June 23, 2008 | 12:47 pm

The Chinese Christian comeback

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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From banned book to big business, the Bible makes a comeback in China:

NANJING, CHINA—The factory looks like it could be any plant in this export-driven nation. Hundreds of Chinese workers huddle over loud machines churning out large orders for customers at home and abroad.

But what they’re making might surprise you: Bibles.

As Tibetan monks grab headlines protesting the lack of religious freedom under Chinese rule, a booming Bible industry is on its way to turning the world’s biggest atheist nation into the world’s largest producer of the Good Book.

Chairman Mao might have said, “Our God is none other than the masses of the Chinese people,” but here at Nanjing Amity Printing Co., China’s only state-sanctioned Bible printer, little time is wasted pondering the contradictions of a metaphysical mismatch.

“We are printers,” said Li Chunnong, the general manager of the plant, which has about 500 employees. “As long as somebody legitimate sends us an order, we will print them.”

This pragmatic mind-set has contributed to the company’s staggering growth. Since its first Bible rolled off the presses two decades ago, Amity has printed more than 50 million copies in 75 languages and exported to more than 60 countries. With the help of a new hangar-sized facility, the company could well be the biggest Bible factory in the world, cranking out 12 million copies a year.

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June 23, 2008 | 11:12 am

How many atheists believe in God?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life today published the second half of a massive study on American spirituality. (The first, which found Americans change faiths frequently, appeared in February.) The new portion is full of information; some, like the fact that religion is “closely linked to political ideology” and that many Americans consider themselves spiritual but not dogmatic or even belonging to a specific religion, is not that surprising. Neither really is that 42 percent of Americans consider the entertainment industry a corrupting cultural influence.

But what about the 21 percent of Americans who say they don’t believe in God but aren’t sure of his non-existence?

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June 22, 2008 | 8:49 pm

It’s a miracle

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I was incredibly confused last night when I received a congratulatory text message from my editor. For what, I wondered, before remembering the LA Press Club dinner was being held at the Biltmore downtown. Much to my surprise, The God Blog had been elevated from best-blog finalist to winner. And all God’s people said: “Amen!”

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June 20, 2008 | 10:26 am

God’s Blog #3: Gambling

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

My servant, Greenberg, will be leaving this weekend for Sin City. I am disappointed, but have faith—yes, even the omniscient have faith—that he will behave himself. He tells me he only goes for the gambling, and mainly poker at that.

You’re surprised that I approve of such seemingly sinful behavior? That’s because games of chance are one of those unnecessary taboos for the godly.

Show Me one place in My holy book where I forbid gambling. (Also not in the Bible, promises that if you give your SS check to a televangelist, I will reward you with a new Cadillac.) My ministers will say you should be a good steward of what you’re given and should not attempt to get rich quick or fall in love money. And these words of wisdom are very true. Compulsive gambling, pseudo-professional gambling, these are behaviors I can’t approve. But gambling as affordable entertainment—to rip the industry’s motto—that’s something I would, er, bet on.

I’m not a gambler myself. If I was, you could imagine a scenario like the premise of “Back to the Future Part II”: old Biff brings back a sports almanac from 2015, which his younger self uses to bet on sports and become wildly rich. But I don’t need an almanac from the future, and I already own the whole universe.

Have fun, Greenberg. You owe Me.

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June 19, 2008 | 4:49 pm

Chai five: Atlanta Jews thank David Duke

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

How many stories about Jewish life begin with the words “David Duke,” a name unparalleled in its association with racism and anti-Semitism? I’m sure this article from the Atlanta Jewish Times was a first:

David Duke is a former Ku Klux Klan leader and neo-Nazi. He also played an important role in making Jewish Atlanta the thriving community it is today.

In 1990 he was a Louisiana legislator preparing to run for governor the next year, and people feared his political potential. One evening about 30 young Jewish adults gathered on a porch in Atlanta to hear an expert speaker discuss Duke. It was the first event for Access, the young-adult organization of the Atlanta chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

Eighteen years later, Duke is a footnote in American history, having faded into the political fringes after the 1991 gubernatorial election. Access, on the other hand, has grown into a vibrant piece of the Jewish community, an entry point for people under age 40 who want to get involved and who go on from Access to fill leadership roles in synagogues, Federation and other Jewish organizations, including the AJC. It is a model of success for other young-adult groups in Atlanta, and the AJC two years ago adopted the name and approach of Access for similar groups at chapters across the country.

(Hat tip: Bintel Blog)

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June 19, 2008 | 11:54 am

Ali Eteraz—Islamophobic Muslim?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

No, he’s not. But Ali Eteraz expects some of his co-religionists will accuse him of being a self-loathing Muslim because he doesn’t want to make a big deal about volunteers for Barack Obama telling two Muslim women they couldn’t appear in photos with the presidential candidate trying so hard to convince the world he is not a Muslim. (A litmus that should not be applied. Period.) Here is Eteraz’s argument:

Muslims (and Democrats) — like yours truly — who don’t get all frothing at the mouth about this, who don’t sit around and say “That Obama needs to do something about Islamophobia!!!”, who call this a non-story, are going to be accused of being anti-Muslim just for the simple fact that we treat anti-hijab bigotry as any other kind of bigotry — condemnable, deserving of an apology, but not the end of the world. This is still America; the best place in the world for a Muslim to exercise her faith, way better than Muslim countries).

In fact, I suspect very seriously that most of the pro-hijab crowd are going to end up politicizing hijab even more than it already is. I tell you what ladies: that’s not good for hijab.

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June 19, 2008 | 1:01 am

In Jesus name, Ontario Council meeting begins

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Mayor Leon

On Monday, about two weeks after allegations surfaced that Ontario Mayor Paul Leon was having an extramarital affair with a city employee, Leon issued a vague apology for “errors in his private life.”

You could try to connect the dots, but why don’t you just let Pastor Larry Enriguez, who delivered the invocation at Tuesday’s meeting.

Enriguez spoke at length about Jesus’ words to a mob prepared to lynch an adultress: “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”

What surprises me more than the mayor’s alleged behavior and the pastor’s seemingly thinly veiled prayer is that government invocations continue to mention a specific god, in this case Jesus. Praying to anything more than an indecipherable, ambiguous diety was ruled unconstitutional by a Los Angeles Superior Court in 2000, and upheld by higher courts. Back in 2005, I spoke with each city clerk in San Bernardino County about whether they were adhering. About half, including Ontario, discouraged sectarian prayer, half didn’t and a few lacked invocations all together.

The article, common of news from the LANG empire, cannot be found in the paper’s online archives or LexisNexis, but here are the top few paragraphs:

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June 18, 2008 | 4:38 pm

My two Jewish mothers

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

If I can be so self-indulgent, and misleading, Jon Stewart began “The Daily Show’s” segment on gay marriage last night began with a joke similar to the one I made Monday:

At 5:01 pm Pacific time, the first gay marriage in California took place, thanks to a recent ruling from the state’s supreme court. And yet ... the state of California ... continues ... to exist.

But that’s not what I anted to blog about. That reason, the marriage of Robin Tyler and Diane Olson in Beverly Hills, is mentioned at the 2:10 mark:

Among the other couples were these two women, married by a rabbi, who celebrated with the traditional breaking of a glass. Now, I’m going to say something here: I don’t have a problem with them having children because they are gay, but I am concerned for the welfare of any child with two Jewish mothers.

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June 18, 2008 | 4:31 pm

Celebrating 150 years of ‘Origin of Species’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Are you ready for Darwinmania?

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June 18, 2008 | 3:22 pm

Muslim women barred from picture with Obama

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Watch the bouncing ball:

Two Muslim women at Barack Obama’s rally in Detroit on Monday were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteers seeking to prevent the women’s headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate.

The campaign has apologized to the women, both Obama supporters who said they felt betrayed by their treatment at the rally.

“This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama’s commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. “We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers.”

Building a human backdrop to a political candidate, a set of faces to appear on television and in photographs, is always a delicate exercise in demographics and political correctness. Advance staffers typically pick supporters out of a crowd to reflect the candidate’s message.

When Obama won the North Carolina primary amid questions about his ability to connect with white voters, for instance, he stood in front of a group of middle-aged white women waving small American flags.

On the Republican side, a Hispanic New Hampshire Democrat, Roberto Fuentes, told Politico that he was recently asked, and declined, to contribute to the “diversity” of the crowd behind Sen. John McCain at a Nashua event.

But for Obama, the old-fashioned image-making contrasts with his promise to transcend identity politics and to embrace all elements of America. The incidents in Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country, also highlight an aspect of his campaign that sometimes rubs Muslims the wrong way: The candidate has vigorously denied a false, viral rumor that he himself is Muslim. But the denials at times seem to imply to some that there is something wrong with the faith, though Obama occasionally adds that he means no disrespect to Islam.

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June 18, 2008 | 1:37 pm

‘Hulk’: Jewish peacenik transforms into raging right-winger

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I saw “The Incredible Hulk” last night. It was good, not great, but you don’t need me to tell you it was a lot better than this “Hulk.” There is no mention in the movie of Bruce Banner’s religious beliefs. But Banner does attempt to control his rage with meditation, so let’s imagine he is a progressive Jew. Eli Valley at Jewcy did so, and the above comic shows how “a remark that could be construed as mildly critical of Israel” transforms the liberal Banner into a raging right-winger.

The complete strip, in larger type, is available at Jewcy.

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June 17, 2008 | 3:15 pm

Rick Warren, fascism and ‘The Family’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I’m currently reading “The Family,” Jeff Sharlet’s new book about the shadowy and incredibly influential organization behind the National Prayer Breakfast. Sharlet, who is Jewish, was, quite oddly, invited into The Family’s fundamentalist fold a few years back, from which he produced this Harper’s exposé. (The book is a scary read that expands heavily on that article, and which I’ll be reviewing for The Jewish Journal.)

Sharlet describes the organization’s theology as built upon Jesus the strongman and revolutionary, not the savior and street preacher. What seems to trouble him most is how this organization and its friends, which include many members of Congress and foreign leaders, often those with less than stellar human-rights records, combine religion with capitalism, fundamentalism with power. For example, this conversation between Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and The Family’s longtime leader Doug Coe:

God’s law and our laws should be identical. “People separate it out,” he warned Tiahrt. “‘Oh, okay, I got religion, that’s private.’ As if Jesus doesn’t know anything about building highways or Social Security. We gotta take Jesus out of the religious wrapping.”

“All right, how do we do that?” Tiahrt asked.

“A covenant,” Doug Coe answered. The congressman half smiled as if caught between confessing ignorance and pretending he knew what Doug Coe was talking about. “Like the Mafia,” Coe clarified. “Look at the strength of their bonds.” He made a fist and held it before Tiahrt’s face. Tiahrt nodded, squinting. “See, for them it’s honor,” Coe said. “For us, it’s Jesus.”

Doug Coe listed other men who had changed the world through the strength of the covenants they had forged with their “brothers”: “Look at Hitler,” he said. “Lenin, Ho Chi Minh, bin Laden.” The Family possessed a weapon those leaders lacked: the “total Jesus” of a brotherhood in Christ.

“That’s what you get with a covenant,” said Doug Coe. “Jesus plus nothing.”

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