Monday, April 17, 2006
Spinning Yaakov Menken
Reprint of Yakov Menken: Spin Meister
Original post date: Friday, May 13, 2005
Writing on Cross Currents (Jewish) Yakov Menken tells us:
Menken thinks he does, but, in fact, he's either he's (a) very forgetful; (b) not very bright; or (c) spinning. He writes:
Had Alderstan and Menken said "Boy, Michael Jordan was one hell of an athlete" or "That Ian McEwan sure does write like an angel" who would have objected? Not I.
But that isn't what they did.
Instead they heaped praise on the Pope for persistently holding to rituals and ideas that are, frankly, rediculous. Judaism rejects what is false. A backwards old fool, clinging to backwards old ideas, deserves mockery and scorn. Not praise.
By our lights, none of the Pope's theology is admirable and worthy of praise. Except, perhaps, to the cross-loving folks at Cross Currents(Jewish.)
Original post date: Friday, May 13, 2005
Writing on Cross Currents (Jewish) Yakov Menken tells us:
A few weeks ago several commenters were apoplectic over the idea that both Rabbi Adlerstein and I had positive things to say about observant Christians.Well, yes. And I was one of them. And do you remember why we were "apoplectic?"
Menken thinks he does, but, in fact, he's either he's (a) very forgetful; (b) not very bright; or (c) spinning. He writes:
On the one side you have people insisting that non-Jews say good things about us, and on the other side people who cannot bear to find something good to say about them. This is absurd.As I tried to explain on a comment (deleted, of course) no one objects to praising gentiles. The trouble (and this is the point Menken conviniently misses) is that Cross Currents chose to praise a non-Jew for something that is not admirable.
Had Alderstan and Menken said "Boy, Michael Jordan was one hell of an athlete" or "That Ian McEwan sure does write like an angel" who would have objected? Not I.
But that isn't what they did.
Instead they heaped praise on the Pope for persistently holding to rituals and ideas that are, frankly, rediculous. Judaism rejects what is false. A backwards old fool, clinging to backwards old ideas, deserves mockery and scorn. Not praise.
By our lights, none of the Pope's theology is admirable and worthy of praise. Except, perhaps, to the cross-loving folks at Cross Currents(Jewish.)
# posted by DovBear : 1:23 PM
Comments:
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My only real objection to what either R'Menken or R'Adlerstein wrote was this line by R'Menken:
'American Christian conservatives, Catholic and Protestant, have proven themselves friendly towards Israel and the Jewish People to an unprecedented degree'
My objection to that statement is that it ignores the huge efforts being made by American evangelical Christians (not all of whom are politically conservative, and note that this excludes Catholics) to convert Jews to their religion. That may be friendship, but it certainly is not good for us.
In addition, many liberal Christians have been just as friendly. Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King were our friends long before the evangelicals discovered us. We should not take sides in intra-Christian differences.
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'American Christian conservatives, Catholic and Protestant, have proven themselves friendly towards Israel and the Jewish People to an unprecedented degree'
My objection to that statement is that it ignores the huge efforts being made by American evangelical Christians (not all of whom are politically conservative, and note that this excludes Catholics) to convert Jews to their religion. That may be friendship, but it certainly is not good for us.
In addition, many liberal Christians have been just as friendly. Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King were our friends long before the evangelicals discovered us. We should not take sides in intra-Christian differences.
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