Holocaust Unparalleled Evil

"The Case Against God: A Lawyer Examines the Evidence." by Jack Le Moult Emil L. Fackenheim, in his book, "To Mend the World," THE HOLOCAUST With Passover approaching on April 19, I choose to remember the millions of Jews who died in the Holocaust. As a gentile, the Holocaust has always presented a serious problem for me. How could a modern, culturally rich, Christian nation carry-out such a monstrous act of evil? With all of the crimes of man, including the genocides committed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and other places, and the atrocities committed in every war, I still see the Holocaust as a horror unmatched in the history of human evil. It should never be compared to other acts of evil. Emil L. Fackenheim, in his book, "To Mend the World," said: “To link Auschwitz with Hiroshima is not to deepen or widen one’s concern with humanity and its future. It is to evade the import of Auschwitz and Hiroshima alike.” The same can be said of all of the other cataclysms suffered by humanity. Each is a separate occurrence of evil. The history of the Jews, beginning with the conquest of Israel and banishment of Jews by the Romans, is one long sorrowful testament to man’s inhumanity. The Nazis did not invent the genocide of the Jews. They merely took it to new depths of horrendous magnitude. Over the centuries before the Holocaust, the Jews experienced repeated pogroms and persecutions by Europeans and Arabs. Around the time when Columbus was sailing to America, the rulers of Spain were expelling all of the Jews from their realm. Many reasons are given for this massive persecution, but no explanation can begin to justify such evil.One frequently hears people compare things to the Holocaust. The right-wing anti-abortionists like to say that abortion is the same as the Holocaust. Such unthinking speech is morally abhorrent. How can any person compare the elimination of a not-yet-conscious, not-yet-thinking, not-yet-feeling embryo to the deliberate murder of grown, thinking, feeling human beings? At Auschwitz and other camps the Nazis used to save time and trouble by throwing live babies and small children into the ovens without gassing them first. If you cannot identify the distinction between that and abortion, you are morally numb. The excuse given by the Christian Nazis and Fascists for persecution of the Jews was usually that they were: “Christ Killers.” It is a revoltingly stupid claim. Jesus of Nazareth was killed by the Romans, yet nobody has ever wanted to exterminate the Italians. Even if it had been the Jews who killed Jesus (himself a Jew), why blame it on Jewish descendents living thousands of years later? According to the Bible, Jesus had brothers and sisters. We must assume that many of the descendents of these brothers and sisters were Jews, and that millions of Twentieth Century Jews in Europe had the blood of Jesus’ family in them. The Christians who marched Jews into the gas chambers of Auschwitz and other camps were actually murdering the descendents of Joseph, Mary, and the family of Jesus.As a gentile, I am able to find something valuable in the teaching of Emile Fackenheim. He said “To grasp the Holocaust whole-of-horror is not to comprehend or transcend it, but rather, to say no to it, or resist it.” Fackenheim said that 613 commandments were given on Mt. Sinai. He offered a 614th commandment. In effect, he said that if we forget, or minimize, or diminish the importance of the Holocaust, if gentiles engage in anti-Semitism, if Jews give-up their beliefs and culture because of the Holocaust, they will be letting Hitler gain a form of victory. He said that we must not let Hitler win. I may not share the beliefs of religious Jews, but by dedicating my life to tolerance and brotherhood, I can join in the crusade to defeat Hitler and his progeny. Jack LeMoult Gender: Male Occupation: Writer and Retired Lawyer Location: Xenia : Ohio About Me I am a 71-year-old writer and retired lawyer. I practiced law as a litigator for 37 years in New York and Connecticut. I am the author of a book newly published on Kindle entitled: "The Case Against God: A Lawyer Examines the Evidence." It can be read by anybody having a Kindle or Kindle-type device such as iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Mac phone etc. During the 1980's I wrote a regular column on the law and related subjects for the Greenwich News and other papers in Connecticut and Massachusetts. I then wrote a column in the Westport Minuteman and later wrote a humor column for the Connecticut Law Tribune. In 2001, I moved out to Xenia, Ohio. I worked as a caselaw editor for LexisNexis of Miamisburg Ohio until 2005. In about 2003, I began writing a column for the Xenia Daily Gazette and affiliated newspapers. I created this Blog for the purpose of posting some of my newspaper columns, and my current thoughts. Interests Interests Writing Religion Politics Literature History Philosophy Psychology Law Art Classical Music Favorite Movies The Godfather parts I II and III; Patton; Braveheart; Casablanca; Goodfellas; The Longest Day; Tora Tora Tora; The Bourne Identity; The Bourne Supremacy; The Bourne Ultimatum; Fargo; Gladiator; Shindler's List; Blazing Saddles; Young Frankenstein; Airplane; The Exorcist; The Omen I II and III; Cabaret; The Silence of the Lambs; Amadeus; Gigi; On the Waterfront; Gandhi; The French Connection; Lawrence of Arabia; West Side Story; The Dream Team; The Inlaws; The Sting; Reds; Oliver; The Graduate; Tom Jones; Giant; Doctor Strangelove;The Quiet Man; Gone With the Wind; The Wizard of Oz; Viva Zapata; My Cousin Vinny; Psycho; A Passage to India; Rosemary's Baby; Bonnie and Clyde; others Favorite Music Beethoven's Emperor Concerto-the Slow Movement The Moonlight Sonata The Nine Symphonies; Shubert's Unfinished Symphony Serenade; Vivaldi's Four Seasons Gloria; Debussy Clair de Lune; Dvorak Romance for Violin and Orchestra in F minor The New World Symphony; Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor; Barber Adagio for Strings; Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture Capriccio Italiano Swan Lake Overture to Romeo and Juliet; Juan Crisostomo Arriaga Overture to Los Esclavos Felices; Offenbach The Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffmann; Rossini Overture to The Thieving Magpie The William Tell overture Overture to The Girl from Algiers; Handel "Unto Us a Child is Born " "Hallelujah Chorus" from the Messiah; Water Music Fireworks Music; Grieg Peer Gynt Suite; Puccini "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot; Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No. 3 Danse Macabre Carnival of the Animals; Mozart Symphonies A Little Night Music Piano Concertos Requium other works; Feure Requium; Smetana Ma Vlast (The Moldau); Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherezade; Sibelius Finlandia; Orff Carmina Burana; Johann Strauss II Waltzes Overture to Die Fledermaus: Franz Lehar Waltzes; Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue; Performances by Neil Diamond Elton John Billy Joel Maureen McGovern Katherine McPhee Barbara Streisand John Denver Perry Como Michael Buble Celine Dione Carley Simon Simon and Garfinkle Willie Nelson Waylon Jennings. Also the songs: "Send in the Clowns " "The Rose " "The Music of the Night" from Phantom "Memories" from Cats "Have You Ever Loved a Woman " "Hear the Band " "Lady Let me take a look at you now " "Let Your Love Flow" by Collin Raye and the Bellamy Bros. "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys "Hotel California" by the Eagles; Music from West Side Story Les Misarables Fiddler on the Roof Phantom of the Opera Gigi Showboat Oklahoma Carousel South Pacific Kiss Me Kate Camalot My Fair Lady The Sound of Music many others. Favorite Books I have lists of recommended fiction and nonfiction books which I will post on the blog. The excuse given by the Christian Nazis and Fascists for persecution of the Jews was usually that they were: “Christ Killers.” It is a revoltingly stupid claim. Jesus of Nazareth was killed by the Romans, yet nobody has ever wanted to exterminate the Italians. Even if it had been the Jews who killed Jesus (himself a Jew), why blame it on Jewish descendents living thousands of years later? According to the Bible, Jesus had brothers and sisters. We must assume that many of the descendents of these brothers and sisters were Jews, and that millions of Twentieth Century Jews in Europe had the blood of Jesus’ family in them. The Christians who marched Jews into the gas chambers of Auschwitz and other camps were actually murdering the descendents of Joseph, Mary, and the family of Jesus.As a gentile, I am able to find something valuable in the teaching of Emile Fackenheim. He said “To grasp the Holocaust whole-of-horror is not to comprehend or transcend it, but rather, to say no to it, or resist it.” Fackenheim said that 613 commandments were given on Mt. Sinai. He offered a 614th commandment. In effect, he said that if we forget, or minimize, or diminish the importance of the Holocaust, if gentiles engage in anti-Semitism, if Jews give-up their beliefs and culture because of the Holocaust, they will be letting Hitler gain a form of victory. He said that we must not let Hitler win. Friday, March 11, 2011 The Case Against God My book, "The Case Against God: A Lawyer Examines the Evidence," has now been published by Amazon on Kindle. This means that anybody owning a Kindle or a device with Kindle applications such as iPad, iPhone, PC phone, Mac phone, Blackberry, Android phone, and Windows 7 phone can buy my book for $5.00. The book is a discussion about whether God exists from the point of view of a nonbeliever. In it I have explored The Old Testament, The New Testament, and the teachings of and about Jesus. I have researched all of the leading biblical and theological experts and I present the facts found by them. I also discuss the arguments of philosophers for the existence of God, the dispute between science and religion, the so-called “Intelligent Design” theory, the problem of evil, and the question of why so many people believe in God. Even if you don’t agree with my views about God, I hope that if you have a Kindle-type device, you will get the book and read it. Whether or not you agree, it is very informative and will greatly increase your knowledge of the Bible and religion. Posted by Jack LeMoult at 7:17 AM 0 comments