Geoffff's Joint : Ugly newspapers. Even uglier readers.

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I posted Pat Condell's latest video at the Bar and Grill within minutes of it hitting the back office inbox. I would have had it up within seconds of hearing it all the way through if I hadn't stuffed around trying to put in his links.

I'm a fan of Pat Condell. Mind you I'm not a militant atheist like him. I'm no atheist at all come to think of it but I feel not the slightest urge to cut his throat for it.

I do not put up Condell's videos attacking Christianity or Christians or religious belief because that is not what my blog is about. At the point of the meeting of minds it is not what Condell is about.  Condell has said that he has allied himself with Israel and the Jews because among many reasons he knows that Jews do not care what you believe so long as you leave them alone. I feel exactly the same way about militant atheists. I'm certain Pat Condell does to. Some of the most unpleasant men of the last century were pretty militant about their atheism. There is the point of the meeting of minds that I'm certain we all share.

In a strange but very real way that makes Pat Condell an honorary Jew. Just like Rupert Murdoch.  Forgive me for this on an American blog but I can think of no clearer way of saying it and the time has come to be as clear as we can about what we are confronting. They hate the nigger lovers even more than they hate the niggers.  As Jews we should know that. It takes guts to be Pat Condell.

So how to distinguish between aggressive and vile bigotry and legitimate private belief, religious or otherwise? Easy really. May I propose the Pat Condell principle.

In his honour. Even though he didn't say it exactly.

I don't care what you believe so long as you leave me alone.
So long as you teach hatred against anybody you do not leave me alone.

The Bar and Grill had taken an interest in clerical antizionism and in the pursuit of that has with some other blogs picked a fight, of sorts, with the British Methodists. That's a different thing. I don't care what they believe so long as they don't act in a way that encourages the Jihadist war against the Jews and therefore ultimately themselves. If they do, they should not be surprised to hear from us.

They of course would deny they are doing any such thing. But they would. wouldn't they? They also strenuously and pre-emptively deny antisemitism.  They are just doing what has become fashionable in left/liberal circles in Britain and it seems the US and Australia as well. Welcome to BDS-Lite. BDS British Methodist style. The BDS you have when you feel the compelling urge to deny antisemitism. .

We'll only ban the Jews who live in the wrong parts of Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria. Israelis who are not Jews can pretty much live where they like. We are not antisemites but we do think the Jews should live in their place. Incidentally we are also passionate opponents of apartheid.

Is that an unfair representation of the BDS -Lite position?

I mention all this because in the course of this discussion I came across a new word, or at least an old word I hadn't seen for a long time. Supersessionism. This is the Christian theological doctrine that by turning their backs on Jesus the Jews forfeited the love of God that along with God's promises to the Jews has passed to the Christians. Ergo Judaism is not a legitimate religion. No mention of anyone else naturally.

Supersessionism. An interesting word. Five "S"s. It positively hisses. I said in a private email to a Christian clergymen that the word only needs two "S"s.

Supersessionism is heresy apparently among British Methodists but this particular religious belief is once again mainstream in the Church of England. I find that offensive but not for religious reasons.I would find it just as offensive if these fools targeted for de-legitimisation any other group, religion or people.

On the other hands the British Methodists are not supersessionists although they do believe that God's promise of the land to the Jews ended with the coming of Christ. Israel is a political entity with no special status in Christian theology. Fine Gentlemen. Whatever. But one has to wonder why they go to so much trouble to make the point in relation to this particular political entity. And yes there is that small matter about BDS Lite.

But they are not supersessionists. On the contrary they look upon themselves as honorary Jews. With respect gentlemen, Pat Condell, the atheist, is far more deserving of the title.

I urge you listen to him here attacking the Guardian and its readers. In it he pins a class of person and their newspaper in a way that I am certain will resonate with Americans.