Jesus the Jew and Christianity

Almost immediately after the life and itinerant preaching of Jesus of Nazareth, his message was lost and perverted. What we call Christianity was from day one anti-semitic and supersessionist. Two thousand years of documented hatred and persecution of Jews can and must be laid at the feet of Christians.
And if you know how and are willing to be honest with the text and yourself, you will see that this hatred and claim to surpass its background in Judaism is in the New Testament. It is there in the earliest document, I Thessalonians, when Paul already redefines the messiah (Jewish) as the Christ (Greek) and talks about his coming back. The thought NEVER crossed Jesus' mind. It is there in Galatians when Paul demonstrates his misunderstanding of the Law and redefines Israel and children of Abraham by faith (his exegesis of Genesis 15 and 17) rather than circumcision and history. Because he can not possibly say that God breaks His promise made to Israel, Paul has to give some interesting mental and theological gymnastics in Romans where he lays out the terms of engagement between the weak and the strong and where he says Israel must be brought (saved) into the fold before the End. To his last letter (Romans) Paul continues to impose his redefinition of the Christ and parousia.
In Constantine's Sword, James Carroll has masterfully documented the sad and horrific history of Christianity's abuse of Judaism. From Paul and the New (think of the implications of that word!) Testament, to Constantine and the sign of the cross and his mother's "finding" the True Cross and the seamless robe, to Augustine's argument that Jews must be "protected" until the End, to Ambrose's argument to kill Jews, to the Blood Libel originating in England, to Acquinas' rational argument for the persecution of Jews, to Luther's The Jews and Their Lies and his argument to kill Jews who will not convert, to Hitler's identification of himself as the messiah, to the Holocaust, to John Paul II and Benedict XVI and their emphatic supersessionism and "one way" to salvation.
The message of Jesus of Nazareth is a challenge to the world today. Unfortunately Christianity has almost drowned it out.

Can we be honest, objective, and even-handed?

Can we be honest, objective, and even-handed?

Yes, the attack on Benghazi and the loss of four American lives was a tragedy, horrific and deplorable. Could it have been prevented? Maybe. Was it an act of “terror”? We know now it was. Should our government be open and transparent with us? Definitely.

But, do you remember Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 when 80 people were killed? Do you remember the attack on the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 when 241 American lives were lost? Democrat or Republican administrations don’t matter.

Lessons learned? If we ask people to defend us and serve in foreign countries, Congress should appropriate money requested for safe facilities and better intelligence cooperation AND foreign aid to address the symptoms that lead to this violence.

Yes, the unlawful taking of information and sources from Associated Press reporters and editors should be condemned, exposed, and prosecuted. It was an attack on our First Amendment. A free press is essential for a democracy, for an informed public.

But, do you remember George W. Bush’s imprisonment of reporters who refused to reveal their sources? Do you remember that administration’s exposure of a CIA agent, endangering her life and that of other agents?

Lessons learned? We must always, always diligently protect our freedom of the press. It stands between us and a dictatorship. Just look at the absence of this freedom around the world.

Yes, the use of the IRS for political purposes is wrong if not illegal. This agency must be fair and impartial. Rules must apply equally to all persons and organizations.

But, do you remember Richard Nixon’s use of the IRS to target and punish liberal organizations? Or FDR”s use of the IRS to punish his political opponents?

Lessons learned? This agency must be fair and transparent if citizens are to trust their government. Maybe all political and charitable donors should be identified. Our government certainly should not be for sale to the highest bidders.

One thing overlooked in this shouting match is that the IRS was doing their job. I do not think political contributions should be tax deductible. An organization must prove they qualify for 501©3 status or if they are really 501©4. Maybe churches should pay property taxes, but that’s another issue.

Here is a question for the right and left. Where is our moral outrage when over 30,000 people die in this country every year from gun shots? Their blood is on our hands for not requiring criminal background checks, mental health checks, confiscating and destroying illegal guns from criminals, etc. Where is our moral outrage over local, state, and federal destruction of our education system with their immoral financial policies? The list goes on. Healthcare, family support, care for the disabled, care for veterans.

Can we be honest, objective, and even-handed?

Waiting again

One wait is over and another begins. Shanon's genetic test came back negative; she does NOT have the breast cancer gene. This is good news for her and her sister. Additional surgery to clear margins and waiting for another pathology report. We have a strong daughter who of course is concerned. We are blessed to have her. She is blessed to have a wonderful husband and fantastic children. It is a trial that with love and care she and family will get through and will celebrate with one huge party when it is all behind.
So we wait. Waiting provides the opportunity to fill the space between with reminders of the love that enfolds us, memories of joy and peace, gratitude for one another, boundless hope that gives strength to take one step at a time.
Tell those nearest and dearest how much you love them everyday. Why else are we here?

Jesus was a Jew, seriously!

Jesus was a Jew.
Let me say that again.
Jesus was a Jew.
Jesus was a failed messiah, one among many.
Jesus is not coming back.
Now can we have a serious conversation about Jesus, Christianity, Judaism and the relationship among the three?
From the beginning, from the very beginning Christianity has been anti-Judaism and anti-semitic. At times over the last 2000 years that anti-semitism has been open, blatant, and violent. Today I would venture to say that 99% of Christians are anti-semitic and do not know it. For those among them with loving hearts, I would say their anti-semitism is unintentional; it simply proceeds out of ignorance.
The earliest Christian writing we have [only a copy, no original documents], I Thessalonians, is from Paul from ca. 49 CE. In that document he says [I Th 1:10] that Jesus rescues us from the wrath to come: Point 1.  He also says [I Th 2: 14-15] that the Jews killed Jesus: Point 2. He also implies in verse 16 that the Jews have been replaced [he says God's wrath has overtaken them]: Point 3.
Point 1: Paul stole Jesus, a Jewish messiah, and turned him into a hellenistic divine deliverer, on the road to making Jesus a divine figure,i.e. God. For Paul Jesus died for human sin. There was NOT the first Jewish followers of Jesus understanding. Jesus was a Jewish messiah who ultimately failed in that role.
Point 2: In this earliest document Paul says the Jews killed Jesus, completely exonerating the Romans. This lie will continue to be reinforced throughout his letters, the Gospels, and the rest of the New Testament.
Point 3: Supersessionism! Paul begins the long, sad history of Christians claiming Jews, Judaism, and Jewish scripture have been replaced, surpassed, superceded by Chriatianity. The Epistle to the Hebrews will claim everything about Judaism--scripture, prophets, Law--has been superceded. The Epistle of Barnabas from the early second century will claim the "Old Testament" is really a Christian document. Melito of Sardis, a Christian Bishop, will claim the Jews killed God, the charge of deicide that has plagued Judaism ever since.
Does this mean we throw Jesus on the trash heap of history? No! But this is a call to understand him in context and seek meaning and purpose in his teachings and in the God-likeness----I did not say he was God-----he embodied.

Waiting

I have been thinking a lot about waiting recently. Have you ever stopped to think (a form of waiting itself) about how much time we spend waiting?
I wake early and wait for the alarm to tell me its time to get up.
I wait for the cable to connect and morning news to begin.
I wait for the coffee to finish brewing, the eggs to fry, and the toast to get brown.
I wait for the treadmill clock to finally climb to the programed time to complete my exercises.
I wait.
We waited for the biopsy report to come back----and it was not what we hoped for.
We waited for the surgery to be over so we could see our daughter again and tell her again and again how much we love her.
We wait for the pathology report on three lymph nodes to come back to learn if clear, if extensively spread, and what treatment plan will be required.
We wait until we see loved ones the next time.
We wait.
Tinch Nhat Han (forgive my spelling) counsels us to be in the present. The past is done, unchangeable. The future never arrives. We are here and now, and it is our responsibility to fill it with meaning and purpose.
Waiting is to time what dark matter is to space. It is the majority of what is. It is what holds time together. Without it we would "spin off" into nothingness.
In waiting we are renewed, strengthened, prepared to face the next now. We are blessed when surrounded by those we love with whom to share the journey.
We wait and hope with our Shanon Hope.

Waiting rooms and Daughter

Waiting rooms are the great leveler. We all stand naked, equal in our need, equal in our hope. It makes no consequence--rich or poor, black or white, Jew/ChristianMuslim/whatever--all vulnerable, all anxious.
Two women, young and old, wearing their hijabs and consoling each other about her husband and her father,
Two African-American families, parents helpless as they entrust their children to science and caring, capable doctors.
An elderly woman, alone and worried about her husband of who knows how many years, needing assurance and consolation.
Husband, mother, father stunned in disbelief that this could be happening to someone so young and so full of life.
In the halls every nationality imaginable with the same pained look on their face and hoping beyond hope for that "miracle" that says "s/he is doing well and is going to be fine."
I did not ask a one of them for their citizenship, nationality, or religion. Those things are so irrelevent
and external. The bond we shared is infinitely greater and more meaningful. We have all been down the same road: denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance, surrender.
Now we wait in silent community, loving anonymously, supporting quietly, wishing abundantly.
Shanon is 42. She is my Doodlebug. Only yesterday she learned to ride a bike and drive a car and went on her first date and graduated from collage and got married and brought Isabel and Sam into this wonderful and precarious world. She is so full of life. The doctors are so positive. We are so hopeful (her middle name is Hope!). We are so thankful for her and all that is to come together.
Her mother, sister, and I love and cherish this gift known as Shanon.

Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom

We have accumulated a vast amount of knowledge in our human experience. Knowledge enables day to day living and the development of those things that enhance and improve the quality of living. We build machines to make life easier and improve medical data to fight disease and improve the quality of our lives. Knowledge is wonderful, but it is not enough.

What we do with our knowledge, our data, our information is critical and essential to consider in the equation of living. When Einstein “understood” the meaning of his knowledge for the development of atomic energy and military use, he became increasingly wary and critical. Knowledge without understanding does not guarantee responsible use. Because we can (knowledge) does not mean we should (understanding).

However, knowledge and understanding are still not enough. Without wisdom, the discernment of good judgment and insight guided by constructive, life affirming values of love and compassion, the potential consequences of knowledge and understanding are destruction and chaos. I only repeat what others have observed: we are the first generation with the capacity to terminate ourselves and life as we know it on this planet. We stand at the crossroads.

One choice is hatred, violence, racism, ethnocentrism, self-absorption, division, isolation, arrogance, intolerance. Its incarnation are legion and vocal. The other is love, compassion, tolerance, humility, rejection of violence personally and as a society, inclusiveness, and recognition of the integrity and worth of all humankind. These values are at the heart of ALL wisdom traditions. Their reality requires transformation of us individually and as a society.

We desperately need emotional and moral maturity to accompany our intellectual abilities.