Century marks

CHRISTIANITY LITE: Some of the CEOs notorious for unethical business practices are also "born-again" Christians. The list includes the recently acquitted Richard Scrushy of HealthSouth, Ken Lay of Enron and Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom, who was just sentenced to 25 years in prison. How did they justify to themselves actions that are unethical, if not criminal? Robert S. McElvaine of Millsaps College (Chicago Tribune, July 17) has an explanation, inspired by what he learned from two of his students who were comparing Hinduism and Christianity. Hindus believe in karma, they pointed out, so what one does in this life matters for the next life. But what matters for Christians is mere belief in Jesus Christ. This brand of Christianity, according to McElvaine, "basically says all you need to do is accept Jesus and then you can do whatever the hell you want (unless, of course, your name is Bill Clinton)."

WHAT MAKES A "GOOD" CHRISTIAN? Is it belief or action that makes one a Christian? Does it mean volunteering extensively, or opposing abortion and the death penalty, or believing in personal change and redemption? That is what researchers at Boston University School of Theology are trying to find out with a 59-question survey posted at www.religiosityscalesproject.com. Other scales used to measure what makes a good Christian used evangelical or conservative standards, they discovered. They hope to solicit other points of view and measure a broader scope of behavior. The researchers say that practicing Christian could be substituted for good Christian. They are trying to measure the importance of numerous variables to Christians rather than make judgments about how good or bad people are.

REAL EVANGELICALS: Writer David James Duncan grew up in a fundamentalist Seventh-Day Adventist Church, but once he was given the freedom to choose he left and never returned. He looks for God in nature and in what he calls the great wisdom texts of human experience. He does not think that the name evangelical necessarily fits those who are most inclined to own that moniker. Instead, it should belong to those who are inspired and motivated to live by the spirit of Jesus. "When the non-Christian Ambrose Bierce, for instance, wrote, 'War is the means by which Americans learn geography,' there was acid dripping almost visibly from his pen. His words, however, are aimed at the same antiwar end as the gospel statements 'Love thine enemies' and 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.' And 'Blessed are the peacemakers.' Bierce's wit is in this sense evangelical whether he likes it or not" (Orion, July/August).

HOGWARTS OR HOGWASH? Before he became pope, Benedict XVI declared that the Harry Potter novels erode Christianity in the souls of the young. He shared his views in an exchange with a fellow Bavarian Catholic, Gabriele Kuby, who published a book in which she argues that the fantasy series blurs the line between good and evil. Prior to the July release of the sixth volume in the Harry Potter series, an Italian newspaper reported that the Vatican was concerned not about the fictional use of magic, but about "the mixture of reality and supernatural that does not submit to common principles and regulations of the church hierarchy" (ENI, July 15).

OSAMA'S POLL NUMBERS: Support for Islamic extremism is declining among Muslims, according to a recent poll taken by the Pew Center for the People and the Press. For instance, 15 percent of Moroccans and 25 percent of Pakistanis said that suicide bombings could be justified against civilian targets, a drop from around 40 percent a year ago in both countries. One exception to this trend appears in Jordan, where 57 percent think suicide bombings and violence can be justified in defense of Islam. Nearly three quarters of Moroccans and about half of those in Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia--all largely Muslim nations--think that Islamic extremism is a threat to their own countries (Guardian, July 15).

BOSTON TEED OFF: Three years ago Pennsylvania Republican senator Rick Santorum wrote at a Catholic Web site (Catholic Online) that "it is no secret that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm" of the Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal, More recently Santorum and his spokesman put forward the theory that the liberal bias of Harvard and other academic institutions in the Boston area explain why sexual freedom is more predominant in Boston. Statistically, however, Boston can't be considered the center of the priest-abuse scandal. That dubious honor belongs to Covington, Kentucky, where since 1950 9.6 percent of priests have been accused of abuse compared to 7 percent in Boston. Dioceses in Albany, New York; Jackson, Mississippi; and Belleville, Illinois, all have higher percentages of accused priests than Boston (Boston Globe, July 17).

TEN AND COUNTING: When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in early July that the state of Texas could continue to display the Ten Commandments on its capitol grounds, it actually was ruling on a version of the text which includes 11 commandments--or 12 if you're Jewish (Jews consider "I am the Lord thy God" the first commandment). Sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the display presented a compromise version of the commandments to maintain the support of both Jews and Christians of various traditions, who don't divide the commandments the same way (Newsweek, July 11).