At the Salt Lake Tribune, "Focus pulls interview over Beck's Mormon faith." What a fine exhibition of the Christmas spirit of togetherness, tolerance, and good will. What was pulled was an interview with Beck about his recent book, The Christmas Sweater. It seems Focus on the Family readers were not adequately warned that Beck is a Mormon. Imagine, without a warning some of those folks might have actually touched a copy of Beck's book and picked up Mormon germs! Please, someone explain to me why Evangelicals, as a collective body, so often display all the maturity of an 8-year-old when it comes to dealing with other people and other religions.
Here's a statement from Beck's website responding to the decision:
The Christmas Sweater is a story about the idea of Christmas as a time for redemption and atonement. Whatever your beliefs about my religion, the concept of religious tolerance is too important to be sacrificed in response to pressure from special interest groups, especially when it means bowing to censorship. I'm humbled and grateful that hundreds of thousands of people from different faiths have read the book and have appreciated its uplifting message for themselves. At a time when the world is so full of fear, despair, and divisions, it is my hope that all of those who believe in a loving and peaceful God would stand together on the universal message of hope and forgiveness.
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Dave, you will probably get what wish someday in America.
People will look with boredom at theological distinctives. They won't even have enough passion in their hearts to even postulate "wrong play".
The cynicism is already there.
Your name,
Please explain to me why only sex embodies those things you just discussed?
I don't think it's really so much a fear of "mormon cooties" as a fear of loss of big bucks! Many Evangelical organizations have people in them, sometimes in a sizable majority, who are very frustrated with the status quo, and would be delighted to see much more interfaith cooperation and exchange and promotion of literature we generally agree with. But, tragically, there are almost always a few big donors who represent the most conservative fringe of evangelicalism, who also have access to the media and are eager to use it, who keep a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, saying, in essence: If you do x, we'll cut off all our giving and tell everyone else to also, and tell the world what you are doing, and cast it in the worst possible light! It takes only one or two such people and the deed is done. It's why How Wide the Divide? didn't get co-published by Deseret (as well as IVP) despite Stephen Robinson's desire for that to happen and "insider connections". It's why various BYU profs and even Church Authorities who at different times over the last dozen years have committed themselves to attend or participate in Evanelical-LDS gatherings were subsequently ordered by higher-ups to pull out. We all face it. If anyone reading this blog has any solutions, please implement them! I'm as frustrated as you all!! Meanwhile, happy new year and blessings on all your interfaith efforts. Some of us really do love you. :)
In response to Tim I would say that Focus on the Family and Ensign are different types of magazines. The Ensign has never promoted a book by an evangelical author, but I can't think of any promotions of books by Latter-Day Saint authors either except maybe a few about or written by the Presidents of the church. So the Ensign does not really promote any type of media beyond scriptures and talks of general authorities. It is largely a way for leaders of the church to teach the large body of members every month and also includes some inspirational stories written by members. I checked and the current issue does appear to have an article about a book coming out but the book is a collection of papers written by/about Joseph Smith.
I could be wrong about the nature of the two publications since I only poked a little around the Focus website and don't always read my Ensign cover to cover. The one magazine my church puts out that I have seen book recommendations in is the Friend magazine for children. And it had books listed by authors of various faiths not just Latter-Day Saints. No interviews by the authors though.
Thanks, Craig. Keep up the good work!
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