wrath, and he alone can rescue us from his own condemnation, which he has done through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, for everyone who is in Christ. Knowing this, if what we promote is housing, jobs, health care, sobriety, family life minus this message, we are not Christian - we are cruel. We comb man’s hair in the electric chair and hide his freedom in our hands.

Younger people probably won’t be able to empathize with me on this one, but I was returning a rented DVD the other day and, just before I dropped it in the slot, I opened it up to make sure I’d rewound it. Pavlov’s dork!

Denise and I picked up our couch in Concord CA and decided on this brown leather chair from Scandinavian Designs. So, our living room is complete… for now. For those with an eye for art and design, yes, those are toothpick legs on the couch, resin grapes on the Eames era end table and an original Crisell oil painting on the wall in the corner. And, no, they are not for sale.

This is an image of my old, worn copy of Being Human: The Nature of Spiritual Experience (BH) by Jerram Barrs and Ranald Macaulay, I cannot adequately describe in a blog entry the powerful influence this small book has exerted in my entire life, the crucial time it appeared in my walk as a young Christian and the valuable role its message still plays in causing me to examine and evaluate the perpetual and monotonous ebb and flow of new movements, trendy philosophies and sure-fire techniques, rising and receding within the contemporary Christian culture. America has been appropriately described as a disposable society and the church has not only adopted a superficial, sanctified brand of consumerism, but could teach the folks up on the Mad Avenue a few tricks!

Rather than give a blow by blow review, I want to present the big picture, in a few sentences, how this book enriched my relationship with Jesus, brought radical change to my understanding of how I relate to Christian community and continues to reorient me in my desire to be human, created in the image of God. Then, I’ll let the book speak for itself from the back cover and quotes under each chapter title. They are gems and will give you a great idea of what you can expect from Being Human.

I think the greatest impact BH had on me was revealing how evangelical Christianity had, at that time, adopted a very platonic view of spirituality, dividing the Christian life into higher and lower, sacred and secular — the ideal Christian life is one of spirit, completely divorced from anything “earthy.” At the same time, the influences of modernism moved the Christian culture in the west to become mechanical and “technique” driven, seeking just the right template to improve upon each and every aspect of the Christian life. The result? Christians are pulled in two directions, away from the Biblical model of what it means to be human, a spiritual and physical being, created in the image of God. BH sought to remedy the situation then, but I find it refreshingly relevent and helpful today!

From the back cover:

Who is right about what it means to be human?

Macauley and Barrs begin by stressing the centrality of Christ. Then they distinguish between self and the sinfulness of self, argue for using our minds in spiritual matters, and illuminate the many ways God guides us. Their chapter on the family discusses the vexed issue of authority. And they conclude with a look at the evidence, judgment, hope, joy and reward of faith.

In the Likeness of God
Sanctification (becoming holy), then is essentially an affirmation of life. The whole purpose of the Christian life is the recovery of the original image of God, in other words, the recovery of the kind of human experience which God intended Adam and Eve to have before the Fall.

The Biblical Framework and Two Alternatives
The Bible’s authority is undermined by our culture in every area, whether natural science, social sciences or history. Unless we are convinced that the attacks on the Bible’s authority in these areas are groundless, our spirituality will necessarily be affected. This impoverishment caused by materialism’s influence leads to a confusion about what genuine spirituality is. In the search for “life,” Christians often turn in the same direction society turns and simply reflect its answers. This “turn” can take two basic directions — either to experience or to techniques.

The Centrality of Christ
Therefore, every teaching which suggests that we can move on to greater blessings than those which we have received through our initial faith in Christ is, in some way or other, actually adding some human work to the work of Christ and, consequently, dishonoring him.

Active Obedience
God has made us in his image and we are to reflect the personal relationships which exist within the Trinity and to practice toward others the love, kindness and humility which God has expressed toward us. Therefore, as we begin to love others, to forgive, to forbear and be humble, we are fulfilling our nature as the image of God and we will consequently enjoy the fruits of such a life.

The Holy Spirit and the Self
Living the Christian life is analogous with the writing of the Scriptures. Though penned by human authors and bearing the mark of their personalities, the Bible is authored by God and is therefore free of mistakes in whatever it says, whether in the area of theology, morals, history or science. Even in giving us his infallible Word, the Spirit did not override the significance of those who wrote the various books. Nor does he do so now as he works in us who believer and who press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Affirming the Self and Denying the Self
[Luke 18:18-30] The rich man was faced with the choice to have a different center for his life, a different integration point than he had had previously. This is of course the choice for anyone — to turn from whatever has been the center (another God, a religious system, a person, or things) to the living God of the Bible. And it is never an easy choice.

The Mind
What we have seen in our culture is that disregard for the mind can produce an evangelism that is merely technique. This is dehumanizing both to speaker and to hearer. Personal evangelism should be characterized by sensitivity. One is talking to another person, not into a tape recorder. The Bible nowhere gives a code for evangelism.

Guidance
But how do we bring together our need for guidance and God’s ability to guide? The great danger here is to erect a mechanical model and seek mechanical solutions. But this is how astrology and fortunetelling devices operate… God deals with us as persons. So the believer should never be troubled by the idea of making a decision, as if to do so is to encroach on God’s territory.

The Family
We may even say, therefore, that a person is the image of God only in community, though this does not contradict what has already been said about each individual being the image of God. A human is fulfilled not primarily as an individual alone, but rather in relationship with others.

The Believer’s Judgment
We will not be condemned because of all the worthless things we have built; rather, we shall be saved because of Christ in spite of our failures. But we will experience the loss of all that was wrong, all that was done with false motivation… In his love, God approves the good that remains, for it is presented to him on the foundation of Christ.

In short, this book, now back in print due to ongoing demand, presents an integrated model for what human beings really are. If you are looking for it at a real bookstore (not a virtual bookstore), you will find the newer editions sporting this cover.

Once in a while you may happen upon something you wish you’d written, but in my case that happens, oh, about fifty times a day! I found this poem by journalist Steve Turner at PoemHunter.com and was impressed by his perceptive wit. Often, we deny verities and creeds so vehemently that our persistent dissention becomes dogma which, ironically, congeals into a creed of our own — a positive confession of our contrarian attitude, systematizing the tenets of our rebellion against any form of alien correction or restraint that might hinder us in our pursuit of pleasure and self-interest. In the end, we may become the bigoted haters that so excited our righteous passions in the first place.

Steve has done the contemporary humanist the favor of canonizing his negation of traditional values in this memorable confession:

Creed

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don’t hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before during
and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything’s getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated.
You can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there’s something in horoscopes,
UFO’s and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha
Mohammed and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher although we think
his good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same,
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation sin heaven hell God and salvation.

We believe that after death comes The Nothing
because when you ask the dead what happens
they say Nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then it’s compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What’s selected is average.
What’s average is normal.
What’s normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between
warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It’s only his behaviour that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth
that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust. History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds.

Steve Turner

Everyone has a film, a book, a piece of art that has a revolutionary effect on the way they look at everything. And, if one is fortunate (I would say “blessed”), that may happen many times along this journey we call life.

I first read Unholy Devotion as a young Christian, involved in ministry to people caught up in cults. The book received rave reviews within the apologetics community, so it was required reading for any aspiring counter-cult evangelist !

I had no idea what I was in for. Rather than focus on cultic strategies to deceive the naive or unwitting Christian into joining the Baha’i Faith or Watchtower Society, Harold Bussell identifies cultish tendencies among mainline and evangelical groups that set up otherwise solid believers to cash in their pearl of great price for a worthless counterfeit faith, presenting itself as the genuine article.

From the back cover:

The lure of the cults is not doctrine, but style. Not reasoned faith, but the promise of a better life. Many evangelical youth are drawn to cults because too often the marks of spirituality they set forth uncannily resemble the qualities we exhibit in our own Christian churches…

Bussell comes locked and loaded, leaving the evangelical pasture strewn with the carcasses of some of our most cherished sacred cows, including these bogus bovines:

• You Just Have To Hear Our Pastor!
• The Lord Led Me
• But We Have A New Testament Church
• But Mormons Don’t Drink or Smoke
• But You Can See the Love on Their Faces

The author tells story after story of real people he has known during years of youth and college ministry, who became easy prey for the cults. Take Terry for instance:

Terry was an active leader in the youth group of the first church I served in California. He had become a Christian the previous year and gave a glowing testimony. Then, astonishingly, Terry became a Mormon… I still remember my confusion and dumfounded reaction to his defense: “But Mormons don’t drink or smoke.” As with many of us, Terry’s conversion to Christianity included adoption of specific cultural taboos important to American Evangelicals. These taboos, along with the popular emphasis on personal happiness and group support, confused Terry in his journey toward spiritual maturity… Evangelicals tend to yoke their definitions of spirtuality with certain cultural convictions… An overemphasis on taboos has misled some believers to feel more guilty about sipping a glass of wine than about sleeping with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Rather than focus on the negative, each chapter ends with a set of questions for discussion and lessons emphasizing corrective truths from the Bible on each topic. Bussell points the reader back to Jesus and His Word — the only antidote for false gospels and faux spiritualities. In my case, it caused me to look carefully at my own faulty notions and convictions that have no basis in Christ or His Word. That, in turn, deepened my relationship with Jesus, caused me to treasure Him more deeply and to value His sufficiency in all aspects of my life.

So, this book is for every Christian. It’s not just for those who have an interest in apologetics or the cults, but for believers who want to develop their critical thinking skills, strip away harmful accretions to faith and grow in their affection for the Christ.

If you ever decide to take a trip to Africa, you need to buy and read this book! If you hope to make friends you will keep in touch with, it’s an absolute necessity. In the West, the minute a friend asks for money, things get weird and the friendship probably won’t last long. In Africa, if there is no exchange of money or resources involved, things will get weird and the friendship probably won’t last long. East is east and west is west and there will be no meeting of the minds on the issue of money (and a lot of other customs) without help from someone like David Maranz, a linguist working in Africa since 1975.

I traveled to Uganda twice before I read this book and each page offered at least one “aha!” moment, as perplexing scenes and situations I had witnessed in Africa were given context and clarity. The style makes for a very enjoyable read and the iillustrations by African artists are insightful, amusing and familiar. Even if you have no interest in traveling to Africa, the book is a collection of anecdotes that will keep you riveted for hours.

Reading the book was sometimes uncomfortable as I realized how I had insulted and misunderstood my African friends during my previous visits (though they tell me they understand and knew we were acting out of ignorance). It was also a tragic revelation into the mindset and harmful attitudes of westerners I met, who were living in Africa. For missionaries and Christian workers - next to the Bible, this book is compulsory reading!

The author presents 90 examples illustrating the differences between African and western thinking on:

• Use of Resources
• Friendship
• The Role of Solidarity
• Society and People of Means
• Loans and Debts
• Business Matters

Here is a list of some of the most colorful and crucial examples — I’ve seen most of these first hand and could comment endlessly, but I’ll spare you:

• The financial need that occurs first has the first claim on the available resources
• If something is not being actively used, it is considered to be “available”
• Africans readily share space and things but are possessive of knowledge
• Precision is to be avoided in accounting as it shows the lack of a generous spirit
• Budgeting, in a formal accounting sense, is not an accepted way of handling personal finances
• A network of friends is a network of resources
• People constantly work at maintaining and enlarging their network of friends
• Africans are more hospitable than charitable. Westerners are more charitable than hospitable
• Compliments are frequently given indirectly in the form of requests for gifts or loans and often formulated in questions
• Africans find security in ambiguous arrangements, plans, and speech
• Giving preference to the employment of kin over nonkin is a normal expression of family responsibility and solidarity
• The reputation of people of means is enhanced through the frequent visits of their clients. Foreigners are typically frustrated and inconvenienced by frequent, uninvited visits of African friends and acquaintances
• Old debts are forgotten and are not expected to be repaid, neither by the debtor nor by the lender
• The value of a development project is not to be measured by its long-term success
• The use of the word loan when requesting money from someone is often a euphemism for gift
• Bargaining for a better deal in any transaction involves important social as well as economic factors
• When a customer is told that an ordered article or service will be ready on a specified time or date, it is unlikely to be ready at that time

This is, by far, my favorite and most personally uncomfortable observation in the entire book:

It is also true that Africans readily share space with others… they are with others almost constantly. They avoid being alone… If an individual has a preference for being alone to a noticeable extent, he or she is considered strange, antisocial, or even to be feared.