God's Chosen People

The following E-mail from a friend dating back to our high school years prompted this post:

Mike, I was just visiting your web-blog "traversing the wilderness". A question recently came to me, from a relative, concerning the Jews as God's chosen people. I have no problem with it whatsoever. But, the question was posed: "how can a fair, loving, unbiased God have a chosen people". As I read the scriptures, I see Abraham choosing God before God chose him to be the father of a people that God would bless. Abraham sought after God and found him. How do you address that issue?

My response:

I think we need to examine exactly what God's "chosen people" means in reference to the Jews.

From the Hebrew Scriptures through the Christian Scriptures, two competing concepts about the Jews can be discerned. One concept, with which most people seem to be familiar, is that the Jews are God's chosen people to the exclusion of all other peoples, i.e., gentiles. I suspect that most Jews today adhere primarily to this idea. I do admit, however, that some Jewish religious scholars go beyond this proposition and support the second concept.

The second concept proposes that Jews are God's chosen people in the sense that they are to be a "light to world" and that God's salvation will come to all peoples, including non-Jews, through the Jews.

Many of the Hebrew prophets definitely espouse this second point of view. Furthermore, the Book of Ruth appears to have been written in support of the inclusiveness of God's salvation. The Christian Scriptures trace Jesus' ancestry through Ruth, a Moabite woman, i.e., a non-Jew. The Hebrew Scripture definition, and I think the current Orthodox definition, of a Jew is a person with a Jewish mother.

A digression:

Why a Jewish mother? Simply put, the ancient Hebrews were allowed to wage war without restriction against non-Israelites. That is, they could rape, pillage, plunder, and kill non-Israelites. Under these circumstances, the off spring of these Israelite male rapes of non-Israelite women could not be allowed to become Jews.

By analogy today, we might ask why the children, born in the US, of illegial immigrants should be US citizen by Constitutional dictate ?

The Christian Scriptures, including some of the Gospels in addition to the Epistiles of Paul and those attributed to him, can easily be read to support the second concept, that is, God's salvation is universal and not restricted to Jews, not even to "completed Jews". Importantly - we are all God's chosen people.

I believe an erroneous interpretation of the Jews as God's jonly chosen people (the first concept) has become the foundation for anti-Semitism that dates from the Middle Ages. Admittedly, many (some?) of ourJewish brothers and sisters, including many (some?) in Israel, foster this pernicious dogma.

As I have "matured" and gained "wisdom", and when under the influence of my better angels, I try to refrain from telling God what God must do. I simply don't know why God "chose" Abraham and his descendants to be God's chosen people. Perhaps, God saw something genetically-based in Abraham's character that would allow his descendants to persevere and bring salvation to the world. In this context, we simply must remember that Jesus Christ was first and foremost a Jew. That is part of the reason why I term myself a Judeo-Christian rather than a Christian. I take great satisfaction and immeasurable relief that, as a gentile Judeo-Christian, I have been "grafted" onto the vine of Judaism.

With respect to the current nation of Israel, I am an unabashed supporter of Israel's legitimate aspirations. I do reserve the right to criticise what I consider their unjust and unwise decisions and policies. Seems as if, however, I can't think of any of these at the present moment except for failing to do the job against Hizbollah in Lebanon.

As a Judeo-Christian, I give great validity to the land of Israel belonging to the Jews. I am in fact a supporter of "greater Israel". I think the Palestinians should have their own homeland, in Jordan.

Nevertheless, the Judeo-Christian support and advocacy of the Jewish homeland in Israel has no validity to non-believers. Thus, leaving religious sentiments aside, both Jews and Islamics have equally valid historical claims to the land of Israel or Palestine. The greatest validity, aside from religious sentiments, the Jews have to their homeland rests on two facts: (1) The United Nations decreed the Jewish homeland in 1948, and (2) the Israelies won and occupy this land by military force, which is most often the deciding factor, possession being nine-tenths of the law.

On a geopolitical front, I firmly advocate that the US must support Israel if for no other reason than Israel is a land-based aircraft carrier and can serve as a staging point for our own armed forces when we finnaly come to the realization that we must ensure the world's supply of oil until our science and techonology find substitute energy sources. (At that time, I'd delight in telling the Arabs and Iranians,to " eat their oil".

While I don't despair of the situation, I am convinced that, if the US were to withdraw support of Israel and the country were destroyed, the Islamics would nevertheless be committed to bringing the entirety of the world under their domination, essentially by military means. That's what they tried to do in the past but the Judeo-Christian West prevented the onslaught at great cost.

I sometimes allow myself to fall into an apocalyptic mode; hence, I think the current situation between Hamas and Israel reeks of the potential for a failure of will similar to what occurred when the Israelites first came into the Holy Land. Yaweh told the Israelites at that time to kill all non-Israelites in the land - men, women, and children. The Israelites failed to carry out this dictum and we've been living with the consequences ever since.

I believe, therefore, Hamas must be utterly destroyed. The next step would be the complete destruction of Hizbollah. "Destroyed" is a vicious word but I don't see how to "neutralize" Israel's enemies short of destruction. I'm willing for the US to assisst in these efforts. Iran must then be made to understand their own destruction is a certaintly if they don't confine their activities to within their own borders.

I get extraordinarily upset when my liberal brothers and sisters put forth the proposition that the majority of the Palestinians (and Islamics) are peace loving and would co-exist with Israel if it were not for the Islamo-fascist terrorists. In this secnario, therefore, Israel is guilty of committing war on the entire civilian population in Gaza and elsewhere. My response is: "Sleep with dogs, wake up with fleas." The Palestinians in Gaza held a free and open election in which they chose Hamas as the governing authority. Israel not only allowed but encouraged this free election, admittedly with false expectations. The Gazans must now live with the consequences. If they want peace, simply run Hamas out of the territy so that no more rockets are fired at Israel and no more suicide bombers are dispatched there.

I hope the Israeli Defense Forces will hurry to complete the job of destroying Hamas before the Obama administration yields to "world opinion". This "fear" is a primary reason I have reservtions about the Obama administration's foreign policy.

I suspect the above more than provides my answer to the original question.

Perseverantia usque ad finem – Perseverance to the end

Name Dropping

We again had a wonderful worship experience Sunday at the Georgetown First United Church. The 11:00 AM service was well orchestrated, the music superb, the sermon outstanding, and - to top off everything, we were dismissed with the blessing promptly at 12 noon. A key to our timely dismissal each Sunday is that we sing only a couple of hymns, all of which have been short.

The Sunday School class we're attending is having a guest speaker for three weeks on the subject of Islam. After her excellent presentation Sunday, I asked the Bishop-In-Residence, Joe Wilson, if the speaker was on the faculty at Southwestern University. The church is across the street from the university campus. Bishop Joe said, "No, but she's one of our class scholars."

I then mentioned (Yes, name dropping.) that Andrea and I know one of SWU's most illustrious graduates, Stanley Hauerwas, and explained that our families were fellow congregants at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, that Stanley was a family friend, and that he has been a supporter of Anne-Marie. This "announcement" greatly surprised Bishop Joe and his wife, Zoe. Turns out that Bishop Joe was Stanley's "big brother" at SWU and they have remain close friends ever since. Small world. I figure this "name dropping" brought me instant "street creed" in Bishop Joe's opinion; however, I haven't yet begun voicing my opinions in the class. Thus, there's time for him to reformulate his opinion.

For readers of this blog who don't know the background on Stanley, do a Google search for him and, as well, his book, "Resident Aliens".

We're well on our way to our weight loss goals for our time in Georgetown. I won't reveal Andrea's weight but she has passed a major milestone on the way down. After the end of the holiday season, I was approaching 160 lbs but now am at 152. I hope to be back at 130 - 135 lbs. The exercise facility helps a lot. Also, we're not eating out as much here as we did back in GA.

Monday, I had a consultation with a personal trainer at the fitness center, part of the package deal for new residents/renters at Sun City. He encouraged me to do more strength training in addition to my aerobic regimen. I agreed and have embarked on the program he recommended. I also intend to get back into yoga, either at the fitness center or here at home away from home. Pretty soon I'll be spending most of every day at the exercise facility.

Seems as if there's a lot to comment on with regards to current political/international situation; however, I have some other tasks to complete this afternoon. I'll get back to my "commentary" in a subsequent post.

A Laid Back Saturday

We've had a laid-back Saturday.

Although we got out of bed reasonably early, 0730 - 0800, we haven't done much with the day except for walking Indy several times, dealing with E-mails, and a shopping expedition to Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and Pet Smart. I bought an MP3 player at Office Depot to use when I exercise. The Sun City Association exercise facility has several TV's placed strategically so that the exercisers can watch them. I need an MP3 player with FM capability or an FM radio to tune in the TV's, most of which stay on Fox News Network (see below). According to the promo material for the MP3 player I purchased, it has FM radio functionality; however, I can't find this option. I'll have to take the MP3 play back to Office Depot for exchange.

I decided to forego the exercise today because I'm rather sore from the exertions of the past week.

Following is a copy of an E-mail I sent John Hampton, one of my oldest and best friends from LaGrange. John and I have known each other and have been close friends since Jr High (we went to different elementary schools). He well-knows my religious/political/societal proclivities and asked me if people in Texas shared any of my opinions. Hence the following reply:

John,

Thanks for the card you sent: It was postmarked on 07 Jan 09 and arrived today,

10 Jan 09. I don't know if the card traveled on Pony Express but a two-night,

three-day passage seems reasonably quick for US snail mail.

We haven't interacted with many folks here except on a casual basis, most often

walking the dog. Andrea has a childhood friend from Lavonia, four years older

than Andrea, who lives in Sun City - Mary Ann Taylor. Mary Ann and her family

are long time members of Lavonia United Methodist Church. Mary Ann and Andrea

went to lunch yesterday. Mary Ann once told me that she looked forward to my

newspaper columns in the Franklin County Citizen, which she received each week

via mail. I suspect she's more liberal than conservative. Mary Ann also

attends Georgetown First United Methodist Church.

Tomorrow will be the second time we've attended Sunday School. I suspect my

natural tendency to comment will resurface directly. The class, primarily

composed of our contemporaries, seems welcoming and outgoing. I suspect they'll

stay that way with Andrea, if events transpire as they often do.

Some observations related to the mileu here:

The excellent exercise facility that comes with the Sun City package, and which

we've been utilizing frequently, has about a dozen TV's set up strategically to

help the exercisers manage the associated pain. The other day, one set

was tuned to Oprah, one to CNBC, and the remainder to (wait for this) Fox News

Network. I haven't seen one set tuned to CNN, much less PBS. The channel

changers are available and I may attempt to change one of the sets to CNN and

then to the Austin PBS channel - when I decide to live a little more

dangerously. I'll wait to employ this tactic until I'm at the exercise facility

without Andrea.

Several vehicles in the parking areas for the exercise facility have bumper

stickers extolling the conservative view, including one that states, "Liberalism

is a mental disease".

I have, however, seen a few Obama/Biden campaign bumper stickers around and

about, although

they're in the vast minority.

The Letters To The Editor of the Austin Statesman, a good morning newspaper to

which we now subscribe, frequently contains commentaries with liberal positions.

Again, these beacons of light do not account for the majority.

The editorial position of The Statesman is definitely more liberal than

conservative. All in all, The Statesman reminds me somewhat of the AJC.

Anne-Marie and Christina like living in Austin because of the overall liberal

bent of the city and because it reminds them of Chapel Hill.

It is way too soon for us to make any definitive conclusions but I wouldn't be

surprised to find a few like-minded individuals around here. I will search them

out; but, as you know, I get antzy when I'm around people who express only one

type of perspective.

Hope you're well. We are. News from Gumlog indicates the lake has risen 5-feet

as of this morning with more rain forecast this weekend. Perhaps, long distance

rain dances are efficacious.

Continue to reach out and touch to stay in touch.

Blessings,

Mike

The rest of this letter shouldn't be in italics but I can't figure out how to get the font back to normal.

We had a good time with Christina and Kelly yesterday in Round Rock - for lunch and shopping at IKEA. I bought moderately priced desk chair, which we will leave with Christina/Kelly or Anne-Marie when we return to GA. I needed the desk chair to preserve my back/shoulders/etc. I do miss my Gumlog home office.

Blessings to all,

Mike

The following item from today's news flabbergasted me:

Cheney says no one saw financial crisis coming

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Vice President Dick Cheney says that his boss, President George W. Bush, has no need to apologize to the American people for not doing more to head off the financial calamity, saying no one saw the crisis coming.

During an interview Thursday with The Associated Press in his West Wing office, Cheney defended the administration's performance on an economy that is growing weaker daily and which recently collapsed in spectacular fashion. Cheney said that "nobody anywhere was smart enough to figure it out."

He said Bush doesn't need to apologize because he has taken "bold, aggressive action."

OK, the current Republican administration started 8 years ago with an inherited balanced budget and the smallest deficit in decades. What happened?

Sure, 9/11 took place and we're in the midst of two wars that burn money at a phenomenal rate. Let's understand, however, that the financial costs of these two wars account for only a small fraction of the total economy, at least at the level of the economy when the Republicans took office.

Before we blame the Democratic controlled Congress for out of control spending, let's ask: How many of the budget busting bills did President George W. Bush veto? I can recall only one.

To be rational, my understanding as a non-economist, is that very little can be done by any administration to combat/reverse/moderate the business cycle. We may be going through a predictable contraction of the business cycle at the present time.

My problem with Vice-President Cheney's contentions is precisely that he appears to be living in denial. For the past two years, the publically available sources I've been reading have predicted the situation we now face. Indeed, much of this prediction has taken place on Fox News Network and CNBC, not exactly bastions of liberalism and liberal tax and spend policies.

Where have President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, and the vast majority of elected Republican officials (and, OK, Democratic elected officials) been for the past couple of years? Well, once again, we deal with a situation where conclusions drive the data rather the more logical condition where data drive the conclusions. Denial ain't a river in Egypt.

Before anyone rants and raves at me, I'll stipulate once more that I'm a registered Republican who more often than not votes for Republicans in national office. I didn't, however, vote for President Bush in the last election because I predicted we'd be dealing with an economic mess and I wanted to be able to say, "I didn't vote for what has turned out to be a failed administration with respect to the economy."

OK, I'll also stipulate that we've had no terror attacks on the homeland, we've made great progress in Iraq, and President Bush has not engaged in scandalous sexual behavior like his predecessor. That is, I can't say on all aspects that we have a failed Presidency/Administration with President Bush.

Once more, to paraphrase Oliver Cromwell speaking to the Rump Parliament: Get thee hence, gentlemen, you have sat too long in this place. Unfortunately, I'm not at all confident that an Obama administration will be able to get us out of the mess without great pain, in terms of duration and intensity.

To finish this diatribe: Despair is a sin precisely because it negates the providential grace of God and, I might add, prevents humans from acting rationally to solve our problems. To solve problems requires data-driven approaches and conclusions.

Confusion to our enemies!

Wonders Never Cease

One of the best things about living in Sun City is the availability of the print edition of a real newspaper, The Austin American Statesman. I have felt news and opinion deprived since the Atlanta Journal Constitution quit delivering their print edition to our area of NE GA. I freely admit that I don't always agree with the editorial opinions of the AJC but I don't detect an overall liberal bias in the paper, especially considering their line up of columnists. Yes, the editor-in-chief qualifies as a liberal.

This morning's edition of the Austin American Statesman presented an opinion column by former US Representative and Libertarian Presidential nominee, Mr. Bob Barr: Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. The thrust of the article is Mr. Barr's opinion that the DOMA he helped draft and push through Congress several years ago was ill-advised and represents an intrusion of the Federal Government into the private affairs of citizens and an usurpation of state constitutional rights. Three direct quotes from the article:

It's time to get the federal government out of the marriage business. In law and policy, such decisions should be left to the people.

If one truly believes in federalism and the primacy of state government over the federal, DOMA is simply incompatible with these notions.

In reference to President Elect Obama's previous vote and statement against the Federal Marriage Amendment ("Decisions about marriage should be left to the states".), He was right then, and as I have to realize, he is right now in concluding that DOMA has to go.

In one of my previous newspaper columns, I congratulated the people in Mr. Barr's former distroct for not re-electing him. I markedly prefer Mr. Barr as a newspaper columnist and political commentator rather than as an elected official. (Please note that the AJC regularly carries Mr. Barr's column - an indication that the paper is not hopelessly liberal.)

I believe Mr. Barr and I share one common feature: Our devotion to a level playing field in the Constitutional and civil rights arenas. From his columns, I can reasonably infer that he and I are both members of the NRA and the ACLU. He often joins these organizations is their lawsuits against federal intrusion into our lives.

Arguments that the majority of Americans support heterosexual marriage and oppose both homosexual marriage and civil unions do not impress me. I do not believe we should use the US Constitution and legal processes to impose religious strictures on the citizenry. Simply because the majority of Americans, who by the way are not church-going people, believe in the "sanctity of heterosexual marriage", does not mean such a positionf is absolutely correct in the Biblical sense. I remind myself frequently that God constitutes a majority of one and is seldom, if ever, swayed by majority opinion of moral issues. Also, would a 50.5% majority of voters constitute a true majority?

Yes, some laws that arguably derive from Judeo-Christian principles should be incorporated into our legal system. Prohibitions agains murder, false witness (pejury), stealing immediately come to mind. Nevertheless, despite these laws that apparently have almost univeral acceptance, these legal strictures are violated daily, if not hourly.

I will also point out that the most severe criticism about the "sanctity" of heterosexual marraiage (one man with one woman) comes from heterosexuals themselves. Has anyone looked at the divorce rate in this country, especially among fundamentalist and, presumably, politically conservative couples?

I do not read the Bible, keeping in mind the behavior of the patriarchs, as stipulating marriage must be heterosexual, one man and one woman. While Andrea and I have been married and in a monagamous relationship for almost 50 years, I don't appreciate and I don't need anyone to instruct me on my beliefs about marriage. I certainly don't need laws to enforce our union.

I fail to see why anyone should feel threatened if homosexuals wish to be married and enjoy all of the attendent civil benefits. We must keep in mind that marriage is a civil affair, that is, a non-religious union under our Constitution. We may be married in a church but the union has no legal standing absent a civil government issued marriage license. Furthermore, couples can marry in a civil ceremony without any hint of religious context.

Where's the threat to heterosexuals if homosexuals marry? I am unaware of any data that say children of homosexual unions grow up to be homosexuals at any greater rate than children from heterosexual unions. If anyone has such data generated by legitimate scientific methods, please inform me.

Will homosexual marriage destroy the moral fiber of this country? I repeat my observations about successful heterosexual marriages (divorce rate more than 50%, adultry rate at least that high): Heterosexuals have done an excellent job preserving the sanctity of marriage.

I say let heterosexuals through behavior, not simply words and political imprecations, demonstrate the beauty of homosexual marriage. Let homosexuals have the freedom to do the same thing.

OK, I doubt that Mr. Barr will go as far as I do but he at least appears to recognise that the feds do need to stay out of the personal and private aspects of our lives. That is, he definitely is committed to civil liberties.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

At Home Away From Home

I initially considered "Stranger In A Strange Land" as the title for this posting; however, after more thought, "At Home Away From Home" appears a better choice.

I frequently tell people that I've never truly felt at home in any location. I certainly felt that way about my birth place, LaGrange, GA, where I lived until my 22nd year. I enjoyed many aspects of the various places in which we resided but none of them felt "right". As I wrote in one of my former newspaper columns, Lavonia at one time seemed more like home than any other place. That feeling has dissipated the longer we've stayed there. Yes, as I'm sure Andrea will point out, the "fault" is primarily mine. Hey, this existential restlessness may be imprinted in my DNA.

Yes, we have many friends, some very close ones, in Lavonia and some dating from Andrea's childhood. We have strong attractions to Lavonia First United Methodist Church, Andrea's ancestral church and the place where we were married. Our adult Sunday School class has been a refuge and inspiration.

I don't know if my existential restlessness will ever be overcome. I don't look for a perfect "home town" but, rather, a comfortable one. Even so, I don't think comfortableness actually means a lot. I like a variety of people with a wide spectrum of opinions and beliefs. I prefer to be in surroundings with people who don't insult either my intelligence or good intentions. I like to live near, but not within, a metropolitan area. I want access to modern conveniences, especially a high speed internet connection and a full cable TV package. Good liquor and wine stores are plus factors. A vibrant United Methodist Church constitutes a necessity.

I have missed being in or near a bona fide academic community. Clemson and UGA don't actually qualify as "nearby" academic communities.

Again, Lavonia meets many of these "requirements", and people there have continued to welcome us as community members, friends, and brother and sister in Christ. (OK, with a few exceptions from the Knuckle Dragging Philistines and Booger Eating Idiots who were incensed by my newspaper columns and activities on the Taxpayers Board of Equalization). As a bottom line, I could rather easily remain in the Lavonia area until the penultimate move to a nursing home or the ultimate move "home". Nevertheless, the sense of estrangement remains. Perhaps, estrangement is too harsh a word. Out of place might be a better descriptor.

I fully recognize that I may never feel truly at home until I'm "home".

Now, to Sun City. I certainly don't feel a stranger here. We find great comfort and joy being close to Anne-Marie and Christina. We've already had several visits from them. Their nearby locations furnish a great attraction to Sun City. Most of the people we've meet here are friendly. The Georgetown First United Methodist Church, where we've worshiped twice, has an outstanding program and ministerial staff. We've heard two great sermons in succession. (I won't make direct comparisons to any other churches we've attended except to say that, on neither occasion, did I feel insulted intellectually or bored.) While larger and more diverse, the adult contemporary forum Sunday School class we attend is lively and both faith- and intelligence-driven. I doubt, however, I will ever have as "intimate" a relationship to this class as to our class at LUMC. The chancel choir at GFUMC is great but may not have the level of musicianship as does the choir, person to person, at LUMC. The campus of the Methodist-supported Southwestern University, which we've not yet explored, is across the street from GFUMC.

Before making any decisions about remaining in Lavonia, moving full time to Sun City, or establishing a "winter" residence in Sun City and a "summer" residence in Lavonia, we want to see how things develop over the next three months. We appreciate living in this excellent duplex, which does not require a lot of maintenance and is relatively easy to keep clean. Assuming our "water front" property on Gumlog Mudflats will sell at a reasonable price when the lake recovers, a two-residence tactic probably would involve purchasing a small home inside Lavonia proper.

Anyway, it's too soon to make important decisions.

More later, as I hope to get back into the blogging mode on a sever times a week, if not daily, basis.