Its "horrendous" for a Christian to share their religion with a Jew? What sort of demented bigotry props up such a backward sentiment?

Eric, dear, I hope everyone leaves you alone.That's the way you can remain in your comfortable concepts and not be threaten with any different thought.

Quote: "I believe that what you say is the undisputed truth, but I have to see things my own way to keep me in my youth"

*shrug*

She's got an Israeli flag in her office.

And Joe Lieberman is going to continue to campaign for McCain-Palin in those parts of Florida.

So, I don't think this issue is going to have much traction. Given the traditional stereotypes (see: Jesse Jackson on jews), I suspect it's Obama who will have to put in more effort to convince American jews that he's on their side. Especially since the inspirational spiritual leader who Obama has looked up to for more than half of his adult life has some serious issues about American jews.

Besides... despite being a minority, Jewish voters tend to vote on *policy* and not on identity politics. And, in general, Jewish voters lean left on the policy issues.

(The Jewish vote was 74% for Kerry in 2004. Even the Atheist vote was only 67% for Kerry.)

It's not very often that I'm accused of having "comfortable concepts," but I don't feel threatened so much as I just disagree. What I tried to make clear is that I am a lot more threatened by people who want to actually do things to me -- like take away my property and my guns. People can threaten me with hell all they want -- but I think that kind of philosophy can have a political downside.

Which is why it's good to clear the air. I have as much right to my opinions about hell as they do, right?

CC, I didn't say sharing religious views was horrendous. To clarify, when I referred to "the long, horrendous history of anti-Semitism (which I don't think requires elaboration here)" I was thinking about forced conversions, religious pogroms, the Holocaust, that kind of stuff.

Sharing views is fine, but trying to convert people by threatening them with hell can be seen as disrespectful and annoying by the people being threatened.

You seem to be conflating forced conversions with threatening someone with hell(whatever that means)
As a bible reader, I reject the cartoon notion of Hell (or Hades). Its a gross misinterpretation of the Old and New Testaments. That, however, has no bearing at all on whether or not it is contemptible for believing Christians to follow the peaceful and loving commandment to spread the Gospel to everyone on Earth.

You do your argument no service by invoking the Holocaust, unless of course you are going to show what any of that had to do with evangelism.

Best,
Chuck

p.s. I really dig your site. Very well done.

I don't see a problem with Jewish Christians sharing their faith with others. I really enjoy learning about the Jewish influence on Christianity. People can associate with others as they wish. As long as associations are free and do not pose a physical threat to others or infringe on civil rights, where is the big problem? If people want to convert atheists into Christians or persuade a Democrat to vote Republican, I think it is fine.

Just for the record, I've generally found evangelicals to be both more welcoming to and more respectful of Jews, than many Jews seem to be toward evangelicals (to say nothing of how "regular" Jews treat Messianic Jews--those who practice Judaism, but also accept Jesus as Lord and Savior).

I also think there is a huge gulf between evangelism and forced or threatened conversion. Whether or not it's appropriate to threaten someone with hellfire if they don't convert, it's miles away from simple evangelism.

As one of my evangelical friends puts it, evangelism is one beggar showing another where he found bread: by extension, if the second beggar prefers something else, that's OK.

I'm not sure what you reference is to "Palin's" church. But just to make sure you know. She is NOT, repeat NOT, a member of the Pentacostal Assemblies of God" Here is a quote from a NYT article - yes, NYT: "One of the musical directors at the church, Adele Morgan, who has known Ms. Palin since the third grade, said the Palins moved to the nondenominational Wasilla Bible Church in 2002, in part because its ministry is less “extreme” than Pentecostal churches like the Assemblies of God, which practice speaking in tongues and miraculous healings." I think an honorable blogger would update his blog entry and excuse himself for repeating a leftist lie, assuming, of course, that you fell into the trap. I've been spending most of the day trying to correct conservative repetition of this particular smear. It's tiring.

How to be evangical is a frequent discussion/argument inside the evangelical and charismatic churches. I come down on the side of "if you sin or break the law to convert someone you're missing the point."

It has been noted that it is often the case that those who are the most militant are the ones who have big problem with some aspect of "walking the walk."

"A good man goes to heaven. His only problem was he had never been with a particular denomination. St. Peter asks him which mansion he want to join. The man is undecided so he is dispatched with an angel to look around. Behind the wall of one he hears the cry, Bingo! and the angel says Catholics, behind another he hears a lot of shouting, singing, and muscic, the angel says Pentecostal. At one wall the angel says OK be real quite till we get past the gate. Why the man asks.
Well they are XXXXXXXX and they think they are the only ones up here."

Funny exchange:

A Baptist fellow once asked me,"What do you Luthrins believe?" I quickly responded, "Same as you Baptists. Everybody but us is goin' to hell.".

Of course, that was a bit of hyperbole on my part. Not ALL Lutherans are going to heaven.

Heehee

ccoffer, my favorite one (told to me by a Wiccan Priestess) concerns the Wiccan who died and found himself standing in front of Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. Peter looks at him and says, "Follow me." But he doesn't lead him through the Gates; instead he takes a path leading off to the side and at the end of it, they are walking through the Summerlands and there are many other Wiccans there. Peter says, "OK, this is your place." The Wiccan says, "B-b-but I thought you would send me to Hell..." Peter says, "No, you weren't nearly bad enough for Hell."

Suddenly the Wiccan notices a group of people on one of the hills, weeping, wailing, tearing out their hair. He looks closer, and its' Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, Father Coughlin. He asks, "What's wrong with them?"

Peter says, "THEY'RE in Hell. Heaven isn't run the way they expected."

One Jews for Jesus speech at a church a candidate happens to attend is the moral equivalent of another candidate sitting through 20 years of sermons about Black Liberation Theology delivered from the pulpit by a man whom the candidate acknowledged as his spiritual mentor until it was politically inconvenient to do so. Makes perfect sense to me.

I despise "Jews for Jesus" and "Messianic Jews," who pretend that 1) they are really Jews and 2) conversion to Christianity is compatible with Judaism. Thus do they prey on naive and ignorant Jews. But I see no reason to think that Palin shares the views of such groups WRT Jews. The anecdotes I read about her all suggest that she is tolerant and pro-Israel, and her pro-national-defense political philosophy is good for America's allies, including Israel.

The "Does Palin wants to convert the Jews?" meme sounds like a question from a push poll. And it originates with media people who were remarkably incurious about Obama's pastor, Jeremiah "God damn America" Wright. A coincidence, I am sure.

I know a Christian couple that belongs to a group that is incorporating various aspects of Judaism into their worship and lifestyle- including kosher food and Jewish rituals. They are doing it because in their estimation the Christians before Constantine's conversion were primarily of Jewish heritage. By doing so, they see themselves as following the way of the early Christians.