No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace
Clever, huh? Not so much. This was on a bumper sticker on a car in front of me in a left-turn lane this morning. Essentially, as the title suggests, it proclaims that to know and accept Christ as one's "Savior" is to know and have peace. Ostensibly, Christianity is the religion of Absolute Love toward one's fellow human being. Ironically, this, along with most Christian doctrine, is about as untrue as something can be. Just as a small example, click here for a history of Christian violence over the past (nearly) two millennia. Somehow, when put into perspective, Christianity, especially for Jews (see this Google Search as well), is a scary, frightening religion whose Anti-Semitism has NEVER wavered (though it seems to have quieted) in nearly two thousand years.
So why do the Jewish RWNJs (Right Wing Nut Jobs) like Yaakov Menken and Toby Katz rush to defend Christians every time they say something very blatantly Anti-Semitic? I really don't have an answer. But it seems to stem from the fact that apparently Christian RWNJs and Jewish RWNJs share common values, like "family values," and never mind all the recent, widespread instances of Christian RWNJ indiscretions in this area... I don't really know.
9 comments:
Your self-description includes this comment: "I invite positive discussion and welcome it. I DO NOT want, and I will delete, anything sarcastic or deriding posted on the comments."
Yet you call me a "right wing nut job" -- which casts heat, but no light, on some very real issues.
Christians believe that Jews who live "under the law" are cursed -- because the Torah says, "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold this Torah." Christians take that verse very literally and believe that if you do just one single sin, you are "cursed" and doomed to hell for all eternity. And since there are so many mitzvos, it is inevitable (they say) that sooner or later you are going to slip up and do a sin. Therefore it is almost inevitable that every Jew will be doomed. They believe that JC "saved" people from that curse -- i.e., that if you believe in him, then it is "as if" you fulfilled all the laws, and you are "perfected" and you are saved from hell. The above is Christianity 101.
This theology is pretty dumb and easily refuted (see, for example, David Berger and David Klinghoffer's books with all the arguments against Christianity well spelled out). But it is what virtually all Christians believe.
To many Jews it sounds like, if all Jews are "cursed" and anyone who believes in JC is "saved," then all Christians must be anti-Semitic. However, you only have to look at history to see that in actual fact, this is not true.
The US was actually founded by very philo-Semitic Protestants who were also very anti-Catholic. To tar them with the brush of the Inquisition is unfair and shows an ignorance of history, as well as a shameful lack of gratitude to a nation that has been exceptionally good to the Jews -- better than any other nation in our 2,000 year long Exile.
In order to understand Ann Coulter, you have to read some of her many columns and books. This fellow Deutsh who interviewed her is a fairly typical secular American Jew, who is equally ignorant of Jewish and of Christian theology and history. He took offense -- and attempted to goad Ann into saying something openly anti-Semitic, which she did not -- only because he was hearing for the first time in his ignorant life what Christians actually believe.
But had he known a bit more, and had he read some of her books and columns, he would have known that Ann is actually very pro-Jewish. He was quite unfair to her, as indeed the whole liberal blogosphere has been.
You can disagree with her on the issues -- on politics, on religion, on whatever. But to tar her and other conservative American Christians with the label "anti-Semite" is to slander and smear an innocent person, while completely obliterating the distinction between genuine anti-Semites and fine, decent Christians.
The lack of hakaras hatov -- of gratitude to a good, kind, generous nation -- is appalling.
It is not because of the liberals that we Jews enjoy religious freedom in this country. Secular liberalism has been the regnant state philosophy for only the last fifty years or so. It is because of the philo-Semitic Christians who founded this country over 300 years ago, and who enshrined freedom of conscience into the Constitution, that we enjoy the freedoms we have here.
You owe Ann an apology. And it goes without saying, you owe me an apology. In the future, if you want to disagree with me, please argue on the issues instead of using smears like "right wing nut jobs" as a substitute for argument. Please try to live up to your own noble goals, engage in "positive discussion" and avoid "sarcastic and deriding" comments. Thank you.
"Yet you call me a "right wing nut job" -- which casts heat, but no light, on some very real issues."
All one has to do is read some of your posts...
I AM pleased to see you think a major Christian theology is dumb. It's also wrong. It is also the basis upon which RWNJ Christians proselytize to Jews and the basis upon which Christians for nearly two thousand years have MURDERED Jews.
No where did I EVER say ALL Christians are Anti-Semites. In fact, I have a very close relationship with several Christians, Catholic and Protestant, people whom I consider VERY close friend and one whom I even consider to be a brother to me. He feels the same way. What I am saying is you and your friends are always rushing to defend Christian RWNJs because you think they are so wonderful because they (ostensibly) support Jews holding onto Israel and are staunch "supporters" of "family values" (never mind all that's been going on about that...). What you seem to forget is Jews suffered just as greatly under Protestants and Protestantism from its inception. Martin Luther himself was a rabid anti-Semite.
My point is, as general rule, DON'T TRUST THEM. History has proven this to us. Certainly, there are good people among them. I neither deny nor dispute this. But if we are to learn anything from the last nearly two thousand years of history, it's NOT TO TRUST THEM. You and you friends seem to have completely discarded history's lessons.
Being an anti-Catholic Protestant does not automatically make one Philo-Semitic. I do not lack Hakaras Hatov to the US or the Chesed this country has done for us. What I DO protest is the supposed hand of "friendship" the Christian Right has extended toward the Jews. It is filled with deception and there are many instances in which they've admitted this. It is more like an iron fist encased in a velvet glove, and that's frightening. Their goals are not all that noble and one of their primary goals IS STILL the conversion of Jews to Christianity. What I do protest is the abuse of power the Christian Right has demonstrated over the last several years, including Bush's illegal war in Iraq, treatment of the poor, worsening education, cutting of budgets to great causes, like education and healthcare for poor children, and the list can go on and on and on...
You, Toby, have an unreasonable HATRED toward secular Jews which I, and many people I know, find terribly offensive. Disgusting, really. You have no Ahava toward them, regardless, it seems, of background or circumstance. How dare you judge people without knowing who they are and what they stand for?! Have you ever spoken to my father-in-law, who is NOT orthodox, to find out why he's not Orthodox? No. You have no idea. Did you speak to my grandfather before he died to find out why he had such a deep hatred toward Judaism that he had himself, as a final revenge, CREMATED, just to spite Judaism, an action we could NOT stop?! No, you didn't. What about people who simply have no idea about Judaism? Or people who've been taught how "horrible" Judaism is? You have no right to judge these people. None of us do. It is your ignorance of other people, your ignorance when you SHOULD know better that's offensive, not someone else's who doesn't necessarily have any clue.
I watched the interview. He did not goad her into anything. She very clearly stated that a Jew becoming Christian is a "perfected Jew." How is this different from the nearly two thousand years of Christian doctrine of converting Jews, Catholic or Protestant? Innumerable THOUSANDS of Jews have DIED because of this doctrine. It is YOU who lacks Hakaras Hatov to those Kedoshim who died Al Kiddush Hashem rather than accept Christianity. And now, because the tone has changed, you think the doctrine has as well? I'm sorry, Toby, but you are very naive. I'm sure in her books she might come off as quite pro-Jewish. Certainly, she's had time to figure out how to phrase things. But one the spot, without the time to properly formulate a "politically correct" answer, your friend Coulter showed her true colors.
And please note. I mention Christian RWNJs. This does not necessarily include all Christians, just as Jewish RWNJ does not include ALL Chareidi Jews. I know many Chareidi Jews, my neighbor chief among them, who are perfectly wonderful and normal human beings.
You say it is not because of Liberals but because of Philo-Semitic Christians that we've enjoyed freedom of religion for the past 231 years (not quite 300). What do you think THEY were considered back in the mid to late 18th century (that's the 1700s)? LIBERALS!!!!! They were the ones FIGHTING the system, the anti-establishment! They broke off from their own religion by breaking with Britain! Remember, in Anglican Protestantism, the KING was the POPE!!! So, in reality, it is because of the liberals, religious preference aside, that we enjoy these freedoms.
So, no I owe neither you nor Ann Coulter an apology. Your blanket acceptance of the Christian Right Wing Nut Jobs is despicable at best and VERY dangerous at worst. History is on my side on this one. I pray to HKB"H the actions of you and your RWNJ friends doesn't end in disaster for the rest of us.
There are monkeys with more common sense than Ann Coulter. It is funny how many people defend her by trying to say that Deutsch did something wrong.
She opened her yap and made the statement. It is immaterial whether it is consistent with Xtian theology.
That was exactly my point to Toby Katz. This was a case where she didn't have time to formulate what she was going to say. She simply and honestly told the world what she really thinks of Jews. End of story. Unlike her books where she was able to formulate every statement she said without the pressure of being on the spot and on camera, in this case she really let us know what she thinks.
I hope Toby isn't holding her breath for an apology... :)
It's also worth pointing out that saying that American notions of religious tolerance owe everything to its "Christian" founders and nothing to the "liberal" Enlightenment movement of which many were ideologically and intellectually indebted seems rather (deliberately) myopic.
Lovely and sweet post. Thanks for your explanations. I see the light now.
BTW you are 100% correct that the principle of "Esav sonei leYakov" applies across the board, and one must always be wary of non-Jews. Those who are friendly should be treated in a friendly way in return, but Jews can never afford to let their guard down. Both on the right and -- especially -- on the left, there are plenty of anti-Semites around, even in a blessed country like America. The Harvard faculty club and the NY Times staff room are particular danger zones.
Thanks again for your sweet post, I really enjoyed it.
Toby's Latest:
DovBear et al: Teaching Toby Torah
DovBear et al: Ha!
"Both on the right and -- especially -- on the left, there are plenty of anti-Semites around, even in a blessed country like America. The Harvard faculty club and the NY Times staff room are particular danger zones."
I prefer the ones on the left. At least they don't hide their feelings and in their case we are able to follow the very good advice of "know your enemy." On the right, they sweet-talk, make gestures of peace and friendship, and eventually you'll learn to see their true colors. As I mentioned, they've more than once expressed their true feelings about Jews, and frankly, believing Jews would be "perfected" by becoming Christian is about as anti-Semitic as you can get. Remember, untold thousands DIED rather than become Christian. Some have even died for thinking about it and then saying no, like Rav Amnon, the author of U'Nesane Tokef. Have you ever read the story? I do EVERY Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. It really gets the emotions rolling.
To simply cast that aside and look at them as friends just because they're hiding their true feelings is the most foolish thing a Jew can do. Not just foolish. Naive and stupid as well. Look at the "Palestinians" today. Israel truly thinks they have a partner in peace because Abbas says all the right things in English to the world at large, including complete idiots like Codeleeza Rice and George Bush. Yet, in Arabic and in actions, things aren't all that simple, are they? Unless you also believe the "Palestinians" truly want and would abide by a lasting peace?
As DB mentioned on his blog, to whom do we give Hakaras Hatov? I thank God every day that we live in such an amazing country, one of the first in which we are NOT treated as second-class citizens. But remember, there were other countries that, once the emancipation took place during the 18th century, treated quite well. Germany was one of those. That didn't end too well. All it would take here is one far-Right Christian RWNJ in power and it would all end. This would probably not be the case if someone like Dennis Kucinich were president (not that I would want him to be...).
I'm sorry, Toby (there's your apology; enjoy it because it's the best you'll get out of me), but you and your group of misguided RWNJs are just that: misguided. I just hope you don't realize it too late.
1. As for religious Jews and the secular owing our religious freedoms to religious Protestants, I would say this. Our country was founded on certain noble and lofty ideals. Among them are freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and the notion that all men are created equal. However, Lincoln elegantly expressed his understanding that simply stating those ideals does not make them real. ("Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, CONVIEVED IN liberty and DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION that all men are created equal.") Simply writing down that we should all have religious freedom is admirable. But over the years since that was first declared, as we as a people continue to evolve and to think and to expand, we find new ways for that declaration to have meaning. So to say that Jews and the secular owe these freedoms to the original Protestant colonists is pretty short-sighted.
Really, our fundamental freedoms are not simply the words originally written down on a piece of paper, but the never-ending act of trying to achieve those ideals.
2. As for Ann Coulter, she is a smart business woman. She has every interest in saying things that will sell books, get people to click on internet links, take up news time, because she's an entrepreneuer. She's not a politician (at least in the sense of a statesman), because she has no interest in appealing to the masses. Her directly financial interest is in being as outrageous as possible without being written off as someone who forgot to take her psychotropic medication this morning.
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