Garbanzo Toons

Progressive Jews and Evangelicals

Jungle Mom linked to this post of mine. She then posted this essay in response.

Ok, I know a lot of you independent baptists are cringing at being called "evangelicals" , but that is the name we are given by the non -Christians and even the catholics, so lets leave that debate for another day:)

I know a lot of Jews do not understand why Christians are supporters of Israel's right to a home land. Of course the main reason comes from our faith in the Word of God. God clearly gave the land to the Jews. God keeps His promises!

Unfortunately,for many Jews to be Christian is to be identified with the catholic church.Many Jews have a deep seated prejudice against us. I suppose this is in part because they label all Christians, even evangelicals with the medieval Catholics who persecuted them over so many years. However, even though we as Baptist do believe in Jesus Christ, and thus merit the name "Christian", that is where the comparison ends.We are not even true protestants, as we were never part of the Catholic church.

In all our history, the Baptist Church has never persecuted the Jews. And it should be remembered that Baptists have often been persecuted not only by the catholic church but by many of the protestant reformers as well.

Thus, we are certainly wary of the catholic church!

The Baptist and other evangelicals have always considered Israel to be God's land for His chosen people, the Jews. Evangelical Christians are a big part of why the USA has always supported Israel in the past, and why it will continue to do so in the future.

Jews should give more consideration before they snub evangelicals. We are the best friend Israel has ever had! The Jews should not feel threatened by evangelicals. With the Muslims, most of Europe, and many of the Americans against Israel, it would be ill fated for the Jews to turn away from the very people who are, by far, the most loyal supporters of Israel.

We are the very block of Americans who have steadfastly supported the Jewish state.

I was unaware of her point about Baptists and Evangelicals, but obviously I agree with she wrote. Unfortunately it got me thinking about this some more. So here I am with more thoughts on the subject.

From listening to sermons and conversations, and reading what they write, I now see that many Reform Jews proudly think of themselves as Progressive Jews. To them, being progressive is as important as being Jewish. They shun not only evangelical Christians (sorry Jungle Mom, I'm kind of stuck with that term for now), and those nasty right-wing Republicans, but also Orthodox Jews. And they can be quite smug and condescending in their criticism in much the same way as the current crop of atheist writers are in their critiques of religion in general. To the Progressive Jew, the Orthodox are trapped in ancient laws and rituals that curtail free thought and limit their lives. Progressives, on the other hand, see themselves as free thinkers and daily engaged in the repair of the world that God commands us. Most of what they regard as "free thinking" though, are the standard leftist talking points.

I think what it comes down to is the Progressives' distrust of any strong belief combined with a distrust of Christianity. Rather than admit that secular belief systems created by nonreligious intellectuals have caused the deaths of tens of millions over the past few hundred years, and the suffering of untold millions more, they are still stuck in the old, religious wars have caused more death and destruction than any other wars, theme. They are stuck in a belief system that has less basis in reality than the religious beliefs they deride. They are caught up in the moral equivalence game. They know that Jews are being attacked around the globe in a way that we haven't seen since 1930s Germany, but since they live in a climate of moral equivalence, they can't admit who our real enemies or our real friends are. They are more concerned with correct politics and being "Green" than with the fact that there is a real battle between good and evil happening right now, and for the sake of our own survival as a people, we all better make sure we recognize who is fighting for good and who for evil.

For example, in Moment, there is an article by a reporter searching out hate groups in the United States.

In my former life as an intrepid reporter, preparation for writing about America’s abundance of hate groups would have gone as follows: pack Big Silver—my old gas-guzzling Buick—and head out onto the interstate; collect leaflets from Aryan Nation and assorted white-supremacist wannabes; find troubled white men, predictably in Wal-Mart hunting apparel accessorized with shiny sharpshooters, and meet them in Circle K parking lots; pass, with my blond hair and blue eyes, for what a white-supremacist would consider “pure Aryan”; omit mention that I am a Jew; in reporter’s notebook, furiously scribble down rants about illegal immigrants and God-knows-what conspiracy theories; keep a watchful eye on sources’ body language, praying that zippers remain zipped, guns stay unloaded.

Where are the cliche police when you need them? Searching the Internet for American hate groups, does he take a peak out of his progressive box, maybe do some research on some of the Islamic Jew haters infesting our country? Nah, he's much to smart for that.

To track hate groups these days, there’s no need to hit the road. Now I can bring them right into my living room. So early one morning I creep down the stairs as my family sleeps. The sun is shining, the cat is stretched out on the rug and our compact, environmentally friendly station wagon is parked in the driveway. I carry a bowl of whole-grain cereal and skim milk topped with antioxidant-rich blueberries to the big comfy couch in our living room and flip open my trusty laptop.

Absent is that familiar smell of oil dripping on hot asphalt as I type “Ku Klux Klan” into the search box and the first 50 of what Google says are 1,710,000 hits blink into view. Right away, it’s obvious that the era of a single unified Klan is past: 34 discrete groups (with an estimated 5,000 members among them) now compete for the title.

The Klan? Is he kidding? Just how long has this guy been asleep? Yes, the Klan, the white supremecists, the American Nazis do hate Jews. But are they as dangerous as the jihadists in this country who are pandered to by our government and MSM?

There is a dangerous and self destructive lack of will on the part of Progressive Jews. How many Jews have been murdered in the past because of this lack of will to admit that we are facing a monstrous evil? Combine this with a corresponding unwillingness to see who our friends are, and I'm afraid to imagine how many will be murdered in the future.

Labels: Evangelical Christians, Jews, Moment Magazine

posted by Harry @ 7:16 PM