News-Record.com

"If your religion and your faith works for you, then congratulations, you're right."

What if my religion says I'll go to paradise and get 72 virgins if I kill infidels. After I suicide bomb innocent people am I still right?

Edit: Hypotheically speaking for sake of discussion, of course. (don't want the black helicopters landing in my backyard)

I try to treat everyone with respect and dignity, but I see no reason to treat their beliefs the same way. If someone were to express to me the belief that cows think in Spanish, I would have to express a high degree of skepticism... but I'd try to avoid laughing in their face if I thought that such a belief was central to their view of the world.

I don't accept or respect any belief in an eternal afterlife... but I'm not about to bother those who do. At least so long as they don't act on a secondary belief that they must harm others in order to gain admittance to heaven.

Actually hugh, I would talk to an Imman before further perpetrating this widely held misconception of the Islamic faith.

While I am not the LTE writer, I do not feel that this was the intention nor context. Why do we so often read into these with such "slippery slope" preconceived notions.

I believe that the LTE writer makes some very valid claims that need to be addressed by each and every one of us.

Shalom

i read the aronson letter and do not see any mocking of judaism but yes a mocking of the reform rabbi guttman who uses, bends, and twists 'WWJD' as evidence that there is no war on christianity and that therefore EVERYONE including christians should be focused singularly on GOOD WORKS, which is the bottom line of reform judaism...while reiser may be neither christian nor jewish, she clearly demonstrates her religion to be the right one: secular fundamentalism....that truth is relative in this world, and the only way for this world to work is to jump on that wagon since there are billions of them out there...as a jewish believer, both christian and jewish (of course the jews regard me as jewish no longer as they do Jesus), i do choose the narrow path as she describes above and my having both the liberal jewish experience and the revelation of the New Testament in my life, my calling is to battle these people who believe everyone is right...EPH 2v8

Darryl, I was referencing those Islamofacists that have become brainwashed by fanatical Islamic leaders to do the prejudical suicide bombings, head choppings and flying jets into buildings, etc.

"If your religion and your faith works for you, then congratulations, you're right. But guess what -- there are billions of others who are just as right as you are"........................
the lte is apparently affiliated with the narcissism/egoism religion...if it feels good do it, irrespective of the consequence to others !?
if you were to adhere to her philosophy then you would need to believe there is no absolute truth. as a Christian i believe the scripture teaches there is only one way.....as a Christain i believe that God rules the universe by decree and not by democracy...it is ultimately the Holy Spirt bearing witness in us that leads us to truth (darryl we do have something in common !).

hugh you made a good point......

darryl, which points of the lte do you believe are valid claims.....................

j4Jesus....."secular fundamentalism" i believe you called it right....................

to the lte....i am considering forming a religion who's main precept is.... that anyone who believes that everyone is right needs to be sacrificed on the altar of my god....would you be willing to become my first sacrifice....after all you have already endorsed my religion as being right ? your concept of everyone is right defies any test of logic....think about it....if i believe that eating spinach is the only path to eternal life..by your definition i am right.....now you believe that the path to eternal life is reached by eating walnuts and you are right...if i am right then you are wrong.....if you are right then i am wrong.....which means that everyone is not right. so your logic (or lack thereof) is basically flawed....everyone cannot be right....that kind of belief simply takes the path of least resistance and allows everyone to feel warm and cozy without fear of consequence....personally that doesn't work for me !!

Interesting links:

http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/

http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/

http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/

http://www.rickross.com/reference/messianic/messianic18.html

http://www.beingjewish.com/toshuv/whynotbrief.html

http://rockoftheworld.tripod.com/

reiser writes: "I think we all just need to get over it, you see, because everyone is right, and that's always the way it will be.***(sorry reiser, not according to G-d's Word!!!)*** If your religion and your faith works for you, then congratulations, you're right. But guess what -- there are billions of others who are just as right as you are"

ponder this thought reiser: "it doesnt really matter what they are right about when they find themselves to be wrong about Jesus"...

I cannot believe the arrogance displayed here. Respect the other person whether that person's view is agreed with or not. That is basically what I read in the LTE.

As the LTE writer stated, "I prefer to be educated and accepting of other beliefs and ways of living."

I see the LTE writer stating that basically today EVERYONE considers his/her faith belief/tradition to be the RIGHT one and that a person will argue that point to no end. Respect the person!

Shalom

this strikes me as odd ......the lte asks.......
" Why are so many people so convinced that their way and their faith is the only right way to be (implying they could be wrong )? ".....she wonders out loud why everyone could possibly think they are right.....then.......
she states " I think we all just need to get over it, you see, because everyone is right, and that's always the way it will be. " what she initially accuse everyone of doing (thinking their way and their faith is the right way), she then admits that they are in fact correct doing so....is it me or is she arguing both sides of the argument simultaneously ? can something be simultaneously right and wrong at the same time ??
darryl i respect her right to her opinion, what i challenge is her logic, which i mentioned in my first post......

Buz, understood.

Shalom

I am convinced that religious pluralists are some of the sweetest, most well-intentioned people in the world. I am also convinced that most of them do not have the foggiest idea of what most world religions teach. Nor do they think their position through very well.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jews and Muslims believe that Jesus is NOT the Son of God. Can Jesus BOTH BE the Son of God and NOT BE the Son of God at the same time and in the same sense?

Christians, Jews and Muslims believe that God created a physical universe. Hindus believe that all that is in the universe is an illusion (Maya). Is the universe REAL and NOT REAL at the same time?

I could make several other clear-cut distinctions about religious beliefs. All of them cannot be true at the same time!

I forgot who to cite for this particular quote, but it sums up my position on this subject nicely: "Be egalitarian toward people, but elitist toward ideas."

ecuman you validate my point......btw ...wishing you a prosperous and healthy new year !

Buz, have a great New Year!

Speaking of intolerance:

Pat Robertson says God stuck down Ariel Sharon:

http://mediamatters.org/items/20060105000

This post challenged me to go to the Word. Here’s what I found: Scripture tells me to be loving, patient, humble, kind, and forgiving toward others. But I can’t find any Scripture that exhorts me to “respect” false teaching. Instead, I see instruction to “beware” false teaching, false witnesses, false prophets, false apostles, and false brethren. And I see a warning to avoid foolish disputes about the law (religion) because they are “useless.”

And then there’s this: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:12-14

So to followers of Christ: Be kind and patient and so on, but beware of any and all false teaching. Read 1 Corinthians 2:12-14. Repeat as needed. ;)

The best way the handle defending our faith comes from 1 Peter 3 (NASB):

15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

16 and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

ECUMAN, I concur. Look at what happens to those who preach peace, love, joy, acceptance! The record speaks for itself.

Shalom

Chosen Fast......amen................
" ............. because they are spiritually discerned.”
this is it in a nutshell, we have many who blog here that confess to be atheist, agnostic and shades in between and at the secular level many of these people you want surrounding you, by and large they are team players and loving and caring people, but yet they are lost and have no connection to the Spirit of God (i.e. Holy Spirit). trying to speak of things that the Holy Spirit has spoken in your heart with those who are barren is typically a futile fruitless effort and soon deteriorates to the non believer accusing the believer of being holier than thou (which they actually are)......some here who say there is no current proof that God exists (agnostics) use scripture as proof to support their p.o.v., when scripture itself says these are they who have received the spirit of the world...it further says that we must have the Spirit of God in order that we may receive His truths.....so it become extremely difficult at times to compare spiritual things with worldly things while trying to have a constructive conversation.....it is akin to explaining boolean algebra to a first grader.........thanks for bringing that truth to the table.....

ecuman, AMEN again !!

this morning's paper includes a summary of 91 year old stanley frank's funeral service conducted by refom jewish rabbi guttman and another reform rabbi malino who is on staff as a professor at guilford college (what is this guy teaching? the greensboro reform jews and the quakers must have formed an alliance here in greensboro by virtue of being neighbors and it seems they share as well in all aspects of 'faith'including good works as THE path to 'the heavenly realm')...my guess is that rabbi malino teaches a pluralism class that the LTE author has taken...

at the end of the story it states that guttman decrees in the funeral service that he is absolutely positive 100% that mr. frank has arrived now in 'the heavenly realm' and G-d himself patted mr. frank on the bald head and said 'good job stanley'... it is pleasing to imagine that one of the many christian caregivers at the Blumenthal Jewish Nursing Home had some years to reveal to stanley that Jesus was who he said he was and that guttman's decree was unknowingly true...

again, to the quakers and the reform jews, if you are wrong about Jesus, it doesnt matter what you are right about...

jew4jesus ,
there is no question that you are zealous for the Lord......i would like to ask what you believe your main (no.1) function of being Christain is.....only one answer allowed.........
may i also ask how long you have been saved ? these are not loaded questions...i'm am just trying to get a sense of your faith walk....thanks in advance for whatever you are willing to share......peace.

Jews4, You ask what Frank taught as Guiford. Guilford is a Quaker school. If you are not a member or an attender of the Religious Society of Friends it is really of no concern to you.

Your "guessing" is no more than speculation. Ever heard of bearing false witness?

How can you be so krass over a man that is already dead? Have you no heart? Are you sure you're not a member of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, KS? You're beginning to sound like those folks who picket funerals declaring the deceased in hell.

Where do you fellowship? Where on earth would you find a church in our area that has your understandings? I can think of none, even within fundamentalist circles, that would accept your antagonistic "witness".

bunch of pansies all of them

progess- you bear a false witness to the jews with your statement from the other day: "I am not convinced that the jews will be judged to hell" (by not believing that jesus was who he said he was)...as a christian, and Buz claims that you know the scriptures very well if not even better than very well, explain to me why you give great hope to all your jewish friends that G-d has a different plan of salvation for them?...while i believe that my jewish brothers, sisters, friends, etc must recognize Jesus as the Jewish Messiah to be saved, something i am and 250,000 J4Jesus around the world are relentless and passionate about, you bear false witness as a christian by giving them false hope...and again i believe you and whoever else claims this christian universalism is a serious religion are deceived by the deceiver and are no more nor no less than new age christian cultists...

also, i asked what this reform rabbi malino, who the article today says is on staff as a professor at GC, teaches...i speculated that it is a pluralism class...my only speculation about Frank was that maybe he was indeed saved by a christian caregiver(s) who are numerous at the Jewish rest home (the jews dont/wouldnt work there!!)

i worship at Evangel...i find the black churches more welcoming and more brutally honest than the white churches here in the 'boro...is my "choice" of worship and fellowship acceptable enough to you?

Buz- for now in these times, my main function as a christian is to be brutally honest (about G-d's Word)....i am a rather new believer...i am 49 and a believer for 5 years...i would not mind at all to start a discipleship with you; i enjoy and respect all your posts over the last few days that i have chosen to blog...

progress- what you believe is right wont amount to anything when you are wrong about Jesus.

Wow, jew4jesus, try reading and living Matthew 5-7.

Shalom

"you bear a false witness to the jews with your statement from the other day: "I am not convinced that the jews will be judged to hell" (by not believing that jesus was who he said he was)...as a christian, and Buz claims that you know the scriptures very well if not even better than very well, explain to me why you give great hope to all your jewish friends that G-d has a different plan of salvation for them?"

Well, there could be this:

Rom 11:26-29 - And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, "Out of Zion will come the Deliverer; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob." "And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins." As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

If Paul didn't know the deal for Jews in the Christian theology, who would?

Jews4...I posted to a link on Christian universalism which will answer your questions. There are not two ways to salvation. How many times can I say that you are misrepresenting what I believe. Or do you just not care?

Here is that site again in case you missed it:
http://www.christian-universalism.com/

The only way of salvation is via the death and resurrection of Jesus...how plain can I be? Do you know another way?

Ah, Evangel Fellowship...Otis Lockett. Nice new building! Hey, I don't have to approve of your church choice. If you can see your church as an extension of Jesus' ministry (i.e., the Sermon on the Mount), then go for it.

And you say Jews wouldn't work at the Jewish rest home (I am guessing you mean Blumenthals). Only one phone call verified that, indeed, Jewish folks do work there. They were amused at your comment by the way. So I suppose I am not the only one here who is fallible.

My suspecion is that your not nearly as krass in person as you come across here. It is easy to be harsh and "prophetic" behind the safe wall of a computer. My guess is your an ole' softie in person. Perhaps you're even someone I would like to hang out with. I suspect that your aggressive style has quite a bit to do with your families'feelings toward you and your faith. It does hurt deeply when those we love push us aside because of who we are or what we believe. But for goodness sake, don't be that which you hate. As Ghandi said, "be the change you want to see."

I pray for you. I pray that you would realize that you are not God and that you are infallible. You may hold His name up to be so sacred you cannot include an "o", but you sure don't seem to care that you set yourself up as omniscient, thus making yourself equal to God...wasn't that the first sin anyway?

Be good and have a nice weekend...I mean that! Have a great weekend.

that last paragraph should read, "that you are NOT infallible"..LOL

nemo,
you are an atheist....your input is not valid in a spiritual conversation ! you neither understand scripture nor the power of it !

pvixen,
well stated meted out in love, as it should be. ya'll have a great weekend !!

"you are an atheist....your input is not valid in a spiritual conversation ! you neither understand scripture nor the power of it !"

Regardless of my religious stance, Buz, I DO have the ability to understand the English language. j4j made a statement, and I happened to know a passage from your Bible that said something different. It doesn't require magically-obtained knowledge to be able to give valid input to a conversation.

But being an ex-Christian, I have a good idea of what you see as "the power" of the Bible... at least the parts that agree with what you choose to believe.

Buz, should nemo be spoken to in such a manner? Many who post here have differing views of scripture and on many occasions have taken out of context verse/s.

While I am not saying that is what has happened in this instance, saying that one has no "valid input" into ANY conversation is very harsh. While the input from some may not be viewed in a "good way" or "bad way" does not mean that their input is valid or invalid. EVERYONE has a right to speak, whether that one is authoratative on the topic matter or not.

BTW progressive, I have enjoyed reading your posts here today.

Shalom

good thing jesus won't as skared of stepping on toes as you guys or he'd never been crucifyed

progress- thanks for your prayers for me and i apologize if i come off as omniscient, i am only omniscient about how narrow is the path! how grateful that i came to that saving knowledge!...

can you answer what rabbi malino teaches at GC?? you seem to be somehow plugged both into the quaker and reform jewish communities...i would love to know...can you also answer, is there some kind of 'alliance' between the quaker community and the reform jewish community? i know many greensboro reform jews send their kids to the friends school which i find to be 'interesting'??

my family hating jesus and therefore me is one thing, and i can handle that, its that i know something you dont know, and that is that ALL reform jews hate jesus...he is just a name to be used in vain, mainly when you are not around, but i am sure it has slipped out in front of you from time to time...you are 'goyim' , africans are 'shvartzes'...they honestly think that 'chosen people' means better than everyone else...can't you see as you quote Ghandi, that honestly then i am the change i want to see!!!!! i think it is like 1 out of every 2500 jews in the world is a believer; you can help with that number!

nemo- in defense of Buz, he didnt write that you dont know how to read the Scripture, only that you dont understand it...the Jews will still have to know jesus as messiah to live in the kingdom along with the gentile believers...

darryl,
do you remember when satan misquoted scripture to Jesus ? He neither understood it nor knew the power of scripture. nemo comes on citing scripture with a complete non understanding of what paul was talking about....but presents it as authoritative. compare spiritual things with spiritual things...not worldly things with spiritual things. i am aware of nemos past fling with Christianity and each Christian needs to weigh the words of others and judge within themselves if those words are light or dark...when nemo quotes the word of God, he does not so to honor or glorify God but rather to mock believers and insult God....you are a much better person that i in this regard, i generally am very accepting of others pov but i stop short of affirming and encouraging a non believer (atheist) to represent God's word.....you will have to exercise forgiveness towards me on this on.....grace & peace.....
and for the record i did not say ANY of his inputs were invalid...only the one concerning spiritual matters. imo nemo is a well studied and very intelligent individual who has brought much to many subjects.....just not this one !!!

j4Jesus, thanks brother for gettin' my back !

Buz, I am saddened that my post is misunderstood. Reread it sentence by sentence, then connect those to see if my context is somewhat more clear.

Shalom

Mark 7:9 - He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
Mark 7: - 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Jesus was not real happy with those reject God's written words (i.e. commandments)....those same people would make God's word of no effect by following their traditions. the pharisees taught a tradition of man in place of God's written word.....to me darryl there is a huge difference between a professing Christian who posts here and presents a different prespective on God's word than a confessed atheist who posts here citing God's word as a mockery....i am beginning to wonder what it would take to make you become righteously indignant ? do you think for one moment that Jesus Christ would stand by idly and not defend the words the Father had spoken to him ? i was not slanderous towards nemo, i quite simply shared my heart on this subject....and as always you are entitled to defend an atheist and his presentation on the word of God. the natural mind knows not the things of God ! peace brother......(800-411).....
:-)

Buz, easy there guy! Maybe we should discuss this privately as I feel that it is deeper than what we need to dialogue with here in a public forum.

BTW, for me to "become righteously indignant," I am not sure. I believe that I would violate my Peace Testimony to become indignant over ANY thing. I strive to live peacefully with ALL people. While I may get strong in my words on occasion, I do not consider myself to have become indignant in quite a while.

Shalom

"j4Jesus, thanks brother for gettin' my back !"

...
"do you remember when satan misquoted scripture to Jesus ?"

Am I really all that much of a danger to you? Am I really an enemy that you must compare to satan and use military slang in your conversation with me?

And this, from the followers of this supposed "prince of peace"? Good one.

A special message from Rabbi Daniel Lapin...

WHY I FIGHT

Readers of my columns which often excoriate secularizing organizations, many of them Jewish, frequently ask me, “Lapin, why do you fight?” My answer is always the same. I fight to preserve an America comprising millions of diverse citizens all with their own beliefs yet who are united by a common view of what constitutes virtuous behavior.

Living among people who do not behave virtuously is at the very least unpleasant. It is usually also intimidating, and ultimately dangerous and expensive.

If many of my fellow citizens are unable to restrain themselves from criminal conduct, the quality of my life declines. An evening stroll through the neighborhood becomes a frightening experience. My cost of living goes up as commerce compensates for shoplifting, fraud, and robbery. Mounting regulations rob me of my freedoms as government futilely attempts to control the anti-social behavior of those who have lost the ability to control themselves.

If many of my fellow citizens strip the sacred out of sex, the quality of my life declines. My struggle to reach for the stars, already difficult, becomes infinitely harder as the culture around me shackles me to the barnyard. I struggle to raise my children for a life of refinement and spiritual aspiration while hormonal hysteria competes for their attention. One can tell people by the language they use and the language around us becomes ever more vulgar and obscene. One can tell much by how people dress and my daughters are made to feel like freaks because they don’t expose their belly buttons, breasts, or thighs.

If many of my fellow citizens replace courage with cowardice, the quality of my life declines. They may cloak their cowardice in virtue by speaking of pacifism or wishing to save lives but their abject fear nonetheless empowers tyranny. Their fear of confronting evil means they see only victims, never villains. They see only the deprived and never the depraved. They make it all but impossible for government to fulfill its primary purpose—defending citizens from violence. It is cowardice when government fails to empower the military to protect us from violence perpetrated by outside enemies. It is cowardice again when our criminal justice system fails to protect us from violence inflicted by conscienceless psychopaths.

Crime, sex, and cowardice are all natural. They are found in nature. Animals seize one another’s food, they respond instinctively to the sexual impulse, and, given the choice, they run rather than fight. I think that God may have hoped for better from humanity. We all live more happily when we live among people who do not act upon their natures but resist them. The quality of all our lives is enhanced when we each conquer our natures.

If we hope to deter crime only through police, why, there cannot be enough police officers to prevent crime. For in the final analysis, who will police the police? In similar vein, all the sex-ed classes in public education are inadequate to prevent young human bodies from responding instinctively to the sexual impulse. With regard to cowardice, the rarity of courage reminds us of how banal is cowardice. It is the natural reflexive response to frightening challenge.

In other words, it seems to me that our only hope of escaping increasing crime is either increased rates of incarceration or alternatively if we each recover our own capability to reject the lure of crime. Not because we might get caught by a policeman but because we loathe the idea of sullying our souls. It used to be that way. I’m sure you remember a time when Americans seldom locked their doors.

Our only hope for replacing public depravity and animalism is if we all raise children who revel in modesty and who take pride in saving themselves for marriage. No government program can accomplish this. Our only hope for recovering national courage is if we once again find meaning in masculinity and we view cowardly behavior as shameful rather than as newsworthy.

However government cannot effect any of these changes. But God can. I think there may be only one hope for restoring and maintaining the quality of life which originally made America such a magnet for the world’s downtrodden seeking a better life. That one hope is a Biblical blueprint for civilization.

It is no accident that in the many American communities of Orthodox Jews, dedicated Catholics, and serious Evangelicals these problems are considerably less severe.

I say “Biblical” because only the Bible is built on the lesson of the Garden of Eden. Man is placed in this world to do battle with nature—all nature, especially his own. Left to itself, the earth will bring forth weeds and thistles but man must make it yield food. Left to itself, the jungle will overwhelm the city but man must defend civilization. Left to himself, man will follow his nature toward crime, animalistic sex, and cowardice. It is our God-given duty to resist. As Kathryn Hepburn said to Humphrey Bogart in that wonderful movie, African Queen, “Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.”

That is what I am fighting for and if my children understand this, it would be enough for me. However, I am blessed with armies of allies. Blacks, whites, and all other colors, Jews and Christians, rich and poor, men and women—all of us recognize the secularism that jeopardizes the very quality of our lives. We also recognize that a similar diversity of Americans see things very differently. If they win, we lose. We can’t both win. That is why I fight. And I hope you’re alongside me too.

The Difference Between Spiritual and Religious
Or
The Democrats’ Dilemma

Rabbi Daniel Lapin

What do you do if you are devoted to the Democratic Party which has spent years defining itself as the party of secularism, and you suddenly discover that Americans are becoming more religious? Answer: you learn how to sound spiritual.

America’s third great religious awakening, about which I started writing ten years ago, is well under way. Magazines like Business Week, Fortune, and Forbes have all carried articles speculating on the growing buying power of America’s Evangelicals. Yes, Henry, they really do spend over seven billion dollars a year just on religious articles. Time recently ran a cover story about the country’s twenty-five most powerful Evangelicals. Some of them were Catholics, but who cares. The important thing is that they are very powerful. And very religious. And very conservative too.

December 9th will see the opening of Disney’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s Christian classic, The Chronicles of Narnia. Before filming began, Disney checked the religious symbolism with Lewis’s stepson to make sure the movie didn’t portray anything un-Christian. Gosh, even the ABC television hit, Desperate Housewives, features a character who seems to be returning to his religious Catholic roots. And then there was the unanticipated impact of Mel Gibson’s The Passion.

The market place is a pretty good place in which to spot trends, and business clearly has spotted this one. Christianity, after decades of disrespect, is back. Christians can now come out of the catacombs. They are finally on the front edge of the wave. It is now chic to be a Bible-believing Christian or Jew.

But what do you do if you’re not in business? What if you are a Democratic politician trying to figure out how to run for president in 2008? You have a problem.

Americans are rejecting the secularism of the left. That secularism gave us abortions by the millions and this has started making many Americans, including the daughters of the women who marched for Roe v. Wade, a little squeamish to say the least. That secularism gave us deteriorating downtowns where so-called compassion for drunks defecating in doorways trumps concern for tax-paying citizens.

The Democrats can no longer hide. Too many Americans know, or have come to suspect that policies rooted in secular doctrine have brought us to a place we no longer recognize and certainly don’t like. In spite of hysterical outbursts from the high priests of secularism, too frequently self-anointed Jewish leaders, Americans are rejecting the lie that fervent Christianity is the problem. This rabbi, along with most Americans, knows it to be the solution to America’s growing problems.

So what is an ambitious Democratic politician to do these days? The answer is easy. Talk spiritual and with any luck, enough Americans to elect you will be bamboozled into believing you are sounding religious.

Let me offer some specific tips for any such ambitious Democratic candidate. For a start, talk about how “family values” really means:

Providing health care to every child and that God cares about the 12 million children without health insurance.
Valuing a child with diabetes over a frozen embryo in a fertility clinic.
Viewing the teaching of science as a primary social good.
Reserving the right for each person to prayerfully make decisions for herself about when she dies.
Believing in legal protection for gay couples. Say that you understand those who believe that the Bible opposes gay marriage, but explain that you read that text differently. (Just how many interpretations for ‘abomination’ are there? But I digress.)
Add, in solemn tones, that Jesus healed the sick, so he might have some concern for those 45 million Americans without insurance; he was not a hater, so would surely not join in demonizing gays; and he spoke constantly of the poor and the marginalized. Sound really confident when you lie that the Bible has more to say about caring for the poor than about eradicating sexual sin. Don’t worry; nobody will challenge you on this whopper.

Now here is something important. You can help destroy traditional religious morality as long as you sound spiritual. Point out piously that we should not tell our kids that sex before marriage is forbidden. Explain that since many of them will not marry for years after the onset of puberty, it is unreasonable to suggest that this traditional standard should be maintained. Still, stress that the ethical principles that apply inside marriage apply outside of marriage as well.

Finally, use the natural disasters to attack faith-based initiatives. Denounce the Bush administration for exploiting the success of religion to further fund churches and synagogues. Put it this way: The lesson of Katrina is that social service is the job of government.

See what I mean? It is quite easy to sound religious while actually being merely spiritual. That way, you can continue furthering the goals of your Democratic Party and avoid alienating the growing number of us who take Biblical religion very seriously.

And talking of taking religion seriously, I have a confession to make: I plagiarized all the examples of spiritual-talk above. With only minor editing for space purposes, I lifted them entirely from the sermon given on November 19th, 2005 in Houston, by the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the organization often referred to only half in humor as the circumcised wing of the Democratic Party.

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Rabbi Daniel Lapin, President of Toward Tradition, explores these issues in greater depth in his book America’s Real War.

Toward Tradition is America's leading bridge-builder between Jewish and Christian communities; spanning the divide between Christians and Jews by sculpting ancient solutions to modern problems in areas of family, faith, and fortune.

Rabbi Guttman comes off as an unreconstructed 1960s anti-war radical preaching the liberal message of redistribution of wealth. As if we didn't learn from LBJ's failed war on poverty that this approach only creates a larger and larger class dependant on these entitlements for generations.

In September 1960, theses were posted on a church door in Connecticut by the YAF. They became known as " The Sharon Statement " and are still valid today. Here they are for Rabbi Guttman and others to read and ponder.

http://www.yaf.com/sharon.shtml

There is most certainly a war on Christmas . Where has the good Rabbi been hidding ..under a rock ?

Finally Guttman makes several unsupported statements regarding the progress of the war in Iraq and accuses the Bush administration of inadequate homeland security. So who made him an expert in these areas? No doubt he finds the warrantless evasdropping of terrorist's conversations objectionable. Well what do you expect from a Democrat woh turns his Temple pulpit into a political soap box.

Is it just me, or do others get a bit freaked out reading the stuff on here?

"Jews (Reform) are bad.", "Only one party has truth", "Jews won't do dirty work", "There is a war on Christmas", "ALL Jews hate Jesus and Christians". All this couple with spying on American citizens, a President who is above the law and the ONLY Commander and Chief. The demonization of gay people and equating pacifism with treason.

Does this remind anyone else of a different time and place?

Good Lord, what have we become?

nemo,
you pose no personal threat to me but you try to hold me to a standard that you don't endorse. you imply that i should respect your religion (atheism) and your right to use God's word but you yourself said in this very blog..."I try to treat everyone with respect and dignity, but I see no reason to treat their beliefs the same way." you call my savior the supposed prince of peace, so be willing to take what you hand out ! the is no middle ground concerning Jesus Christ, you either accept Him or you are an enemy of the cross.
the end product of this for me nemo is that although you and i are at opposite ends of the spectrum concerning God, at the end of the day i can still love you, clothe you and feed you. and btw if you hang around long enough you will find that i am a work in process and even though i am flawed and not able to completely follow Christ commandments, that does not make Him any the worse for my short comings...he is the Prince of Peace !!

progressive, what you have writte reminds me of some history lessons that I learned and other information that I have read. And yes, it IS frighening.

I only wonder what is happening in this "supposed" land of the free and home of the brave....with liberty and justice for ALL? I wonder!

nemo, regardless of our own personal differences, I love you as I am commanded. Heck, our differences are what make for lively discussions (without name calling)!

Shalom

progress- you above all people on this discussion i would never expect to twist and bend my writing and then put quotations on them as if that is verbatim my words....shame on you.

jew4jesus, I believe that progressive's posting was misread. I see nowhere in that posting (1/7/2006 @ 3:21 PM) that any credit is given to you for the quoation (") phrases. To me, it seems that those are progressive's words placed in quotation marks.

How has what progressive written "twist and bend" what you have stated? I only see a restating of what has been stated. I can see what progressive wrote in your postings, I may not restate it the same way; nonetheless, I can see the inference.

Shalom

No challengers to the Sharon Statement ? Too powerfful for you liberal weenies , huh ?

To which statement are you refering, Cuz? Are you talking about the statement made about Sharon by Pat Robertson or another statement? Please elaborate.