Posted on 12/15/2006 9:11:04 AM PST by Zionist Conspirator
Chanukah reminds us that Judaism sees everything as a miracle. But Hellenism saw nothing as a miracle. To the Greeks, a miracle was an absurdity. To them, only what was reasonable, logical, and rational could be real. Miracles were illogical and, therefore, not possible.
The Greeks could never see the light of Chanukah, the light of miracles, because they only believed in the light of logic and reason. According to the Greeks, the world always existed, it never was created. History is an inevitable process — the present and the future are linked to the past and are the necessary outcome of the past. Nothing unusual will happen or can happen. History will march on, a consequence following consequence. Similarly, their view of G-d or gods was of super-beings detached from the world. Their gods didn't care about man. Therefore, miracles were impossible.
This is why Judaism irritated the Greeks so much, and this is why they decided to wipe it out. They first outlawed Sabbath and circumcision and the Jewish protocol for establishing the beginning of a Hebrew month on the onset of a new moon. Specifically, they focused on those areas, because the message of these Jewish rituals contradicted their world view of reason and logic.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
My fellow FReepers, I present to you the true meaning of Chanukkah, which is the exact opposite of what you have always been told. The Greeks weren't "narrow-minded chr*stian fundamentalists" but rational, scientific freethinkers. Judaism was attacked not because it was hip and modern but because it was fundamentalist. The fact of the matter is that America's liberal Jewish establishment are the foremost Hellenizers of our day and therefore the ideological successors to the Antiochenes who oppressed their ancient ancestors.
How I wish everyone who has been misinformed about the meaning of Chanukkah, whatever his position on the religious or political spectrum, could read this article and learn exactly why Chanukkah is important, why the Sages instituted it, and gain comfort and encouragement in their belief in the G-d of Israel.
A happy and blessed Chanukkah, in the true meaning of the festival, to each and every FReeper!
EXCUSE me ?!?!?!?!
Which "Christians" are you talking about, here? Certainly none I've ever met.
I always heard it was a celebration of the restoration of the Temple, an event recorded in the books of Maccabbees. Of couse, my Bible contains the books of Maccabbees. It's also an event which your author never bothers to mention ... he's too busy trashing the 'Greeks".
Thanks for posting. I always enjoy well written articles on subjects I am interested in and this is one of them.
They weren't "chr*stian fundamentalists" but they certainly were "narrow-minded" and not "freethinkers" at all, if you suppose that "freethinkers" favor freedom for others as well as themselves. (A debatable point, of course.)
Your article points out clearly (as do the Books of Maccabees), that the Greeks despised Judaism and wanted to eradicate it by any means necessary:
This is why Judaism irritated the Greeks so much, and this is why they decided to wipe it out. They first outlawed Sabbath and circumcision and the Jewish protocol for establishing the beginning of a Hebrew month on the onset of a new moon.
How about forcing Jews to choose between eating pork or being tortured and killed? Sounds pretty "narrow-minded" to me, sort of like something the Nazis would do.
Why do you not capitalize Christians?
And I'm sorry, but liberal Jews have turned Chanukkah into a celebration of the First Amendment rather than a celebration of the triumph of the One Truth over falsehood and an attempt to eradicate it. I never dreamed that in doing this I would offend chr*stians. I meant to set the record straight and offer comfort. I am sorry if it is not received.
I am well aware that the Books of the Maccabees are in the Catholic (and Orthodox, and Non-Chalcaedonian, and Non-Ephesine) bibles. But so is Genesis, and this hasn't prevented the ancient churches, in their zeal against "Protestant fundamentalism," from denigrating it and subjecting it to higher criticism.
1) That's their problem. And if the source of that idiocy is liberal Jews, rather than Christians, you might say so up front.
2) I guess I haven't met any of them. Really, I've never heard that before. Not even from the most secularised Jew I can think of among my friends and acquaintances. And certainly not from any Christians of my acquaintance.
Who did you think I was talking about? Did you even read my own comments in my first post?
I tried to do a good deed in posting this article. I'm sorry it's turned out to be anything but. Would you like the religion moderator to remove the thread? Would that please you?
Sheesh!
the "C" in Christian should be capitalized.
Every year at this time for decades chr*stians have been told that the message of Chanukkah is secularism, "religious freedom" (ie, freedom from religion), and the notion that there is no such thing as an objectively true religion to which all are obligated. This is contrasted with chr*stmas, which is made to represent G-d and religion.
In this paragraph, you employ the passive voice ("have been told") and leave the subject of the sentence (who is doing the telling) unspecified. One of the dangers of using the passive voice in this manner is that your readers must then guess at who the subject is.
Now, you have indeed specified: "... iberal Jews have been telling Christians ..." Thank you for clarifying. The whole business makes more sense, now.
And just for the record, I'm not one of the folks who goes around asking for post to be pulled, and folks to be banned. Freedom of speech is wonderful.
And really, I've never heard this Hannukah = First Amendment thing before. But if folks really are out there spreading such nonsense, setting the record straight is a good thing.
You surely don't believe I was ascribing this nonsense to conservative Catholics like yourself, do you?
Chanukkah has been transmogrified in America from a minor (but important) holiday to THE Jewish holiday for many reasons. For one, it falls around the same time as chr*stmas. For another, the story of an embattled minority resisting an aggressive majority trying to change its religious observances was so easily reinterpreted in a non-Theocratic, religiously pluralist context to refer to the right of anyone to worship absolutely anything (or nothing) at any time--and at the same time to represent liberal Jews' struggle with Fundamentalist Protestants whose sincere belief is that every single human being who isn't "born again" must be eternally damned.
And yes, there's a third reason Chanukkah was subject to this use which you referred to in one of your posts. Of the seven Jewish festivals--five commanded by G-d in the Torah and two initiated by the Sages--it is the only one whose origin story is not included in the Protestant bible. Therefore, liberal Jews could refer to Chanukkah and the Chashamannim without invoking the same benighted book that contains those "awful" Ten Commandments and prohibitions of homosexuality (not to mention the Six Day Creation!).
My intention in posting this article was to set the record straight and to point out that it is precisely the shallow, secular, scientistic outlook so precious to so many FReepers (see Kurt_D's post above) which the MaKaB"Y's fought against. Considering the enlightenment-worshipping atheist infestation on FR, I believe Chanukkah takes on extreme importance.
My apologies for whatever I posted that made my intentions hard to understand.
I hope you'll read this article if you haven't already, and that you won't be offended by it or misinterpret my posting it here as some have.
Thanks ZC. Christians need to be reminded of their Hebrew roots. It's a shame that many have not the slightest idea of them.
Blessed Chanukkah to you also.
Christians aren't muslims...I didn't ask you about how you spell muslims......you show how you feel baout Christ and Christians.
Christians founded the USA. Not muslims.
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