[Laura Schlessinger] Dr. Laura Renounces Jewish Orthodoxy

religionnewsblog.com ^ | 08/13/2003 | LISA KEYS

[Catspaw]

Why would she decide to reject her religion based only on faxes from fans and listeners? Why wouldn't she judged what she was giving to her religion from her synagogue?

[Lizavetta]

She likes to chide her listeners about "shacking up" when she was recently living with a guy for seven years without being married

That was in her feminist whacko days in her 20's, not "recently". Her son is 17 or 18 years old and I believe she's been married to the dad for at least that long. She has repeatedly and vociferously criticized her own behavior of that time on her radio show; are we all disallowed from lecturing our kids on sex and drugs if we ourselves engaged in them?

And she's gone through her educational background on the air as well....anyone who cares to listen to her knows she's not a shrink. I personally wouldn't care if she was a plumber. Her insight on human nature and weaknesses, even if she can be shrill, are spot on.

[RLK]

Try writing a coherent sentence if you want an answer.

[Catspaw]

You can get the gist of what I said. If answering my questions make you uncomfortable, you don't have to answer them. I understand.

[Capriole]

Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

This is an excellent question. Frankly I have no idea what the answer is and I'm hoping Dr. Laura will tell us that it's actually okay to own Canadians.

[RLK]

OK. I get it. You're here to play games. Find somebody else to mess with.

[Queen Jadis]

Her insight on human nature and weaknesses, even if she can be shrill, are spot on.

Agreed. Your whole post was spot on.

As a 38 year old woman I regret I had not the opportunity to be influenced by her earlier in my life.

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

Not necessarily. When you get consisten irrational criticism from a group of people it's time to realize your philosopy is at odds with that groups. Therefore, go ye from among them and be ye separate.

Yes exactly and quite perceptive. She discovered hypocrisy in places she didn't expect.

[kikero]

I have been following this discussion for several days and have a different take on Dr. Laura's new religious position.

On Monday August 11, she opened her show with a rather sad note that her 6'2" son will be going to college in 2 weeks and she had just packed 4 trunks of stuff. And she was lamenting about his absence from her home while he was attending college.

She has always prided herself on being her "kids mom". From age 0 to 18 she has advised callers that parents are supposed to give their entire life to raising their children. But if you have followed her position, at age 18 they are on their own. You want school, get a job and save. You want to shack up, get a job and save. You want a car, get a job and save.

Well she doesn't have a child anymore. Her son is grown and a man over which she should have little control. Her "kid" is in her mind. Her nest is empty.

The point being that she has, in view of advice to her audience, a major life change. She is having a problem dealing with it.

Knowing what she knows about Judaism, it is hard to believe that she was looking for adulation from her religion for her beliefs, or that the taste for bacon and lasagna has driven her out of her religion

I have yet to hear a survivor of the concentration camps, those once forsaken human beings with numbers tatooed on their forearms renounce their religion because they didn't get the kind of feedback from their diety after they were told "Arbeit Macht Frei". If anyone has cause to doubt their faith, these would be the people. On this basis, I am ashamed for Dr. Laura and embarrassed by those who sheparded her conversion. Her understanding of her adopted religion was much shallower than we were led to believe. An added chapter in her book would make it "11 Stupid Things Women Do to Louse Up Their Lives."

[keats5]

I disagree. What I got from the article is that she feels she's missing the point of her spirituality. Whereas she hears her Christian listeners speak of their solid personal relationship to the Lord, she feels nothing like that after giving her all to Judism.

I don't think she's giving up her religion based on a few faxes. The faxes simply exemplify her realization that something was missing.

[bethelgrad]

her doctorate is in physiology. not education. regardless of what it is in, it is earned and she still has the right to be called "doctor."

[bethelgrad]

one of the reasons i'm not a big fan of hers is her lack of grace both in tone and rhetoric. her constant message is be perfect be perfect be perfect. i believe in living righteously, but people make mistakes and i think she could be more gentle in trying to pull people up. and, as a christian, i think it would be great if she found Christ.

[Catspaw]

What game? You said this:

Try writing a coherent sentence if you want an answer.

First you claim that my sentence is incoherent and now you say I'm playing games.

You have yet to answer my questions, of course.

[McGavin999]

People who were raised in religous households have no idea how difficult it is to find your place in the spiritual world as an adult. For some of you, who have firm foundations it's hard to imagine what she's going through. I applaud her though, when she finds something she throws herself into it completely, but if it's wrong, she's not afraid to put it aside and continue in her search.

I wish her well. She's not searching for God, because God is already beside her, she's searching for a way to express her love of God. That's pretty hard.

[Robert_Paulson2]

The california counseling certificate, does not convey a psych degree, or the abilty to proscibe psychotropic meds. Lots of school counselors, pastors and substance abuse counsellors, even career counselors have taken the test, paid the fee, and gotten the licence.

She is however, neither a psychiatrist or psychologist. My understanding was she got her license to counsel, AFTER it became an issue that she was NOT technically a "real" doctor offering "counsel" on the radio.

And her ph.d. is in sports physiology, IIRC. She is more precisely, a gym teacher, with a counseling certificate. That is not a psychiatrist, or psychologist... although she does offer a lot of "frazier style" pop psychology on the radio.

I am not surprised with her switch, after the death of her estranged mother, anything is possible.

[Irene Adler]

"Her[doctoral] degree is in physiology. She is a certified marriage, family, and child counselor."

You are correct.

[Catspaw]

I have yet to hear a survivor of the concentration camps, those once forsaken human beings with numbers tatooed on their forearms renounce their religion because they didn't get the kind of feedback from their diety after they were told "Arbeit Macht Frei". If anyone has cause to doubt their faith, these would be the people. On this basis, I am ashamed for Dr. Laura and embarrassed by those who sheparded her conversion. Her understanding of her adopted religion was much shallower than we were led to believe. An added chapter in her book would make it "11 Stupid Things Women Do to Louse Up Their Lives."

I tend to agree with you--but in my family, my maternal grandfather converted to Catholicism as an adult and was a very devout Catholic. It took him a number of years before he decided to convert, but once he did, it was a total committment.

[garbanzo]

Why would she decide to reject her religion based only on faxes from fans and listeners?

Because to her, religion is a drug. It's something that's supposed to get you high and when she develops a tolerance to it she gets bored with it. If she were in a different demographic, she'd go into scientology or some spaceship cult.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Shallow arguments.???

A movement towards Christ is not shallow. God works His will through all of us. I hope she finds peace.

Her conservative viewpoints have always made her an easy target for sniveling liberals.

Most of what she says is righteous and accurate.

[Antoninus]

One of the funniest things I have ever read!

Yeah, compared to The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged it's freaking hysterical. You don't read much, do you?