tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post877378133549155803..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Why Are Jews Liberal? -Part IIIAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-42582385313446422602009-09-23T21:30:43.816-04:002009-09-23T21:30:43.816-04:00Elisheva, I recommend the full essays in Commentar...Elisheva, I recommend the full essays in Commentary and at VC. I am intentionally not commenting on any of the opinions yet, so don't think I am ignoring your comment.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-53286830602796315702009-09-23T13:42:47.064-04:002009-09-23T13:42:47.064-04:00First about Jews and Christianity: Jews have good ...First about Jews and Christianity: Jews have good historical reasons to be suspicious of it, because our ancestors lived with it in Europe and experienced: the Code of Justinian (many American Christians don't know what that is); the theology of Augustine that led to separations and ghettos (ditto), the Crusades which resulted in the murder of 1/3 of the Jews living in the Rhineland (ditto again!); Martin Luther, who turned on the Jews when they didn't convert to his version (ditto, ditto, ditto), pograms and finally the Holocaust (in which the centuries of Christian teaching of contempt played a large role in the choice of victims). American Christians (in general) do not have the same memory nor does American Christianity have the same venom towards Jews that European Christianity had/has (?). <br /><br />But American Evangelical Christianity has sought the conversion of Jewish kids. I experienced that pressure myself, and saw it again with my kids. And Evangelicals tend to try to convert us by killing with kindness. It took me a long time to realize that this was not fake but cultural. And I am still suspicious of it. <br /><br />I would argue that there is more that unites American Jews than dislike of Christianity. But I would also argue that dislike of Christianity is reasonable in the face of 2000 years of Christian contempt expressed in ghettos, pograms, forced conversions, expulsions, inquisitions, and holocaust. Remember that Jewish non-citizen status rendered Jewish communities abjectly powerless in the face of Christian triumphalism and power. <br /><br />America is different. And for many Jews, America is home. But it is a new home and we aren't all that comfortable with it yet. <br /><br />About liberalism: There is a problem with the essayists who equate European liberalism to American liberalism. They are using the same term to describe two different phenomena. Therfore it's hard to know, without definitions how comparable the two actually are.Elisheva Hannah Levinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16061377724926154037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-2438075718709648432009-09-22T20:43:53.334-04:002009-09-22T20:43:53.334-04:00I know not what to say, except to say that Jews ar...I know not what to say, except to say that Jews aren't the only modern clan/tribal-group with a dour view of Evangelical Christianity.karrdehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00205160745963596856noreply@blogger.com