Shulevitz: Don't mess with those racist, sexist Narnia books
Judith Shulevitz's Close Reader column, which regularly appears as the conclusion of The New York Times Book Review, seems at first to be a defense of C.S. Lewis against those who want to "distance the Narnia chronicles from 'Christian imagery/theology,' presumably for fear of scaring off non-Christian parents." It's even called "Don't Mess With Aslan." But after Shulevitz praises the books for "reanimating the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Gospels … which is why so many of us love the Narnia stories so fiercely, whether we're Christian or not," she begins describing exactly how he does so. But wait. "Lewis reproduces the Passion of Christ, complete with nasty Jews" (The White Witch implicitly invokes Shylock's pound of flesh, she argues). "Muslims also haunt Narnia—or rather, cartoon infidels, a turbaned, dark-skinned people called Calormenes, who … are a greedy, cruel, proud, enslaved and enslaving race." Uh-oh. "A rather clerical fear of the female also pervades Narnia. Women are good when schoolgirls, mostly evil when grown. … There's anti-Catholicism here too, at least if you accept one scholar's thesis that the story of the ape who makes a false Aslan out of a donkey in a lion skin is an attack on papist idolatry." Yikes! Who'd want to read such bigotry, especially to children! Somehow, Shulevitz lists all of these odd accusations, then concludes, "The Narnia chronicles are glorious, and they're also very dark, like the literary traditions they're steeped in. No matter how much their outmoded mores may trouble you, you can't alter them without destroying the soul of Lewis's creation. Embrace Narnia or reject it, but don't bowdlerize it." Weblog isn't so sure that Lewis would appreciate the … um … support.
Taliban shuts down two more aid agencies
While members of Germany-based Shelter Now await trial in Afghanistan for promoting Christianity through their relief work, the Taliban has begun expelling other aid organizations. Kabul-based International Assistance Mission has been working in the country for more than 35 years, having survived communist rule and other oppression. Now the agency, which ran two eye hospitals and several health clinics, is closed and the 50 or so workers (mainly American expatriates) have been given 72 hours to leave the country. Likewise, SERVE (Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprise), a Christian ministry with offices in the Netherlands, Britain, and elsewhere, has done refugee work, housing, health education, solar technology, and disability training. No more. "No one is left here and we are not allowed to let any foreigners in," a Taliban official outside the International Assistance Mission said. "All foreigners left this morning after we closed their offices."
Religious leaders take on labor dispute | Clergy enter San Francisco's oldest labor dispute—Local 2 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union versus the downtown Marriott Hotel (San Francisco Chronicle)
Religious freedom abroad:
Pakistan's cruel blasphemy law | Younus Shaikh's death sentence and the blasphemy law that underlies it are an embarrassment to Pakistan and a threat to the basic liberties of its citizens (Editorial, The New York Times)
A struggle to survive on Russian soil | Jehovah's Witnesses, denied permission to register as a legal entity in the largely Orthodox Christian nation, face both cultural and religious obstacles. (Los Angeles Times)
Murder of priest was no surprise | Father Rufus Halley's murder in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, came on the eve of a meeting of the island's 40 Catholic bishops to discuss the promotion of peace (The Irish Times)
Killer said posed as missionary | Gang of escaped prisoners posed as devout Christians and concocted elaborate tales while on the lam in Colorado (Associated Press)
Child sex case brings battle on admission to clerics | A man charged with sexually abusing two girls in a Massachusetts congregation asked a judge to throw out a confession that he made to several ministers, who then reported him. (The New York Times)
Also: 'Confession' in sex abuse case a bind for clergy | Leaders of the United Church of Christ are being asked to defend in court their decision to turn in one of their own religious education teachers (The Boston Globe)
Religious bias alleged at school supplies company | Former employees say they were denied stock benefits, management positions and sales territory because they weren't Dutch Reformed (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Also: With conservative stand on minors' rights, U.S. irks its allies | It's not that the U.S. government doesn't support children's rights, American diplomats say. But the Bush administration does oppose the way the U.N. wants to ensure those rights and is taking a conservative stand that is leaving even its usual friends behind. (Los Angeles Times)
Vatican decries embryo experiments | Experimentation could spawn a new form of slavery by creating a "sub-category" of human beings, says document aimed at U.N. conference on racism (Associated Press)
Religions ponder the stem cell issue | Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Methodist Church, and others have not issued opinions (The New York Times)
Spiritual spoofs | The Mantra of Jabez and Right Behind are part of a rarity in evangelical Christian life: humorists who poke fun at churches' sacred cows (The Washington Times)
The trials of Jabez | New books say prayer bestseller gets it wrong (U.S. News & World Report)
Author angers the Bible Belt | Philip Pullman's humanist tales of good and evil are a far cry from CS Lewis and A A Milne. But to the horror of the religious Right, they are a runaway hit. (The Observer, London)
Holy realists | Alan Wolfe reviews Grant Wacker's Heaven Below (The New Republic)
When morals bend to personal choice | Alan Wolfe talks about his new book, Moral Freedom: The Search for Virtue in a World of Choice. (The Christian Science Monitor)
My morals, myself | Personal rules, as described in Alan Wolfe's Moral Freedom, mean trying to have it both ways (John Leo, U.S. News & World Report)
Cupid with a saintly streak | Heroes and heroines don't romp through Christian romance novels, but they do have heavenly encounters (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Bible teachings inspire pictures | Robert Flores' book illustrates the New Testament epistles of 1 John, James and Jude (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California)
Science in search of God | When it comes to religious faith, scientific communities reflect the societies in which they are embedded (The Guardian, London)
Study looks at effect of church on kids | The poorer the neighborhood, the stronger the link between youngsters going to worship services and doing well at school (Gannett News Service)
Popular culture:
D'oh and the deity | The Simpsons has sometimes been called sacrilegious—rather than satirical—for its jabs at clergy and the faithful alike. But religious commentators, especially this year, have looked at the animated series and found plenty to like (Associated Press)
Doubts don't deter Christian rappers | Just as Christian hard-rock and metal bands fought for critical legitimacy and retail shelf space in the '70s and '80s, Christian rap and hip-hop artists are now struggling to gain acceptance and support from their brethren (Billboard)
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Spirituality on celluloid | Film festivals in Seattle, Los Angeles, examine faith and evil (The Washington Times)
A Web site `that could shake the world' | KillingtheBuddha.com is an online "religion magazine for people made anxious by churches" (Kathy Shaidle, The Toronto Star)
KCET probes the nation's faith | Los Angeles station is devoting prime-time hours to issues of life, death and sexuality (Los Angeles Times)
Slayer censor "God" | Band designs additional, less offensive artwork for new record (Rolling Stone)
Church advertising:
Anger over church shock tactics | Posters invoke body piercing, marijuana to lead youth to Church of England (Birmingham Post)
Methodists hope TV will fill pews | Marketing campaign emphasizes children's ministries and dynamic, diverse worship services (WYFF, Greenville, South Carolina)
Florida prisons turning to religion | Florida Department of Corrections officials have created a statewide, $4.5 million effort to provide specialized services and housing to religious inmates and hire additional chaplains and counselors at seven prisons (Associated Press)
International house of prayer | In a major evangelical movement its leaders say is ordained by God to herald the Second Coming, seven-day-a-week, 24-hour houses of prayer are being established throughout the country. (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Despite their crucial role in congregational life, 83 percent of women’s ministry leaders remain unpaid.
Jesus’ mercy is in his complete understanding of our hurt, not only in his ability to solve it.
Students impacted by pandemic isolation seem drawn to Christian communities and education.
