posted 04-12-2001 10:07 AM            

Put your keyboards under your desk and do not link to askjeeves until all the tests are distributed.

Here is the birth name of a famous Jewish person: Eugene Maurice Orowitz.

When he went into acting, he chose his stage name out of a phone book.

posted 04-12-2001 10:33 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by maud:
not understanding how dershowitz ties into this whole saga? please explain.

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________________

Have you read the winning script by Pete Jones? (It would help in this discussion if you have. The script is from last August and Pete has made some changes, but from the way Ben described the movie in his latest interview, not more than a week ago, the movie is about an Irish-Catholic boy and a Jewish boy who investigate their own religious heritages to discover what they need to do to get the Jewish boy into heaven.)

The Jewish boy is dying of leukemia. At one point in the script, the Irish Catholic type (also named Pete) goes to a Catholic priest to get a "host" - the symbolic body of Jesus - to give the dead boy as a gift, so God will let him into heaven. Pete didn't hit a home run in a baseball game, and he decided this was because his Jewish friend wasn't up in heaven to bless him with a miracle of improved batting skills.

Do you remember what Jesus said on the cross? "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When you are actually at the moment of death, when you have no options and you are in terrible pain, unbearable pain, and you know that you are about to die, why, that's a good time to convert to the religion that gives you the best shot at a idyllic afterlife, isn't it?

In Judaism, when you die, your spirit remains "in the grave" or "in the tomb" and it remains in a place that is silent and dark. In some forms of Judaism, your spirit remains that way forever and ever. In some other forms of Judaism, you will remain that way until the Messiah comes to end this universe and create a better one in its place. either way, the Jewish faith offers an extended period of silent darkness, which is not always a pleasant thought to young children of the age of 7 through 11.

So, when a Jewish child is dying, it is a darn good time to get him to reconsider his options. Maybe you should accept christ as your Savior, because that way, you know, you can get to heaven. The Pope guarantees it.

Only the Pope doesn't guarantee it. The offical Catholic line is the same as the Jewish one. Your spirit remains in darkness, in the grave, until Jesus returns in the clouds with power, and then Jesus will judge all humans who ever lived, and those he finds worthy will be raised up in eternal spiritual bodies.

So, Pete's movie is targeted at young children, particularly Jewish children. It raises the terrible doubt that if a Jewish child dies without accepting Christ, then maybe God won't let him into heaven. When Pete doesn't hit the home run, he's certain that Danny isn't in heaven. And all the Jewish children in the audience will start to think, "What if he's right?" Maybe I'm not going to heaven because I'm Jewish.

And this is where Alan Dershowitz comes in. Alan has written a book in which he eloquently states a position, explaining why he is afraid Judaism is going to become extinct in America within the next century. I gave it as background material because most Catholics don't see this as a problem.

Here's the default position: 85% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. In some way, most of them think you need help to get into heaven. Maybe 45% think you need to accept Christ as your Savior.

The other 40% may think being a good person and leading a good life is enough, that God will judge you on deed rather than belief.

Do you know the difference between the Old and the New Testament? To a 7 year-old, the Old Testament would be the one they don't use any more, because it's old. And the New would be the one they use now, because they call it "New."

But the Jews are still using the "Old" Testament and they think the "New" is a creative piece of fiction. But you can't have a Jewish character actually saying that in a movie because (a) Jews don't usually say it too loud, or in public, or in any place where non-Jews are likely to hear it because it would be offensive to Christian beliefs, and (b) it would make the Jewish character sound too intelligent.

So, IF you would like to understand why Jews would take offense at the hero of a movie, the protagonist, a cute as a button poster child for being Irish, would declare himself on a holy quest to convert a Jewish person, then you really have to read some of the Jewish opposition to Christians who want to convert Jews, who feel they are doing Jews a favor by offering them Jesus and praying for them to accept Christ as their Savior.

I really think if you read both Dershowitz's book and Pete's script, you will be able to answer the question yourself.

posted 04-13-2001 10:48 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Pickel87:
You know bill if you really believed in your religious beliefs and you were a good father who taught his children you wouldn't be so terrified.

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This is what I call "Fundie nonsense" or more often, "Fundie intimidation tactics."

Have you read about the protest over Johnny Hart's "B.C." Easter cartoon?

http://www.creators.com/comics/JHStatement.php4 www.cnn.com/2001/US/04/13/cartoonflap.ap/index.html

posted 04-13-2001 11:34 AM            

DAVID LETTERMAN
What's the (bleeping) problem this time?

posted 04-13-2001 11:38 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Pickel87:
You know bill if you really believed in your religious beliefs and you were a good father who taught his children you wouldn't be so terrified.

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ANSWER:

(1) I really do believe in my own religious beliefs. I know this is hard for you to comprehend. You think that anyone who has a belief different than yours must be insecure because they know their beliefs are wrong. That's the thinking behind Pete's script, that the Jewish kid has to be worried about getting into heaven unless he passes the tests. Yeah, right.

(2) Other various comments, already posted too many times.

posted 04-13-2001 11:50 AM            

so, we have a press release to 1,300 newspapers around the country from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Social Action Institute with a membership of over 400,000 families in the US. The Center is an NGO at international agencies including the UN, UNESCO, and the OSCE.

So, this is just a bunch of individuals insecure in their own beliefs and worldviews, right? In YOUR opinion All 400,000 of them?

Why the protest? A comic strip that will appear Sunday. (Maybe. In some papers, maybe not. Seems the Sunday pages have already been printed, so most will go out with a sidebar in the main paper about the story.)

Here's a comment by ()Jolkovsky, editor in chief of www.JewishWorldReview.com.

"Unlike supposedly open-minded individuals such as Abraham Foxman, whose Anti-Defemation League seems to scour America for "insensitivity" or "hate" against Jews, I am secure in my beliefs and worldview. A nativity scene on public property does not bother me. A comic strip in honor of a holy season not my own doesn't send a chill down my spine nor make my blood boil..."

Can you read the underlying text?

To some Jews, public displays that attack Jewish beliefs or target jewish children for conversion "make their blood boil"...

The message in the comic strip is only going to appear one Sunday. The HBO series on the making of Stolen Summer will run for 12 weeks, giving lots of time to get the protests going.

posted 04-13-2001 01:14 PM            

im gonna guess woody allen . only cause i know he is jewish and he is older.

quote:

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Originally posted by billhays:
POP QUIZ.

Put your keyboards under your desk and do not link to askjeeves until all the tests are distributed.

Here is the birth name of a famous Jewish person: Eugene Maurice Orowitz.

When he went into acting, he chose his stage name out of a phone book.

Under what name do we know him?

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posted 04-14-2001 11:55 AM            

Also try http://www.jdl.org

posted 04-15-2001 12:17 PM            

...companies such as Paramount Classics, Miramax and USA Films swirled around, apparently poised to purchase it for distribution. Three months later, every major distributor has passed on the film. For that ( ) blame - in part - the Simon Wiesenthal Center...

"My interpretation of what happened is that the studio determined that the upside of the movie in no way equaled the potential downside. In terms of how much money they could make? Maybe a few million bucks. The downside was the studio gets smeared with some horrible reaction from Jewish organizations..."

Hmmm. Sounds vaguely familiar, although it is a different movie. A movie that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, according to the article.

Okay, this is for TechSupport, so I'll post the rest on "Schmooze with Pete" somewhere.

posted 04-15-2001 04:14 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by billhays:
POP QUIZ.

Here is the birth name of a famous Jewish person: Eugene Maurice Orowitz.

Under what name do we know him?

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Okay, more clues.

He was born in 1937.