Laborer for the Lord
Puritan Board Freshman
I debated on whether to post this thread in the Coffee Shop forum or in this one, but I think that the frequency with which I and other board members have increasingly encountered pernicious views concerning the historical reality of the Holocaust, pushback by certain users when admonished for what even a charitable reader would regard as 'anti-semitic' statements, and a general rise in the use of right-wing extremist rhetoric among those who broadly identify with the "Christian nationalist" or "Theonomy/Reconstructionist" movement necessitates a bold and transparent response on the part of the church. The Scriptures exhort us to "not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even expose them" (Ephesians 5:11), and warns us that "whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops" (Luke 12:3). Therefore, in accordance with what the Lord has instructed concerning the reproof of a brother, that if he be obstinate in the presence of two or three witnesses, let us 'air out' the laundry and solicit reasons for why I or any other person ought be especially 'on my guard' against Jews over and above other people groups (Matthew 18:15-17).
Let's take a board member's post in a recent thread on the passage of HR 6090 as a suitable jumping off point for the kinds of equivocal 'talking point' regularly fielded by groypers and others in support of their erroneous conclusions. In said thread, user @gcdugas stated:
In the first place, Jews being over represented in politics as well as in media and finance is largely a consequence of the broader cultural legacy of their European experience; for well over a millennium, Jews subsisted as a largely marginalized underclass and possessed little in the way of property, rights, or opportunity. What livings they could eek out were nearly always a result of taking up trades that were considered undesirable or immoral for a Christian (i.e. money-lending), and such mercenary activities perpetuated the earliest anti-Semitic stereotypes (think Shylock from The Merchant of Venice). Then, beginning with the Enlightenment and continuing on down through French Revolution and Napoleon's brief rule over much of the continent, Jews found themselves being given the chance to increasingly participate in a society that has so long shunned and excluded them; to become doctors, lawyers, artists, mathematicians, natural philosophers, and more. Long pent up energies could now be expressed in productive avenues of employment and advancement. This is much of the reason for why Jewish contributions to European culture in the 19th century began to be so noticeable and effectively outsize their numerical minority. In addition to this explosion of activity in the cultural sphere, many West European Jews likewise became vocal defenders of the 'classical' school of liberalism that had effectively been the author of their enfranchisement and saw it as their duty to integrate "fully" into their host nations, many converting to various forms of Christianity in the process (see Moses Mendelssohn' descendants on this point). Likewise, many of these 'conversos' or their progeny eventually became involved in regional or national politics and vociferously advocated for their country's interests, as Benjamin Disraeli did for example. The bottom line, then, is that many individual Jews by the late 19th century had become fervent believers in the kind of classically liberal society that valued 'openness to new ideas', 'merit', and 'tolerance', and had successfully transmuted the traditional religious emphasis on fastidious observance of the Talmudic law into an broader cultural ethos than prioritized excellence in achievement and formal education. Abetting this development was the all too familiar shedding of religious faith and a greater tendency towards secularization, a process not at all exclusive to Jews. All this to say, the overrepresentation issue is one explicable by historical experience and not via some fringe theory of conspiracy.
Eastern European Jews, who were largely denied the opportunities extended to their more fortunate Western counterparts, make up the largest percentage of those who immigrated to the United States. It is essential to understand that these poor wretches had little in the way of outside help during the pogroms and intensified persecutions of the later 19th century, especially Polish, Romanian, and Russian Jews. This explains the greater 'tight-knittedness' of these communities and the tendency for 'in-group' preference to perpetuate long after immediate dangers have evaporated. When these Jews came to America, the liberalism that they encountered was of the "progressive" or "social" variety; a liberalism that had incorporated the insights of sociology, structural/institutional economics, and class dynamics into its program for political reform. As was the case for their Western European kinsmen, these newcomers gravitated towards an ideology that implicitly sided with the disenfranchised and offered the hope of a better life for all people, and it galvanized and animated their work ethic. This is why, to a great extent, most Jewish lawyers and political actors during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, tended to be such big supporters of FDR and the New Deal-type programs of the liberal wing of the Democratic party. Again, they valued America as a place where individual freedoms, respect for all persons, and widespread opportunity could let the immigrant rise up the ladder and attain a modicum of prosperity, and that colored their general political orientation (please note that I am not trying to paint with too broad a brush, and I am well aware of intellectuals such as Strauss and Shapiro who were/are much more conservative in their views). It is true that, in recent decades, AIPAC (the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) has exerted a greater influence in lobbying for Israeli causes at the expense of U.S. taxpayers, but I consider the issue of the existing Israeli state and its actions to be one separate from the present discussion. Not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Israelis are Jews, despite what Netanyahu, dispensationalists, and those running interference for Tel Aviv might say. Americans of all stripes have the right to voice an opinion critical of Israel in the conduct of its affairs, just as Israelis and Europeans have a right to be critical of the U.S.'s foreign or domestic policy. The same sword cuts both ways.
Lastly, let me say this. p0rnography, the commodifying of sex and identity in general, the secularization of American education and society, loss of traditional religious faith and the values that attend it, the tendency for media to 'spin' the news to its own benefit or viewpoint, central banking, and so forth have been phenomena ubiquitous in all modern Western countries; they are part and parcel of the developmental trajectory of capitalist, liberal democracies, for good or for ill. It is man assuming that he knows better than God, and that all his technological prowess and worldly knowledge can suffice to explain and order all things. It is the same hubris that captivated and ensnared our first parents, and is common to all men of like nature (Genesis 3:5, Acts 14:15), and not to any specific ethnicity or people group (Romans 3:23).
My question for @gcdugas or any other user on is this board is this: what uniquely about the Jews, other than what I have outlined above as a general guideline for understanding the historical reasons for their present orientation, makes them such a "corrosive" influence? Why them specifically? What substantive evidence can you offer in favor of an international collusion or conspiracy of Jewish influence to undermine Western values? I've said my piece, and all of the information relayed above is easily traced and verified by a plethora of scholarly sources and academic journals. What have you to say then, seeing as you have made motion to accuse? Be swift and ready with your answer, lest ye be guilty of calumny before the LORD (Proverbs 30:10). I live in an area of southeast MI where violence against Jews is all the more likely because of recent political events, and let me tell you, I have no tolerance for Nazi sympathizers or apologists. My grandfather fought to liberate Europe from the tyranny of men who so incited fear and hatred using such baseless accusations, and the name of Christ is blasphemed even today by unbelievers on account of those who continue to peddle in such lies (Romans 2:24). Anti-semitism or any like kind of ethnic prejudice, whether in the guise of kinism, "Christian identity", or any other crypto-fascist movement that seeks power to "cleanse the nation" of unwanted "foreign" elements and worships at the alter of authoritarian strongmen is a false religion plain and simple. Christians need to call a spade a spade and come against this resurgence of vulgar populism in our own ranks. May the LORD grant courage and moral clarity to His people to withstand the multitude of false Christs and false teachers that have arisen in these last days (Matthew 24:23-25).
Let's take a board member's post in a recent thread on the passage of HR 6090 as a suitable jumping off point for the kinds of equivocal 'talking point' regularly fielded by groypers and others in support of their erroneous conclusions. In said thread, user @gcdugas stated:
There's a lot in this indictment to unpack and were I given enough time I could probably do justice to each topic in turn, but for the sake of brevity I believe a more "root and stump" approach to be expedient given the present climate of polarization on this topic.
In the first place, Jews being over represented in politics as well as in media and finance is largely a consequence of the broader cultural legacy of their European experience; for well over a millennium, Jews subsisted as a largely marginalized underclass and possessed little in the way of property, rights, or opportunity. What livings they could eek out were nearly always a result of taking up trades that were considered undesirable or immoral for a Christian (i.e. money-lending), and such mercenary activities perpetuated the earliest anti-Semitic stereotypes (think Shylock from The Merchant of Venice). Then, beginning with the Enlightenment and continuing on down through French Revolution and Napoleon's brief rule over much of the continent, Jews found themselves being given the chance to increasingly participate in a society that has so long shunned and excluded them; to become doctors, lawyers, artists, mathematicians, natural philosophers, and more. Long pent up energies could now be expressed in productive avenues of employment and advancement. This is much of the reason for why Jewish contributions to European culture in the 19th century began to be so noticeable and effectively outsize their numerical minority. In addition to this explosion of activity in the cultural sphere, many West European Jews likewise became vocal defenders of the 'classical' school of liberalism that had effectively been the author of their enfranchisement and saw it as their duty to integrate "fully" into their host nations, many converting to various forms of Christianity in the process (see Moses Mendelssohn' descendants on this point). Likewise, many of these 'conversos' or their progeny eventually became involved in regional or national politics and vociferously advocated for their country's interests, as Benjamin Disraeli did for example. The bottom line, then, is that many individual Jews by the late 19th century had become fervent believers in the kind of classically liberal society that valued 'openness to new ideas', 'merit', and 'tolerance', and had successfully transmuted the traditional religious emphasis on fastidious observance of the Talmudic law into an broader cultural ethos than prioritized excellence in achievement and formal education. Abetting this development was the all too familiar shedding of religious faith and a greater tendency towards secularization, a process not at all exclusive to Jews. All this to say, the overrepresentation issue is one explicable by historical experience and not via some fringe theory of conspiracy.
Eastern European Jews, who were largely denied the opportunities extended to their more fortunate Western counterparts, make up the largest percentage of those who immigrated to the United States. It is essential to understand that these poor wretches had little in the way of outside help during the pogroms and intensified persecutions of the later 19th century, especially Polish, Romanian, and Russian Jews. This explains the greater 'tight-knittedness' of these communities and the tendency for 'in-group' preference to perpetuate long after immediate dangers have evaporated. When these Jews came to America, the liberalism that they encountered was of the "progressive" or "social" variety; a liberalism that had incorporated the insights of sociology, structural/institutional economics, and class dynamics into its program for political reform. As was the case for their Western European kinsmen, these newcomers gravitated towards an ideology that implicitly sided with the disenfranchised and offered the hope of a better life for all people, and it galvanized and animated their work ethic. This is why, to a great extent, most Jewish lawyers and political actors during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, tended to be such big supporters of FDR and the New Deal-type programs of the liberal wing of the Democratic party. Again, they valued America as a place where individual freedoms, respect for all persons, and widespread opportunity could let the immigrant rise up the ladder and attain a modicum of prosperity, and that colored their general political orientation (please note that I am not trying to paint with too broad a brush, and I am well aware of intellectuals such as Strauss and Shapiro who were/are much more conservative in their views). It is true that, in recent decades, AIPAC (the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) has exerted a greater influence in lobbying for Israeli causes at the expense of U.S. taxpayers, but I consider the issue of the existing Israeli state and its actions to be one separate from the present discussion. Not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Israelis are Jews, despite what Netanyahu, dispensationalists, and those running interference for Tel Aviv might say. Americans of all stripes have the right to voice an opinion critical of Israel in the conduct of its affairs, just as Israelis and Europeans have a right to be critical of the U.S.'s foreign or domestic policy. The same sword cuts both ways.
Lastly, let me say this. p0rnography, the commodifying of sex and identity in general, the secularization of American education and society, loss of traditional religious faith and the values that attend it, the tendency for media to 'spin' the news to its own benefit or viewpoint, central banking, and so forth have been phenomena ubiquitous in all modern Western countries; they are part and parcel of the developmental trajectory of capitalist, liberal democracies, for good or for ill. It is man assuming that he knows better than God, and that all his technological prowess and worldly knowledge can suffice to explain and order all things. It is the same hubris that captivated and ensnared our first parents, and is common to all men of like nature (Genesis 3:5, Acts 14:15), and not to any specific ethnicity or people group (Romans 3:23).
My question for @gcdugas or any other user on is this board is this: what uniquely about the Jews, other than what I have outlined above as a general guideline for understanding the historical reasons for their present orientation, makes them such a "corrosive" influence? Why them specifically? What substantive evidence can you offer in favor of an international collusion or conspiracy of Jewish influence to undermine Western values? I've said my piece, and all of the information relayed above is easily traced and verified by a plethora of scholarly sources and academic journals. What have you to say then, seeing as you have made motion to accuse? Be swift and ready with your answer, lest ye be guilty of calumny before the LORD (Proverbs 30:10). I live in an area of southeast MI where violence against Jews is all the more likely because of recent political events, and let me tell you, I have no tolerance for Nazi sympathizers or apologists. My grandfather fought to liberate Europe from the tyranny of men who so incited fear and hatred using such baseless accusations, and the name of Christ is blasphemed even today by unbelievers on account of those who continue to peddle in such lies (Romans 2:24). Anti-semitism or any like kind of ethnic prejudice, whether in the guise of kinism, "Christian identity", or any other crypto-fascist movement that seeks power to "cleanse the nation" of unwanted "foreign" elements and worships at the alter of authoritarian strongmen is a false religion plain and simple. Christians need to call a spade a spade and come against this resurgence of vulgar populism in our own ranks. May the LORD grant courage and moral clarity to His people to withstand the multitude of false Christs and false teachers that have arisen in these last days (Matthew 24:23-25).
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