THE DANGER OF IMPEACHMENT

   The Republicans have made many inflammatory statements about the danger of electing Democrats and causing the loss of Congress. And the radical Democrats have claimed that if they controlled Congress they would impeach Trump .   A while back Trump commented on Fox and Friends that “impeachment would be a disaster for the country. “

   I do think that Trump is right that it would be a disaster, but for the wrong reason. When the President’s office is vacant he is succeeded by the Vice-President.

   That would be Pence a zealot ultra-right Christian who would try to impose a Theocracy. He has expressed his feelings on racial relations, abortions and the place of women in society. The Ayatollah of Iran could be an angel in comparison.

   Pence is the person who in as a  memorial to those killed in Pittsburg as Rabbi Harry Pell has written; ‘”In inviting Rabbi Loren Jacobs to the stage to address the crowd at his Michigan rally — and by referring to Jacobs as “a leader in the Jewish community” — Pence erred on many levels. First off, Pence was simply incorrect. Jacobs may (or may not) be a leader in the messianic Jewish community, which most Jews would consider a Christian community, but he is not now and has never been a leader in the Jewish community.

Even more offensive is the fact that Jacobs, like many if not most messianic Jews, believes that Jews who do not accept Jesus are destined for hell. Jews can only be saved by accepting Jesus as their lord and savior, according to Jacobs, and getting them to do so is the central mission of Jews for Jesus. In other words, the “rabbi” Pence asked to share a blessing for unity believes that the only way for Jews to reach heaven is to stop being Jews.

   To be clear, a messianic Jew has as much right to her or his beliefs as I have to mine. It is admittedly unsettling to many Jews that the observances of messianic Jews look so, well, Jewish, including Jewish ritual items and Hebrew prominently, while being so based in Christian theology. But unsettling is not in and of itself offensive. It is also worth stating that this discomfort with messianic Judaism is not a discomfort with Christianity. Christianity, which looks like Christianity, is simply a different religion from Judaism and to be respected as a fellow faith tradition. Where messianic Judaism becomes much more troubling is when it seems to pass itself off as authentic Judaism, and especially when this resemblance is used to evangelize to Jews and try to pull them away from Judaism

    Jews for Jesus was founded in 1973 at the urging of the Southern Baptist Convention as a missionary organization with a very specific purpose: to evangelize to Jews and recruit them to Christianity. Jews for Jesus paved the way for a variety of groups that today identify as messianic Jews, and resist the accusation that they exist to “lure Jews away from Judaism.” Instead, messianic Jews see themselves as offering Jews the opportunity to become “completed” Jews by accepting Jesus, without leaving Judaism.

   The problem is that this is theologically impossible. The belief that Jesus was the messiah is the defining core belief of Christianity, and completely outside the realm of Judaism, all of whose mainstream branches believe that the Mashiach has not yet come.”

    Fortunately, impeachment is a drastic step which must be first pass in the House and confirmed in the Senate.

Only two Presidents in history have been impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. In both cases the Senate failed to confirm the House’s action. A third President, Richard Nixon, most likely would have been but he resigned before any vote.

   What would be better; stick with an egotistical incompetent or have a Pence for the next two years?

  I believe the answer is obvious. Also if the GOP controls the Senate the question is moot.