You’ve got to check this one out.
A diagram tracking the ‘flow’ of atheistic influence on society right the way through to the only logical conclusion, to wit, the end of humankind.
I knew atheists were dangerous and scary, but bwoy, who could have guessed it 
Fifth part of Derek Leman’s (Messianic Jewish Musings) superb series and I hope you’re enjoying this as much as I am:
Part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here.
Jewish Roots and non-Jews, Part 5 by Derek leman
To the amazement of many Jewish people, we live in an era in history, an era comparable to the Roman period, when a fairly large contingent of non-Jews desire to follow Jewish customs.
In the Roman period Jewish communities thrived in such diaspora locations as Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt. As Alexandria was one of the top few cities in the entire Roman empire and as about half the city was Jewish, it was especially there that interaction between Jews and non-Jews spread out.
Philo of Alexandria wrote about the many non-Jewish attenders of the synagogues there and about their practice. Josephus described the same phenomenon. Juvenal, the Roman satirist, poked fun at these monotheistic, Sabbath-keeping Romans. He felt they were in danger of losing their status and identity as Romans. The New Testament and later rabbinic literature use the term God-fearer for this rather large class of individuals.
It should be noted that God-fearers, were something like attenders only or associate members of the synagogues of their time. They did not become officers in the synagogue. They did not teach or hold positions of authority. Many of them were major donors for synagogue buildings, however. To read more, see Louis Feldman’s Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World.
Now, in our era, we have a variety of non-Jewish people in diverse movements keeping to differing degrees the commandments of the biblical Torah and customs of Judaism.
Are there lines inappropriate to cross? Are there Jewish customs which are inappropriate for non-Jews to practice?
Important caveat: we are discussing these matters. This is not about me, Derek Leman, laying down a ruling (as if anyone would follow any ruling I laid down anyway).
Fringes (Tzit-Tzit, Tallit, Prayer Shawl)
Interestingly the commandment that Israelites wear fringes is very specifically a commandment for Jewish observance. The passage in question is Numbers 15:37-41.
(1) It is to “the Israelite people.” Now, many people make the following assumption: a) the only people of God then were Israelites, b) the command is actually for all people of God but uses the only language available at the time, and c) it was not the intention of the Bible to limit this command to Israelites. But there are more considerations.
(2) The fringes or tassels are there to remind the people to keep all of God’s commandments and not to stray from them. Which commandments are referenced here? This must mean the commandments directed to Israel, given at Sinai to Israel, and some of which apply only to Israel (circumcision, Sabbath, dietary law, statutes in the land, etc.).
(3) The section is concluded with a statement of God’s relationship to Israel: “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God.” Did God bring the people of the nations of the world out of Egypt? (Someone will bring up the mixed multitude, no doubt, but note that God never makes the relational statements about the mixed multitude he does of Israel.)
There is a good biblical case to be made that the wearing of fringes (tallit, tzit-tzit, tallit katan, prayer shawl) is a sign of Israel’s relationship to God. This is also the Jewish tradition.
When a non-Jew visits a mainstream synagogue, the men will likely be loaned a kippah (skullcap), but never a tallit (unless the non-Jew wishes it to be assumed they are Jewish and does not inform the ushers).
In Messianic Judaism, it has been a long-standing custom that all the men wear a tallit in service. Is this justified? If it is not, how can we work toward a practice that differentiates?
Keep in mind what I wrote in the previous parts of this series. We have non-Jewish members with a variety of reasons for being in a Messianic synagogue. The universal wearing of tallit is perhaps the greatest symbol of our identity confusion. We have been encouraging non-Jews to dress as Jews in worship for so long people have become accustomed to this. Should we change it?
The Kippah (yarmulke, skullcap)
If the tallit is an example of a biblical commandment which has been appropriated in Messianic Judaism as a universal pattern, the kippah is the converse.
Covering the head (which most commonly involves the use of a skullcap) is a tradition, purely without biblical force. Yes, it derives from the biblical requirement of the priests in Exodus 28:40-42 (ordinary priests wore four garments: tunic, sash, turban, and breeches of linen). The logic of the head-covering tradition is simple: a) the priests were required to cover their head in the sanctuary since God was present, b) God is present everywhere, c) by covering the head at least during worship and study we are honoring God’s presence.
So, the kippah is a sign of respect for God’s presence. It is not something limited to Israelite observance.
Ironically, some people decline to wear a head-covering (“that’s not in the Bible”) but do wear a tallit (“it’s in the Bible”).
So the head-covering practice is something everyone (women have their own customs in this area with some diversity) could do in synagogue to honor God’s presence. And many do while some others refrain, giving as their reason that they only want to be biblical (but there is no such thing as following God only following biblical injunctions since God does not specify how to keep his injunctions to the level of detail).
Other Issues of Identity, Custom, and Practice
I will not attempt a complete list of observances about which we might ask if non-Jews should participate. I would be writing a 10,000 word blog post at a minimum. I will just briefly raise a few more:
–Circumcision on the eighth day and the celebration of Brit Milah as a party with friends and family. If you are a non-Jew and you do not plan to convert, why would you observe this command? Note: I am not talking about hygienic circumcision in the hospital soon following birth. In case the Chumash (five books of Torah) is not clear enough, the New Testament is very clear this is for Jews only.
–Reciting blessings which indicate membership in the Jewish people. For example, the Torah blessing says “who selected us from all peoples and gave us his Torah.” Can or should a non-Jew say this? The intention of the language is to talk about Israel’s corporate election (“God selected us as the Israelite people from all the other peoples”), but many people might read it individualistically (“God selected us individuals from all the peoples”). Why would a non-Jew recite a blessing before God indicating membership in the Israelite people when that is not the case? Some are proposing that in Messianic synagogues non-Jews not make aliyahs. Others are proposing that we have a variant blessing for non-Jews if they make an aliyah. What are your thoughts?
–Bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. Should we have a variant wording for non-Jews? Some have suggested Bar Avraham and Bat Avraham (terminology clearly used of non-Jews in the New Testament), but others object because Bar Avraham is a name given to a convert.
The Main Thing
For those non-Jews who are considering Jewish practice and for those non-Jews who already are living according to Jewish practice, is there an openness to discussing some differentiation in the future?
Would it be terrible if there were some differences (non-Jews refraining from wearing tallit, saying alternate blessings in some cases, etc.)?
Why is this so important? And, second, why must we be careful in proceeding?
The issue of Jewish identity and Messianic synagogues is important because when non-Jews assume Jewish identity, something precious to God is suppressed and even denied: that the people of Israel are the elect people whose role in world redemption did not cease at the coming of Messiah.
And proceeding with changes needs to go slowly because we owe it to people whom we have incorporated and authorized to assume Jewish practices not to dismiss their desires to continue and their fondness for the forms to which they are accustomed.
I guess I’m about to sound like a bit of a misery guts, but tough.
Apparently 2010 is the year of biodiversity and the UN General Assembly will be meeting on the 22nd September to discuss the crisis affecting the world’s biodiversity.
All well and good.
The part I’m not so keen on is the Church of England website calling on churches to ring their bells on the 22nd in tune with the UN meeting.
Call me old fashioned, but church bells are primarily for calling the faithful to worship and I feel deeply uncomfortable when they are pealed for a politico-environmental meeting.
This is not the first time that church bells have been employed in this manner as back in December church bells were rung across Europe for the climate change conference in Copenhagen.
I will say that due to a theological shift I am more concerned for environmental issues, however, I would prefer that church bells were reserved for their original purpose.
Church bells across the country will ring in tune with the United Nations next month to mark crucial international talks on biodiversity.
As the bells toll at the UN headquarters in both New York and Nairobi, bell ringers from small parish churches to large cathedrals and minsters are being encouraged to ring on September 22. This year was declared the UN 2010 International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) and the Church of England is one of the official partners in the UK.
The UN General Assembly will discuss for the first time ever the crisis affecting the world’s biodiversity on September 22, underlining the importance of how plants, animals and life are all linked and the loss of one species through human actions can affect many others.
With a Christian presence in every community, around 6,000 of the CofE’s 16,000 churches have a peal of bells (not including those with a single bell). IYB in the UK is encouraging bell ringing by faith groups, schools and organisations from 12-2pm.
The UN declared 2010 as IYB in recognition of the fact that, despite the formation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) following the Rio Earth Summit, targets set to stop the global loss of biodiversity by 2010 have not been met.
In October 2010, following the UN meeting, the 193 heads of state who are signatories to the Convention will meet in Nagoya in Japan to make binding agreements. The Secretariat of the Convention is encouraging the ringing of bells all over the world as an urgent ‘memo’ ahead of this meeting to rouse the world to take action to stop the loss of species.
David Shreeve, the Church of England’s national environment adviser said: “As Christians we believe it is important to care for God’s creation and our natural world is suffering because of our own actions. Many of our estimated 10,000 churchyards are full with often rare biodiversity and others in towns and cities support fewer, but equally important wildlife. The church is providing protected havens right on our own doorstep.”
Dr Jill Hopkinson, the Church of England’s National Rural Officer, said: “Ringing the church bells is a great way for the wider community to be reminded and to celebrate the beauty of creation. Rural churches are at the heart of village life and their churchyards are part of the collective history and memory of that community. Celebrating the biodiversity of countryside and churchyard will bring a community together and ringing the bells is a very prominent way of doing it.”
Dr Bob Bloomfield, co-ordinator of IYB in the United Kingdom said: “It is excellent that the Church of England see the importance of people being responsible stewards of the environment. Their support of the International Year of Biodiversity will encourage people to ask why biodiversity is so important and what would be the consequences of its loss on the health and wellbeing of people and the environment. The bell ringing will draw attention to critical negotiations taking place in Nagoya that will effect all of us for decades to come.”
Notes
The initiative to ring bells across the world is inspired by the UK based MEMO Project and supported by IYB-UK and the Church of England. MEMO is a collaboration of scientists, sculptors and stonemasons dedicated to communicating the reality of the current extinction crisis by creating a perpetual memorial. The aim is to erect a stone sculpture featuring the carved images of the species being made extinct, which also supports a huge bell. The bell and sculpture will be built on the cliffs of the Isle of Portland. This is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site whose 95 miles of fossil rich cliffs already record 185 million continuous years of the history of life. The great bell will be tolled whenever a species is declared extinct.
Fascinating piece from Daphne Anson today looking at Judaism, Israel and Zionism.
As a comment on my previous post reminds me, one of the many ways in which Israel’s enemies attempt to undermine the Jewish State is by denying a connection between Judaism and Zionism. So, in order to prick that particular anti-Zionist bubble, I’ve decided to post this survey of the Zionist idea in Jewish thought. It’s based on something I once prepared for a class of students.
In the Bible, the Promised Land is frequently called Canaan, the territory west of the River Jordan which was promised by God to Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish people (he is depicted here by the great Jewish artist and Zionist E. M. Lilien, who lived from 1874 to 1925). The land given to Abraham as part of the Covenant he made with God is described in Genesis (15:18) as “from the river of Egypt unto … the river Euphrates”, but other biblical passages draw less extensive boundaries, as in Numbers (34:1-15), where God describes the land of Canaan to Moses, and Judges 20:1, where the land stretched from “Dan even to Beersheba”.
The land possessed by the ancestors of the Jewish people was at one time divided into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah). The size of the land varied in biblical times, being at its largest during the reigns of King David and King Solomon. The holiness of the land (ha-Aretz; whence Eretz Israel=”Land of Israel”) is an integral part of Jewish tradition, which holds that the land was first sanctified by Joshua’s conquest. However, when the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land and drove its inhabitants into exile (often referred to as the Babylonian Captivity), the land lost its holiness and was resanctified following the Israelites’ return from captivity. This second sanctification is generally considered by the rabbis to have endured through the centuries.
During the Babylonian Captivity the exiles pined for the Promised Land. Their anguish found eternal expression in Psalm 137:1-6, evoked by dispossessed Jews throughout the ages: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion ….”
The term Zion (“landmark” or “sign”) was first used of Mount Zion, one of the hills of Jerusalem, upon which in very ancient times a tower stood making it visible from a vast distance. Eventually the term was widened to be applied also to the Temple in Jerusalem (the Jews’ principal place of worship, first built by King Solomon and reconstructed by King Herod), to Jerusalem itself, and to the whole of Eretz Israel. Zion became synonymous with the spiritual centre of Judaism. “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). Zion is regarded as the dwelling place of the Shekinah (“divine presence”), and traditional (Orthodox) Judaism teaches that with the coming of the Messiah Zion will be illuminated by God’s glory, and from there divine gifts will issue forth.
It’s a stated fact everywhere from the media to academia to churches: Islam is the second-fastest growing religion. It will become the biggest religion during this century. Christianity is going out of style and Islam is the new kid on the block. We hear it from those wanting to give the Muslim community a bigger voice; from those complaining about Western ignorance; from those trying to put Islam on the same plane as Christianity and Judaism; and even in churches decrying the lack of evangelical fervor among the congregation.
But is it really true?
It’s true that Islam (as well as atheism and universalism) is growing in the West, mostly because of high birth rates among Muslims and immigration, but the exploding growth of evangelical Christianity around the world through conversion is unreported. The analysis is distorted because of the lack of reporting from places like Africa, where nearly half of the population is estimated to be Christian. In other places like China, news of such trends is suppressed, leaving few to know that some estimates put the Christian population there at up to 111 million. There may be more members in the underground evangelical movement there than in the 75-million strong Chinese Communist Party. It’s been reported that 10,000 Chinese convert to Christianity per day. That number may be a stretch, but if current trends hold, predictions that China will become the country with the largest number of Christians by the middle of the century could come true.
The image in one’s mind of a Christian is usually of an American or European. The decline of Christianity in the West gives the impression that the religion is collapsing when it is really transforming. In Dinesh D’Souza’s What’s So Great About Christianity, he writes that in 1900, over 80 percent of Christians lived in Europe and the U.S. Now, two out of three evangelicals live in Asia, Africa, and South America. South Korea now holds the title as the second-place country in sending out missionaries, despite the fact that the number one country, the U.S., has over six times as many people.
Another fact to consider is that while the number of Christians overall is declining in the West, the number of evangelicals is rising. There are less of those “Sunday Christians” who do the church routine and don’t make having a relationship with God part of their very being. They are falling away from church as it becomes more socially acceptable to do so and are turning to agnosticism, atheism, and a universalism that believes all religions are one and the same. Christianity is changing into a smaller but more devout and active force.
It is much harder to detect “Friday Muslims” in the Islamic world than it is “Sunday Christians” in the West because of the societal repercussions and the suppression of other religions. Those questioning their faith are likely to keep it private and still go to mosque even if they party on the weekends. The dismal state of the Islamic world economically and politically and the savagery of extremism is turning many Muslims away. For example, I’ve been surprised at how many Iranians I’ve communicated with are atheists or aren’t devout Muslims. There is a clandestine movement to acquire Bibles and practice Christianity in private homes, as up to 1 million are said to have turned to Christianity in the past five years.
hmm…
A Christian couple from Blackburn, Lancashire, have had their application to be foster parents terminated by the Council because of their orthodox Christian beliefs on marriage and their belief that the best environment in which to raise a child is with a mother and a father.
Rev John Yallop and his wife Colette had told Lancashire Council that they were Christians but had been assured that they were still welcome to apply to be foster parents.
However, during the process problems arose for the Yallops when the Council asked them whether they would have any objections to prospective homosexual adoptive parents coming into their home for the ‘hand over’ process which normally involves a number of visits.
The Yallops proposed that any meetings with prospective homosexual adoptive parents should take place at a children’s centre rather than in their own home, as they were concerned that it may cause confusion to their two young children aged 5 and 7.
Due to this request, their application has now been terminated by the Council. John and Colette Yallop were greatly distressed and have contacted the Christian Legal Centre which is now supporting them in their case.
The CLC said it appeared that the Yallops had been discriminated against due to their Christian belief that marriage is between a man and a woman and that children do best when they have a mother and a father.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, Director of the Christian Legal Centre commented: “We will be supporting John and Colette Yallop in legal action.
“It is vital that as Christians we are allowed to live out our faith in public and not be eliminated from this kind of vital community work due to oppressive equalities legislation.
“Christian beliefs on marriage and the family produce wonderful, vibrant communities and we need to have the confidence to speak about this and live out our faith”
Further Link:
Pink News – Former vicar barred from fostering after refusing to have gay couples in his home
OK, I seem to have arrived at a natural conclusion for the time being in relation to my “Echoes of God” article, which I spoke of here.
Obviously it’s not going to be to everybody’s taste, however, I would appreciate any constructive comments and so have allowed comments on the article itself for the time being.
I may well disable comments in the future and may also choose to censor comments, so don’t be offended if I read your comment and then delete.
Remember that primarily this article is geared to the non-believer and was no easy task to put together. Frankly the hardest part was deciding what to leave out. I have so much more I could say, but am conscious that the modern reader is not likely to give considerable time to reading an article of this nature.
Anyway, see what you think.
Sadly, the ongoing saga of the plight of Ezekiel’s Tomb in Iraq has once again reared it’s head. Thanks go to Bataween of the Point of no Return blog for the following update and faithfully keeping us informed.
Previous posts here, here here, here, here here and here.
Just when we all thought that the Jewish character of the shrine of Ezekiel was safe, news reaches Point of No Return that the ancient tomb of the Biblical prophet at al-Kifl, south of Baghdad, is still the object of controversy.
According to a source who visited the site recently to take pictures, the Jewish character of the tomb has been damaged and the shrine is in a state of neglect. In the picture above, you can see that one of the outlying rooms, in which Jewish sages and prominent figures are buried, has been stripped to its bare brickwork. The visitor had organised an independent TV crew to film the tomb, but was told the crew could photograph every Jewish holy site except Ezekiel’s. The shrine is being used as a mosque and the religious authorities, who still want a free hand to treat the site as a Shi’a shrine, accuse certain individuals in Israel of stirring up trouble and damaging their reputation.
Against the background of this disturbing news comes this article in the Iraqi newspaper al-Nahrain, containing a robust warning by the Antiquities Authority to the religious authorities to stop meddling in the future of the shrine.
The article says that the shrine at al-Kifl has been the subject of controversy since 2003. Iraqi institutions such the Antiquities Authority, headed by the Relics inspectorate, want exclusive control over the preservation and restoration of the site, while the Shi’a Muslim authorities want to determine its (Islamic) ‘religious identity.’ Secular interests are exploiting the issue to snipe at the religious.
A conflict also going on between Jews and Muslims. Iraq’s ambassador to Washington, embroiled in a further controversy over the return of Jewish archives to Iraq, has called media reports ‘false’ that the shrine’s Jewish character has been damaged. The prophet Ezekiel is revered by both faiths and until their exodus some 60 years ago Jews owned property (now frozen) and farmland in the surrounding area.
The article describes the historical struggle for control over the shrine.
The Chairman of the Committee on Culture, Media and Tourism and the Antiquities Council for the province of Babylon told al-Nahrain:
“The shrine of Ezekiel is an Iraqi heritage site which must be dealt with according to Iraqi law. We reject attempts to drag al-Kifl into the arena of conflict and religious strife.”
He slammed the Shi’ite authorities for their interference. “To give them this authority is an act contrary to the Constitution. Religious authority is always keen to highlight symbols at the expense of other symbols and this violates the rules of the Antiquities Authority and its laws.”
The Chairman wanted to see the Kifl opened to international tourism. “To resolve outstanding problems needs legal clarity and also clearly needs to define the remit of clashing authorities whether inside or outside Iraq.”
Read original article in full (Arabic)
Please sign Point of No Return’s petition deploring the Shi’a authorities attempts to ‘islamise’ the shrine of Ezekiel and calling for the site to be placed under the ultimate authority of UNESCO.
And to think these killers probably imagine they have done a great service to their god….
Eight foreigners and two Afghans have been found shot dead next to abandoned vehicles in the north-eastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, officials say.
The foreigners are believed to be six Americans, one Briton and a German, who worked for an international charity providing eye care and medical help.
[.....]
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said bibles translated into Dari had been found.
“Yesterday at around 0800 (0330 GMT), one of our patrols confronted a group of foreigners. They were Christian missionaries and we killed them all,” he told the AFP news agency.
[.....]
The team – five American men and three American, German and British women, along with four Afghans – was working for a Christian charity, the International Assistance Mission (IAM). Its executive director, Dirk Frans, denied they were missionaries.
“That is a lie. That is not true at all. IAM is a Christian organisation, we have always been that,” he told the BBC.
“We have worked in Afghanistan since 1966 – under the king, the communists, the Russians, the Mujahideen and the Taliban. They have known us as a Christian agency, but we certainly do not distribute bibles.”
An IAM spokesman earlier said it was still awaiting formal identification of the victims, but that their families had been informed.
John Richardson has the statement from INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE MISSION (IAM)
PRESS RELEASE
BY THE INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE MISSION
ON THE NURISTAN EYE CAMP TEAM
(7 August 2010, Kabul, Afghanistan)We have been informed that 10 people, both foreign and Afghan, were murdered in Badakhshan. It is likely that they are members of the International Assistance Mission (IAM) eye camp team. The team had been in Nuristan at the invitation of communities there. After having completed their medical work the team was returning to Kabul.
At this stage we do not have many details but our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who are presumed killed. If these reports are confirmed we object to this senseless killing of people who have done nothing but serve the poor. Some of the foreigners have worked alongside the Afghan people for decades.
