GO TO HELL
Every so often, it happens that Christian clergy or laity, Christians of notoriety or insignificance call upon Jews to accept Jesus into their lives as the savior. Alternately, these same Christians warn Jews that as long as they continue to reject Jesus as the savior, they are destined to go to hell when they depart this world. I wish it weren’t so, but more than a few Jews have a knee jerk reaction to such statements. They go ballistic. To say that I am amused by the statements of such Christians; to say that I am horrified by the reactions of such Jews would be an understatement.
Do you really think that I give a damn what such Christians believe about me and my people? If I can soundly reject their belief in Jesus as the savior, then I can also dismiss any remarks they make as a result of their belief in Jesus as the savior. As long as Christians commit no acts of anti-Semitism or propose reinstating Crusades, Inquisitions or Pogroms, I adopt the attitude of “zollen zei leben un zein gezunt” or as the late Leonard Nemoy in his role as Mr. Spock was wont to say: “Live long and prosper.”
Having made mention of Crusades, Inquisitions and Pogroms, I cannot help but feel that any Christian who is so concerned about Jewish souls as well as the destination where those Jewish souls are most assuredly headed because of Jewish theological pigheadedness, ought to look twice… and twice again before uttering the name of Jesus and Jewish souls in the same breath. The amount of Jewish blood that has soaked into the soil of this world over the centuries (for the record Christians had absolutely no problem shedding Moslem blood or the blood of fellow Christians as well) in the name of Jesus is nothing short of reprehensible. Funny thing though, I have yet to hear any Christian raise a question similar to the baseless question raised by far too many Jews over these last seven plus decades: How could Jesus sit by and do nothing while such carnage continues?
If Christians believe that G-d sent His son, His one and only son (sound familiar?) to earth so that the world could behold his birth, share his life and witness his death, all the power to them! If Christians believe that the second coming can only come about, when he is acknowledged and accepted by all as the savior, they are out of bounds and out of control. It is a terrible sin to believe at the expense of others! It is a deep embarrassment to believe at the validation of others!
Once upon a time in America, we were taught that “sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” America of today seems to take the exact opposite tack. As a child, I remember coming home crying when a Christian neighbor called me a Christ Killer. Since then, I’ve found much more important and meaningful things to cry over. I no longer cry at being called a Christ Killer (few, if any in our culture of today would have the temerity to call any Jew a Christ Killer). I summarily dismiss being told I will end up in hell – certainly as a result of my beliefs.
But I do cry over Christians who feel that they need to have their beliefs shared….or else. I do cry over Jews who go ballistic over well intentioned comments (I truly see these comments as such – so much for intention) by Christians who only wish to save our souls. I cry because there are so many more important things to cry over in this world.
