Glenn Beck has brought his unique message to Israel as part of his “Restoring Courage” world tour. The born-again Mormon and former Fox anchor addressed a huge group of American Evangelical and Israelis in Jerusalem under the shadow of dome of the al-Aqsa mosque to denounce the United Nations, Arabs, and human rights organizations. That’s right, human rights organizations.
Beck calmly explained “Whatever we’ve grown to think is solid and strong and durable is under siege. The threats are mounting. The evil is growing. Darkness is falling.” It is not clear if he added to remember to tip the wait staff and stop by the gift shop on your way out.
It is of course human rights organization that have caused much of this problem by criticizing Israel, according to Beck, and his followers must fight these organizations as a matter of faith. He warned “so-called leaders are talking about human rights. But what they do is abuse the very meaning of this phrase. They condemn tiny Israel, democratic Israel, free Israel – Israel which values human life above all others.”
The words electrified his followers, including Michael Novatka, a born-again Christian and “self-proclaimed Jew” from Florida who insisted that “Glenn Beck tells the truth, but the rest of the world doesn’t want to hear it.” True, Michael, so true.
Source: Middle East and Guardian
“I am one with my ‘People” regardless of where my Faith lies.”
Carole,
I see you of course understand. I do believe we Jews are an ethnicity. We
are not a “Race” as there is only one race and that is human. Though people have different skin color that does not mean they are of a different race either. People of color, even of similar colors, are often not of the same ethnicity. For instance Black people of African backgrounds have many varied ethnicities defined by language and various tribal culture. Although the skin color is similar Blacks of African origin are not of the same ethnicity as Australian natives, different culture.
There is a distinctive Jewish culture beyond the religion and the feeling of relating to ones people is a loyalty to “tribal” history and varied cultural similarity. If, as with Jews, that history is one of oppression and a struggle to maintain identity, than a person may indeed feel a solidarity with that struggle.
“maybe this is similar, in that understanding, at a visceral level, the pain another feels whether emotional, physical, spiritual it is necessary to put yourself in their place, something that most of us do not do, or at least do it often enough.”
This to me is a classic definition of empathy. Last summer I was literally on the verge of death, few of my friends got it in the sense of what my family and I were going through, they mostly are no longer my friends. My illness made them too uncomfortable and perhaps reminded them too much of their own mortality. They found empathy far too painful.
Mike, first thank you for your earlier comment. I grew up as a reform jew, I used to describe our family’s version of it as being “as close to not being jewish as you could get but still being jewish.” yet since my conversion when asked about my religion, I always say “My Faith is Chrictian but I am of Jewish ethnicity (yes to those of you who will say it is not really an ethnicity,I am aware of this issue.) I never had the word for it but I think “solidarity” is the perfect one. I am one with my ‘People” regardless of where my Faith lies. And you are right in your statement (I have changed it to be universal for the purposes of my feelings) that “(One) can never know the pain felt by another ethnicity.”
(As an advocate for chronic pain awarness this is the same problem with understanding another person’s pain – maybe this is similar, in that understanding, at a visceral level, the pain another feels whether emotional, physical, spiritual it is necessary to put yourself in their place, something that most of us do not do, or at least do it often enough.)
I thank people for their support. I can never know the pain felt by another ethnicity, suffering from either their own oppression, or that of their forebears. It is that way too with not being Jewish. I am not what you would call a pious person, nor do I believe that the Torah and the volumes of explanatory writings of the Talmud etc. elevate Jewish belief above those of other faiths. Yet within me there is a solidarity with my people, born out of being a small, culturally strong ethnicity, that has maintained itself through thousands of years and promoted values, for the most part, that result in a common purpose of trying to join with other humans to heal the world.
Judaism is a strongly pro-life religion, not as anti-abortionists, but in the belief that we should all strive towards making humanity’s lives less burdened by pain and suffering. Typical of this is that Jews do not live for the hope of an Afterlife, but for the uplifting of the life one lives and the lives of others. Given that, the fact that countless Jews have chosen death, rather than betrayal of their beliefs, with no expectation of a “Heaven”, reinforces my own commitment towards those ideals. We are a “chosen”
people, not by a belief in our superiority, but because we believe we each have been chosen to bear the yoke of trying to live moral lives. We do not
proselytize, nor do we believe that non-Jews are not equally beloved of the Creator, or that people should become Jews to reach salvation. Indeed we do not believe in salvation per se, but recognize that a moral life is led because it is the most righteous/joyous way to live, not because of some future reward. Therefore we judge others not by the religious beliefs they profess, but by the righteousness of their deeds.
My personal belief and knowledge is that while Jews have some uniqueness as an ethnicity, other moral/ethical and religious teachings have equal validity. Confucius, The Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed all had messages
of healing towards the world. That some of their followers perverted their messages to justify their own lust for power, doesn’t diminish them. Many atheists, agnostics and deists also bear equal wisdom when it comes to healing the world. I merely choose to identify as a Jew because of the weight of the history I am sprung from and because its rituals give me personal comfort.
I’m sorry to have gotten so portentous about this, but I the whole idea of the hubris of the LDS Post Mortem conversions repels me because of my beliefs and Jack’s unthinking response below made me see red.
“how is it dishonorable for a group to extend what they believe are the greatest of honors to such people that have passed?”
Too much of the suffering of average people throughout history has come from religious zealotry that elevates one or another particular belief above others. I oppose and I decry that mindset. I believe it to be the source of too much of what is wrong with humanity.
CLAPPING FOR MR SPINDELL “I recognize my prejudice and admit it as such. I don’t claim perfection, nor do I claim my religious beliefs to be the ultimate truth. not to offend anyone accept those who need offending but if mormoms are so perfect. they wouldnt keep trying to hide the truth, nor would they be caught up in all the scandals just as all the other Religions. who all think their version is the ultimate. the truth will come out the day people finally admit and recognize that the “bibles” read today are not the original scribes. but books written and rewritten by freemasons, and in some instances nut cases to fit their needs and wants. if not then why so many different versions of the same books. so many different names of the same people? why do the mormoms feel that if you want to follow their religion that your whole family must also follow or be ex communicated? if im not mistaken one of the main tenets of GOD is to go forth and multiply. and please jack explain to me who says we must sit in a church to praise GOD? why can’t we praise him whether in a church,house,store, or just standing outside????
here’s a few ultimate questions for you. how can there be descendants of jesus if he was never married and never reproduced? why was the book of enoch totally removed? and michael chesnek? and last but not least what is project blue beam?
Glenn Beck is a puppet who’s goes where his strings are yanked
Mike, I am not Jewish, but in the face of such hubris, I say for the purpose of rejecting that effrontery, we are all Jews and I for one stand with you.
“It may well be my prejudice, but it is why I personally could never vote for Romney or Huntsman for President.””
no, its just good sense.
“But don’t bring your ignorance to a public forum:”
“Second, how is it dishonorable for a group to extend what they believe are the greatest of honors to such people that have passed? Third, how is it disgusting? Just because you don’t like it? That is frankly, a poor standard. Fourth, do you realize that all such baptisms that have since occurred are from family members of those individuals? Do they not have such a right? Fifth, if it’s all fantasy, what does it matter?’
Jack,
I’ve read the book of Mormon and other Mormon writings so don’t play your little rhetorical games with me.
1. The Mormon history of Jews coming to the U.S. is not only ahistorical, it is wildly inaccurate and anti-Jewish to boot. Just as your religion was anti-black until a revelation in the 70’s, of course dovetailing with schemes of growth through Black outreach.
2. You are lying about family members who were Mormon’s requesting post death conversions of Shoah victim’s, that is just LDS propaganda. Most of the ones done when the LDS was hiding the truth were not engendered by family members, but taken from lists of Shoah victims. It is secret now because the LDS doesn’t admit to still doing it, but does.
3. How is it dishonorable (and disgusting)? It is because these people died simply because of the ethnicity and religion they were born into. They were murdered by people who felt their religious belief was invalid. In the same way LDS Baptisms also connote that these victims religion is invalid. Take your “greatest of honors” and shove it up your ass. Suppose for instance Jews, or Catholics, or Baptists , or even Moslems deciding that bestowing their religious values was the greatest of honors and started doing their own post-mortem conversions of Mormons, who in life didn’t have the “privilege”
of sharing their version of God’s “greatest blessings”, you seriously wouldn’t think that enormously disrespectful.
4. The history of Jews is replete with larger religions appropriating our “Torah” for their own purposes and then trying to forcibly convert us to their beliefs. Through the ages literally millions of Jews have met terrible deaths because they wouldn’t betray their deepest beliefs. You, however, so convinced of the “truth” of your beliefs would yet do that again, post mortem, against people murdered for who they were born and/or what they believed. You don’t understand how that is disrespectful.
“You really need to take better strides in hiding your bigotry.”
I’m hiding nothing, unlike LDS, I clearly stated:
“As far as Beck the devout Mormon goes, the LDS’s secret baptisms of Jews who died in the Shoah is evidence enough for their “high” regard for Jews. From my perspective it is a disgusting act that dishonors the memory of millions who died innocently and an indication of the fanaticism of LDS. It may well be my prejudice, but it is why I personally could never vote for Romney or Huntsman for President.”
There is no religious test for eligibility to be elected in the US, nor should there ever be. However, I stated how I feel and preambled it by why I feel that way. You have no way of understanding how much the sheer effrontery of the LDS post-mortem conversion of Jews upsets me, nor could you wrapped in your smug beliefs. I recognize my prejudice and admit it as such. I don’t claim perfection, nor do I claim my religious beliefs to be the ultimate truth. Which makes one of us.
OS/raff,
I’m with you fellas.
I agree with you OS.
I read Jack’s comment above. All I can say is, WTF?
Mike,
If you want to have a beef with ghosts, so be it. But don’t bring your ignorance to a public forum:
“As far as Beck the devout Mormon goes, the LDS’s secret baptisms of Jews who died in the Shoah is evidence enough for their “high” regard for Jews. From my perspective it is a disgusting act that dishonors the memory of millions who died innocently and an indication of the fanaticism of LDS. It may well be my prejudice, but it is why I personally could never vote for Romney or Huntsman for President.”
First, if they were secret then how did you find out about it? The fact is that they’re not secret. Second, how is it dishonorable for a group to extend what they believe are the greatest of honors to such people that have passed? Third, how is it disgusting? Just because you don’t like it? That is frankly, a poor standard. Fourth, do you realize that all such baptisms that have since occurred are from family members of those individuals? Do they not have such a right? Fifth, if it’s all fantasy, what does it matter?
Lastly, what in the world does one religious practice have to do with the competency of a presidential candidate? Have you ever read the constitution? You really need to take better strides in hiding your bigotry. Considering your ancestry, I find the irony of your intolerance both distasteful and rather sad.
I did after the fact…TY carol..But I had never had any problem before, I usually put them in a metal coffee can and then place in the back of the fridge for future use…This time I left them out…I did know not to use steel wool and linseed oil…That one I have done before and its almost immediate combustion….the rags only took about 9 hours to start smoldering…
A.Y….look at the side of the can. There should be a warning.
gbk:
I have been reading a bunch of stuff.
I am sorry my posts are so interesting that you spend so much time reading them that your kids are being neglected.
That you want me to become even more enlightened and post even better missives upon my return, I take as a compliment. Thank you very much.
Roco,
Why don’t you read something, anything, for couple of years and then come back. The kid gloves are wearing thin.
OS,
I am aware that it is legal, but it is still a sham in my eyes.
AY,
Be careful!
I left the rag in a nice pile besides the sink in the bathroom….
OMG,
I am finishing a piece of birch and left the rags that I used to rub the wood with and about 9 hours later the house filled with a stench….I had been upstairs a few hours before and nothing…I found the culprit….the rags were smoldering in the sink….
Warning, if using Boiled Linseed Oil make sure the rags are placed in a bucket of water to keep oxidization from setting in a becoming combustible…I am now at a loss. I even took the table top outside. Has anyone had any experience with Linseed oil and the fire hazards….
It’s not a school of divinity. It is an online marketing device for certificates, books and paraphernalia. However, the ordination and their other services are legal in all states because of First Amendment guarantees.
A “minister” ordained by them is just as legal as your local parish priest or Baptist preacher when it comes to state-sanctioned ceremonies such as weddings.
Thanks OS. I have heard of that outfit, but I do no consider it as a legitimate school of divinity.