Jump to Blog Sidebar & Archives
See? I knew that would get your attention.
Jacob Staub, a self-styled gay Reconstructionist rabbi, has published an essay on the Zeek website with this title: "Worship for Agnostics: Building a Personal Relationship with a Non-personal God."
Reading the rabbi's story reminded me in some ways of similar testimonies on numerous "ex-Fundamentalist" websites, where people gush about how their strict, religious upbringing left them psychologically and/or emotionally scarred.
Please don't misunderstand. I don't doubt that there are some religious wackos who do indeed inflict damage on their children; but I also think some of it is blown out of proportion. Sometimes you just want to say, "Come on, already. Enough is enough. Grow up and get over it."
In Jacob's case, he grew up in Orthodox Judaism, but ultimately left Orthodoxy because He couldn't accept its caricature of God which he felt was "judgmental, mean-spirited, and stifling." He doesn't say whether the fact that Orthodox Judaism generally condemns the practice of homosexuality played any role in this parting of the ways, but I suspect it did.
At times, his view of God sounds like a New Age mantra, almost pantheistic: "If God is a Process that grounds all existence, a Force embedded in the universe upon which we can draw in our efforts to become better people and repair the world, then we can pray without having to imagine an old man in the sky or a difficult mother’s embrace."
Not surprisingly (since such philosophies generally come in packages), Jacob also decided that there's very little literal truth in the Bible. Its stories are metaphors (e.g., God didn't create the world in six days or split the Red Sea so the Israelites could walk across it to safety). More importantly, according to the rabbi, the God that the Bible presents is a construct—not a real Person:
The God that Jews have constructed throughout history — Exodus’ Man of War who splits the sea with his outstretched arm; the seductive and elusive Lover of the Song of Songs; the Talmud’s Shekhinah, who weeps as she accompanies us into exile; Maimonides’ ineffable One, who is unchanging and unaware of this world and yet is the object of our passionate love; the Kabbalah’s infinite Ein Sof, who is beyond all description and mediated by more accessible Sefirot (emanations)—all are only our constructions of God. Because God is beyond accurate description, our ancestors felt licensed to describe God in any and every way that they, in their limitations, imagined perfection. The best of these inherited metaphors point beyond themselves, guiding us to the mystery of existence.
But to me, here's the really sad part. Jacob writes, "God can only be metaphorical. By definition, God is beyond human understanding and description. It is beyond our capacity not only to see God but also to know God. At best, we get glimpses, flashes, intuitions. And we are never able to verify what we glimpse or experience."
This makes me sad not only because it's Jacob's view, but also because he speaks for multitudes of Jewish people around the world. And they're not all fringe Reconstructionists or Renewalists. Many are Conservative and even Orthodox. For them, Judaism has devolved into more of a cultural exercise than a way to experience God. I was looking on a certain synagogue's website the other day (I won't tell you which one because my purpose here is not to embarrass them) and noticed, to my surprise, that God wasn't mentioned even once anywhere on the site (at least, nowhere that I could find). It was all about their activities and programs—and believe me, they have tons of them. Need a support group? They've got one for you. And yes, they gratefully accept donations. But nothing about God. Zip. Nada.
For crying out loud, how do you compose an Orthodox congregation's core values and mission statement without mentioning God?
God is unknowable.
God cannot be seen or experienced.
This is what many Jewish people believe. Maybe that's why they think they don't need God in their mission statement.
And like I said, I think it's sad.
Why? Because this just flat out isn't what the Bible teaches. (And by "Bible," I'm referring here to both the Old and New Covenants.)
The Bible tells us that our God is not just personal—He's intensely personal. Not only can He be known; He wants to be known.
In fact, life's highest and noblest purpose is knowing Him.
And the Messiah was willing to give His life to bridge the gap and make it possible (John 3:16-17).
This was the Apostle Paul's message when he visited Athens:
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;
"For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22-23).
In the Torah, the LORD God heard the cries of a pregnant, brokenhearted Egyptian teenager named Hagar. It was sometime around 1900 BC. She had fled into the desert and thought she would die there. But the Angel of the LORD "found" her (Gen. 16:7). He spoke with her, listened to her concerns, and told her what she should do (vv. 8-11).
Hagar was ... well, blown away. Utterly amazed. God spoke with her! None of the Egyptian gods had ever expressed any interest in her. Amon Ra, for instance, had never asked her where she had been and where she was going. Not so much as a word. But here was the LORD God of Abraham, engaging her in personal conversation. She was so impressed, she did exactly what He told her to do. She even named a nearby well after Him because she wanted everyone to remember what He had done for her there (v. 13). The name she chose was Beer Lahai Roi. Literally, it means "Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me."
How's that for "personal"?
Oops, I forgot—the Hagar account didn't really happen. Alas, according to the rabbi, the patriarchal narratives are also metaphors.
Sometimes you just can't win for losing.
An attorney friend here in San Antonio just sent me a copy of a lawsuit being brought against the IRS by a pro-Israel organization called Z Street.
You'll find the text of the lawsuit here.
What's interesting about this is that Z Street is alleging that the Obama Administration has put in place an IRS "Israel Special Policy" that requires an unprecedented review of organizations whose "activities are related to Israel, and that are organizations whose positions contradict the US Administration's Israeli policy."
If this is on the up-and-up, it wouldn't be a huge surprise because the current administration has thus far had less than cordial relations with the State of Israel. In fact, it's hard to remember a time when our relationship with our closest ally in the Middle East has been so icy. The UK's Telegraph newspaper provides this analysis with a heaping helping of British spin: click here.
Historically, such a "special policy" toward Israel would be a throwback to the policies of the 1950s. In the early 1960s, LBJ (whose historic ranch is situated only a few miles from where I'm sitting right now as I type this) was the first president to openly align his administration's policies with the interests of the Jewish State. His warm relationship with Israel actually went back to his days in the US Congress. LBJ's predecessor, JFK, had sold weapons to Israel, thereby breaking a longstanding arms embargo of the Jewish State; but even he did not take up the cause like LBJ did. JFK's predecessor, Dwight Eisenhower, was more interested in maintaining good relations with Nasser in Egypt (and the rest of the Arab world) than he was in Israel's welfare. Here's a summary of some of this history: click here.
I'm not a lawyer, of course, but even from my limited, layman's perspective, the problem I see with the Z Street complaint is that it doesn't cite any proof for its rather extravagant claims. Do they have recordings of (or witnesses to) the alleged conversations with "Agent Gentry" of the IRS? Or any copies of emails? What about a paper trail of any kind? Is this new "Israel Special Policy" in print? If it is, they don't mention that fact in the text of the complaint.
Forward Magazine, a Jewish publication, is also having second thoughts about the Z Street action: click here.
I don't know anything about Z Street (and had never heard of it before now); but I truly hope they're not doing this as a publicity stunt. Supporters of Israel aren't doing the movement any favors if they don't keep it real.
At this point, it's too early to pass judgment one way or the other. Maybe the complaint is legit; maybe it's not. Maybe this new "Israel Special Policy" truly exists; or maybe it doesn't. Either way, the truth will eventually come out.
In the meantime ...
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
Gary Hedrick
Most of us remember where we were, and maybe even what we were doing, when historically significant events took place.
For instance, I remember where I was when I heard that President Kennedy had been assassinated. I was 11 years old and my family was in Pasadena, Texas, at the time. I was at home with my brother and sister, Bruce and Mary Ann. If you're my age or older, you probably remember where you were, too, when you heard the news.
9/11/2001 was such a day. I was in my study at home that morning when my wife, Marcia, came in and said, "You should turn on the TV. Something just happened in New York City." I quickly clicked on CNN and a minute or so later, another plane slammed into the second tower of the World Trade Center--so I saw it in real time. I'll never forget it.
It's hard to believe it's been nine years already.
Some people are calling 9/11 "Patriot's Day." It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Remembering significant, history-making events is important. That's why God established the Passover and told the people of Israel to celebrate it throughout their generations. He wants them always to remember what He did for them when they were slaves in Egypt.
Some things are just too important to forget.
On 9/11, the forces of Islamic terror declared war on the USA and on freedom-loving peoples everywhere. Let's pause on this day and remember those brave men and women of our armed forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice in that ongoing war.
With God's help, and by His grace, let's each of us do our part to ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain.
Happy Patriot's Day!
I've never met Glenn Beck. I've only seen him a few times on Fox News and have never heard his radio program. He wouldn't know me from Adam's house cat.
But I do know he's been getting a lot of attention lately! A week or so ago, his Rally for America, with heavy support from the Tea Party movement, packed an estimated half million people (and possibly more) into the area around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
Later, I listened to his "Restoring Honor" keynote speech online and found myself agreeing with much of what he said.
Little wonder. Glenn says a lot of things that resonate with conservative Christians. His emphasis on our American heritage and traditional values is something that's been missing from the mainstream media for a long time.
Even people who say they think Rush Limbaugh is too bombastic, or that Bill O'Reilly is snippy and self-aggrandizing, seem to be attracted to Glenn. Hey, there's just something about the guy. And most folks believe him when he says those crocodile tears aren't theatrics, but are truly heartfelt. He said he was proud of himself for having gotten through his "Restoring Honor" speech the other day without crying.
But here's the deal. Glenn is a Mormon. There have been rumors that he's a pseudo-Mormon—that is, he's secretly a true, born-again believer. However, he publicly states that he's a devout Mormon, so I think we have to take him at his word. (But it was a nice thought.)
One attitude among evangelicals is that Glenn's Mormonism isn't a problem, at least not politically; and in some ways, maybe it's not. After all, Mitt Romney is also a Mormon and a whole galaxy of conservative Christian leaders endorsed Mitt's campaign for the presidency in 2008. They felt that he had a good grasp of the issues and offered workable solutions to many of our problems. More notably, he's been successful on his own in the business world—unlike almost everyone in the upper echelon of the current administration.
The kicker, of course, is that Mormonism is not true Christianity. And I say that knowing full well that it rubs some peoples' fur the wrong way. Not long ago, someone said that the Mormon issue isn't a big deal because after all, we all believe in Jesus, and that's all that really matters.
Come on, people, are you kidding me? By no stretch of the imagination is the "Jesus" of Mormonism even remotely related to the Jesus (Yeshua) of the Bible. So there's no way we're, like, "all believers in Jesus."
For starters, which Jesus are we talking about here? In Mormonism, Jesus was conceived when God the Father had sex with Mary (which would mean, of course, that at that point she was no longer a virgin). Furthermore, the Mormon Jesus is Lucifer's older brother. Messed up, right?
The fact that the Mormon Church doesn't rely on the Bible as the sole authority for its teachings (they have two other holy books) also says something, I think.
But again, these are religious teachings that don't necessarily have any bearing on a person's political, moral, and ethical beliefs. No one can dispute that the Mormons are diligent, smart, innovative, industrious people who literally carved an empire out of the Utah wilderness. They persevered and overcame tremendous adversity. And every Mormon male spends two years of his life as a volunteer missionary for the church. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from them. Not theologically, mind you, but socially, politically, and perhaps even personally.
So what are we to make of this? Is it possible to formulate a coherent approach that tells us how we as Bible-believing Christians can (or can't) cooperate and interact out there in the world with groups whose beliefs differ in important ways from our own?
After all, we're not hermits. We don't live in secluded monasteries high in the mountains. We rub elbows every day with people of many different stripes and backgrounds. So here's the question: when our interests happen to coincide with those of another group, even one that's non-Christian, can we join forces with them to further those common interests? Or do we only participate cooperatively with people from our own camp?
Here's one suggested approach from our friends at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary: click here
Their proposal seems reasonable enough. I like pictures, so the imagery of those "concentric circles of affinity" appeals to me. (I also loved comic books when I was a kid. I remember when they were 10 cents!)
In the meantime, while we take time to sort this out, I'll say this: I have great admiration for Glenn Beck, a self-professed down-and-outer who's not bashful about sharing how he woke up one day, took responsibility for his shattered life, and proceeded to turn it around. It's a great success story. Kudos, Mr. Beck!
But I hope you'll forgive me if I don't jump on the bandwagon just yet.
You may not be accustomed to receiving New Year's greetings at this time of the year, but we are.
You see, Rosh HaShanah is the New Year on one of the Jewish calendars (they have several of them, but this is the one they adopted during the Babylonian Captivity). In Hebrew, rosh hashanah literally means "head of the year." The biblical name for this observance is Yom Teruah (Day of Blowing the Shofar; Lev. 23:24-25).
The traditional Hebrew greeting on Rosh HaShanah is "L'Shanah Tovah," or "For a Good Year."
According to rabbinic tradition, Adam and Eve were created 5,771 years ago. (We're pretty sure that's not accurate; but hey, it's tradition. So what can you do?) On the Jewish calendar, therefore, we're just beginning the year 5,771.
Rosh Hashanah begins the "Days of Awe," a 10-day countdown to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the most holy observance in traditional Judaism.
Of course, if you have one of our Messianic Jewish Home Calendars, you already know most of this.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia article about Rosh HaShanah: click here
So from all of us at CJF Ministries, L'Shanah Tovah!
You can read the full article here: at The Jerusalem Post.
I always hate it when people tell me, "See? I told you so!"
Especially when it's my wife, Marcia (because she's usually right).
But in this instance, it's true—because I predicted this development in an earlier blog.
The "peace talks" are doomed to fail because (1) the Palestinian Authority cannot govern its own people, let alone negotiate with another government, and (2) you cannot negotiate with someone who does not respect your legitimacy.
This is precisely why the Bush Administration refused to engage in direct negotiations with the government of Iran, which is blatantly anti-Semitic and a known state sponsor of terrorism worldwide. To have done so would have been to imply Washington's recognition of the Teheran government's legitimacy. The Obama Administration has since changed that policy vis-à-vis Iran, but my point still stands. Negotiations require a mutual recognition of legitimacy. Israel cannot negotiate with the Palestinians as long as they refuse to recognize the Jewish State.
One of the reasons for the establishing of the modern State of Israel was to provide a safe haven for the Jewish people in the midst of a dangerous world. In 1948, this tiny, fledgling nation was raised up in the shadow of the Holocaust. Six million Jewish people had perished alongside millions of others in the Nazi death camps during World War Two.
Let that sink in for a moment. Six million Jewish people—including men, women, the elderly, and children—were brutally and systematically murdered by the Nazi regime. Do you know how many people that is? It's roughly the same as the population of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's almost the size of Cairo, Egypt. (Gideon and I were in Cairo a few years ago, so we have seen first-hand the teeming masses inhabiting that sprawling megalopolis.)
And each Jewish person who died—especially those who were younger and could have later had children—represented not just himself (or herself), but future generations, as well. The true loss in the Holocaust was many more than six million.
Have you ever been to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem? We routinely take our tour groups there. If and when you go, you will be confronted with the stark reality of evil and the horrible scars it leaves on our world. The experience (I hope) will break your heart and you will never be the same.
The cry of the Zionists was, "Never again!"
The official Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (formally issued on May 14, 1948) said:
The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people - the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe - was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the comity of nations.
It is unconscionable that the Palestinians stubbornly and maliciously refuse to recognize the Jewish State. The Israelis are bending over backwards trying to accommodate them, trying to come to some sort of mutual agreement, trying to make it work.
Sadly, it's not working. But I won't say I told you so.
The big news this past week was the coming together in Washington DC of the Israelis and the Palestinians for peace talks. On Thursday, the major news networks carried the opening statements of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from the East Room of the White House while their aides looked on.
Middle East peace talks have been ongoing for decades. Here's an Arab perspective on and timeline of the history of the talks. My first memories of the talks go back to the early 1970s, during the Nixon Administration when Henry Kissinger was secretary of state. These talks have always been fraught with problems. The current talks are also doomed to failure (yes, I'm one of the naysayers) because the Palestinians cannot negotiate in good faith while they are themselves embroiled in a civil war between secularists (the Palestinian Authority) and militant Islamists (Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north). There are essentially two different governments—one in the Gaza (run by Hamas) and another in the West Bank (the Palestinian Authority). This two-headed political monster is incapable of governing the Palestinian people as a unified whole. The situation is exacerbated by deeply-ingrained, cultural anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the Arab world. Many children in this culture are taught as early as preschool that the State of Israel doesn't exist. They are also indoctrinated with the notion that Jews are descended in an evolutionary chain from pigs and that it's a great honor to die as a martyr (shahid) while killing Jewish men, women, and children. Yes, there is a Palestinian elite of wealthy and well-educated people, including intellectuals like Mahmoud Darwish, the late Edward Said (of Columbia University), and others; but they comprise a relatively small group. To put it bluntly, too much of the Palestinian populace is simply uncivilized. They have a rabid and irrational hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. These extremists do not respond to reason or logic—yet another reason why they don't function well as negotiating partners.
Seriously now, folks, how much bona fide negotiating can happen when you're sitting across the table from someone whose constituency includes individuals and organizations who want you dead? I mean, let's get real about this.
There is hope, however. The love of God can pierce those walls of ignorance and prejudice on both sides. When Albert Nessim, one of our Israeli staff members was in the hospital in Haifa a few years ago, a Palestinian man was in the bed next to him. The two families—one Jewish and the other Palestinian—got to know each other and a relationship developed as the Nessims shared the love of God with Albert's Palestinian roommate. He and his family were deeply moved when Albert unexpectedly died in January of 2007—while still in the hospital. Since that time, Ruth, his widow, has cultivated that relationship. Before she had her heart attack a few months ago, she had started meeting regularly with an Arab pastor and was staying in touch with her Palestinian friend in the West Bank. She even had him and his Muslim friends reading Arabic New Testaments and other Gospel materials! She has had to curtail some of those activities since then, of course. But still, this relationship represents the power of Yeshua the Messiah to reconcile former enemies and change hearts and minds on both sides of the divide.
This is the best kind of “peace process”—one that really works.
If you received our most recent newsletter, you know how concerned we are over the recent international incident vis-à-vis Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Amid all the criticism that’s been heaped on Israel in the mainstream press, it’s hard to sift through the mountain of information and separate fact from fiction. Fortunately, a few journalists have managed to maintain a balanced approach to the issue. We’d like to highlight one such article today:
“If Israel Is Not Evil, the World Is in Big Trouble” by Jewish radio talk show host Dennis Prager. To view the article, click the link and it’ll open in a new page.
One of the things we’ll be doing in this blog is to bring thoughtful, informed perspectives like Dennis Prager’s to your attention. Hopefully, this information will help balance the input we’re all getting from other, “mainstream” media. It should also remind us that God is working today through world events that are unfolding all around us. That bigger picture is very important.
If this is your first time here, please bookmark our site or subscribe to our feed. And let us hear from you! Thanks again for visiting!
Your friend and brother,
Gary
