Posted on 01/04/2005 8:54:53 PM PST by CHARLITE
There is an epic battle taking place in the world over what value system humanity will embrace. There are essentially three competitors: European secularism, American Judeo-Christianity and Islam.
We do in large measure because values based on G-d and the Bible have been replaced by secular values. The result was predicted by the British thinker G.K. Chesterton at the turn of the 20th century: "When people stop believing in G-d, they don't believe in nothing they believe in anything."
In fact, it was a secular Jew, the great German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine, who understood that despite its anti-Semitism and other moral failings, Christianity in Europe prevented the wholesale slaughter of human beings that became routine with Christianity's demise. In 1834, 99 years before Hitler and the Nazis rose to power, Heine warned:
"A drama will be enacted in Germany compared to which the French Revolution will seem harmless and carefree. Christianity restrained the martial ardor for a time but it did not destroy it; once the restraining talisman [the cross] is shattered, savagery will rise again. . . . "
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
This was posted earlier (and I don't care, I am not a thread cop. Dennis Prager is one of the best speakers and writers on values!
Excellent article!
There is no such thing as "Judeo-Christianity." As Prager himself writes, what he means by the Bible is only the Old Testament. One religion based on the acceptance of Jesus Christ and another based on a rejection of Jesus Christ are not the same religion. Judaism and Christianity share a large number of similarities, but they are not one and the same.
Of course they are not the same, but they are intimately related. Jesus was an observant Jew. We non-Jewish Christians, as St. Paul says, are children by adoption. I think of members of the Jewish faith as my elder brothers and sisters. We do not agree on everything, but they command my respect as the Tree from which my faith grows. And while they may not believe in Jesus as the Messiah, God does not break his covenants and He will take care of Israel, as He always has.
God does not break his covenants and He will take care of Israel, as He always has.
The Jews are the "Chosen People" per God's covenant. We Christians come under the New Covenant which does not negate the first.
As one poster indicates, though, the author leaves out Buddhism, Hinduism, and, of course, totalitarianism.
OOPS: "totalitarianism" s/b "ChiCom totalitarianism"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.