SAM and Someguy Sheathe their Swords

There'll be no blood on the streets today. SAM and Someguy have made peace.

Consider these comments:

Thanks for stopping by, S.A.M. FWIW, I think the quality of your prose compares very favorably to Mark's.

I will definitely look at your links. Personally, I would not have brought up the accusations you did that have been used against Jews in the past. I mean, I called the ADL's latest statement a "paranoid delusion." At its worst the ADL comes off like the ACLU of organized religion. Jews realize this too--one of my regular Jewish commenters (who goes by the nick "Son of Sheldon") recently excoriated fellow-Jews who see Christians (rather than Muslims) as the biggest threat to themselves. Then, too, in my sidebar under "Substance," I have a link to an article by Rabbi David Dalin praising Pius XII for his help in saving Jewish lives during WWII, and detailing Hitler's collaboration with Muslims in order to carry out the Shoah.

In sum, after 2,000 years, we're finally starting to treat our older brothers and sisters in the faith the way we should have been all along. I want to do everything I can to contribute to what I see as a work of the God who has chosen and called us all. And that's the truth.
someguy | Homepage | 12.21.05 - 6:54 pm | #

(snip)

Thanks, "someguy." I probably could have done more on that last paragraph on the ADL than I did. That's what you get when you have a blogging addiction and not enough time to indulge it.

FWIW, and hopefully without sounding pompous, I can say that the background for my views in the ADL piece are mostly in the last part of "The Passion, The Jews, and the Teaching of Contempt." I spent a lot of time on it. There are lots of sources of tension. One of them is a history that's almost too painful to recall for Jews and too shameful to bear for Christians. The other is that Christians have this irritating habit of expecting authentic Christian-Jewish dialogue to assume the truth of Christianity, whereas it really would not take that for granted (or even as a subject under discussion). On the other hand, while the history that prompts it is real and the concerns which underlie it can't be dismissed, authentic Jewish-Christian dialogue can't authentically proceed, as is sometimes assumed, under the assumption that "Christianity" is just another word for "anti-Semite."

I doubt we'll see these problems resolved in the lifetimes of our grandchildren. We Christians bear the greater and primary responsiblity for making that impossible. But we still ought to try, and not be too "offended" at the immediate results.
SecretAgentMan | Homepage | 12.21.05 - 8:56 pm | #

and these:

Thanks, someguy.

I hope this is OK with you,

http://secret-agent.blogspot.com...w-days- ago.html

I find fault with my country as well. However, as soon as I say that, I realize they're my faults too. I can make her better only by starting with myself. SAM didn't seem to have that mojo going. Maybe I read it through his Veteran's Day post, which, as an actual Veteran, I could have done without.

That's a good point. Honestly, I guess it never occurred to me that it could be taken that way. I was pretty effusive about how much I do love America; but then, as you say, part of love is to accept a shared burden.

Some things may not be our fault (I've never married a gay couple, for example), but all of them sure as heck are our responsibility. I make no claim to be a righetous man, and certainly no claim to be better than my fellow Americans.
SecretAgentMan | Email | Homepage | 12.21.05 - 5:41 pm |

(snip)

Thank you very much, S.A.M. I apologize again. Even if I disagree with you in the future, I'll respect you as a man. I can't give anyone a compliment much better than that.
someguy | Email | Homepage | 12.21.05 - 6:33 pm | #

Someguy:

OK. The matter's finished. I appreciate your good words and tough criticism.
SecretAgentMan | Email | Homepage | 12.21.05 - 9:03 pm | #

Move along, now! Nothing to see here!

I may have rushed to judgement on Someguy. As I commented on his blog:

Any chump can foam-at-the-mouth even when he's wrong. Only a man can admit his mistake. Only a Christian man can seek pardon for it, and offer respect to one he disagrees with.

His reconciliation with SAM is more the sign of a Fool than a Kool-Aid drowning Foolable. I hope so. The world needs more Fools. For now, I'm pleased that these two men have made peace. Friendships among Fools is a good thing.

Hat tip to Mark Shea for the link!