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Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
- John Adams
It's been a long time since I've been a child, and because I don't have any children of my own, I had almost forgotten how children really were sometimes, and still are, even today. I was abruptly reminded of it when, after doing some preliminary research on the Judeo/Christian Tradition, I suddenly rediscovered what it was like when children decide to be total brats about something and the things they will say and do while they are still in full 'total brat' mode. It's truly something to behold, let me tell you. It's even worse when fully-grown adults, whether they are tenured University professors or published authors, suddenly decide to loudly and publicly act in an infantile manner, by regressing back to childhood and acting in exactly the same manner as 'total brats' would.
Anyway, I'll try to keep this post short and to the point by simply reminding my fellow adults about a few of the 'total brat' strategies I have just witnessed within the past few days. For starters, when 'total brats' really, really don't like something they will stubbornly and irrationally deny that it exists. Most amazing is the specific words they will use as a part of their denial such as: 'There's no such thing as (fill in blank)' or 'I don't believe in (fill in blank)'. Now, as I was saying before, I ran directly into this child-like refusal of accept reality while looking up sources and references to the Judeo/Christian tradition. After perusing the numerous Dictionary definitions and Encyclopedia entries, all of which had the exact same title 'Judeo-Christian Tradition'. I eventually ran into a whole slew of malcontents who apparently had felt the overwhelming desire to deny reality, just like child who decides to act like a 'total brat'. Never mind that professional companies and corporations have published reference books that include the very words 'Judeo-Christian Tradition', or that there are literally dozens upon dozens of Newspaper and Magazine articles, essays, and op/eds which have the term 'Judeo-Christian Tradition' as a part of their titles or headlines, because for the 'total brat' this isn't really proof that there really is such a thing. When the 'total brat' decides something does not exist, then no matter what happens, it simply does not exist. What follows is a summary of the 'total brat' tactics that certain fully-grown adults have used in their effort to deny the existence of something they obviously do not like at all, namely the 'Judeo-Christian Tradition'. Included below is a two-part summary of clearly absurd denials in the existence of a Dictionary defined, Encyclopedia explained, phrase in the English language commonly known as the Judeo/Christian Tradition:
Denial of Reality #1: There is NO Judeo/Christian Tradition
Jacob Neusner: Theologically and historically, there is NO such thing as the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Gary North: There is NO Judeo-Christian tradition. There never was one.
Newsweek Magazine: Politicians appeal to a Judeo-Christian tradition, but religious scholars say it NO longer exists.
New Dawn Magazine: Reviewing the last two thousand years of Western Christian history there is really NO evidence of a Judeo-Christian tradition.
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Denial of Reality #2: The Judeo/Christian Tradition is a Myth
Jacob Neusner: There is no...Judeo-Christian tradition. It's a secular Myth favored by people who are not really believers themselves.
Newsweek Magazine: For scholars of American religion...the idea of a single Judeo-Christian tradition is a made-in-America Myth that many of them no longer regard as valid.
Stephen M. Feldman: The Myth of the Judeo-Christian tradition insidiously obscures the real and significant differences between Judaism and Christianity
Gary North: There is no Judeo-Christian tradition...The whole concept is Mythical.
Clearly, the individuals and publications cited above have a serious problem with this descriptive term 'Judeo-Christian Tradition'. Yes, one could surmise that it is simply another example of standard, run-of-the-mill Jew-hatred, but that cannot explain why several obviously Jewish critics have joined with their Gentile comrades in mutually despising the historical, actual, and factual reality of this designation. Basically, a very small amount of Jews who don't like Christianity (or Christians), and Christians who don't like Judaism (or Jews), have decided to vent their anger and frustration at a particular phrase, a set of words that neither thinks, nor feels, nor does. It's just a word, for Gosh sakes! Or actually, two words (Judeo/Christian Tradition), or even three if you count 'the' as well (The Judeo/Christian Tradition). In the end, there is little that others can do when adults, like 'total brat' children, insist upon denying reality over and over again until they get what they want. However, there is a word for what they have been doing, and continue to do- it's called lying. And even 'total brats' should never be allowed to lie for very long.
The ACTUAL Judeo/Christian Tradition
ACTUAL DESIGNATION: The Judeo-Christian (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Jud...tian_tradition)
ACTUAL USE: The phrase 'Judeo-Christian'...is nevertheless a common term in American cultural and political rhetoric. (Judeo-Christian, Wikipedia)
ACTUAL EXISTENCE: The Judeo-Christian tradition is, most certainly, not just a myth in colloquial terms meaning a falsehood (historical or not), but a powerful and expedient religious posture, valid for most people here and now, and bearing witness to a continued symbolic relationship with very real meaningfulness. (Edward Kaplan, Commentary Magazine, 1970)
ACTUAL REALITY: There's more than sufficient common ground between Judaism and Christianity to justify the idea of a Judeo-Christian tradition. (Mark Silk, SpiritualPolitics.org)
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