Religious Futurists in Action "Meet the people today who will advance religion tomorrow" January 10, 1999 The monthly news bulletin of the World Network of Religious Futurists Table of Contents: 1. Shopping for Faith in America 2. Transforming the Medium 3. Doorways to the Future 4. Futurizing Jewish Education 5. Doomsday Cult Deported from Israel 6. Thriving on Conflict 7. Time Targets in the 21st Century? 8. Top Ten Books on Macrohistory 9. Need help with Yourdomain.org? 10. Subscribe and Unsubscribe 1. Shopping for Faith in America One academic says, "Shopping for Faith is as good as it gets in assessing the U.S. religion scene at millenniums end. Cimino and Lattin present a picture of multiple trends headed in often contradictory directions." American religion flourishes in a consumer culture, a veritable shopping mall of faith. How do people navigate this bewildering array of choices in an age of mix-and-match religion? This November '98 blockbuster identifies dozens of researched based trends which will shape American religion in the next century and presents intimate portraits of Americans describing their beliefs, their religious heritage, and their spiritual search -- from conservative evangelical worship to the most esoteric New Age workshop. Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium (Hardcover - 224 pages, Jossey-Bass; ISBN: 0787941700, $25.00) also includes a companion CD-rom, which enables readers to monitor religious trends via the Internet. A must-have for religious futurists. The publisher's book notice and table of contents can be found at: http://www.josseybass.com/catalog/isbn/0-7879-4170-0/index.html The first three chapters and their postscript maybe read at: http://www.ssnewslink.com/link/textlink/olb7/ 2. Transforming the Medium The Futures Institute of Rio Salado Colleges is co-hosting an interdisciplinary three-day conference, entitled, "Transforming the Medium," April 7-9, 1999 in Sedona, Arizona, for leaders of higher education and industry change agents. The conference will examine multimedia delivery systems, digital technologies, and help leaders develop a strategy of how these changes could enhance their organizations. For the conference brochure, video invitation and registration, see: http://www.dist.maricopa.edu/comm/redrock/ 3. Doorways to the Future Tom Lombardo, director of the Futures Institute in Tempe, Arizona, has also created an interdisciplinary, cosmological and practical overview of the future through 16 "doorways." Cyber-doorway open into sections such as: The Study of the Future, The Nature of Change, Theories of the Future Religion, Spirituality, and Metaphysics, with web links to sub-topics plus an extensive annotated electronic bibliography. Helpful site for students or any religious futurist looking for a doorway to futures studies. http://www.rio.maricopa.edu/ci/riointernet/future/door.htm Doorways is just one of 100 top sites for religious futurists featured at WNRF's Future of Religion Research page. Be sure to bookmark this page: http://www.wnrf.org/search.htm 4. Futurizing Jewish Education WNRF Jewish Node chairman, Rabbi Moshe Dror mdror@wnrf.org, is hosting "The Second Annual Conference on "Futurizing Jewish Education: New Paradigm Shifts," March 23-25, 1999 in Bet Yatziv, Beer -Sheva, Israel. Co-sponsors include the Ministry of Education, Israel, Center for Futurism in Education, Ben Gurion Univ, the Israeli Futures Assoc. and the World Future Sociey, Israel Chapter. Anticipatory thinkers will deal with the content and processes of teaching and learning Jewish Studies over the next 10 - 20 years. Special attention will be given to how emerging cyberspace cultures can deal with ancient heritage in Israel and in the Jewish Diaspora. An simultaneous electronic forum will link Jewish Educators with the global community to hear their "visions, hopes, reservations and suggestions." Email jewishfutures@wnrf.org if you would like to participate in any way. 5. Doomsday Cult Deported from Israel Fourteen members of a Denver-based "Concerned Christians" group were deported on Friday from Jerusalem, based on statements by their leader, Monte Kim Miller, who alleged the way to salvation is to die in the city of Jerusalem on the eve of the year 2000. With the rise of apocalyptic hysteria, many are concerned about the outbreak of millennial violence. "Concerned Christians" began in the early 1980s as an effort to counter the New Age movement. When the eight adults, six children arrived at the Denver International Airport on Saturday, they refused to meet with family who had been waiting for their arrival. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance have posted a page on symptoms of millennial neurosis with web-links, as well as common factors found in Doomsday Groups, such as: apocalyptic beliefs, charismatic leadership, social encapsulation, stockpiling of arms, etc. http://www.religioustolerance.org/cultsign.htm 6. Thriving on Conflict Based on in-depth face-to-face interviews, American Evangelicalism (Univ of Chicago, ISBN 0-226-76419-2), provides a landmark profile of contemporary evangelicalism and its ability to thrive on conflict. In the context of a diverse and pluralistic society, author Christian Smith writes: "American evangelicalism... is strong not because it is shielded against, but because it is--or at least perceives itself to be--embattled with forces that seem to oppose or threaten it. Indeed, evangelicalism ... thrives on distinction, engagement, conflict, and threat." Ironically, Smith observes these "subcultural distinctives which foster evangelicalism vitality... are the same factors which can foster its ineffectiveness as an agent of social change." For the publisher's notice, see: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/13565.ctl 7. Time Targets in the 21st Century? The end of the 20th century has been the favored terminus for global and nation planning, going back some 30 years. In what is a twin trend to apocalypticism, the Year 2000 has also called forth inumerable time-target goals for social change, in the fields of literary, health, education, or religion. The "Christian Futures" node of the WNRF will host a consultation in Colorado Springs, Colo., this March 15-16th, to examine this phenomena. Led by professional futurist, Dr. Todd Johnson, the consultation will coincide with the 20th anniversary of the creation of Protestant watchword, "A Church for Every People by the year 2000." Participants will consider this watchword in the context of post-modern missiology and the framework of the new century. On-line registration details at: http://www.wnrf.org/networks/watchword.htm 8. Top Ten Books on Macrohistory What are the top ten influential books on the philosophy of history? In chronological order, Russian Prof. Nikolai S. Rozov rozov@nsu.ru lists: 1. Bible (esp. Genesis, Daniel and Apocalypse) 2. Hesiodus, Labours and Days 3. St Augustine, Civitas Deis 4. Vico, La Scienza Nuova... 5. Herder,Ideas on Philosophy of History 6. Kant, "The Idea of Universal History" 7. Hegel, Philosophy of History 8. Marx and Engels, German Ideology 9. Spengler, Decline of the West 10. Toynbee, Study of History For more on macrohistorical dynamics, browse the archive at: http://www.nsu.ru/filf/pha/ 9. Need help with Yourdomain.org? The WNRF now offers web registration, site design and hosting services for future-oriented non-profit groups which need a jump-start to get their program on-line. Costs start from as little as $240 a year, for 500 megs of web storage, unlimited hits, 200 email alias, and unlimited auto-responders and email forums. Email us your phone number at admin@wnrf.org and we will give you a call to discuss your needs. We can even help you with web page design, site promotion or coach someone in your group on how to maintain your site. 10. Subscribe and Unsubscribe The "Religious Futurists in Action" bulletin is published monthly for the members of the World Network of Religious Futurists. If you would like to receive this bulletin regularly by email, join the World Network of Religious Futurists today. To automatically receive a new members packet via email, send a message to: membership@wnrf.org or use our secure on-line membership form to pay your annual membership fee now. Back issues of this bulletin are posted at the WNRF web site. http://www.wnrf.org/bulletin/archives.htm Religious Futurists in Action is a publication of the: World Network of Religious Futurists 4427 Thackeray Place NE Seattle, WA 98105-6124 USA Phone: (206) 545-0547 Fax: (206) 633-3561 Email: feedback@wnrf.org Electronic forum: wnrf-thinktank@xc.org Web site: http://www.wnrf.org Future of religion search page: http://www.wnrf.org/search.htm Submission of news items: editor@wnrf.org Bulletin Archives: http://www.wnrf.org/bulletin/archives.htm WNRF Officers: Chairperson, Rev. Dr. Richard Kirby DrRSKirby@wnrf.org Secretary, Jay Gary jgary@wnrf.org, 1-800-636-MAGI Publication keywords: news, future, religion, research, creativity, social innovation, change, forecasting, spirituality, creativity, peace, civilization, millennialism, theology, science, technology, culture, scholars, bulletin Disclaimer: the views expressed by groups or authors cited in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect the position of the World Network of Religious Futurists. Copyright 1999 by WNRF, Inc. All rights reserved. Religious Futurist™ is a trademark of WNRF, Inc. Go to RFA monthly Archives BACK TO WNRF HOME PAGE This page is updated by the WNRF webmaster. Your comments are welcome: feedback@wnrf.org Copyright © 1999 by WNRF. All rights reserved. URL: http://www.wnrf.org/bulletin/rfa0199.htm Revised: Jan 10, 1999