July 19, 2007 | 12:35 pm

Holocaust denial or alter kaker row?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Loyal readers know that I wasn’t raised Jewish and that my strongest association with Jewishness is with experiencing anti-Semitism. The potent embodiment of that is the Holocaust. My belief—based on 4,000 years of history—is that the world does not care if you practice Judaism if your last name is Greenberg. To anti-Semites, you’re a “Jew.”

I say this as a preface to what will follow, because I have no interest in spurring Alan Dershowitz to start a campaign to deny me tenure at The Journal. I am not a revisionist. I know the Holocaust happened, and I lament the fact so many Jews my generation want to separate themselves from the guilt of that memory—lest we forget.

And I understood the concern of eastern Ventura County Jews this week as they dealt with what they believed was a Holocaust denier who had used a public facility to spread his hate. From today’s Jewish Journal:

The way Jews in the Conejo Valley describe it, Joseph Goebbels would be proud of the propaganda proffered as academic discourse at the Goebel Senior Adult Center last month. That’s when John Bravos, a commissioner of the publicly funded facility, focused a lecture in his comparative religion series on the Holocaust. The first question asked by a flier for the event was: “Did it happen?”

When about a dozen seniors showed up, Bravos began by talking about deniers who use the phrase “so-called Holocaust,” comparing the atrocities of World War II to other genocides and saying that far fewer Jews were murdered by the Nazis than historians have long believed.

“I was devastated and irate and just very insulted and offended,” said Honey Bencomo, a 67-year-old Jewish woman from Agoura Hills who attended the lecture with her husband, who is Catholic. “He was talking about something that is a very significant part of Jewish history and was saying it didn’t happen.”

But when I talked to Bravos, I wasn’t sure he had been understood correctly. What I heard were the words not of a Holocaust denier, or “revisionist,” but of a confused octogenarian.

And from the rancor exhibited at Tuesday’s meeting—a meeting of more than 200, where Jews attacked the motives of other Jews who defended the accused—it seems that no matter what his intent was, the damage to the Conejo’s Jewish community has been far more substantial than the pain of hearing a “nutcase” (Bravos’ word) like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad call the Holocaust a myth.

July 19, 2007 | 10:21 am

LA Archdiocese to sell headquarters

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Well, we knew this was coming. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said yesterday it needs to sell up to 50 properties, including its Wilshire headquarters to fund at least $250 million of that $660 million settlement with alleged sexual abuse victims (insurers and religious order pick up the rest). From the LA Times:

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and others have said the archdiocese, which drained its litigation reserve fund in payouts for a partial clergy-abuse settlement in December, will try to avoid harming “essential ministries” and does not plan to sell any parish or school properties.

Still, the archdiocese, the most populous in the country, “will have to be a much leaner operation than it is now,” church attorney J. Michael Hennigan said.

Sounds a bit like the problems facing the news business, except, of course, for the sexual perversion.

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July 19, 2007 | 10:13 am

Question for the day

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Is proselytizing a dirty word, either by design or association, and does it imply coercion or deception?

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July 18, 2007 | 5:50 pm

Ain’t anti-Semitism great?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Dog bites man—that’s what I thought when I saw this headline in today’s Ventura County Star: “Anti-Defamation League official decries anti-Semitism.”

I e-mailed the story to a former colleague and he made these comparisons:

“NAACP leader says lynching is bad.”

“Dodgers don’t like Giants very much.”

“Hell hot, heaven not.”

It is possible, though, to be a non-loathing Jew who thinks anti-Semitism has to an extent helped the Jewish community. UCLA law prof Eugene Volokh made that case last month in the Wall Street Journal.

Modest amounts of anti-Semitic speech and unfair criticism of Israel, it seems to me, can strengthen American Jews’ self-identity as Jews, and thus indirectly both support the preservation of the American Jewish community as a community, and strengthen support for Israel. Feeling embattled as a group tends to strengthen group solidarity. Hearing unfair criticisms for Israel tends to strengthen the sense that Israel is unfairly embattled and deserves more support. Feeling some fear of anti-Semitism reminds American Jews of the value of preserving American Jewish institutions. And it reminds American Jews of the value of protecting Israel, in case one day American Jews may need refuge somewhere just as European Jews once did. (“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.”)

First, I want to repeat an important phrase: MODEST AMOUNTS. Second, I want to ask that comments to this blog post not be anti-Semitic, unless, of course, you are Sacha Baron Cohen or the guys at Heeb.

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July 18, 2007 | 3:04 pm

Selling Harry Potter on Shabbat against the law

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Who cares whether Harry Potter is a Christian, you’re about to get fined whatever his faith if you’re an Israeli bookseller planning on making bank when the final installment in the “Potter” series comes out Saturday morning. My colleague Adam Wills is talking about the story over at his blog, GeekHeeb.

Since it’s happening on Shabbat, Orthodox Israeli lawmakers are having apoplectic fits about bookstores staying open on the day of rest to take part in the Potter-mania. In fact, Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai is threatening to fine stores that sell the book before Shabbat ends.

“Israeli law forbids businesses to force their employees to work on the Sabbath, and that applies in this case as well. The minister will fine and prosecute any businesses which violate the law,” Shas Party spokesman Roei Lachmanovich said.

That’s bad news, not just for Israeli Harry Potter fans—and what about observant Jews who will break Shabbat throughout the world to get a copy?—but particularly for Steimatzky, Israel’s largest bookseller, which says it has a contractual agreement to begin selling “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at the same time as everyone else.

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July 18, 2007 | 2:38 pm

The Muslim challenge to evolution

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The NY Times had a story yesterday about the creationist textbook sent around the world. The book, “Atlas of Creation,” was not the product of the Discovery Institute or Answers in Genesis, but that of a Turkish Muslim, Harun Yahya.

At 11 x 17 inches and 12 pounds, with a bright red cover and almost 800 glossy pages, most of them lavishly illustrated, “Atlas of Creation” is probably the largest and most beautiful creationist challenge yet to Darwin’s theory, which Mr. Yahya calls a feeble and perverted ideology contradicted by the Koran.

In bowing to Scripture, Mr. Yahya resembles some fundamentalist creationists in the United States. But he is not among those who assert that Earth is only a few thousand years old. The principal argument of “Atlas of Creation,” advanced in page after page of stunning photographs of fossil plants, insects and animals, is that creatures living today are just like creatures that lived in the fossil past. Ergo, Mr. Yahya writes, evolution must be impossible, illusory, a lie, a deception or “a theory in crisis.”

 

“In fact,” the Times reports, “there is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution as an explanation for the complexity and diversity of life on earth”—which is something you’ve read here before. Most scientists, even God-fearing ones like Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project, believe evolution exists alongside the Creator.

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July 18, 2007 | 12:18 pm

Second Coming of Christ

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Wal-Mart, which some believe is the anti-Christ, is about to start carrying 12-inch Jesus dolls. He will join Samson, Goliath and Daniel in the lion’s den on toy shelves, according to USA Today. Photos can be seen here.

The toys were created by One2Believe, a Valencia, Calif.-based company I ran into when I was at the LA Daily News. Personally, I think this is a noble effort, with a niche market, but as I kid, I would still prefer to play with my Ninja Turtles.

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July 18, 2007 | 9:32 am

Nothing’s hotter than Africa

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

That seems pretty clear from the July issue of Vanity Fair, guest-edited by U2’s Bono and entered dedicated to issues affecting the continent. It’s something I make a prolonged point of in a lengthy story that will run in The Jewish Journal’s philanthropy issue next week.

Two major Christian magazines also thought African development—“Health and Wealth” and “The (Prosperity) Gospel”—was big news this month and published these side-by-side dueling covers.
The Christianity Today issue came out first (I have a story inside it about whether Christian’s can stop sinning), and having the same cover focus is incredibly common for the national newsweeklies Time and Newsweek. But usually it would take an event the magnitude of Billy Graham dying or Christ returning to generate such like-mindedness in among Christians.

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July 17, 2007 | 7:28 pm

If baseball is religion, Bonds is the devil

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

An article on the op-ed page of today’s LA Times has very little to do with religion. But it is written by a Jewish former sportswriter at the NY Times—yeah, that narrows the field—who this spring inspired my post about the lack of Jews in professional sports.

Gerald Eskenazi laments in his op-ed what will soon happen to baseball—the hormonal-freak Barry Bonds will hit his 756th home run and pass Hammerin’ Hank on the all-time list. You can feel the spirit being sucked out of America’s pastime as you read Eskenazi’s piece. Here are some snippets.

A lot of the great numbers already have been surpassed, and we accept that. Gone forever is 60, Babe Ruth’s single-season home-run number. Strewn among the ruins of history is 2,130, the number of consecutive games played by Lou Gehrig. The persnickety Ty Cobb lost his 96, once the single-season stolen-base record. (Perhaps the only iconic number left is 56, the number of consecutive games in which Joe DiMaggio hit safely.)

But now, a venerable number — one could argue, quite convincingly, it is baseball’s second-greatest behind Bonds’ single-season homer mark of 73 — is about to be usurped by this incredible (enhanced?) performer, and something will be gone from the game. ...

Bonds’ accomplishment will not make people happy, at least the ones who don’t live in San Francisco. And that is the really sad part, for me, about Bonds’ Homerific run. It’s one more whittling away at the game. ...

Yet here’s my confession: I will — unhappily — vote for Bonds, the anti-hero, when his Hall of Fame time comes.

I’m a Dodgers fan, so I think you know what I would do. But what about you?

(Cartoon: OC Register)

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July 17, 2007 | 4:43 pm

Faith on your cell phone

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I get a lot of press releases pitching the coolest, newest way to make religion more convenient. Here’s one promoting Verizon Wireless’ new MyFaith service.

In today’s increasingly fast-paced and secular world, many Southern California residents may find it difficult to juggle spiritual inspiration and devotion with busy social schedules, work commitments and other constant time demands.

Thanks to two services from Verizon Wireless, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Sikhs can keep their religious faith close to them during high-speed, on-demand days.  Features include:

  * Daily Prayer Devotions - Search for prayers and verses from six different faiths through the vast catalogue of inspirational material - when it’s most needed.

  * Daily Text Alerts – Sign up to receive a daily text message with quotes from the Bible, Qur’an, Dhammapada or Talmud.

  * Religious Holidays - Planning religious celebrations into your schedule is easy with the handy reference calendar of religious events.

  * Spiritual Ringback Tones - Customized ringback tones featuring inspirational music from today’s top stars including, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, MercyMe and more.

In addition to these services, MyFaith subscribers also have access to religious wallpaper and fast facts about their religious faith, along with multilingual support in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

I remember writing only two years about what seemed a novel new approach to missing the Sunday sermon—catching up with the podcast, er, Godcast. And then there was that drive-thru church service in Iowa (not to be confused with the spoof below).

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July 17, 2007 | 8:38 am

Elijah the prophet: Hunting for a gay man to kill

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

There is an odd and tragic story coming out of Houston these days. A guy about my age walked into a bar, looking for a gay man to kill. He met a 46-year-old, had a few drinks with him and then went back to his home, where, the suspect told the Houston Chronicle, he stabbed his new friend with a “six-inch blade.”

No worries, the suspect told the paper last weekend.

“I believe I’m Elijah, called by God to be a prophet,” said 26-year-old Terry Mark Mangum, charged with murder June 11. ” ... I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing.”

Interviewed in the Brazoria County Jail Saturday morning, Mangum said he feels no remorse for killing 46-year-old Kenneth Cummings Jr., whom relatives described as a “loving” son who never forgot a holiday and a devoted uncle who had set up college funds for his niece and nephew. He worked at Southwest for 24 years.

Mangum, who described himself as “definitely not a homosexual,” said God called on him to “carry out a code of retribution” by killing a gay man because “sexual perversion” is the “worst sin.”

Mangum believed Cummings to be gay.

“I planned on sending him to hell,” he said. ...

“It’s not that I’m a bad dude,” he said, expressing concern that people might view him as “strange.” Pausing briefly, he said, “I love God.”

Andrew Sullivan asks on his blog, “And this is different from Islamist barbarism how, exactly?”—a question I think is impossible to answer without knowing Mangum’s sincerity or sanity. Does he really believe God sent him to slay sinners, or is he really crazy?

Islamic extremists may be impressionable people who have given into an ideology of hate—and not peace, as American Muslim leaders and President Bush say—but they have their wits. The medical professionals arrested last month in the Britain terror plot prove that.

(Photo: BiblePlaces.com)

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July 17, 2007 | 8:07 am

Is Harry Potter a Christian?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I didn’t even realize this was a possibility, what with J.K. Rowling accused of being a Wiccan and some
Christians not thinking it safe for their children to read the Harry Potter books.

But the seventh and final installment comes out at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and the news stories are starting to go around and some people are looking to define the religious landscape within which Harry lives. Here’s Potter man Jeffrey Weiss over at the DMN religion blog’s take.

I find it as strange that some Christians claim that Potter is explicitly Christian as I find those Christians who find it explicitly Satanic. At least for the first six books, Rowling has been astonishingly a-religious. Zero mentions of God, Satan, angels, prayer, the Bible, heaven, or hell. Christmas is presented denuded of any religious explanation or ritual. Even Dumbeldore’s funeral included no hint of explicit religion, much less Christianity. 

But it’s written broadly enough that I wouldn’t argue with someone who finds Christian meaning in there. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Zoroastrian meaning, either. Whatever someone finds between the lines of a text is there for that reader. And Rowling leaves a lot of room between some of her lines.

  The best argument I can find in the extensive online chat as evidence of explicit religion in HP is a sideways one

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