We’ve all known well-meaning people who routinely tell the same old jokes and stories. I have a friend who narrates the same funny stories and statements several times over in the same year. He always chuckles at the end as if it was a first-time telling. It’s part of the reason why we laugh.
We suffer this phenomenon because we either like or love these people. Or have no real choice in the matter. Just ask my wife about how she tolerates me.
Then there are the same old lines some people regularly throw out lines which aren’t quite so funny. Often they’re annoying. But that’s probably just me being intolerant. Here are some examples:
“I’m not a liberal/leftist – I’m a progressive.”
You often hear that line from people who, deep down, know they’re liberal/leftists. Where are they progressing to, exactly? They’re inevitably pro-choice, pro same-sex marriage, pro climate-change-activism, pro Palestinianism and pro gender-neutral bathrooms etc.
Why would anyone want gender-neutral public bathrooms anyway? What’s the fixation with other people’s toilet habits? What happens if these Progressives become Establishment? What will define the next generation of Progressives? I have a headache!
If it walks like a duck…well, you know the deal. Next….
“There is neither Jew nor Greek…”
Taken from Galatians 3:28 where the context is salvation: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
This one is avidly cited by Supersessionists and Fulfillment Theology fans. Those who quote this really mean there’s no Jew. Heck, they’ll happily acknowledge Greeks and Greece, Italians and Italy, Palestinians and Palestine – Jews and Israel…not so much.
Whenever Christian Zionists talk about Jews and a God-promised future redemption of national Israel, our “Fulfillment Theology” friends suddenly feel the irresistible urge to plug the all-inclusive fulfillment-in-the-church mantra. One People of God, right?
Some diversity-aware supersessionists are adopting gender neutral language, even when referring to God. After all, there’s neither male nor female. Yet many pastors in churches are women pursuing feminist agendas (not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that).
Of course, God the Father refers to Himself as, well…male. Jesus was His “only begotten Son.” And referring to the Holy Spirit as the goddess? Good luck with that one.
And finally my all-time favorite/s:
“I’m not anti-Semitic just because I criticize Israel and Zionism.”
Variations to this would be: “I’m not anti-Semitic just because I hang around anti-Semites.” And “I’m not anti-Semitic because I love the Arab people.”
Nice try. While there is a technical difference between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, many anti-Zionists are dangerously close to the latter category.
There was the case of the vicar with a well-known reputation for attacking Israel. He denied being an anti-Semite, all the while sharing platforms with known anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers. He even fitted in trips to Iran and Malaysia into his tight schedule; where he talked about that dangerous Zionist Israel. When he raised the question of Israel’s involvement with 9/11 he was banned from social media for several months.
Interestingly, a number of anti-Semitic individuals rushed to his defense. They talked about censorship and free-speech. In reality total free speech doesn’t exist. You just can’t say some things without being excoriated by the PC watchdogs. Besides which any person claiming to represent Christ should take some care about what is said in the media.
Current British Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, also rushed to the vicar’s defense. Sadly, Corbyn seems to suffer from the same bad-friends syndrome. Defenders insist he’s not an anti-Semite even though he hobnobs with those who are. Now why would he do that? Shouldn’t someone tap him on the shoulder to get him a clue?
Recent debacles surrounding the British Labour Party raise further questions. Labour parliamentary candidate, Vicki Kirby, was recently suspended for tweeting that Jews had big noses and Adolf Hitler being the “Zionist god.” However, she’s since been re-instated. I guess she must have repented.
A Gatestone Institute article highlights some of the Labour Party problems – including the Oxford University Labour Club anti-Semitic issues. Douglas Murray writes:
As with the Labour party students at Oxford, it is hard to argue that party members should have zero-tolerance towards anti-Semites when the party’s current leader has spent his whole career happily tolerating them.
Jeremy Corbyn defender and anti-Jewish writer, Owen Jones, suggested to:
… set up two commissions: one on antisemitism (sic), the other on anti-Muslim prejudice, respectively headed by a leading Jewish and a Muslim figure. Both forms of bigotry are on the rise in Britain, and both exist within progressive circles and the Labour party. The commissions could issue a series of recommendations, both for dealing with it when it arises within Labour, and also in wider society. (Emphases mine)
Did you catch the magician’s trick? I once discussed the Islamic terrorist problem with a casual acquaintance. He suddenly felt compelled to raise an obscure event in history involving a handful of extremist Jews. The longer the conversation lasted, the more apparent his anti-Jewish bias. He couldn’t bring himself to admit to an Islamic problem. It was a learning experience.
President Obama resorts to the same dodge when comparing Islam with Christianity. Do I really need to write a column to parse the differences between aberrant Christian fundamentalists and observant Islamic “radicals”? Matt Walsh has made some worthy points in his “stop pretending all religions are the same” article.
In one response to Owen Jones’ call for dual commissions, Douglas Murray notes that a major source of British anti-Semitism comes from the Muslim community. He cites British-born Al-Jazeera broadcaster, Mehdi Hassan:
Anti-Semitism isn’t just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it’s routine and commonplace. Any Muslims reading this article – if they are honest with themselves – will know instantly what I am referring to. It’s our dirty little secret.
Actually it’s no secret.
Stop the denials and excuses, guys. They’re getting old.
There’s plenty going on up your sleeves!
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