Kesher Talk

"Imagine there's no heaven...." Winds of Change is always one of the first blogs I check, and I usually agree with what Joe has to say. But along with Meryl and Lynn, I think his comments on Mark Shea's posthumous insertion of Catholicism into Abe Zelmanowitz's theology is off the mark. Joe's subsequent explanation cleverly subsumes the issue in heartwarming universalism (as befits Joe's approach as an organizational development consultant) (I say this affectionately as someone in a related field. No, really, I do.) with which no one could disagree without coming across as a churl.

But. Joe's "we're all the same in heaven" universalism sidesteps the issue of disrespecting the different paths we take - in this world - to get there. Joe says "For Mark, as a devout Catholic, Jesus = G-d. Given his belief, he sees Abe as recognizing that truth upon reaching heaven. Indeed, unless I deny him the freedom to have his religion there's nothing else he can believe." Would Joe apply this attitude to Muslims who are seriously working to place the entire planet under Sharia? Why pressure Islam to respect diversity but not Catholicism?

Warbloggers are fond of the meme "Islam needs a reformation which forces it to respect other cultures, just like the Protestant Reformation in Europe." This means really accepting - I mean really accepting - the fact that other religions and cultures are going to take a different path up the mountain of spiritual enlightenment than you (not to mention respecting individuals who simply don't think there's a mountain at all). The Reformation taught us that imposing one set of beliefs on everyone (other than a few basic secular rules for everyone to live relatively harmoniously on the same planet , such as don't rape, steal, or pursue an independent state by blowing up teenager in a disco) meant that every group got to take a turn as the persecuted, and that mutual respect might work better for all in the long run.

Thinking your way is superior to others (which we all do, let's not kid ourselves) is very different from refusing to acknowledge another's stated path because you believe only people on your path can be good or heroic. Once you start believing that, you are on the road to treating others as lesser beings. Mark's comments remind me of white Southerners who still say "that's white of you," meaning "you behaved ethically". It is telling that Islam also handles the supposed "paradox" of righteous Jews such as Abraham and Moses by making them retroactively Muslim. To those who think I am being alarmist, I would say that, although attempting to police thoughts is a cure worse than the disease, when the Left points out dehumanizing stereotypes it is operating from an accurate observation about history, which is that attitudes do often lead to deeds. We can all give examples of persecutions which were instigated and inflamed by vicious caricatures of the group in question, from pogroms to lynchings to beatings in the street to systematic denial of legal rights accorded others in society. These stereotypes invariably contain a version of "inherently incapable of true goodness." Mark may not think he's on that road, but a triumphalism that justified centuries of Christian persecution of nonbelievers lurks behind his comments.

For the record, the Jewish position on righteous gentiles, while not completely respecting of "the other," goes farther than the Islamic or Christian ones. Its relative lack of interest in pressing Judaism on others derives from the nature of Judaism itself as well as our often bitter experience as a minority religion. Although, like most belief systems, Judaism contains universal truths which may be adopted by anyone, it makes no claim to be a universal solution. Rather it is the prescribed path for a particular people. Anyone who becomes Jewish explicitly joins the Jewish people. Some think this particularism is bigoted by definition, but it only means that we think the best way to spread our good ideas is through example rather than browbeating people into converting. (That's why there are over 1 billion Muslims, 2 billion Christians, and only 14 million Jews.) Our historical experience is that if your belief system is only complete when everyone in the world signs onto it, sooner or later you will end up dehumanizing and persecuting those stubborn folk who won't get with the program.

Lastly, as Meryl points out, Abe wasn't a secular Jew who felt vaguely proud of his heritage but never went to shul. He was a visible proud Orthodox Jew. That means he knew who he was and what he was about. To posthumously make him into a Christian not only says that his Judaism had nothing to do with his heroism (insulting enough in itself), but also denies the life-long choices of a man Mark claims to respect. If you are impressed by the guy for what he did at the WTC, Mark, why not respect the life decisions that made him the type of man who would do what he did?

posted by Judith @ 8/12/2002 02:52:06 PM