Krauthammer: "Gibson's Blood Libel"

Washington Post ^ | Mar. 5, 04 | Charles Krauthammer

[churchillbuff]

Gibson's Blood Libel

By Charles Krauthammer Friday, March 5, 2004; Page A23

Every people has its story. Every people has the right to its story. And every people has a responsibility for its story. ...[snip]

Christians have their story too: the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Why is this story different from other stories? Because it is not a family affair of coreligionists. If it were, few people outside the circle of believers would be concerned about it. This particular story involves other people. With the notable exception of a few Romans, these people are Jews. And in the story, they come off rather badly.

Because of that peculiarity, the crucifixion is not just a story; it is a story with its own story -- a history of centuries of relentless, and at times savage, persecution of Jews in Christian lands. This history is what moved Vatican II, in a noble act of theological reflection, to decree in 1965 that the Passion of Christ should henceforth be understood with great care so as to unteach the lesson that had been taught for almost two millennia: that the Jews were Christ killers.

[Wormwood]

What you are saying is that I am "wrong" and am doomed, as are all Jews, and if we do not accept Christ we will burn in Hell. Right??

In all honesty, what do you care?

If Judaism preached that all Christians are fated to be spend eternity in the form of watermelon Gummi Bears, it wouldn't matter to me in the least.

I may find such a belief to be incompatible with mine, but as long as the Gummi Gospel doesn't affect my life, then mazeltov.

[SoCar]

Are you calling me a bigot because I do not accept Christ as my savior?

Or are you calling me a bigot because I believe that Mel's father is a raging antisemite and Holocaust revisionist and that Mel's responses were more then inadequate?

For which one am I a bigot in your eyes?

[sfRummygirl]

Yes, we are just like the fundamentalist muslims now. Except we don't blow people up. But, hey, we are just like them.

[sfRummygirl]

My grandmother was a bigot. She called black people the 'n' word. Is anyone ever going to care if I make a movie about the slave trade?
Probably not.

[sfRummygirl]

So I am curious....would you speak out against the prejudice against us Christians right now?

[olivia3boys]

I read Krauthammer every week and there's only one other piece I can think of that I disagreed w/ (until today)--the one where he argued that Andrea Yates (drowned her children in the bathtub) should not have been convicted.

So this is his strike 2 for me.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

(Please correct me, wirestripper, if I'm mistaken.)

He didn't call you a bigot. He called Mel Gibson's father a bigot, and suggested that many in that generation harbor similar sentiments. He then said eventually that bigotry will die out.

(Chips on shoulders may be larger than they appear.)

[sfRummygirl]

I love your sense of humor!


(Chips on shoulders may be larger than they appear.)

[TigersEye]

Christ was meek. A bruised read would he not break nor a smoldering wick snuff out. Being pushy about our faith is not spreading the Gospel.

Uh Oh. Stand by for some good christian love.

Yeah, that's you alright.

I don't hate Buddhists. I just hate their demon spawned pollytheistic garbage religion. - mercy #51

You know, I think there's a spot over at Liberty Forum for you too.

[SoCar]

Are you implying that I am a Communist because I am a Jew who disagrees with your Christian beliefs? Are Charles Krauthammer. Mona Charen, David From, and other Jewish Conservatives now considered unwanted "Communist" trolls because we have the nerve to disagree with Gibson's movie??

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

: )

[sfRummygirl]

Can you possibly not personalize everything?

[sfRummygirl]

A new nickname for people like this. "Chippy".

[sfRummygirl]

No, wait, that sounds like the poor little seal who has crap glued to his back right now.

[sfRummygirl]

Oh, wait. It IS a good name! It IS like they have crap glued on them!

[Romulus]

You don't "know" Jesus unless you're persuaded of his messiahship. If you're one such and reject him anyway, you have discarded your hope of salvation. As for "atheists" like you, those who have reason and intellect at their command but likewise refuse to engage them in a serious consideration of metaphysical proposals -- notwithstanding their awareness that many rigorous intellects have found themselves compatible with faith -- will also have much to answer for. None of this is new doctrine for the Catholic Church.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

You weren't calling him a Communist, were you? (I surely didn't think so.)

[Romulus]

Right??

Wrong. What's the matter with you? Did you even bother to read what I wrote?

You seem to be determined to reduce Christianity to a gnostic superstition in which one's election is determined according to posession of salvific knowledge. But that is not Christianity. Go back and read what I wrote the first time, for pete's sake.

[Hamza01]

"Bethlehem's been cleaned out of Christians. Of course, it wasn't the Jews who cleaned them out."

While I respect much of the clarity and precision of your commentary on this thread, this particular comment suggests that it was the Muslims who pushed the Christians out of Bethlehem. I happen to know a lot of Palestinian Christians here in NY(some recent arrivals) and their views are quite different from what you appear to suggest.

Christians-- whether Arab or Armenian in origin-- started moving out of Bethlehem subsequent to the creation of Israel. This exodus has accelerated in recent years because of the enormous economic consequences of war and occupation.

Pre-1948, Bethlehem was still majority Christian. Afterwards, it became a recruiting hub for the PLO which was,after all, an organization partially founded and inspired by Arab Christians.

[Torie]

Well, I am relieved that only non-believing "intellectuals" like myself are going down to hell, who have the capacity to understand the message, but simply reject it. I would hate to think that every chap who simply switches the channel whenever Pat Robertson appears is going down as well, or when the Pope appears, or whatever.