tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36442173.post94257700222731117..comments2023-11-02T05:44:01.903-04:00Comments on INTUITION IN-DEPTH: ON BEING JEWISHLois Isenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15824175568923217819noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36442173.post-55867456206686989292008-03-24T00:07:00.000-04:002008-03-24T00:07:00.000-04:00I am confused by some seeming inacuracies in your ...I am confused by some seeming inacuracies in your post. I cannot figure out how to reference what was written while composing this so I'll have to rely on my notoriously non-userfriendly memory.<BR/>Messianic traditions are not inherantly resurrection related. Historically, jewish would-be messiahs tended to focus on solving the problems of the here and now. Many of Jesus' own close followers expected Him to assend the throne of David and expell the Romans from their homeland. Jesus' attention to the after-life is actually one of the things that set Him apart from His messianic peers.<BR/>Hitler wasn't christian, he was pagan. The state "theology" of Nazi Germany was derived primarily from a combination of the native "Norse" mythology and the writings of Nietche and Darwin. Hitler's attempted genocide of Jews was hailed by many eugenicists of the time who believed that he was doing nothing more than speeding the processes of natural selection by specifically targeting "inferior" races. <BR/>Please note that the above statements do not in any way reflect my personal beliefs. I firmly believe that all human life is inherantly priceless; there is no such thing as an inferior person, only inferior value systems.<BR/>In short, I find your friend's expaination of Jewish persecution throughout western history to be wanting. As an alternative I would like to offer the following. <BR/>All groupings of people who develop an identity of their own are, at one time or another, targeted for hostility by people of differing identity. The thing that really sets the Jewish people apart is their survivability. Think about how many times the Jews have been conquered, captured and dispersed through the ages and yet they've never lost their national identity (even when they no longer had a nation). The last time Isreal even existed was, when? If memory serves it was back in the first century until Rome finally sacked and razed the temple. Then, nearly 1900 years later the nation of Isreal is re-established in 1947. The Jews are the only people to ever re-establish themselves as a country after having been disolved for so great a span of time. Not too shabby a feat if you ask me. Perhaps the Jews seem to us to be so persecuted because usually the attempts to destroy a society eventually succeed and only they have managed to hold out so long against so many antagonists.<BR/>If you are really looking for something to tweek your mind consider this in light of the above: this exactly matches the promise God made to Abraham way back in Genesis. He said that he would "bless those who bless(Abraham) and curse those who curse (him)". While the Jews have survived countless attempts at extermination how many of their proposed exterminators are still around?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36442173.post-59095730006093264332007-10-22T09:33:00.000-04:002007-10-22T09:33:00.000-04:00Very interesting. Thanks for sharing it. Have you ...Very interesting. Thanks for sharing it. Have you ever seen the movie Everything is Illuminated. It made me think of that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36442173.post-4070272431325114172007-10-21T23:16:00.000-04:002007-10-21T23:16:00.000-04:00I like your question: what is the Jewish religiou...I like your question: what is the Jewish religious/spiritual impulse?<BR/><BR/>I don't have an answer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com