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The books ‘Why the Jews’ by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin; ‘The Anguish of the Jews’ by Edward Flannery; and ‘Our Hands are Stained with Blood’, by Dr Michael Brown, all target anti-semitism, and specifically Christian anti-semitism, are unequivocally the hardest books I have ever read! They should be mandatory for every Christian leader not only to read, but digest because of the horrible truths systematically laid out by their authors.
According to the Bible (1Jn1:9) there can be no repentance from sin…without acknowledgment of that sin; and just as important, turning away from the sin! Therefore, there can be no justification for the many atrocities committed against Jews in the Name of Christ! As Dr Brown so accurately reminds us in the title of chapter 10 of his work: “More Tears”; YES…it is true that…ONLY “More Tears” should be shed for the Jews who experienced ‘Christian’ persecution. Remember, the Jews that perished at the hands of “supposed Christians” will never return…they are gone forever! Although no acceptable excuses can ever be offered for the terrible fact that historically Christians persecuted Jews, I do find that Prager and Rabbi Telushkin have made some blaring errors in their judgments. I believe that because these two outstanding thinkers and writers use only their great intellects to deduce their conclusions logically, they do not fully understand the spiritual aspect of anti-semitism. I do believe that because these men rely almost exclusively on their ability to reason, and do not seek the revelation that comes only from the Holy Spirit--especially on something as intense as anti-semitism--they miss the only foundation of ALL anti-semitism---Satan!!! In addition, which I will elaborate more on in subsequent tidbits, Prager and Telushkin also miss a second critical point—and that is not all Christians who claim Christianity are Christians. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says in the day of judgment, not every person who calls Him LORD, LORD is saved, i.e.born again, i.e.a Christian, even though confessing Jesus as LORD is the only path to salvation(Rom10:9,10)! Jesus says, only those who do God’s will; not those who simply say, or claim Christianity…are Christians. On page 10 of ‘Why the Jews’, Prager and Telushkin write, “It takes infinitely more than economic tensions or racial prejudice to create the animosity that often has involved the torturing of children and the murdering of entire communities. Only a people representing a threat to the core values, allegiances, and beliefs of others could arouse such universal, deep, and lasting hatred.” Now, let’s examine the above quote by Prager and Telushkin. I agree that anti-semitism cannot be reduced only to “economic tensions or racial prejudice to create the animosity that…tortured” children and murdered entire communities—because economic tensions and racism are much too simplistic an explanation for such a complicated behavior as anti-semitism. Furthermore, at least for Christians…the last sentence of their paragraph: “Only a people (Jews) representing a threat to the core values, allegiances, and beliefs of others (Christians) could arouse such universal, deep, and lasting hatred”…should not be true!! Why? How can an authentic Christian*--- who holds the Tanakh, i.e.the Old Testament, as the inspired word of God; and who believes there is no discrepancy between the Old and New Testaments—which were all written by Jews; and who holds to Elelohe Israel i.e. the God of Israel--as THE only God; and most importantly, who holds to Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, as his Lord and Savior, find the Jews to be a threat to their “core values”, “allegiances”, and “beliefs” inspiring a “universal”, “deep”, and “lasting hatred”….when their “core values” are the same! Allow me to amplify my previous point. If both Jews and Christians have the same God, and the same Word from God, the values of Christians and Jews must be the same despite any differences in doctrine! For example, Have no other God before me (Ex20:3); do not steal(Ex20:15), do not kill(Ex20:13), Love God (Deut11:13; Mat22:37)etc., are all common values both Jews and Christians share. In fact, the greatest evidence for my “same values” point is a wonderful term that precisely describes these “same values”: ‘the Judaeo-Christian ethic’. While I’m uncertain of this famous term’s origin, I would be blind and dishonest not to see that it speaks volumes to the common values of these two theological systems. Remember, not one person has ever thought to create a Judaeo-Muslim ethic, or a Hindu-Christian ethic! The obvious reason is that only the ‘Judaeo-Christian ethic’ derives from the same God. Yet, what is also absolutely true, is that, because values drive beliefs---and the values of the Judaeo-Christian ethic are the same, how can small differences between the two groups rationally lead one group to sink to such an extreme as murder…and even worse: mass murder!??!!!??? And furthermore, what’s also in need of an answer is that, if it is true that the values of the Judaeo-Christian ethic are the same for both groups---and they are---how have Christians today using those same values moved from murdering Jews during the Dark Ages to recognizing the unique calling of God upon the Jew today?!!?! For emphasis, allow me once again to amplify my previous point: Today…authentic* Christians are the Jews best friends---if not their only friends!!!! Therefore, if the following statement of Prager and Telushkin is true: Only a people (Jews) representing a threat to the core values, allegiances, and beliefs of others (Christians) could arouse such universal, deep, and lasting hatred”(from Christians)---then where is the “lasting hatred” of Christians now?!?!? In other words, why are Christians not murdering Jews now? Furthermore again….if Prager and Telushkin’s statement is true, the “lasting hatred” should be… lasting; perhaps even lasting forever… depending on how much time one assigns to the word “lasting”. Yet, because the authentic Christian today is the Jew’s best friend…Prager and Telushkin must again appeal to their intellect and offer a rational explanation for: 1.the murder of Jews in antiquity by Christians verses 2.the contemporary love for Jews that Christians hold today Yet, they fail to do so! They simply dump all people who claim Christianity into the “Christians bowl”…and mix it up! On the other hand, the reason they believe all Christians who claim Christianity are Christians is because they do not have a revelation of authentic* Christianity! To be fair however, as Jews who practice Judaism, I cannot expect these two men to understand what comprises an authentic Christian, because if they did, they would convert to their Messiah! In conclusion, from the time of Jesus, there have always been pseudo-believers in Christ, for example, Judas. Yet, because authentic Christianity is obedient to the Word of God—from Genesis to Revelation—there have always been, and there will always be Christians who understand: 1.Hatred of the Jew is not just irrational, but demonic…because the Lord and Savior of the Christian is Jewish! 2.The unique Calling of God upon the Jew (Deut7:6-8; Deut14:2; 2Sam7:22-24)…and love and honor that Call. 3.Satan is THE inspiration for anti-semitism, i.e. Jew-hatred!!!** *See Matthew 7:21-23 for the definition of authentic and inauthentic Christianity. **Because Satan hates God, he hates anything or anyone whom God calls
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Derrick JacksonPastor, Author Archives
November 2024
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