The Rev. Billy Graham informed Richard Nixon of the Jewish community's concern about Jews for Jesus in a private telephone conversation in February 1973. Graham represented the group as being "set up all over the country," at a time when the organization was in its fledgling stage, with just a handful of workers.
The 20-minute conversation, released on Tuesday as part of 154 hours of tape recordings from the Nixon White House, took place on February 21, 1973, the day Israeli jets fired on a Libyan passenger plane that violated its airspace, causing the plane to crash and killing 108 people on board...
The phone rang. It was Dan Sered calling from Israel, and he sounded very discouraged. Dan leads our Jews for Jesus branch in Tel Aviv. We were in the midst of our third Behold Your God Israel campaign and the opposition was heated. But that wasn't why Dan was discouraged. Full Article ]
I enjoyed screening the new Star Trek movie the other week. It was great seeing Spock, Kirk, Bones et al. in their more formative years, and wonderful to see Leonard Nimoy reprise his role as the "older" Spock.
Conspicuous by his absence, of course, was William Shatner. Which made me wonder … in the years since the original Gene Roddenberry Star Trek, William Shatner has shown up just about everywhere.
He was T. J. Hooker. He was (and is) the pitch guy for Priceline.com. He was (and is, if you count…[ Full Article ]
"Do Jews Have a Jesus Problem?" asks Jay Michaelson in The Forward, commenting on Peter Schafer's recent book, Jesus in the Talmud. Schafer thinks the rabbis of the Talmud saw Jesus, and Jewish believers in him, as a threat. So they wrote what essentially was a "counter-story" to the gospels... [Read More]
The National Council of Churches describes Christian Zionism as "a danger to true peace in the Middle East." Anglican Vicar Stephen Sizer, in his scorching and widely read book, Christian Zionism: Roadmap to Armageddon, attacks Christian Zionism as "racist" and "unbiblical."
We can shrug off such attacks on Christian Zionism, knowing that many of its critics seem to have little love for the Jewish people, and do not believe that God has or will fulfill His promises to them literally.
Yet there is a serious problem with Christian Zionism that cannot be chalked up to the biases or lack of balance that some critics demonstrate. That problem ought not go without scrutiny and censure, but unfortunately the average Christian is unaware of it. The problem is, many Christian Zionists are involved (some proactively, others unknowingly) in preventing Jews from hearing the gospel.
So maybe the time has come for us to ask, "How Christian is today's Christian Zionism?" Please note the word "today's," because the landscape of Christian Zionism has dramatically shifted in recent years.
Move over Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Friedrich Nietzsche...
Make room for the new kids on the block—Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens! These "New Atheists" proclaim God's non-existence with great fervor. But they're not saying anything new...
I was just "friended" by Benjamin Netanyahu. If you don't have a Facebook account, you might not know that being "friended" is like being "befriended" only... [Full Article]
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Herman Wouk's classic précis of Orthodox Judaism and personal statement of his faith, This Is My God. I have just pulled my dog-eared copy, probably handed down by my grandfather or father, from the shelves, and over the past several days I have read, or possibly re-read, it. I have little recollection of having gone through it as a child, though I may well have done so.
As of this writing, Wouk is still living, having been honored by a lifetime achievement award in 2008 at age 93. There is also a follow-up volume, The Will to Live On, which saw the light of day in the year 2000, but I have not yet obtained a copy. It would be interesting to see how his views have or have not changed over the past forty years, the span of a biblical generation.
I never thought I'd get married, for the simple reason that I never thought I would ever meet someone who would love me just for who I am, faults and all. And then I met Renee Shulman...
Renee and I met one afternoon at Queens College through the Hillel group on campus. I was studying geology and had just returned from a field trip. My jeans were filthy and the rest of me wasn't too clean either. I walked into the room where Hillel was meeting, sort of wondering why I was there. Truth be told, I would have rather been by myself or playing table tennis, but someone had told me I should drop by Hillel and so here I was.
From what I was told later, I understand that Renee, who had been chatting with a group of her girlfriends, stopped mid-conversation when she saw me. Then she pointed me out to her friends and said, "I'm going to marry that guy." Grubby jeans and all.
As I write, the headlines are dominated by war and unspeakable violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip. Thus far, the United States is standing by Israel's efforts to defend herself from thousands of Qassam and Grad rockets that Hamas has been firing into the civilian population areas.
Some say that Israel's response is disproportionate, but war cannot be reduced to a simple mathematical equation. The fact that Hamas is militarily inferior does not make them morally superior in this conflict. Unlike Hamas, Israel does not intentionally target civilians - but in one of the most densely populated areas of the world, military conflict inevitably results in civilian casualties, as we have seen. The horror of it is too great for words.
When we pulled out of Gaza in 2006, there was a feeling of anticipation in the Land, a hope that peace might be within reach. The Palestinians living in Gaza would now rule themselves. I even heard some Arabs commenting on the radio that with the occupation over, they were free. On the Israeli side, apart from a small group of religious extremists, the population was relieved. No more risk that the soldiers serving in Gaza would be harmed. The possibility of a peaceful, prosperous Palestinian populace was something that most Israelis believed would be good for…[ Full Article ]
It's virtually obligatory each December 31 (the date I am writing this) to recap the old year and/or say something about the new one. So let's see … as to a recap, this morning I heard a radio commentator tell about the ten most overblown news stories of 2008, such as whether some gymnasts at the Beijing Olympics were really 14 rather than 16 years old, though he could easily have mentioned others, such as the thankfully short media spurt on what kind of dogs the Obamas will be getting.
I saw the Maccabee Menorah advertised somewhere (the individual candles are the Maccabee brothers, though somehow they squeezed nine candles out of a family of five), and a Judah Maccabee Action Figure somewhere else. They seem more appropriate for Hanukkah than the ad where the guy was wearing an electric menorah-hat, which made him look like a very weird moose and also seemed to require him to stand near an electrical outlet. After all, Hanukkah is supposed to be about heroes, and the Maccabees are remembered as powerful guerilla warriors who smashed the might of a pagan army. They fought, they won, and we get to eat latkes...
Millions of people packed themselves into a 3-block radius, while thousands of New York City's finest corralled them behind rows and rows of metal bars. Giant searchlights flooded the area, bouncing off buildings, illuminating the clouds against the velvety night sky. Old and young, the people strained and craned, pushed and pressed to see and hear the festivities at "30 Rock." The air was positively pummeled with roaring helicopters overhead, while below police dogs barked at the hoards of people still flowing up out of the subways. Security was on high alert. The police seemed nervous . . .
With the presidential elections behind us at last, responses to our new president-elect range from jubilation to despair to everything in between; some are bursting with enthusiasm while others are ridden with anxiety. Everyone has hopes or fears (or both) about changes the new administration will make—changes that will affect our lives and the life of our nation.
Last week I saw a new movie—"Religulous." Believe me, I would not have spent time or money on this film, but inasmuch as Bill Maher interviewed someone identified as an "ex-Jew for Jesus," I felt responsible to see what, if anything, was said about our ministry.
On the positive side, Jews for Jesus was not an issue in the film; our name only came up as a title for one of the interviewees, who happens to be a former staff member. On the down side I could write quite a bit, but suffice it to say I found the movie dull and intellectually dishonest. Maher's unvarnished attempt to paint anyone with any religious convictions as a ridiculous extremist inspired the mean-spirited title, "Religulous."
I know something about this kind of stereotyping; over the last month and a half...
I want to thank those of you who have commented either here or in e-mails in response to the media furor over my remarks at Wasilla Bible Church on August 17th. The comments attributed to me were taken out of context. The notion that the terrorist, bulldozer attack in Jerusalem this summer was God’s judgment on Israel for not believing in Jesus, is absolutely not what I believe. In retrospect, I can see how my rhetoric might be misunderstood and I truly regret that.
Of course I never expected the kind of magnifying glass scrutiny on a message where I was speaking extemporaneously. Let me be clear. I don’t believe that any one event whether a terrorist attack or a natural disaster is a specific fulfillment of or manifestation of a Biblical prediction of judgment. I don’t believe that the newspaper should be used to interpret the Bible. The Bible interprets the Bible.
I love my Jewish people and the land of Israel. I stand with and support her against all efforts to harm her or her people in any way. Please feel free to read my further explanations, in my Realtime article and in the interviews I did with Christianity Today and NBC.
I don't usually attend conventions. But with the donkey-and-elephant shows having just been wrapped up, I wondered what I would say to convention-goers if I DID go to conventions. Maybe something like this:
Mazel tov! You made it to the CONVENTION!
You're probably here for a short time. You should be thankful. The 1787 Constitutional Convention lasted four months... [Read More]
by David Brickner
Last month I had the privilege of speaking at a large church in the small town of Wasilla, Alaska. At the time, few people outside of Alaska had heard of Wasilla; now almost everyone in America knows that it is the hometown of Sarah Palin, John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate. She not only grew up in Wasilla; she served as its mayor before being elected governor of Alaska. The Palins now attend the church where I spoke; in fact, during the second service the entire family stood before the congregation as...
The gospel is a message of love and reconciliation, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentiles, according to Romans 1:16. But there would be no need for the gospel if all was well with the human race—so when we talk about the gospel, we cannot avoid the mention of sin and God's judgment.
David Brickner was recently a guest speaker at Wasilla Bible Church, the church Sarah Palin attends. Please be aware that his statements regarding God's judgment have been published out of context in a way that we feel is misleading. David holds the traditional evangelical belief that God judges all people for sin, and that Jesus is the solution for the sins of everyone who will repent and receive God's gracious forgiveness.
If you have any questions about David Brickner's views on God's love for Israel, or God's judgment for sin, please click the "Read Full Article" icon just below.
An MP3 recording of this message is avaialable by clicking here.
Pastor Larry: The Lord put David Brickner on our calendar almost three years ago, put it in ink, said “David Brickner, August 17th, 2008, Wasilla Bible Church.” He’s an international speaker—his schedule ends up being two to three years out. He’s a leader of Jews for Jesus, a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing, demanding area of witnessing and evangelism. Our connection with them probably goes back to the…[ Full Article ]
Got your attention, didn’t it? Some media announcements about archaeological discoveries paint them as shaking the very foundations of faith in Jesus. The latest such has been described on many blogs over the past month. In a nutshell, the media storm concerns a stone tablet that is said to date from the 1st century B.C. and which appears to describe a pre-Jesus messianic figure who dies and rises on the third day.
Well, maybe. Or maybe not. CNN has a helpful video summarizing the possible implications of “Gabriel’s tablet”...
Going green. It's everywhere. Slogans like "Composting is a 'berry' good idea!" and "'Lettuce' make an impact on our community" are hugging the sides of buses in California. Times Square is unveiling its first solar-powered billboard at the end of the year. Boeing is developing a new jet that burns less fuel and cuts carbon emissions. Green is in. It's trendy. It's big business. And it's also very Jewish. Eco-friendly Jewish farmers are promoting the "going green" lifestyle with their free-range livestock, fairly-traded foods, and agricultural cooperatives.
I've been listening to the radio far more often since receiving my recent birthday present to myself: a compact table-top radio/cd/alarm clock. And so it was that I heard a personal essay deemed important enough, or deep enough or who-knows-what-enough to be read aloud on National Public radio.
"I do not want to be a God-fearing man," the slightly southern sounding drawl intoned. The man went on tell how the religious institution in which he'd been raised was ruled by fear. He used words like "sledgehammer" and "intimidation" to describe his experience. He recalled how he'd been "disfellowshipped" as a teen, after having premarital sex with his girlfriend. He'd been offered the following choice: announce to the congregation that the behavior was a sin, repent and be forgiven, or leave the church. He made his choice, and has since gone on to discover "God as I understand him."
Tisha be-Av (the Ninth of Av) commemorates the destruction of the
First and Second Temples. In Jewish tradition, the date has become synonymous with mourning and tragedy.
Three weeks prior is the less well-known
Fast of Tammuz which commemorates the fall of Jerusalem's walls.
Between both dates, various mourning customs are practiced by observant Jews.
I’m not much of a video game player. I remember the first video game, though. It was called Pong, and you had to paddle a bouncing ball to keep it going. It wasn’t much more than a white spot of light on a TV screen. I also remember games like Pac-Man in the video arcades and Donkey Kong, which had something to do with a gorilla and a girl. I wonder where I’ve heard that before.
Jean-Marie Lustiger walked nervously up to the dais to preside over his first mass. The church was packed and the silence palpable. Just as the young priest was about to speak, someone from the crowd yelled, “Get the Jews out!” Lustiger’s reply broke the stunned silence, “All right, if the Jews must leave, that means the guy on the cross and his mother behind me will have to go as well!”
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel. It's no coincidence that we've chosen this time for our first Behold Your God Israel Campaign. In preparation for the campaign, we polled people as to their current opinions concerning Jesus. This first-of-its kind survey was conducted by a well known Israeli polling firm, 21st Century Marketing. The 981 completed surveys provided a good sampling of modern Israeli attitudes and revealed startling information that we want you to see...
Yom ha-Azma'ut, or Israel Independence Day, is commemorated each year on the
fifth day of the Hebrew month Iyar. This day marks the end of the British
Mandate and the official forming of the State of Israel in 1948.
Jewish sovereignty over the ancient homeland enabled Jewish people to return
to Israel from the four corners of the world, as the Bible predicted they would.
The modern state of Israel is comprised of Jews from hundreds of nations and as
many different backgrounds and languages. Yet, a distinct Israeli Jewish culture and
style has emerged as demonstrated by the use of Hebrew as a common
language. This means the gospel of Y'shua can be proclaimed to millions of
our people using one language!
Of the almost six million Jews that have settled in Israel, less than one percent
believe in Jesus. As we Jews for Jesus celebrate Israel Independence Day, we also
recognize our dependence on God as we seek to reach Jews in Israel and all over the
world with the message of Y'shua.
Sponsored by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), the statement is signed by well-known evangelical pastors, theologians, and journalists who believe in Jewish evangelism. It is a concise, updated reaffirmation of WEA’s 1989 Willowbank Declaration on the Christian Gospel and the Jewish People.
Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League has called it “particularly odious to defend the duplicitous proselytizing of Jews by groups such as Jews for Jesus…” He goes on to stay that “While [the leaders who signed the statement] claim to deplore the use of deception and coercion, they ‘reject the notion that it is deceptive for followers of Jesus Christ who were born Jewish to continue to identify as Jews,’ thus turning the meaning of deception on its head.”
We applaud the WEA and those who signed the document for recognizing the need for the gospel to be lovingly brought to all people, including our Jewish people. And we are particularly encouraged to see our evangelical family acknowledge that those of us who are followers of Y’shua (Jesus) who were born Jewish have every right to continue to identify as Jews.
As evangelical Christians, we want to express our genuine friendship and love for the Jewish people. We sadly acknowledge that church history has been marred with anti-Semitic words and deeds; and that at times when the Jewish people were in great peril, the church did far less than it should have.
We pledge our commitment to be loving friends and to stand against such injustice in our generation. At the same time, we want to be transparent in affirming that we believe the most loving and Scriptural expression of our friendship toward Jewish people, and to anyone we call friend, is to forthrightly share the love of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
We believe that it is only through Jesus that all people can receive eternal life. (Acts 4:12) If Jesus is not the Messiah of the Jewish people, He cannot be the Savior of the World.
We recognize that it is good and right for those with specialized knowledge, history and skills to use these gifts to introduce individuals to the Messiah, and that includes those ministries specifically directed to the Jewish people (1 Corinthians 9:20-22).
We deplore the use of deception or coercion in evangelism; however, we reject the notion that it is deceptive for followers of Jesus Christ who were born Jewish to continue to identify as Jews (Romans 11:1).
We want to make it clear that, as evangelical Christians, we do not wish to offend our Jewish friends by the above statements; but we are compelled by our faith and commitment to the Scriptures to stand by these principles. It is out of our profound respect for Jewish people that we seek to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them, and encourage others to do the same, for we believe that salvation is only found in Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the World.
Due to space constraints, the following is a partial list of the evangelical Christian leaders who affirm the above statement:
Rev. Dr. Lon Allison—Director, Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College
Dr. Mark Bailey—President, Dallas Theological Seminary
Joel Belz—Founder, World Magazine
Richard Bewes—OBE, former Rector, All Souls Church, Langham Place, London
Lyndon Bowring—Executive Chairman, CARE
Doug Birdsall—Executive Chair, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization
Dr. D. A. Carson—Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Dr. Paul Cedar—Chairman, Mission America Coalition
Dr. Yonggi Cho—Senior Pastor, Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, Korea
Chuck Colson—Founder, Prison Fellowship
Dr. Jim Congdon— Senior Pastor, Topeka Bible Church
David Evans—Bishop, Church of England
Neil E. Gastonguay— Pastor, United Methodist Church, Bath, Maine
Mark Greene—Executive Director, London Institute of Contemporary Christianity
Stan Guthrie—Managing Editor, Special Projects, Christianity Today
Dr. David Harley—former General Director, OMF International
Dr. Harold Hoehner—Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Dr. Jim Holm—President, Mennonite Brethren Bible Seminary
Dr. Kenneth Hutcherson—Senior Pastor, Antioch Bible Church
Dr.Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.—President Emeritus, Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Joe Kapolyo—Minister, Edmonton Baptist Church
Dr. R. T. Kendall—President, R. T. Kendall Ministries
Dr. Jerry B. Jenkins—Owner, ChristianWriters Guild
Prof. A. N. S. Lane—London Bible College
Rev. Dr. John-Paul Lotz—Lecturer in Church History, London School of Theology
Steve Moore—President & CEO, The Mission Exchange (formerly EFMA)
Rev. Dr. Steve Motyer—Lecturer, London School of Theology
Dr. Marv Newell—Executive Director, Cross Global Link (formerly IFMA)
Hugh Palmer—Rector, All Souls Church, London
The Honorable Tony Perkins—President, Family Research Council
Dr. Raymond Pfister—Principal, Birmingham Christian College, Birmingham, England
Charles W. Price—The People’s Church, Toronto, Canada
John Piper—Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church
Dr. Carson Pue, President, Arrow Leadership, Vancouver BC
Dr. Phil Roberts—President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Dr. Haddon Robinson—President, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary
John H. Rodgers, Th.D.—Bishop in the Anglican Mission in America
Russell Rook—Director, ALOVE, Salvation Army
John Seawright—Minister, Abbey Presbyterian Church, Monkstown, Ireland
Gordon Showell-Rogers—General Secretary, European Evangelical Alliance
Dr. Lon Solomon—Pastor, McLean Bible Church, McLean, VA
Dr. Joseph M. Stowell—President Cornerstone University
Stephen Strang—Publisher, Charisma Magazine
Matt Summerfield—Executive Director, Urban Saints
Dr. Vinson Synan—Dean Emeritus of Regent University
Dr. Geoff Tunnecliffe—International Director,World Evangelical Alliance
Clive Urquhart—Director, Kingdom Faith Ministries, Horsham, England
Phil S. Walker—Pastor, Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Madison, MS
Mike Wall—Executive Director All Nations Christian College, Ware, England
Mark Weeden—Pastor,Worthing Tabernacle
Chris Williams—Pastor, London Community Church
World Evangelical Alliance is the sponsor of this statement. Those evangelical Christians who would like to add their names to this list can do so by contacting World Evangelical Alliance at www.worldevangelicals.org
“When April with her sweet showers, the drought of March has parched to the root,… Then do folk get expelled…”
Yes, this April marks two expulsions, in a manner of speaking. Passover (beginning the night of April 19) is not really an expulsion like the bad ones when Jews were kicked out of Spain, Portugal, and other countries. It’s really about liberation, which came about when Pharaoh, having had it up to here with the plagues, essentially said, “Get out of here already!” His expelling us was God’s way of freeing us—a good expulsion.
The day before Passover, April 18, marks the release of Ben Stein’s film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, one of the latest in a series of advocacy films. Ben is talking about the expulsion that comes when proponents of Intelligent Design are “persecuted” in academic settings and denied the right of free inquiry, expelled from the academic establishment. In this case, expulsion is the opposite of freedom—a bad expulsion...
This Friday is a day of two gallows. It marks an unusual convergence of Good Friday and Purim. We know that Good Friday is a time to remember the crucifixion of our Messiah Jesus. Purim commemorates the rescue of the Jewish people from Haman's murderous plot as recorded in the book of Esther. Rarely do these days converge on the exact same date but because of the differences between the Jewish calendar (lunar) and the Roman or Christian calendar (solar), this year presents us with a strange and thought provoking confluence...
There I stood, "Super Mordechai," in my red-dyed long underwear, sporting a cape and a big "M" emblazoned on my thermal undershirt. I'm not sure if the costume shaped my understanding of Purim or vice versa, but for most of my life I have seen Mordechai as the hero of the story.
As we read through the Megillah each year and "booed" at every mention of Haman's name, it was only natural to cheer each time we heard the name of heroic Mordechai. He had stood up to the evil Haman and resisted compromise out of loyalty to God and loyalty to the Jewish people. He had risked his life for the sake of that loyalty. And he was a strategist, the one calling the shots with his young girl cousin Esther. Mordechai was smart, courageous and strong—what more could a child want in a hero? As a boy it was natural for me to identify with the male protagonist in the story. I didn't want to be a passive guy—I wanted to be like Mordechai!
But as the years passed, I realized that Mordechai is not the only hero in the story of Purim. Maybe he is not even the main hero. After all, the holiday is not based on "the Book of Mordechai." So let's take a look at his cousin, Esther...
The March Edition of Christianity Today has an editorial by Stan Guthrie entitled "Why Evangelize the Jews?" We invite your comments on it.
God's chosen people need Jesus as much as we do.
Larry King is not known as a tough interviewer. Yet with smooth-talking pastor and author Joel Osteen, he went for the jugular, asking whether Jews and Muslims must believe in Christ to get to heaven. And Osteen blinked: "I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know."
UPDATE! Christianity Today's April Edition continues this subject of "Christian Evangelism and Judaism" with an exchange of views between Rabbi Yehiel E. Poupko and Stan Guthrie.
Vaysechvoos is a fictitious village in 19th century czarist Russia. Stories from Vaysechvoos often appear in our 21st century publication Issues.
This story is typical of the kinds of tales Jewish authors wrote once upon a time. This is not an endorsement of kabbalah, just of Jewish shtetl tales. So in the spirit of the great writer Sholem Aleichem, we offer this piece.
Many people do not believe in a literal
heaven so for them, the question “Who
goes there?” is moot. The late Dr. Louis
Goldberg once told of the time that he went
into the store of a Jewish proprietor:
He looked so depressed and dejected that
I asked him what was wrong. He replied,
“I have just attended the funeral of my
favorite aunt.” Softly I inquired, “And
where is she now? Will you see her
again?” “You know what we believe,” he
replied, “When a person dies, the body is
placed in the ground, and this is all there
is to it. . . . All that remains is the
memory of the departed in the hearts of
the living.”
That man was not alone in his belief that death
was the final curtain. Yet there are noted
Jewish scholars and rabbis in all the main
branches who do not dismiss belief in an
afterlife. Orthodox Rabbi, Shraga Simmons,
writes:
The afterlife is a fundamental of Jewish
belief! The creation of man testifies to
the eternal life of the soul. . . .
This year I was invited to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. Praying with the president of the United States sounded like a unique opportunity, so I went.
It wasn't exactly an intimate time of intercession. 4000 people were squeezed into a banquet room in tables of eight to ten. Some sipped coffee and nibbled croissants and cold fruit. Small bowls enabled each person to take a little bit of cereal. Navy blue and white programs listed the names of each speaker. Everything had been pre-set because the room was too tightly configured—the tables far too close to each other—for wait staff to move in and out to serve an actual breakfast. One speaker jokingly observed that the National Prayer Breakfast was not known so much for the breakfast as it was for the prayer. For reasons of security and the dignity of his office, President and Mrs. Bush and the select few with them were a bit removed at a dais that permitted people to serve them. I doubt that their fare was any different from the rest of us.
Groundhog Day has its groundhog, Thanksgiving has its turkeys, and Valentine’s Day has its Valentinus (or Valentine). It was on this day in the year 270 that
…according to tradition, Valentine, a priest in Rome during the reign of Claudius II, is beheaded along the Flaminian Way. One explanation for Valentine’s subsequent relationship to the romantic holiday is this: Claudius, seeking to more easily recruit soldiers, removed family ties by forbidding marriage. Valentine ignored the order and performed secret marriages—an act that led to his arrest and execution.
The romantic associations may have even come later:
The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer:
For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.
Translation: For this was on St. Valentine’s Day, when every bird comes there to choose his mate.
It’s not clear who is responsible, but some of the ideas surrounding Valentine’s Day are a tad bit odd.
In this season, primaries and playoffs dominate the media, captivating people's attention and passion. There are winners and losers for each and every one of these contests.
Isn't it amazing how wrapped up some of us get, how much emotion we expend, as we root for "our guys" to win? My beloved San Francisco 49ers haven't been in the hunt for a playoff birth for a very long time, but I am still rooting, for them, still a fan, still energetic in cheering for and/or defending my team.
We so identify with our team that when the game ends, it is as though we ourselves experience "the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat." I admit that I can be downright mopey when "my team" loses, even if it's the first time I've ever rooted for them.
When it comes to politics the stakes are higher, but there are parallels to "the game."
Sometimes I think I want to invent a new reality show. Not that we don’t have enough already. But I think it would be cool to have something along the lines of, Who Wants to Dance with a Survivor? or Xtreme Life Swap Makeover. You know, something that’s a little edgier that what’s out there right now.
It’s kind of ironic that most of our reality shows don’t deal with reality. Nothing about Iraq, nothing about nuclear arms. Instead they’re mostly about dancing, singing, and looking better. I guess some people’s reality is different than mine.
Rabbi Isaac Lichtenstein was curious when he observed one of the teachers in his school reading a book printed in German. Asking the teacher what he was reading, the book was passed to him. He leafed casually through the pages until his eye fell upon the name, "Jesus Christ." Realizing that the little book was a New Testament, he sternly rebuked the teacher for having it in his possession. He furiously cast the book across the room. It fell behind some other books on a shelf and lay forgotten for nearly 30 years.
An outbreak of intense anti-Jewish persecution arose some years later in Rabbi Lichtenstein's native Hungary, and he was not surprised that the attacks were carried on in the name of Christianity. In the midst of the pogroms, he was startled to read the writings of men who, in the name of Christ, sternly denounced the anti-Semites and defended the Jews. Among these were prominent figures such as the honored Biblical scholar Franz Delitzsch, professor at the University of Leipzig. He was intrigued by statements which spoke of the message of Christ as one of love and life to all people.
When Abby had some doubts about her Jewish beliefs, she consulted a rabbi. He recommended that she read books by Jewish authors. "Be an informed Jew," he exhorted.
Abby was delighted to find a number of such books in the religion section of her local library. Since most of the titles were unfamiliar, she selected the first ten books from a row on an eye-level shelf. Settling into a comfortable chair in a quiet corner, she laid the books out on a table in front of her. She quickly determined that one of the books must have been misshelved, for it bore the title "New Testament."
The placing of a copy of the New Testament on a shelf full of books on Jewish faith was most likely the ironic oversight of a careless library worker. Yet, in its authorship, content and focus, there is hardly a book more Jewish.
When we were kids playing hide 'n seek, there was usually a place declared
"safe."
It was great; you could go there without worrying that another kid would
catch you.
In baseball, we could be "safe" on base or "safe at home."
Wasn't it always such a relief to get "safe"?
Sure it was.
But then we grow up.
And it turns out that there really is no place that's truly safe, is there?
Terrorist attacks, tsunamis and other tragedies have proved that they can
happen anywhere, at any…[ Full Article ]
But what is that very elusive quality we call peace? For it means different things to different people.
To some, like Napoleon and Hitler, peace results from killing people—at least it means killing to attain their kind of peace.
Peace is what those who follow Eastern religions say comes only through the obliteration of the individual personality; becoming a part of the universe with no awareness of self. But they really mean serenity.
Peace is what the housewife wants when the teenager across the street is practicing on his drums. She really wants quiet.
Peace is what the shopkeeper wants when he's worried about paying his bills. He really means that he'd like his store to be busy and bustling with customers. Peace to him means prosperity.
The patient waiting anxiously in the doctor's office to be told the results of a battery of lab tests wants peace. He really means good health.
WHEN WE DON'T HAVE WHAT WE THINK WE SHOULD HAVE, WE SAY WE NEED PEACE!
On a clear night
Obscure they trudged through miles of layered grains.
Shepherds seeking a Bethlehem shed;
A hovel housing the promise of glory in straw and precious proximity;
A king who would not be piqued by simple society offering rustic reverence.
Crossing the sea of shifting sand peripheral people came
To gaze at the center of the universe.
Their visit perhaps a portent to a world turned upside down.
Unable to pay the price of admission to the presence of Holiness, they were
Ushered, angelstruck, to the front row.
Shepherds standing before a manger, they were just
Low enough to see the High King.
Much more than the "Jewish alternative" to Christmas, Hanukkah, which means
"dedication", recalls a dark time in the history of our Jewish people, and
our miraculous deliverance from that darkness. See how Jews for Jesus
celebrate Hanukkah in this light and how Hanukkah is a great time to share Y'shua's light with others.
Shop at our online store for menorahs and dreidels to celebrate Hanukkah.
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Midrash time again. Two prominent American holidays this month are Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. Put them together and we can give thanks for the sacrifices our soldiers have made over the years. Separate them out and we can think of other kinds of veterans and other things we can give thanks for.
According to my online thesaurus, synonyms for veteran include old hand, past master, seasoned, old, hardened, adept, expert, well trained, practiced, experienced. Long experience is the key.
Spiritually speaking, veterans are those who’ve gone before us in faith, who’ve weathered spiritual ups and downs, who have experiences of sin and redemption and community that we can learn from, and give thanks for.
Some might think that Jews who believe in Jesus are newcomers to the spiritual scene, a glitch in the Jewish matrix. Yet not only were the first followers of Y’shua Jewish, but there have been numerous Jews down through history who have followed him, too. Spiritual veterans of a sort.
The old Simon & Garfunkel song Mrs. Robinson includes some lines which are particularly apropos just now:
Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon.
Going to the candidates' debate.
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Every way you look at it you lose.
If you're like me, you may be a little jaundiced about the political choices that we'll soon be making. Cynicism about our American democracy sits side by side with participation in an uneasy way--a bit like sitting next to a stranger in the movie theater in those narrow, uncomfortable seats. I'm no advocate for a theocracy or a dictatorship, but I am rather glad that the position of God is not an elected office.
October is the month for two very different holidays -- Columbus Day (October 8) and Halloween (October 31).
Columbus Day is about a lot of things, including the idea of “discovery.” For at least some people, Halloween is about tricks, treats, ghosts and scaring people.
Neither one is a Jewish holiday. But by the Jewish mode of thinking called midrash, I’ll try to make a connection. I need some biblical verses first, though. Here are two:
Genesis 43:18
Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.”
Genesis 26:19
Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.
What’s the scariest thing in the world? That depends on who you ask. Some people would say it’s entering into a new relationship with someone. For others, it’s the threat of global warming or a melting polar ice cap. And there must be someone out there who thinks the idea of a caveman sitcom based on an insurance ad is really, really, scary. No end of candidates, really: Snakes on a Plane has sent people into Scareland.
Now that Yom Kippur is over, a lot of our Jewish families and friends are breathing sighs of relief. Fasting is done with and for many, the seemingly interminable services for Yom Kippur are at last over (the canting was good, but really, how can someone sit in the synagogue for so long?), and we've repented of our sins.
For those who believe that God keeps a Book of Life, hopefully we've now been entered into it, "inscribed for a good year."
And that about wraps it up as far as sin is concerned, till the next Yom Kippur comes around. But I'm not sure we should forget about sin so easily.
Judaism of the traditional variety tells us that we are born with two inclinations -- an evil inclination and a good inclination. What we need to do is to choose the good inclination over the evil.
Sukkot means "booths," or "tabernacles," and this week-long holiday is also
known as the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a joyous harvest festival and a
reminder of how God sustained the children of Israel during their wilderness
wanderings. The people were to dwell in temporary booths, and to rejoice
over God's provision as well as his presence. Many Jewish people still build
booths in their yards or synagogues for this holiday, and take their meals
in these temporary dwelling places.
World Evangelical Alliance is the sponsor of this statement. Those evangelical Christians who would like to add their names to this list can do so by contacting World Evangelical Alliance at 
