wkp@lanl.ARPA (09/01/85)
Over a year ago, Ken Arndt--in an effort ostensibly to demonstrate to
me that fundamentalist Christians are not antisemitic--recommended
that I read the book "Jerry Falwell and the Jews" (he has quoted from
this book a number of times in net.religion). Upon special ordering
a copy of the book from a bookstore, I indicated that I would post a
review article to the net after I finished reading it.
The style of this book is a question-and-answer session with Falwell
by a Jew named Merrill Simon. In no way does Simon pull his punches
with respect to Falwell, but I found Falwell's answers rather one-
dimensional and trite.
In the book, Falwell portrays himself as a man who sincerely believes
in the Judaeo-Christian ethic (the term "Judeao-Christian" was his
most common phrase in the book), the American way of life, and the
security of the state of Israel. While someone like myself may agree
with all of these principles, the answers to the hard questions of
today's world are not so simple as Falwell tried to propose.
I believe that Falwell tried to distance himself publicly from the
historical Christian treatment of the Jewish people. At the same
time, he tried to attribute the successful re-founding of the
Jewish state of Israel after two thousand years to the Christian god!
He justifiably scolded the Vatican, however, for their persistent
refusal to recognize the state of Israel, and also the Presbyterian
Church for supporting a cut-off in aid to Israel.
Some interesting facts in the book:
1. He grew up in a racist household, but after he found Jesus,
he loved all peoples.
2. Membership in the Moral Majority is only open to U.S. citizens.
3. He wasted an entire page of inane dialog to excuse the statement
in the Christian Bible (I Thessalonians) that the Jews "both killed
the Lord Jesus and their prophets."
4. In regards to prayer in public schools he made the following
incredible statement as proof that it should be re-instituted:
"During the 1940's, the principal of the elementary school I
attended conducted a weekly chapel and invited a local minister
to speak to us. I shall always be grateful for the impact this
experience had on my life. My respect for God and sacred things
was developed during those early years of elementary school. I
was not damaged in any way."
In sum, I think that the book is not terribly entertaining or
enlightening. I recommend that anyone interested in the true
fundamentalist Christian perspective of the Jews should save the
$15 purchase price of the book and read a good book on the
Inquisition.
--
bill peter ihnp4!lanl!wkpkene@teklds.UUCP (Ken Ewing) (09/04/85)
> > In sum, I think that the book is not terribly entertaining or > enlightening. I recommend that anyone interested in the true > fundamentalist Christian perspective of the Jews should save the > $15 purchase price of the book and read a good book on the > Inquisition. > -- > > bill peter ihnp4!lanl!wkp Do I detect some presuppositions showing through? (Actually, besides this paragraph, I appreciated the book review -- although I wouldn't have bought the book anyway). Ken Ewing [decvax,ucbvax]!tektronix!teklds!kene