Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!rutgers!igor.rutgers.edu!geneva.rutgers.edu!christian
From: gt7122b@prism.gatech.edu (boundary)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: DID HE REALLY RISE???
Message-ID: <Apr.21.03.24.13.1993.1268@geneva.rutgers.edu>
Date: 21 Apr 93 07:24:13 GMT
Sender: hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology
Lines: 50
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

In article <Apr.15.00.57.56.1993.28857@athos.rutgers.edu> reedr@cgsvax.claremont.edu writes:
>
>> I disagree with your claim that Jews were not evangelistic (except in
>> the narrow sense of the word).  Jewish proselytism was widespread.
>> There are numerous accounts of Jewish proselytism, both in the New
>> Testament and in Roman and Greek documents of the day.

I am not so sure of Jewish proselytism then, but I would like to relate
an account of a recent dinner I had with Jews a few months ago.

The dinner was instigated by the aunt of the hostess, whom I had met while
visiting my wife in Galveston last October.  The dear old aunt (now 
deceased) was very proud of her Jewish heritage, although not especially
devout.  Her parents were both murdered in Nazi concentration camps in
Austria during WWII because they were Jewish.  While conversing with her
about politics, world affairs and religion, she remarked that it would 
be a good idea for me to visit her niece on my return to Atlanta.

Within two days of returning to Atlanta, her niece called to invite
me over for dinner with her husband.  I went, not knowing really what to
expect, other than stimulating conversation and fellowship.  What I got,
however, was rather unexpected.  The thrust of the evening's discussion
was to condemn the Reagan-Bush policies prohibiting abortion counseling 
in federally funded family planning clinics, prohibiting the sterilization
of minorities on welfare here and in Puerto Rico, on
the ban on fetal tissue research, and against the Mexico City policy,
"which denies U.S. foreign aid to programs overseas that promote abortion."

The crux of their position was to place the blame for the problems of
"overpopulation," rampant domestic crime, African starvation, unwed
mothers, etc., on Christianity, rather on the fall of Adam.  Now, this
is not what I had to come to talk about.  But every time I tried to 
bring up the subject of Judaism, they would condemn Jews for Jesus
and admonish me against converting to Judaism, "because it involves
too much study and effort."  And I did not even raise the prospect, nor
try to convert them to the truth of Christ!  There was certainly no
Jewish proselytism going on there.

And again, last November I toured a "traditional" Jewish synagogue and was
subjected to a 30-minute harangue against Jesus and Christianity in
general.  I realize that these are two isolated incidents, and that the
best supervisor I ever had at work is Jewish, but from my experience,
the modern Jew is not known for his proselytism.

 
-- 
boundary

no teneis que pensar que yo haya venido a traer la paz a la tierra; no he
venido a traer la paz, sino la guerra (Mateo 10:34, Vulgata Latina) 
