National Post, Jewish Owned, Supporting Traditional Christianity

[jbg]

This article, by Ted Byfield (link) describes the beginnings of a relatively new and hopefully very fruitful alliance, between the Jews and traditional Christians. My belief is that the Jews and Christians are natural allies. Pre-Vatican II it was difficult to see Catholics in on the party. Now it isn't.

Once the Christians were willing to admit that people, in good faith, could have differing views of Jesus' role, it became possible for natural areas of ecumenical cooperation to develop. In other words, the Jewish belief that Jesus was not the Messiah is perfectly tolerable to Christians. By the same token, Jews do not consider Christians to be violating the commandment against taking the name of G-d in vain or worshipping graven images by considering Jesus to be the Messiah.

In my home town, it started with the sharing of parking, and on occasion worship facilities when additional capacity was needed. Since then, it has expanded to such areas as the support of Israel, and support of democracy generally, since totalitarianiasm is hostile to pretty much all religion at the end of the day.

The Jews have specialized learning and knowledge in some areas, but lack numbers. The Christians have the numbers, and of course learning in other areas.

Link to excerpts of article below (link).

Voice of traditional Christianity

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Posted: December 30, 2006

1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Ted Byfield

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© 2006

The National Post, founded eight years ago by then-newspaper mogul Conrad Black to challenge the hitherto exclusive claim of the Globe and Mail to be Canada's "national newspaper," signaled last week a clear intention to become the country's media voice of traditional Christianity.

It marked the Christmas season with a series of articles on the Christian religion in Canada, every one of which fulfilled the promotional description of the series, carried each day:

"With interest in spirituality on the rise and church attendance in a freefall, a week-long National Post series considers the state of Canadian Christianity and whether the way forward may in fact be the way backward."

The articles that followed, all of them well researched, convincingly contended that liberal experimentation over the past half century in all the churches, the Catholic included, had proven an almost unmitigated disaster. The churches that were distinctly not in a "freefall" were precisely the ones that had refused to compromise either doctrinally or morally. The overall effect was a clear demonstration that "the way forward" may indeed be "the way backward."

*snip*

Then in 2000, Black's media empire began to come under pressure from American security regulators. He consequently sold both the Post and the Southam chain to the Asper family of Winnipeg, who were liberal and Jewish. Since the Post was by then hemorrhaging money, the Aspers cut back the staff and editorial content. Whyte was soon gone and many columnists with him. (Whyte is now both editor and publisher of Macleans, Canada's national news magazine.) Liberaldom, centered as always around the Globe, waited gleefully for the Aspers to close down Black's creation and the Globe's upstart rival.

But the Aspers didn't do it. Instead, they gradually acquired a phalanx of conservative columnists, luring back some who had quit, and finding new ones. One of these was a Catholic priest, Fr. Raymond de Souza, whose even-handed commentary on religio-political issues and obvious respect for biblical Protestantism began to alert the practicing Christians in the country to the fact that there finally existed a national newspaper that did not regard them as absurd.

The gulf with the Globe also became blatantly obvious in the editions published the day before Christmas. The Globe favored a delicately "traditional" and secular Christmas with scenes of snowy landscapes or horse-drawn sleighs. The Post unabashed ran scenes of Bethlehem and the Christ child. The difference may seem innocuous, but some could read into it the declaration of an impending war. About the new secularist Canada, in which God must be confined to the realm of personal inclination and nothing more, the Post had reservations. It wasn't buying in.

One oddity is, of course, that what is becoming Canada's most conservative and Christian daily newspaper is owned by Jews who used to be card-carrying liberals. In fact, the late Izzy Asper, founder of this Winnipeg dynasty, was at one time leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. But these are unusual times. The Aspers are keen Zionists, and Canada's liberal left has set itself determinedly against Israel. Evangelical Protestantism, meanwhile, has taken to championing Israel, as has the Conservative Harper government.

So the times, as Mr. Dylan once noticed, are definitely a'changin'.

[jdobbin]

This article, by Ted Byfield (link) describes the beginnings of a relatively new and hopefully very fruitful alliance, between the Jews and traditional Christians. My belief is that the Jews and Christians are natural allies. Pre-Vatican II it was difficult to see Catholics in on the party. Now it isn't.

Ted Byfield is a few decades late in making the observation on Christians and Jews.

http://www.cccj.ca/history.html

[Figleaf]

Fundamentalist Christians support Israel because they think it will lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy of the End Times. Supposedly the final apocalyptic battle will happen at Megido (Armageddon). I'd suggest to Israel that they should regard the 'friendship' of fundamentalist Christians as purposive and instrumental, rather than heartfelt and enduring.

[jefferiah]

Fundamentalist Christians support Israel because they think it will lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy of the End Times. Supposedly the final apocalyptic battle will happen at Megido (Armageddon). I'd suggest to Israel that they should regard the 'friendship' of fundamentalist Christians as purposive and instrumental, rather than heartfelt and enduring.

How nice of you to speak on behalf of Christians? However I would say you are wrong. I am not a strict Christian but my father and some of my family members are quite fundamentalist Protestants and I have read alot of their literature since there is always some nearby. Nowhere in what I have read is there anything mentioned about trying to speed up the end times or Armageddon. I have heard of maybe a few whacko groups who believe in this, but not mainstream fundamentalists. The first place I actually heard of this phenomenon of fundamentalists (even though I grew up among them) wanting to speed up Armageddon was actually from accusations against them by people who are dead set against Christianity. Alot of these people were friends of mine who had no knowledge of the religion anyway.

[jbg]

Fundamentalist Christians support Israel because they think it will lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy of the End Times. Supposedly the final apocalyptic battle will happen at Megido (Armageddon). I'd suggest to Israel that they should regard the 'friendship' of fundamentalist Christians as purposive and instrumental, rather than heartfelt and enduring.

The motives of any one person or group of people are unknowable (unless they tell you of course) and vary over time. The Jews, as a group, have survived by taking the allies available to them.

Ironically, for a long time, that was the Muslims. The point of my initial post was that the Jews have a lot to offer as allies, but clearly need at least some group with numbers to make common cause with.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear jbg,

By the same token, Jews do not consider Christians to be violating the commandment against ... worshipping graven images by considering Jesus to be the Messiah

This bit isn't true, though...at least not universally. I regularly read 'Ask the Rabbi' from Arutz Sheva (which had changed it's format to include only a few archived questions), which has derided christians as 'idol-worshippers'. Jews are supposed to be forbidden from entering the churches of, or attending the religious services of, those 'idol-worshippers'.

Granted, there are varying degrees of devotion, as with any religion, with Orthodox Jews being quite literal and strict regarding scripture.

Mr. Byfield's article seems to confuse politics and religion, taking the actions of an individual (family) which might rightly be called a 'sales gimmick', as acceptance of his religion by an entirely different group.

from...

http://israelnationalnews.com/english/news...i-31-Jul-03.htm

Someone who distorts the truth is considered to be like an idol worshipper.[3]

Harmony is so important that the permission to lie extends to bringing peace between any two individuals or groups.[9]

[jbg]

The material you cite is far from universally ascribed to. In fact, I would consider those views flaky.

[M.Dancer]

Apart from the sentiment........ the national post is NOT jewish owned...it is a public company owned by thousands...........

http://www.tsx.com/HttpController?GetPage=...oteSymbol_1=CGS

[Politico]

" Canada's liberal left has set itself determinedly against Israel."

There is a difference between being against Israel as certian extremest groups who will settle for nothing less than the destruction of Israel, and being critical of Israel's foreign policy.

P

[Figleaf]

How nice of you to speak on behalf of Christians?

I didn't. I spoke ABOUT fundamnentalists, not FOR them.