Nicholas, chief editor of Orthodox Reflections, joined Buck Johnson on his Counterflow Podcast to discuss Red States passing laws outlawing “antisemitism”. The discussion was based on this article, “Red States Are Lurching Toward Antichrist” by Walt Garlington. The discussion touched on the threat this trend poses to Freedom of Speech, how it can affect the Orthodox Church in the future, and why all of this is happening. Ironically, the show dropped the day before the US Congress passed the “Antisemitism Awareness Act”, which threatens to extend censorship of “antisemitism” to the entire US – not just selected Red States with high concentrations of Christian Zionists.
Here is how keep Rep. Matt Gaetz explained his opposition to the bill on X:
Because the bill is so imprecise in its language, the threat to Freedom of Speech could not be greater. “Antisemitism” is not defined in the bill. What is or is not “antisemitism” is wholly based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition. That is a very expansive definition, whose rigorous application could outlaw publicly expressing Christian dogma, public readings of certain Bible verses, and any public criticism of Israel, a foreign nation receiving billions of tax payer dollars.
So the day after this podcast dropped, the situation got even worse. Just that fast. Please keep that in mind as you listen to the podcast.
–OR Staff
Nicholas,
You are doing a great job on the podcasts you’ve participated in. You sound like a happy warrior and are articulate and engaging.
However, old copy editors and Catholic school grammarians die hard. So I wanted to let you know that around min. 20 of this interview you said “sacradotal,” which is not a word as far as I can tell. Perhaps you were thinking of “sacerdotal,” which is from the Latin sacer, meaning “sacred.” “Sacerdotal” has a soft c sound (sas) and it means “of priests” or “priestly.”
Your are, as always, 100% correct. The worst part is that Nicholas does know the correct form of that word, having written it in more than one article. Unfortunately, that is why podcasts are so tricky. They are usually all done in one take, and if you misspeak there is no reshoot! It really makes you respect the guys who do live shows 5 days a week.
I oppose Zionism, but I also oppose Islam.
Does this mean there will also be a new Antigentilism Awareness Act to protect non-Jews from violent Zionist radicals and extremists in the States?
Noun
antigentilism (uncountable)
Hatred towards or prejudice against gentiles.
Sources
Israel and Anti-Gentile Traditions | My Jewish Learning
Anti-Gentilism Is A Thing According To Jewish Author (riseupoceancounty.com)
Anti-Gentilism Causes Antisemitism | Plato’s Guns (platosguns.com)
The Longest Hatred: An Examination of Anti-gentilism – Jane Birdwood – Google Books
Ah, the desparate, and failed attempt to rationalize anti-Semitism using scripture! Actually we believe was a living witness to the earthly ministry reports that, “all the people” said…… Well my friend that doesn’t quite work. A public referendum called by the Roman authorities? How many polling places were there? Was the public informed of the election by CNN and Fox News? Was the vote held only in Jerusalem? Was Jerusalem Jesus base of operation for his ministry? The whole rest of the Story was fiction. Name the city in Judea that was equal in size polled? Or were the only people riled up my Jesus ministry the Jewish priests and their families, as He poked them in their eyes for their hypocrisy? That’s a fail my friend Nicolaus.
And Saul, New Paul? The apostle to the Gentles? Not an eye witness, but still a dedicated and sincere evangelist. Undoubtedly the Jewish leaders did, over their long history kill some of their phophets. Jesus wasn’t recognized by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem as one of their prophets. That’s s fail.
Have you asked Bishop John about his views on anti-Semitism in the USA? Metropolitan Saba? Or just making this up as you go along?
Search for the truth. We are need to keep searching. Reminds me of one of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. That’s a story for another day. Definitely a fail, but grateful for Orthodox Reflection’s deep commitment to free speech.
The Gospels are quite clear that a riot was threatening to break out. Did all the Jews in Jerusalem participate? Of course not. As far as antisemitism goes, this site has tons of resources explaining how our contributors view things. We met with Bishop John a little over a month ago. You, of course, have never met him. There is no issue with antisemitism in the Orthodox Church.
“After the spread of the early Church, the Jews and other Abrahamites who believed in the Gospel were absorbed into the gentiles and lost their Abrahamic identity. So in a very real sense, the children of Abraham and Jacob by the flesh did enter into the new covenant, and the promise was not merely spiritual.
It is the Jews (and Samaritans) who rejected Jesus that retained their identity. After the destruction of the temple, only the Pharisaical sect was strong enough to survive. All the Jews who have come down to us today are part of this Pharisaical tradition that killed Jesus. There are religious and atheistic Jews, Orthodox and Reformed Jews, libertarian and socialist Jews. But all of these are Pharisees. When Jesus was criticizing their man-made traditions [Mark 7.1-16], these traditions were the beginnings of the Talmud. Jews do not follow the Old Testament or the Mosaic law – they follow the Talmud and other later rabbinical writings. Many Jews do not even know that the prophets exist. Jewish culture is inseparable from the tradition of the rabbinical commentaries, because it is this rabbinical community that has given them their cultural heritage. This is a basic anthropological fact that should not be controversial.
That is to say, the problem is not Jewish genetics. The problem is Jewish culture. ”
https://orthodoxreflections.com/collective-guilt-a-theology-of-the-jewish-culture-as-continuous-deicide/