[Laura Schlessinger] Dr. Laura Renounces Jewish Orthodoxy

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

[Antoninus]

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?

There's nothing worse to someone wallowing in their own filth, than when someone else decides to hose themselves off.

[Destro]

My knowledge base is (I dare say) more expansive than yours I bet...and it was still funny.

[Fledermaus]

Simple question: who cares?

What's next? "Dr. Laura chooses Doritos over Ruffles"?

[Destro]

I don't care but I thought other Freepers might.

[Fledermaus]

no no, I wasn't saying "who cares" to your post, just the concept that someone would write the article

[af_vet_1981]

She conspicuously uses the title "Doctor" as if she's a clinical psychologist/psychiatrist when her doctorate degree is in secondary education.

Are you certain of this ?
Would you bet the ranch ?

[Fledermaus]

A doctorate is a doctorate.

As to her chiding others about shacking up, did it ever consider to you that her conclusion now is based on the fact it was a bad experience for her?

Why is it we appreciate alcoholics teaching AA classes, cleaned up drug addicts giving testimony in high schools, etc. but we get "uncomfortable" when someone "preaches" against something because they too were there and realized the destruction?

I personally couldn't care less about Dr. Laura. But I'm not going to dump all over her for her failings and her past when she obviously reaches people. I don't see folks jumping all over Oprah for her views.

[onyx]

Amen. What a sad and poignant article. I'm only an occasional listener and I missed this. Thanks very much for posting it.

It appears Laura's search for the meaning of life will continue on another path, in another place. I wish her well.

I echo your sentiments.

[nickcarraway]

She has a PhD in physiology, after obtaining a B.S. and and a masters. But she is a licensed marriage, family and child counselor which she mentions quite frequently, so I know she's not trying to mislead anyone. If you believe that only M.D.'s should be called doctors, you have a lot more people than her to be concerned with. I know many people with PhD's who are called doctor. (Even Bill Cosby who only has a honorary doctorate, I believe.) She was in private practice for 12 years with her MFCC, which is completely legitimate.

when she was recently living with a guy for seven years without being married.

Try getting your gossip straight. She has been married for about 20 years. But she is up front about her behavior in the 70s that she is not proud of. But she never lied about that-she talked about it for years.

[nickcarraway]

How sad that she chooses to reject her religion by the faxes her fans and listeners send her. It would seem her committment--or lack thereof--to Judaism is predicated on her fan base.

Don't jump to conclusions. The article tried to paint that as a reason for her problems, but that isn't necessarily the reason.

[nickcarraway]

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.

Your understanding is wrong. She was in private practice, and for better or for worse, her training is more than adequate based on what the state of California requires. Having said that, she constantly says it's not a therapy show, but one about ethical dillema's. And to be quite honest, a degree in philosophy, theology, or psychiatry does not give you what you need to be truly good at certain things.

[rmlew]

Schlessinger is a rather common name.

[Lockbar]

I consider myself to be quite conservative, but I always found Dr. Laura to be very irritating and way too judgmental and cruel towards psychologically wounded/desperate people that called her show. She has been off the air here in Chicago (WLS-AM) for about 3 years, and her "dismissal" is still seen as relief to most of those who listen to that radio station, and to those that still work there from her syndication years with that station where she is still mocked as a joke.

[veronica]

While I always defending her right to express her views, I have also always found Dr. Laura to be a preachy, judgemental shrew. Now it turns out she is a hypocrite on many levels.

She preaches family values, but ends up having posed nude, to say nothing of letting her mother die alone in an apartment, rotting away for weeks, undiscovered.

Now we find out her religious beliefs are paper-thin, and she' shopping for another way. She's a phoney.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Ditto yours.

Bump.

[foolscap]

This admission by Dr. Laura has made my opinion of her go up 100%. I am not a fan of her show because I think she lacks compassion. I have heard her make statements that are needlessly harsh and are simplistic to say the least. I am happy to see that she does have the ability to examine herself. If your religion isn't working it isn't working and it takes personal integrity to admit that. She seems to be unwilling to live a lie. Many people stay in religions that do not meet their needs out of fear of a punitive God, fear of what others will think, fear of looking at themselves or just plain laziness. What they forget is that God looks upon the heart and he certainly knows a line of bull when he hears it. Maybe she will begin to realize that life is not always black and white and that sometimes the best choice is the one that appears wrong on the surface.

I believe that God honors honesty more that any other quality. By being honest with ourselves we open the door for change. Outward compliance to a faith one really does not believe in is a poisonous form of hypocrisy. I am in hopes that she will begin to see that real moral choices comes from a place deep in the heart not from Bible knowledge someone shoved in your head. Sometimes it is the process of getting there that is more important than doing what looks good to the outside world. The difficult path of making mistakes, getting it wrong, learning a better way is superior to having payed lip service to a moral code that has no true meaning to the individual

One of the main reasons I tend to turn away from the church is because I see a whole lot of Christan "look good". We all get together and make all the right noises. There is so much unspoken angst that one can almost chock in that atmosphere if they are the least bit sensitive. I would vastly prefer to hear people talk about what is really going on with them instead of trying to put on a theology they really don't believe in the hopes that it will fix them. what they don't realize is that it will never work because they are trying to sidestep the rather painful and difficult times that comes from self examination. They tend to think that others are a better expert on who they are than they are themselves. They tend to think their pastor can tell them everything they need to know about themselves and that somehow they will glen a meaningful faith. Pastor or those in religious leadership can certain offer ideas and insights but they can't do it for you. One must be willing to enter their own dark night of the soul with nothing but their faith in God to pull them through. Without this one will always be on the surface in terms of their relationship with God.

[farmer18th]

How sad that she chooses to reject her religion by the faxes her fans and listeners send her..

Theoretical religion is the arena of pastors and rabbis. Applied religion is the arena of the faithful. She probably saw the real thing in those letters.

Moreover, Dr. Laura's migration from error to the truth has been an ongoing process. She's matured politically and spiritually every year she's been on the air. This is just part of that process.

[Daveinyork]

Will Rogers once quipped that Christianity should not be judged by the actions of Christians. I think Dr. Laura, a person that I admire greatly, has made the same mistake regarding Judaism and Jews. My family and I have been abused by my fellow Jews in ways that my gentile friends would not dream of.

Much of the abuse I have taken lately is a result of my conservatism, and the unfortunate attachment of the majority of Jews to the Democratic party. Much of my family's abuse was as a result of our living in a small city, away from the Jewish neighborhood, which has set us apart.

My brother has made the same mistake as Dr. Laura, judging Judaism by the actions of those claiming to be Jewish, and he is now attending an evangalical church. I grieve over his decision, because, while I freely admit to being a sinner, my conservatism is affirmed by my Judaism, and my life principles are based on my Judaism, I also realise that my brother is getting a dose of Jewish life principles at the church, whether he knows it or not. We worship the same G-d, it's just that other guy he keeps mentioning that makes me involuntarily flinch.

I think, if Dr. Laura is looking for spiritual fullfillment, she is missing the whole point of Judaism. It is more rational than that. Loving the Lord does not mean getting a rush. It means following His law. I am distressed at her decision. but, I wish her well. She has done a great service for our country.

[veronica]

The ultimate test of anyone's belief system is how they live, not what they preach. Talk is cheap. Dr. Laura appears to talk a good game, but in the end, her actions indicate that there is a hole in her soul. What is a more basic element of any religion, than honor thy mother and father? That most basic of human callings was beyond her ability to fulfill. That's pretty pathetic and revealing.

[foolscap]

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

You have a very good point. If telling people to be perfect made them perfect we would have no problems in the word. I remember her discussion with one caller that was so harsh and judgmental it made my stomach turn. A young woman who was engaged to be married called and told Dr. Laura she did not feel she wanted to have children. Dr, Laura came down on her like a ton of brick. She told her she was selfish and that God mission for us was to be fruitful and multiply. I thought this gal was telling the truth about what was really in her heart and that since her fiancé wanted children it was better to end the engagement. The caller's point was valid it would be unfair to marry a man who wanted a family if you did not agree with the the game plain. It is much less selfish for her to make what was obviously a painful choice and allow this man to find someone who can help him meet his dreams for his own life. Having children you don't want to have because of outside pressure is very selfish no matter what Dr. Laura says