Rabbi Lapin on American Christianity
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an interesting and sometimes controversial American orthodox rabbi, has a fascinating interview at the Jewish Press that touches on Christianity in America. He discusses everything from the “threat” to Judaism of Christianity in America to his encouragement to wish Christians a “Merry Christmas” rather than Happy Holidays:
I think America has provided the most tranquil, prosperous, and durable haven for Jews in the last 2,000 years because it is a [religious] Protestant country, not in spite of it.
Many Jews…need to understand that there’s never been a Protestant pogrom in the history of the world…
In general, I also think it’s helpful for Jews to recognize that the only reliable group of friends we have in America, or in the world, right now are American Evangelicals. The main threat today is [radical Islam], and the one group standing alongside Jews and supporting the State of Israel is American Evangelicals.
I think we should recognize that we have a stake in America. To not care about broader society is a lot like sitting in a lifeboat while somebody’s drilling a hole in the floor of the boat a few seats down, and you say, “Well, as long as my seat’s okay, everything’s fine.”
[America is becoming increasingly more secular and] I think Europe is an extremely good model of what happens when secularism wins. Anti-Semitism is an inevitable accompaniment of secularism, and Nazism and communism are essentially the ultimate expressions of liberalism .
I think America is better served by a religiously vibrant Christianity and that means that we have to be as ardent about fighting anti-Christianism as we expect Christians to be in fighting anti-Semitism.
Read more at the Jewish Press.
Many Jews…need to understand that there’s never been a Protestant pogrom in the history of the world
Well, the Jews expelled from Saxony in 1537 at the behest of Luther might disagree with that. But then, lets not worry about the facts, shall we?
“First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians. For whatever we tolerated in the past unknowingly_and I myself was unaware of it_will be pardoned by God. But if we, now that we are informed, were to protect and shield such a house for the Jews, existing right before our very nose, in which they lie about, blaspheme, curse, vilify, and defame Christ and us (as was heard above), it would be the same as if we were doing all this and even worse ourselves, as we very well know.”
Don,
where did that quote come from?
On Jews And Their Lies – M luther