Bob Loblaw

This article has really driven me to distraction.

Not because it puts a Muslim man in a positive light. He was doing the right thing, he jumped in to help the victim(s) of an attack.

It is because the attackers are presented as Christians. For the sake of this blog, let us define  “Christian” as “A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety.” (From Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of American English as found in the e-Sword Bible Study Software.)

Can we first assume that Christianity has its roots in Judaism? After all, Jesus Mother was Jewish, as was Her Husband. He was born in Israel in a predominantly Jewish town. Luke 2:25-40 records that Joseph and Mary took Him to the Temple “to do for him after the custom of the law.” (many commentators think this was for circumcision. Actually, that was usually done  in or near the home of the parents. This trip to the Temple was required by the Law for dedication of the Firstborn. See Luke 2:23, Exodus 13:2-15, 22:29, 34:19, Numbers 3:13, 8:16-17, 18:15.)

Aside from a trip to Egypt during His infancy, there is no record of Him leaving Israel (Judea) during His life on Earth. Luke 4:16 notes that it was His custom to attend Services in the Synagogue on Sabbath.

Although it seems safe to say that Jesus never shouted out “Merry Christmas!,” the Gospels record Him observing, or at least at the observance, of several Jewish holidays, including Passover (“The Last Supper” is documented in all four Gospels),  Sukkot (John 7:37-52), and Hanukkah.

He was killed on Passover, rose on the Day of First Fruits, ascended to Heaven on the fortieth day after His resurrection. the Holy Spirit descended upon the Christian Congregation on Shavuot (AKA Pentecost.)

Christians are neither commanded to observe these days, nor to abstain from these and other “Jewish Holidays.” Most modern Christians do not observe them.

I cannot in the least bit understand why someone presenting him-/herself as Christian would attack someone saying “Happy Hanukkah!” This is in no way an affront to Jesus Christ, Christianity, nor any kind of insult to Christians.

Hanukkah celebrations the dedication of the temple after its cleansing, having previously been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes. If memory serves, Antiochus Epimenes (his name, A. Epiphanes means “manifest god,” the Jews came to call him A. Epimenes, meaning “totally loony-tunes, nutty as a fruitcake, bonkers, Like WOW – this dude’s a whack job if I ever saw one!”) placed a statue of Zeus in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. He then sacrificed a pig to Zeus in that place.

A band of rebels, led by Mattathias and his five sons, in particular Judas Maccabees.
took a stand against Antiochus. Miraculously, they won, driving the Syrians from Jerusalem and capturing the Temple. They tore down the Statue of Zeus along with the defiled altar, and rebuilt the altar in the Temple. Having found a large Menorah, they searched for oil to burn in it, but found only one day’s worth. Deciding to use it rather than wait for supplies, they found that one day’s supply of oil lasted eight days.

There is much more to the Hanukkah story than this, and it is as readily available as it is fascinating. It is told in the Apocryphal Books of 1 & 2 Maccabees, found in most Catholic Bibles, and widely on the Internet. (Heard about the Internet? It’s GREAT! You should try it.)

All of this leading to this:

1. Jesus was a Jew
2. Christianity is Jewish
3. Christians should not now, nor ever should have, attacked God’s Chosen People.

Huzzah for Hassan Askari.

The last I heard, Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, former Presidents James Earl Carter and William Jefferson Davis Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton and a vast array of others to the political left of Ms. Coulter claimed to be Christian.

Dear Ann;

My sister, I, for one, appreciate your sentiment and, I am sure, your devout prayer that all Americans  receive a saving faith in Jesus Christ and live according to the doctrine taught by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Blessed be His Name forever.

However, before we American Christians  proceed with this extraordinarily noble goal, we should start with a solid self-examination. History tells us the First Century (AD) Christians evangelized as much, or more, by their life-style as by their preaching. They lead quiet lives, were faithful to their mates (nearly 0% divorce rate), did not steal, cheat on taxes, or commit any crimes (other than proselytizing, and refusing to worship the Greek and/or Roman gods, or sacrificing to the Emperor).

Because so many of them were Jewish by ethnicity, they were long considered a Jewish sect. In fact, it may have been more commonly know then that the founder of their (our) faith was, by birth, Jewish.

Now that founder — and by that I mean Jesus Christ. However, this could also apply to the Apostle Paul — seems to have done a lot of teach to his followers about the importance of living a life of purity, piety, and (at times) poverty. Is this the example you saw at the Republican Convention? What is the divorce rate among the Republican presidential candidates, please? Rather high, no

Many Christians believe abortion is wrong, I am one. However, abortion is legal in this nation. What are we, the Body of Christ, doing to teach our teens the benefits of purity? Are we leading by our exemplary lives, avoiding lewd and lascivious entertainment, showing our kids, and those we encounter, that we live what is taught in the Sacred Word of God? If they err, that is to say, if one of our sons or daughters finds him-/herself a parent to be, do we show that child the Love, Forgiveness and Grace we have been shown by Christ Himself? Can we show them we acknowledge the fact that they have sinned without condemning them personally? Are we making it worth their while to even consider preserving the life of their child

What are you, and we in The Body, doing to educate our Children in particular, and the Children of America, about the dangers of the thirty or so Sexually Transmitted Diseases? Are we making ourselves available to them? Are we talking frankly about the sins of our generation, and the consequences we have thus far realized from those sins? (Not all sins is sexual in nature, by the way. Proverbs 26:17 says “He who passes by, and meddles with strife not his, is like he who takes a dog by the ears.”)

Can you, Ann, personally say you have been following the  admonition of the First Psalm, that is, to ‘delight is in the law of LORD, and on His law meditate day and night?’ (Psalm 1:2, A Conservative Version (pun intended).
By the way, the word translated ‘meditate’ also is often used to mean “to speak aloud.” Do you, Ann, read the Word of God enough so that it has become a part of your daily speech? You should also note the word “Law” is used twice in this verse, it is the Hebrew word “Torah.” Can you guess what part of the Sacred Word of God that specifies? Jesus said “For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth pass away, one iota or one tittle will, no, not pass away from the law, until all things come to pass.” (Matthew 5:18)

Although history is, sadly, rife with attacks on Jews by (those claiming to be) Christians, none of that appears in the New Testament, nor, it seems, until after the Third Century AD (or CE, if you prefer.) In fact, Christians were severely persecuted in their first few centurties, but did NOT use this (at that time) as an excuse to retaliate against their attackers.

While the vast majority of our Nation’s founding fathers were indeed Christian (even Thomas Jefferson considered himself such, who am I to argue?)  and incorporated their Christian faith and beliefs in the documents of our nation, it is worthy of note they did not exclude Judaism in any way in establishing our highly prized Freedom of Religion, not did they exclude Islam, nor the religions of the Indigenous Native American Peoples (wow!, “Indian is sooo much more politically and geographically incorrect, but so much easier to say.), nor the Religions of India (LOOK! Real Indians!). It would seem that the, generally speaking, would welcome the arrival and presence of Jews, and others, to our shores. In fact, even a very brief search for “Jews, colonial America” brought “about 133,000″ results from Answers.com and “about 2,060,000″ results from Google. (Fascinating stuff, you might give some of it a read through. It seems, Jews saved the American Revolution. not bad for being so non-perfected, huh?)

Regarding whether Jews are going to Heaven, or not, could we not use Jerry Falwell as our first source? Perhaps we are best leaving this decision to the King of the Universe. Neither you nor I am fit to decide who gets in and who goes to Hell. Rest assured that many claiming to be Christian will not enter there. (Have a look at Matthew 7:21, then read the context of Jesus’ statement there.) We would be better off quoting Paul, who said in Romans 11:

“For I speak to you the Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am indeed an apostle of Gentiles, I enhance my ministry, if somehow I may provoke my flesh to jealousy and may save some of them. For if the casting away of them is reconciliation of the world, what is the acceptance except life from the dead?
“And if the first fruit is holy, the branch is also. And if the root is holy, the branches are also. And if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and became a joint partaker of the root of the fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if thou boast, thou do not bear the root, but the root thee.
“Thou will therefore say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. Correct! They were broken off for their unbelief, and thou stand by thy faith. Be not high-minded but fear,  for if God spared not the natural branches, perhaps neither will he spare thee.”

This is, without doubt, offensive to many Jews also, but is Scripture. You see, if being offensive is your goal, you can do so without citing Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Orel (spelling?) Roberts, or other person than God himself. In fact, the Scriptural principle is that the Cross of Christ is offensive enough, without us being so offensive people do not even see the Cross.

I am thankful, Ann, that we live in a country that so highly prizes freedom of thought and speech that we can openly discourse and disagree without fear of government sanctioned reprisal. Though I may also offend Donny Deutsch, I believe he and I can agree that America would be better if Christians started acting like they actually believe Jesus wa, and is, the One He claimed to be.

Sincerely,

Steve