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I think Schumer and company need to clean up their own backyard before bloviating about Israel's leadership and political affairs. They won't even secure our own southern border. Personally, I think if anyone needs to be replaced, it's Joe Biden, Schumer, and the rest of the career politicians oblivious to our present social, political and economic chaos. 

It seems just yesterday (actually it was prior to 10/7/2023) "misgendering" someone was considered "hate speech" and students who committed this terrible crime faced disciplinary measures. No universities were protecting this under the guise of "free speech". Yet today one can call for the violent elimination of a nation state and harass students who ascribe to a certain religious belief over it, and it's "well colleges need to be a bastion of free speech".

While calling for the violent destruction of a nation and its people is never a good thing, when you "misgender" a person, you're going too far. (At least that seems to be the perspective these days).

I get that people are upset over the plight of the Palestinian civilians caught in the middle--even though great effort is being taken by Israel to minimize collateral damage. But people fail to understand that extreme measures are necessary in order to obliterate Hamas and avoid a repeat of the 10/7 attack. Perhaps if anti-Israel people had murderous next-door neighbors who denied their right to exist, they would get a clearer picture of the situation. (Especially if they fired shots at you using their family members as shields). 

"A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money".
--Sen. Everett Dirksen

Quote from: Sojourner on February 29, 2024, 08:42:25 PM

They seem to hold the opinion that if you worship a god other than Allah, you don't deserve to live.

Or if one worships the wrong flavor of Islam for that matter.

True dat. Sunni and Shia Muslims (among a few others brands), don't always play well together. I believe the differences originally stem from a dispute over Muhammad's rightful successor. Push come to shove though, they'd put aside their differences to unite against the "Great Satan and Little Satan".

I've always believed the best method of evangelizing is to live your testimony--demonstrating your faith day by day by showing love even to the unlovable, and trusting in the Lord in times of great adversity, which is what true faith is.

This is kind of a pejorative way of phrasing the idea. "Rigidly monotheistic"? No, that's what the bible says. You guys added on dozens of books that altered the existing theology. It doesn't mean that you're wrong, but at the very least, you have to admit that the bible is very different without them. And "the rabbis refrained"? Judaism comes from the bible, not "the rabbis". I can read it as well as they and come to the same conclusion.

I apologize if my statement seemed pejorative. I only sought to underscore a superlative sense of monotheism as being the reason Judaism rejects the idea of angelic beings having free will. (And I do not question the integrity of your acumen regarding Judaism). But don't the collective rabbinic writings outside of scripture form the basis for much of what modern Jews believe? For instance, on the topic of angels:

The idea that angels are essentially "programmed" for specific tasks, rather than being eternally-existing creatures with personalities who obey God out of free will; that angels sing God's praises in "shifts," and the angel who wrestled with Jacob was in a hurry to leave at dawn because it was time for his shift; that some angels are created for one specific task, and then cease to exist upon the task's completion; that some angels are created as a result of either good or bad human deeds.

These and other ideas are not clearly delineated in the tanakh, but are derived from the teachings of rabbis and scholars, who seek to expound and elucidate. Their pervasive influence on Judaism was the reason I referenced them.

Quote from: Sojourner on February 26, 2024, 03:04:51 PM

Just one of a number of points on which our two faiths diverge. Scripture actually presents examples of spirits influencing people. For instance, the spirit that tormented Saul, the spirit that the Lord rebukes in Zech 3:1, and the lying spirit in 1 Kings 22, dispatched to put lies in the mouths of Ahab's prophets.

God does not remove our free will, except in unique and exceptional circumstances. Hamas and their ilk are not being influenced by "spirits." They are bad people who make the conscious choice to do bad things.

I didn't imply that all acts of violence and hatred are compelled by malevolent spirits. People are perfectly capable of murder and mayhem of their own volition, and Hamas and all other Jew-haters are culpable for their own actions. But that does not negate the influence spirits can exert over people--such as the examples in scripture I cited, which you neither refuted nor acknowledged.

'The current age'? Can you be more specific?

3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:3)

18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20)

For it is My Father's will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44)

The age in which we're now living will end and a new one will commence, the day Jesus returns to gather those who belong to Him, execute judgment on the ungodly, and establish His kingdom. "Age" is a far more accurate translation of the Greek aionos than "world," as the KJV renders it.