Did the Pagans Steal Christmas

Ani ma'amin...

And it might be noted that many Christians are deeply sceptical of Jews for Jesus and similar organisations, wondering whether there is an element of trickery at worst and identity confusion at best.

Hebrew Rite Pentecostalism does not appear to this glatt goyisher but committed Zionist and very friendly observer of things Jewish to bear any resemblance in ethos, theology, or internal Geist to the forms of Jewish worship he has observed extensively and at first hand (Reform, Traditional, Conservative, Humanist, Reconstructionist).

Anybody's faith is worthy of civil respect, but truth is not served by purely decorative liturgics and ethnic sentimentality. I like my Christianity served up straight, no chaser. I admire my friends' Judaism served the same way.

"And on that day, ten men will take hold of the edge of a Jew's garment and say, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that salvation surrounds you.'" -- Zechariah the prophet

Let every Jew take this promise to heart and be encouraged in tikkun olam. Let every Christian place his faith in one particular Jew Whom he believes to be the fulfilment of this promise.

Best wishes to you all.

Janko





Carthage must be destroyed.

 

Amen v'amen.

Your subject line, though chilling, was chosen with exactitude.

 

Yes.

 

V'Ani ma'amin...

Hi UJ,

While you are, of course, entitled to your opinion, do bear in mind that there are those Jews who have become convinced of the reality of Jesus and maintain their traditions, as did the Apostles and many for a number of generations after them, before they were told that in order to follow Jesus, they had to completely abandon their Jewish identity. There is not necessarily any more identity confusion for a Jewish follower of Jesus than for an Arab, Bengali, English or Bantu follower of Jesus. Such people are not engaged in trickery nor in "identity confusion". Certainly for those of us who have grown up Jewish, it is not merely "purely decorative liturgics and ethnic sentimentality".

What, after all, is faith in Jesus "served up straight"? All forms of the Christian faith have been contextualized for one or another culture (often including religious liturgical as well as thought forms), often in terms of theological expression as well as surface cultural things. Jewish followers of Jesus have that same right, in particular in view of the fact that such contextualization is more of a return to what was there in the beginning.

Best Wishes to you as well,

Matt

 

But as a Confucian philosophically I do not accept the notion of "rights".
Thank you for your interesting rejoinder.

Best wishes to you,
Janko

PS. My entitlement to my opinion is something of which I require neither reminding nor reassurance. Indeed, as a ju & chün-tzu it is my duty and that beneath the gaze of Heaven.





Carthage must be destroyed.

 

Please also avoid use of the word "Bantu". It is now very deeply offensive in
post-fascist South Africa, akin to the word "n-----". Thank you.
Janko





Carthage must be destroyed.

 

And also to you peace! Very best wishes, Janko





Carthage must be destroyed.

 

The word is 'nigger'. If we are going to think it, then why not spell it?

While I do recognize and share your concern, isn't the word 'Bantu' ultimately a linguistic term? If the word is removed from our vocabularies, then what's the new politically correct term that refers to the masive branch of the Niger-Congo language family that includes most of the African languages south of the equator?

Yikes, if the use of the word 'Bantu' is a crime against progressive politics, then always-politically-correct Stanford University is going to have to hold a tremendous auto da fe in the old quad.

http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/1575862042.html

Sorry to be a jerk, Unk. It's the principle. I just don't react well to politically motivated attempts to reform thoughts through vocabulary control. It's too '1984' for my taste.

It seems to me that the problem isn't words, it's the volitional formations that motivate words' use on particular occasions. If the intention is to insult or to put down or to establish dominance heirarchies or whatever, then it's that hostile intent that needs work.

 

Nice direct summary, Ted.

My understanding is that his syncretic adaptation was an appeal to non-Christians who worshipped Juno (previously known as Venus, the Greek Goddess of love).

Chrisitanity has been a flexible, adaptive religious system of Belief, and the cult of Msary (as Protestants regard it) is part of it.

But to complete the relevant history of the season, it is incorrect to call Santa Claus secular. Santa, is of Dutch origin, based on St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra, who became the patron saint of seafarers, merchants, and children. The early December celebratory tradition grew in the Netherlands in the late Middle Ages.

"All Dutch children know that Sinterklaas (the name is a corruption of Sint Nikolaas) lives in Spain. Exactly why he does remains a mystery, but that is what all the old songs and nursery rhymes say. Whatever the case may be, in Spain he spends most of the year recording the behaviour of all children in a big red book, while his helper Black Peter stocks up on presents for next December 5th." http://www.thehollandring.com/sinterklaas.shtml

The Dutch tradtion is rather more jestful and provactive than ours.

With the founding of New Netherlands in New York, the tradition was planted in the US and became associated with Christmas, despite having been celebrated earlier in the month.
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=23

-Orson

 

Juno is generally equated with Hera. Venus is a Roman goddess, corresponding with the Greek Aphrodite.