Babylon Bee chief outed as Jewish, anti-Semites angry as usual

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon was "outed" as Jewish this week.

Why isn’t the Christian Babylon Bee run by a Christian? pic.twitter.com/p2mNUDOwXx

— Jon Miller (@MillerStream) May 27, 2023

I say outed loosely: Dillon is the one who publicly made it known he has Jewish heritage; it's not some secret that the anti-Semites uncovered through careful investigation.

Dillon replied,

I did not cease having Ashkenazi blood when I put my faith in Jesus Christ (also a Jew). https://t.co/cDCQOFUV5K

— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) May 27, 2023

I liked Dillon's response about not ceasing to be Jewish when following Jesus the Jew. I chimed in,

That triggered Christian anti-Semites to start chiming in with thoughtful replies like:

• "There are Jewish Torah scrolls decorated with Satanic symbols!"
• "Secular Jews are preaching the art of Satanism"
• "Pretty sure Jesus called you lot the synagogue of Satan a few times tho right?"
• "There is zero connection between Woody Allen and the ancient people of Judea that practiced the religion of the Second Temple."
• "The satanic symbols on a jewish torah is used by the church of Satan today, which was founded by a jew. Connect the dots!"
• "You're a zio-shill"
• "the apostles didn't have a talmud"
• "You're stupid and that's not my problem"

I didn't spend much time with those folks. People so caught up in wild conspiracies are rarely worth engaging. They live in a dark, make-believe world of their own imagining. They probably need supernatural deliverance, not unlike the kind you see in the Exorcist movie. 

But many other slightly-more-reasonable Christians chimed in to tell me God doesn't care about Jewish identity any more now that Jesus arrived. A few choice examples:

Among several others.

These folks aren't necessarily anti-Semites; they don't hate Jews. But they do think that the New Testament makes Jewishness irrelevant. There is no more chosen people. What's our answer?

Identity

It's reasonable to ask whether Jewish identity matters at all in the new era instituted by Messiah's arrival. In the New Testament, Paul does say there is "neither Jew nor Greek for you are all one in Christ."

My best answer to this uses simple logic.

In the same breath, Paul also says there is neither male or female in Christ. If Paul meant Jews and Gentiles literally don't matter anymore, he must also be saying that male and female don't matter anymore.

(And the only people saying such things are those poor souls infected by the woke mind virus.)

Since men and women exist, and since there are God-ordained distinctions between them, Paul cannot be saying male and female categories no longer exist, or that their distinctions aren't important.

I propose Paul is saying "no Jew nor Gentile, no male nor female" with regards to salvation: If you're a follower of Messiah, it doesn't matter what your class, race, gender is. (Sorry wokesters!) We're all his children and deeply loved by him, no matter one's background.

This doesn't mean, however, that all previous distinctions and categories magically disappear. God has a special calling for women often distinct from men. And God has a special plan of revival and restoration and calling for the Jewish people.

I went back and forth with one poster about this, and we finally reached some common ground of agreement. 

A final bit of evidence I use for my case is Paul's own words.

If Paul is saying Jewish identity is irrelevant, why does Paul speak about the importance and relevance of Jewish identity multiple times in the New Testament? Some off the top of my head:

• He says there is "much advantage to being a Jew, and much value in circumcision", arguing God has chosen Jewish people to be entrusted with the Scripture itself. (Rom 3)
• He calls himself a Jew in Romans 9-11
• He calls himself a Pharisee in Acts 23
• He takes a collection for the Jewish poor in Jerusalem among the Gentile congregations (1 Cor 16). 
• He argues that Gentiles should share physical resources and money with Jewish believers, since Jews shared in spiritual inheritance with Gentiles.
• He celebrates Jewish feasts and encourages others to do so (1 Cor 5)
• He takes a Torah-prescribed vow in the Temple and pays for others to do the same "so that all will know there is no truth to these reports that you teach contrary to the Torah, but you yourself are living in obedience to it." (Acts 21). 
• He says that while some Jews who reject Messiah act like enemies to Christians, "they are still loved by God for the sake of the patriarchs" and that God's calling on Jews is irrevocable. (Romans 11)
• He says Jewish people specifically will receive mercy from God in the end (Romans 11)
• He submits to Jewish religious discipline in Acts.
• He says God has not rejected his own people, the Jewish people (Rom 11). 

Among others. 

If Paul is arguing Jewish identity doesn't matter, as these Christians claim, why does Paul appeal to Jewish identity so much? 

My answer is that Paul is arguing race/class/gender/etc don't matter to God with regards to salvation. He's picked people from every nation, class, gender, background to follow him and be called his children. 

He's not saying Jewish identity has become irrelevant.

This interpretation seems to better align with the logic of Paul's statements regarding male/female and Jew/Gentile. And it jives better with the whole context of Paul's writings. I'd argue it is in better harmony with the whole counsel of Scripture.

Counted all [Jewishness] as loss

Another reasonable objection I encountered was that Paul says he counted his past experience in Judaism as loss:

He's quoting Paul from Philippians 3 here:

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.  

-Paul, Philippians 3

The interpretation here is that Paul is saying Jewish identity and Jewish religious credentials don't matter. 

I do not think Paul is saying that, and for many of the reasons cited above. Rather, Paul is saying they don't gain you eternal life with God.

The context of this passage is important. Paul is addressing the Christian Judaizers who said you must be circumcised (convert to Judaism) to be saved and have eternal life with God. The opening verses of this chapter includes Paul's warning, "Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision..." -- this is speaking about those Christians who were saying Gentiles must be circumcised and convert to Judaism before they could be considered Christians.

We're confident this was a major question in the early Church, attested to in Acts 15 and several other places in the New Testament: do non-Jews who follow the Jewish Messiah need to convert to Judaism (i.e. undergo circumcision) to be part of God's family? (And by extension, if a Gentile doesn't get circumcised, is he saved? Will he have eternal life with God?) That's the important context of this passage.

Paul's answer is a vehement no. New Gentile Christians do not need to convert to Judaism and undergo circumcision to be part of God's family.

It is in this context Paul says all his Jewish credentials -- his training in the synagogue as a Pharisee zealous for the law -- were worthless. He thought he was living righteously, but he was without Messiah. Paul is arguing outward religious acts and religious identity can't save that person from the wrath of God for our sins. Rather, those who believe and are indwelt by the Spirit of God -- it's those people who are saved. Everything else is counted as loss.

It's Paul's version of, "What good is it for a man to gain the world and lose your soul?" Paul "gained the world", Jewishly speaking, but had lost his soul in persecuting the followers of the real Jewish Messiah.

Takeaways

There are a lot of Christian anti-Semites on the web. I can confidently label them anti-Semites: they are part of "groyper" groups: white nationalists, far-right racists. Their profile pictures feature stereotypical Jews with long noses, but in lizard skin. (A combo of conspiracy theories!) Their tweets feature sympathy for Adolf Hitler, claims the Holocaust was fabricated, anti-Zionist propaganda, etc. From their responses, they don't have deep Biblical literacy. They mostly appeal to special interpretations of a handful of verses (synagogue of Satan, certain rebukes of Pharisees, etc.). Dig a little, and you'll find their well is empty.

Many Christians feel the New Testament does away with Jews, Jewish identity, Torah, the Old Testament, and Judaism itself. This is replacement theology, also called supercessionism. 

These folks are not necessarily anti-Semites, but have a certain view of Scripture that replaces Jews and Judaism with the Church and Christianity. These people are probably worth engaging in gentle discussion. Some of those I engaged proved fruitful discussions, finding some common ground even if we disagreed on details.

If there's something we can pray, it's that God gives all of us wisdom and discernment in this age of wild foolishness and rampant deception.

Atomic Habits, Part I: Want to change your outcomes in life? Fix your identity

I've been reading Atomic Habits, a book that's opened my eyes to how people's lives are dictated by their habits. 

The more good habits you have -- eating right, exercising, learning a new language, reading books, writing a journal, etc. -- the better your outcomes in life. You'll be healthier, more mentally sound, financially stable, fit, sociable, interesting, joyful.

Conversely, the more bad habits you have -- drinking, smoking, nail biting, fast food, watching porn, binging Netflix, frivolous spending -- the worse off you are. Sick, tired, emotionally drained, anxious, empty, depressed, broke.

The book gives a new framing to an old problem of how to kick bad habits and stick to good habits. In it contains a unique lesson for believers. The reframing of this old problem has a life-influencing message for parents. It has broader implications for society. I don't think the author intended any of those meanings explicitly, yet there they were. I want to pass them on to you in this post, dear Kineti readers.

The old problem every person on earth has faced

First, what is the old problem? It's, "How can I stop doing [bad thing] and stick to [good thing]?"

How can I stop binge eating and lose weight?

How can I stop wasting so much time on TikTok and instead do something useful with my life?

How can I stop smoking and get good health?

etc.

That's the old problem. 

We have an urge to better ourselves. We have an idea where we're falling short in life. We try to fix it -- lose 20lbs, start eating vegetables every day, cut social media, go to the gym 3 times a week -- but these habits quickly fail.

Anecdote: I saw this firsthand a few years ago. When the new year arrived, I resolved to go to the gym once a week. In January, the gym was packed! By February, it was half empty, and by March, it was nearly abandoned. Everyone resolved to do good, but their resolution quickly failed with time.

Reframing the old problem

Atomic Habits says the reason our goals often fail is we are too focused on the outcome. Lose 20lbs. Quit smoking. etc. We must reframe the problem to one of identity:

1. To change our outcomes, we must first change our habits. One cannot expect to reach a different outcome (lose 20lbs) while living the same way (eating fast food 3x a week).
2. For the new habits to stick, we must change our identity.

The three ingredients here -- outcomes, habits, identity -- are like layers of an onion:

Atomic Habits shows that a great way to change outcomes is by changing your habits. To effectively change your habits, you change your identity.

Everybody focuses on the outer layer: outcomes. Stop smoking. Stop drinking. Get fit. Read more. So we start a new habit -- go to the gym every week -- but we have trouble sticking to good habits and kicking bad ones.

Our habits return to old behavior as our motivation naturally wanes over time. Our resolutions fail and we return to our old ways.

The author explains a key to changing all this is going back another layer: identity.

Who are you? Are you a smoker? Are you a binge eater? A porn watcher? Is that who you are? That's identity. 

Identity is the key to changing your habits and sticking to them.

He refers to several studies for support. One study in particular struck me: a group of smokers who wanted to quit smoking was broken into two groups. The first group was told anytime they were offered a cigarette, they must respond, "No thanks, I'm trying to quit." The second group was told to respond, "No thanks, I'm not a smoker."

Can you guess which group did better at quitting?

The group that identified as non-smokers did far better than the first group. Their self-identity changed their habits. "I am not a smoker, so I will not be going on a smoke break. That's not who I am."

Want to stop doing X? Be the kind of person who doesn't do X.

Want to stop being late to everything? Be the kind of person who leaves 15 minutes early. Shape new habits accordingly: set your alarm to leave earlier. Make sure your car has gas before it's time to leave. Prepare your clothes the night before. Prepare a quick breakfast you can heat and eat in the morning. Best yet, your motivation to stick with these habits will last longer because you're not the kind of person who's always late. That's not you. 

As your consistently keep these habits, they go auto-pilot mode: you'll do them almost without thinking, as routine as getting dressed in the morning. And when you do those habits consistently, you become the person of your identity and your outcomes change. You're no longer the person who's always late. Victory.

It's not magic, but it's powerful. Identity is powerful. The author gives several such example studies where identity is a major component to changing habits and thus producing better outcomes in life.

I've begun to apply these in my own life, with some success: 

• I want to read the Bible every morning. 
• I want to stop browsing my phone while in bed when I should be sleeping. 
• I want to stop scrolling social media in the morning when I need to get up for work. 
• I want to stop biting my fingernails. 
• I want to learn Hebrew. 
• I want to write more (hence this post!)
• I want to practice guitar more.

So, I shape my identity accordingly: I'm the kind of person who takes the Bible seriously. I'm the kind of person who doesn't miss Hebrew lessons. I'm the kind of person who is serious about improving his guitar skill. Now I've been shaping my habits accordingly, and it's going...good. I think I'll see some good fruit from all this.

Every time I carry out my habit of Bible reading, Hebrew learning, writing, is a vote for the kind of person I want to be. (And if I miss a lesson, skip reading? Well, that's a vote in the other direction.)

This key to fixing problems in your life by shaping your identity made me consider the importance of shaping the identity of our kids. 

Are you telling your kids they're stupid? Ugly? Dumb? "Clearly not a math major!" Suck at science? Calling them names when they do bad stuff? Swearing at them? This reinforces a negative identity in them at a time when their identity is in its earliest, most pliable stage. That identity sticks with them for life, friends.

There's a lesson to parents in there. I'll cover this in Part II soon.

Thanks for reading, folks.