I have again removed a comment for the same reasons I offered in the comment section of my previous essay; q.v. Readers are not at all discouraged from challenging my views or suggesting modifications to them. From mere rude assertion they are discouraged, particularly when the assertion ignores the argument and comes in the form of an attack on others. And why is it that the only comments I've ever needed to remove are on this subject? It seems to punctuate Berdyaev's point, does it not?
Prof Farrow - I miss your writings. Esp a critical but accurate analysis of the Church in light of our current struggles -- I attend mass and read the Word daily but cannot stomach the 5 years of Church fruits as much else than clear elevation of govt or secular or worse views and debts above those of Christ and His Father. Isn't it clear? Will the sheep and leaders ever see it admit it and repent of it?
Both Berdyaev's essay and Farrow's introduction to it are very stimulating and penetrating, but I think the big question today is the Zionist question. Berdyaev says we (Christians) have an 'obligation to treat Jews Christianly'. I couldn't agree more. But do we have an obligation to treat Zionism Christianly too? Criticism of Zionism, in the eyes of Jews, is now tantamount to anti-Semitism. But is that fair?
Much depends, of course, on what is meant by Zionism. I am myself against the kind of Zionism that requires uncritical support for Israeli state policy, as are most Jews. I am also against uncritical Christian anti-supersessionism of the kind to which I have have alluded in the notes and treated in Theological Negotiations. I concede that Jewish and Christian 'Zionisms' of a certain sort sometimes converge in unhelpful ways. But popular anti-Zionism is very often a slur against Jews or a rejection of their right to a state; sometimes it is an implicit call for violence against both. And this, I think, must be rejected at the outset, before engaging further the historical and theological foundations that must be laid in order to give a nuanced and fair answer. Otherwise 'the Zionist question' becomes a way of evading 'the Jewish question', which cannot be evaded. Yes?
Those persons well-ensconced in the Establishment who suggest that they are not Christian who fail to worship the Jew never address the question of Jewish belief and action towards the non-Jew. You, Mr. Farrow are like the rest.
We sinners must repent, but the Jew must never be questioned; indeed, he is to be exalted.
You have nothing to contribute to public debate on the matter in 2024.
I have said no such thing. The Jew is every bit as much a sinner as the gentile. Indeed it was through the Jew that God began to teach gentiles that they too are sinners, though not in the first instance as responsible as Jews for their sin, because lacking Torah. (Read Romans.) That still applies, and it applies to the present conflict. As for my being an establishment figure, well, ask the establishment about that.
I have again removed a comment for the same reasons I offered in the comment section of my previous essay; q.v. Readers are not at all discouraged from challenging my views or suggesting modifications to them. From mere rude assertion they are discouraged, particularly when the assertion ignores the argument and comes in the form of an attack on others. And why is it that the only comments I've ever needed to remove are on this subject? It seems to punctuate Berdyaev's point, does it not?
I had not seen this news from Russia, which appeared just about the time of my publication: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13560507/russia-terror-gunman-synagogues-police-dead.html
This also may be of interest to some readers, as a backgrounder on the Palestinian situation: https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/06/23/hamas-is-the-enemy-of-the-palestinian-people/
And this, regarding our present context: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/06/rising-anti-semitism-in-the-anglosphere
Prof Farrow - I miss your writings. Esp a critical but accurate analysis of the Church in light of our current struggles -- I attend mass and read the Word daily but cannot stomach the 5 years of Church fruits as much else than clear elevation of govt or secular or worse views and debts above those of Christ and His Father. Isn't it clear? Will the sheep and leaders ever see it admit it and repent of it?
Both Berdyaev's essay and Farrow's introduction to it are very stimulating and penetrating, but I think the big question today is the Zionist question. Berdyaev says we (Christians) have an 'obligation to treat Jews Christianly'. I couldn't agree more. But do we have an obligation to treat Zionism Christianly too? Criticism of Zionism, in the eyes of Jews, is now tantamount to anti-Semitism. But is that fair?
Much depends, of course, on what is meant by Zionism. I am myself against the kind of Zionism that requires uncritical support for Israeli state policy, as are most Jews. I am also against uncritical Christian anti-supersessionism of the kind to which I have have alluded in the notes and treated in Theological Negotiations. I concede that Jewish and Christian 'Zionisms' of a certain sort sometimes converge in unhelpful ways. But popular anti-Zionism is very often a slur against Jews or a rejection of their right to a state; sometimes it is an implicit call for violence against both. And this, I think, must be rejected at the outset, before engaging further the historical and theological foundations that must be laid in order to give a nuanced and fair answer. Otherwise 'the Zionist question' becomes a way of evading 'the Jewish question', which cannot be evaded. Yes?
https://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Christian-Zionism-Twenty-First/dp/0830846972
I should read the book by the late Don Lewis to get a better grasp of the subject of Christian Zionism. Have you?
Those persons well-ensconced in the Establishment who suggest that they are not Christian who fail to worship the Jew never address the question of Jewish belief and action towards the non-Jew. You, Mr. Farrow are like the rest.
We sinners must repent, but the Jew must never be questioned; indeed, he is to be exalted.
You have nothing to contribute to public debate on the matter in 2024.
I have said no such thing. The Jew is every bit as much a sinner as the gentile. Indeed it was through the Jew that God began to teach gentiles that they too are sinners, though not in the first instance as responsible as Jews for their sin, because lacking Torah. (Read Romans.) That still applies, and it applies to the present conflict. As for my being an establishment figure, well, ask the establishment about that.