Dangerous DoctrinesThe War Is Not Over
As Dubcek disappeared, voices in Warsaw Krakow & Lodz, the few Jewish voices left in Poland recognized the signals of ominous change and began to speak out, mostly in the Universities. They were branded "Stalinist-Zionists".The Shoah winds showed that they were not gone. Poland's government did not openly show their support, but it was widely known that the emerging Nazi rhetoric and publications and ensuing pogroms could not have been done without their complicity. Gales became sharper, and prominent Jewish persons were once again removed from teaching posts, from government positions, from leadership in the arts and communications industries. Over 25,000 fled to freedom, survivors of the Shoah just 23 years afterward, in a time so volatile that it was clear that the Shoah could have easily have happened again. The Shoah still blows beyond Europe, every time the Jewish soul is degraded to something less than others; everytime someone who does not fit the image of another, e.g. the disabled, the deaf, the blind, the mentally handicapped, persons of color, the poor, is dismissed as not valuable, or eve detrimental. Anti-semitism is the sure barometer of the Gale that lies dormant but is not gone. Subtle IndoctrinationIn a suburbanite Sunday School class, eight years ago, my
college age daughter had to choose to leave, leading to our leaving the
church as well. The individual who taught the class expounded on the
dangers of rich Jewish bankers and world control, of reform Jews
"mongrelizing" the race. This was not a fringe church, nor did these
comments represent most of the members, indeed many would have been
appalled, but it was taught nonetheless and the Pastor dismissed it as a
free speech issue, refusing to have the man step down. And so it goes.
Traditional churches, not openly anti-semitic, allow a person here, a
person there; a piece of bad doctrine, a volatile publication to come into
their church. At first there is a dismissal of wrong doctrine or personal
opinion, then there comes a desensitization, and finally acquiescence, as
more and more hard-heartedness leads to the vilest anti-Semitism.
Dangerous Doctrines-A Few to Be DiscussedThere are additionally doctrines that have lasted for centuries which are still espoused today by mainline denominations which while not overtly anti-semitic, have as their natural outcome, the degradation or dismissal of the Jewish nation all the while espousing a Jewish savior. Each of these will be looked at in turn. When we begin to talk of negative aspects of persons doctrines, we know we are treading on difficult ground, as wars have been started on issues such as doctrinal differences. We ask that the reader consider carefully whether the doctrine they have held even for generations is biblical, or whether it is convention, and prayerfully ask the reader to consider the outcome and effect of dangerous doctrines. Click on Links to the Right for further information. Characteristics of Doctrines Which Degrade, Dismiss, Replace or Erase the JewsWhile each of the "Dangerous Doctrines" mentioned bear some similarities, each also are distinctly different. Some of the doctrines, such as "Replacement Theology", Amillenialism, Post-millenialism and culpability doctrines are widely disbursed throughout churches of otherwise differing theological bases. Some are lesser wide-spread, such as British-Israelism, but form the base for many if not most White Aryan Churches which actively promote open prejudice and/or violence against the Jews. Some are hardly considered at all, such as fringe doctrines or biblical translations, and yet un-named and recognized they wind their way into contemporary theological thinking and training without consideration. Following are some characteristics which most "Dangerous Doctrines" share.
The Characteristics of "Dangerous Doctrines"
What Makes a Doctrine Dangerous?
 Why is the Jewish Nation important in Christian Doctrine? It is because the sovereign plan of God integrally includes the Jews: their name means "Praise", they are set apart as the saints (kodeshim or holy ones), as the Gates of the New Jerusalem, and as the inheritors of the Covenants, Oracles, The Word, The Messiah and Salvation. (Romans 9-12) Their destination by
FAITH is the same as Christians, though all must come through Messiah. The 'slumbering' referred to in Romans is not a 'cutting-off' of the Jews as is so often interpreted, but a suspension of belief while the fulness of the Gentiles comes in, at which point they take their place as rightful heirs to the promises, in covenant and belief.(Romans 9-12)A doctrine of any sort becomes dangerous when any part of God's sovereign plan becomes thwarted, twisted, redefined in secular or spiritual terms, or omitted. The doctrines listed on this page, often use a deceptive and subterranean sophistry to develop their arguments: they include real scriptures, and real truths, developing them for the listener first, and then make 'pitch' for their particular line of reasoning, often using doctrine and scriptures out of context or ascribing to them a 'hidden' or esoteric meaning that only a select few are privy to. "Dangerous Doctrines" are often subtle but even brief study on the topics can alert persons to their major warning points. A main characteristic of true doctrine, is that it does not involve coercion: while one may attempt to argue or prove a doctrinal point, the listener is left to freely decide without pressure. While not all "dangerous doctrines" coerce belief, many do: some become even cult-like in their determined efforts to win converts. Our main aim in this section, is not to merely warn about caustic beliefs or cultish beliefs, many sites have been devoted to that topic, but to particularly look at the doctrines which lend themselves to anti-semitism. Many of these doctrines are not 'blantantly' anti-semitic but most have what happens to the Jews or who they are as a central issue. Some, such as British Israelism claim that the Jews of today are not the Jews of yesterday: this allows for an easy dismissal. Others seem them as overtly or covertly as inferior or evil, a race which is either dying out, not heir to salvation or the promises of God, or at least not like others, or outright evil. The introduction of these concepts and others like them into the Church body often forms itself first in doctrinal arguments. While many churches have well defined doctrines that change little from generation to generation, i.e. Methodists, Southern Baptists, Presbyterian/Reform, and so on, two difficulties may occur which can give rise to the growth of "dangerous doctrines" in a congregation. One is a congregation with ill-defined doctrine, or 'open doctrine' (one church has as their motto "No doctrine but Christ") which sounds laudable, but may lead to an oblique mix of doctrinal positions and hence division) and the second problem is a church with doctrine of centuries, where there is blind or implicit acceptance of the doctrines without question |
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A common question asked of those who study the holocaust is, "When did the War end?" The questioner, looking for a time or date or place, wants a limit or threshold: the War ended here...the war ended then, The answer to the question, "When did the war end, when did the Shoah end?" is "It did not end". It is seen in every anti-semitic
feeling, every tiny hatred. It bred and became silent and went
underground. The Shoah blew sometimes in a larger and more cruel wind , as
in 1968 when the tanks rolled into Prague and free voices were silenced.
