News from the North American Scene: December 14, 1992

Music

Warner Alliance Cries Foul Over Boycott

Warner Alliance Records, the diminutive Christian music subsidiary of Time Warner, is starting to feel the heat of nationwide boycotts of the entertainment behemoth by a variety of religious consumer groups.

Warner Alliance, which does not even appear in Time Warner’s annual report, says the controversy over rapper Ice-T and his “Cop Killer” recording, plus Madonna’s pictorial of herself in the contentious book Sex, may cause harm to the Christian label and its stable of artists, like Marilyn McCoo, Take Six, Michael English, and Kim Boyce.

Warner Alliance spokesperson Ruth Ann Lutzweiler said that a distinction should be made between Warner Alliance Records and Time Warner. “Even though we’re owned by Time Warner,” asserts Lutzweiler, “we are for all intents and purposes free to be who we are—a Christian record company, virtually independent of our owners.

“They don’t tell us what to record or how to do it; so before anyone boycotts Time Warner or writes them a letter about the current controversies, they should realize that they are indirectly hurting a sound, viable Christian organization.”

Focus on the Family spokesperson Paul Hetrick said, “Our complaints are not with Warner Alliance, they’re with Time Warner. We are very concerned about Madonna’s book, and since Time Warner continues to ignore good moral values and exhibits no social responsibility, we told our listeners that if they wanted to contact them and express their concerns, we’d tell them how.”

Film

Indianapolis Hosts Film Festival

The existence of God in the face of evil: That seems more likely the subject of a theological dissertation than a feature-length film.

But that theme, and others like it, do take center stage in a recently released film entitled The Quarrel, based on a story by Yiddish writer Chaim Grade. And it is one of four feature films that won top honors at October’s first annual Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Quarrel follows a conversation between two estranged Jewish friends, one an orthodox rabbi, the other a writer disillusioned with Judaism, and both survivors of the Holocaust. Accidentally reunited after ten years’ separation, they debate their opposing views of God and the world.

The film epitomizes the kind of film showcased at Heartland, a festival whose purpose, says executive director Carson Soule, is to “encourage filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.”

Among the other films featured were Alan and Naomi, a film about friendship, sacrifice, and heroism, and Dream Rider, the true story of a coast-to-coast bicycle ride by Bruce Jennings, who in high school lost a leg in a motorcycle accident.

On the festival’s honorary board are Indiana’s senators, Richard Lugar and Dan Coats, and writer Horton Foote. Film critic Michael Medved sits on the festival’s advisory board.

Abortion

Federal Appeals Court Overrules Abortion Gag Rule

The Bush administration acted illegally when it imposed restrictions on abortion counseling by federally funded family-planning clinics, ruled a federal appeals court in November.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the so-called gag rule, which allowed only doctors at the clinics to discuss abortion, could be enforced only after hearings and public comment.

The rule was actually a modified version of a 1988 regulation that the Department of Health and Human Services changed at Bush’s direction to exempt doctors. It is unclear whether the administration could enforce the original rule that barred even doctors from discussing abortion.

The administrative regulation will probably be thrown out in the new year by the Clinton administration.

Giving

United Jewish Appeal Tops In Income

Giving to the leading 400 American charities increased in 1991–5.8 percent from 1990—with the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) ranking first in income.

The $668.1 million raised by the UJA places them ahead of the Salvation Army, the leading charity in 1990, and increases the group’s own tally by 57 percent. The second-ranking Salvation Army brought in $649 million, down from $658.7 million in 1990. Overall, the 400 charities raised $19 billion.

Misconduct Inquiry

Fuller Ends Investigation Of Professor

The Board of Trustees of Fuller Theological Seminary recently concluded its investigation of John Finch, prominent Washington psychologist and visiting professor at Fuller, who had been found guilty of sexually abusing at least three patients.

A Fuller task force did not find that Fuller students had been abused by Finch. The board has implemented the task force’s recommendation that Finch’s name be removed from the psychology building and lectureship. There will also be efforts to enhance instruction regarding the potential abuses of power in the ministerial professions.

Boycott

Is Wildmon A Paper Tiger?

“If I’m a paper tiger, ignore me, don’t pay attention to me,” says Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association (AFA), the organization known for its boycotts against large corporations. That comment comes in reaction to the current issue of the liberal Mother Jones magazine, which alleges that United Methodist minister Wildmon is more interested in raising money than controlling commercial television.

Calling the organization a “paper tiger,” reporter Bill Dedman details his “underground” research on AFA and its boycotts against advertisers of television programs it considers to have too much sex. Among other allegations, Dedman reported that AFA groups “have been cited for noncompliance by the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Philanthropic Advisory Service.”

Wildmon, who did not grant Mother Jones an interview, told CHRISTIANITY TODAY, “I will never join the Better Business Bureau as long as I’m a member of the ECFA [Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability].” He also said registering with the BBB would be “a duplication” of state registration requirements.

Wildmon said it’s a “badge of honor” that Mother Jones considers him its enemy.

Obituary

Former Eternity Editor Hitt At 87

Russell Hitt, well-known journalist and evangelical leader, died in November at the age of 87. Hitt was associated with Eternity magazine from the mid-1950s until its closing in 1989, serving as top editor and chief executive of its sponsoring organization, Evangelical Ministries, until his retirement in 1975.

Hitt, who penned the missionary biography Jungle Pilot (Harper) and How Christians Grow (Oxford), rebelled as a youth against his parents’ Plymouth Brethren faith. After traveling around the world and studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, he returned to his Christian faith in the early 1930s. Hitt served on the boards of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the Greater Europe Mission, Scripture Union, and the Evangelical Press Association, among others. Hitt is survived by his wife, Lillian, two children, and four grandchildren.

Presbyterians

Hiring Of Lesbian Pastor Nullified

The highest court of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ruled in November that a homosexually active person cannot serve as a minister of any PCUSA churches.

This action nullifies the year-old hiring of a lesbian, Jane Adams Spahr, as a copastor of the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York. The ruling by the denomination’s Permanent Judicial Commission overturned two decisions by lower church courts that supported Spahr’s hiring. “Had the Presbytery acted appropriately, this ‘call’ would not have been approved,” said the commission in the 12-page decision. Under the guidelines of the decision, a celibate homosexual could be hired. “This decision says either lie or repent,” said Spahr. “I will not lie, and I will never repent.”

Canadian Teens

Church Attendance Drops

The church continues to lose its appeal for Canadian teens, with only 18 percent of 15-to 19-year-olds attending, compared to 23 percent in 1984. This is according to Teen Trends: A Nation in Motion (Stoddart), a newly released study by researchers Reginald Bibby and Donald Posterski. Despite the disdain for organized religion, the researchers found that belief in supernatural phenomena remains high, with 80 percent believing in the divinity of Jesus and 66 percent believing in supernatural forces.

Based on a 1992 survey of nearly 4,000 students in 200 high schools and Quebec junior colleges, this third cooperative examination of Canada’s youth by Bibby and Posterski compares the findings to those of studies done since 1975.

People And Events

Briefly Noted

Named: Wesley Willmer, vice-president of university advancement at Biola University, as president of Christian Stewardship Association board.

Elected: Kent Hill, scholar on religion in Russia, as eleventh president of Eastern Nazarene College. Hill replaces Cecil Paul, who died suddenly in August.

Died: Frank Coy, former trustee of Summit Christian College, 1987 to 1990, and CHRISTIANITY TODAY board member from 1975 to 1978.

Monsignor John Tracy Ellis, dean of American Catholic historians and recipient of many teaching, academic, and writing awards during his career as a historian, at the age of 87.

Killed: George Hoffman, 59, international vice-president of Samaritan’s Purse, in a car accident en route from London to a church speaking engagement in Gloucester, England.

Joining: Columbia Theological Seminary (CTS), with Eden Theological Seminary, at CTS s Center for Theological Studies in Florida. CTS president Douglas Oldenburg said the partnership, effective in 1993, will “increase [their] pools of students, reduce [their] costs, and provide additional course offerings.”

Confirmed: A resolution by members of the American Baptist Churches’ General Board declaring that homosexual practice is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” The October vote of 179 included 110 yes, 64 no, and 5 abstentions.

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