Is Dr. Laura Dumping Judaism for Fundamentalist Christianity?

[David__77]

New turn in Dr. Laura's spiritual journey
Convert to Judaism says she's no longer following rituals

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34015

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, one of the nation's most popular radio talk-show hosts and the most successful on-air counselor, is no longer practicing the rituals of Judaism – a religion she converted to a decade ago in her 40s.

''Almost 10 years ago, I talked on the air about becoming a convert to Judaism,'' she told her listeners last week. ''I was open on the air at that time about that evolution. Well, I would say within the last year I have had a de-evolution.''

...

Schlessinger said she has envied her Christian friends who talk about their relationship with God.

''I have envied all my Christian friends who really, universally, deeply, feel loved by God,'' she told her listeners last Tuesday. ''They use the name Jesus, in referring to God. My Christian friends generally talk about Jesus when referring to God. That was a mystery, feeling connected to God. To me that was a mystery, and I was very sad about that and very envious of my friends.''

(End excerpt)

"Dr. Laura" has been promoting Christian fundamentalist groups and books for years now. The real agenda of many fundamentalist Christian groups is to "support" Jews by converting them away from Judaism.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Keep your name in the news, Laura!

Gotta keep that profile out there!

[sasquatch]

2. Laura pisses on her Ancestors graves

So she can make a few bucks

[SpiralHawk]

3. Fundamentalism is as fundamentalism does

Dr. Laura has a moral compass with all the honesty and integrity of some of history's finest "MORAL EXEMPLARS," like Bill Bennett, Jimmy Swaggart, and Newt Gingrich. You can't ask for more integrity than that (of a Republican).

[ThorsteinVeblen]

4. I applaud Doctor Laura

Following ones heart (no matter how black and evil) is never easy.

I think she should make sure and try to convert all her Jewish supporters and friends with threats of brimstone and fire and eternal burning. Let her come out and denounce Jews as sinners because they don't recognize the divinty of Christ - one of the main tenets of her newfound faith. Let her force her faith on anyone who would disagree with her. Let her hatred, impatience, pride, self-righteousness and anger be the reflection of her faith in Jesus.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Dr. Laura was a JINO

Jewish in Name Only.

Good riddance!

[JanMichael]

6. Hardly a shocker to me.

She's a whack job, no doubt about it.

[Code_Name_D]

7. I have a hard time ever beelving she was Jewish.

More like she pretended to be Jewish to appeal to that myth of diversity. But now in the new fashist age, diversity is being openly tossed out the window, so she is "changing her appeal."

[Fridays Child]

8. I have a hard time believing she's ever been anything but an opportunist.

[Cocoa]

9. whatever she decides

I'm sure it will be very sincere. She strikes me as a deeply spiritual person, and not at all a hateful materialistic fraud.

Ditto for Bill Bennett.

[salin]

11. and she always took that part about "honor thy mother"

very seriously :eyes:

[joycep]

14. Amen

n/t

[liberalpress]

28. Great...

...now I have to take a shower to wash off all the sarcasm that just got dripped on me

[aquart]

10. She's older. She's scared of death. Christianity has heaven.

Judaism is very uncomfortable about the afterlife. We don't really discuss it. Don't exactly precisely have one.

I can understand her running to the guys who will keep her immortal.

Fear's fear. You deal with it how you can.

[IggleDoer]

16. What does she care?

She's going straight to hell anyway.

[IndianaGreen]

17. And she was mean to her mother

and I believe Laura is also alienated from her family.

[GabysPoppy]

12. Good Riddance

I would trade her for two used pork chops


GP

[pansypoo53219]

19. convicted

of conspiracy with rebels in a SA country. Peru? columbia? argentina? shit, i think its good i know who she is.

[GabysPoppy]

24. My Good riddance comment was directed to Dr. Laura

I hope you didn't think it related to Lori.

Lori is on my signature line because I want everyone to know her story. I would hope everyone that sees it would go to the web site and familiarize themselves with Lori's story. She has been imprisoned over 7 years and we cannot forget her and this international travesty.

[FreeperSlayer]

13. Who is this woman?

I keep seeing references to her; who is she?

[GCP]

22. Dr. Laura Shlesinger

Right wing wack-job who has a radio program telling people how to run their lives in an "ethical" way. Her doctorate is in physiology but she feels no compunction in acting like a pop psychologist of the fundie variety. Everybody should take full repsonsibility for their actions - nothing wrong with that- but she also believes sex before marriage is wrong, and that if people want to sleep together they absolutely have to get married first. She also doesn't believe in divorce so that's a problem for these poor putzs who did as they were told and got married to have sex then realized they couldn't stand each other. No divorce - ever.

After hammering on for years about the sanctity of the family, we learned last year that her mother had died alone in her apartment and her body hadn't been found for weeks, because the whole Schlesinger family is totally fucked up and she hadn't spoken with her mother for years.

The final nail in the coffin is the fact that beaver shots of her are floating around the internet, which she sent to some married guy with whom she was having an affair when she was a student.

It's the typical repuke do as I say not do as I do. Bennett, Gingrich, Hyde, Schlesinger - hypocrites to the end.

[Bunny]

23. a few comments:

she is a licensed clinincal therapist in CA, so she can legitimately provide counseling. However, I do find her use of the title Doctor to be disingenuous.

Second, she says you are permitted to divorce under any of the three following conditions: addiction, abuse, adultery. If your spouse is doing any of the above and will not or cannot change, then you are allowed to divorce.

You are correct in that there is to be no premarital sex. She was estranged from both of her parents, and also her only sib (a sister). I don't know the reason for the distance between them.

I've listened to her a lot, and it is obvious that she is filled with self-loathing (maybe because of her own past behavior) and she hates women.

I do not believe she has internalized any of her religious teachings, as she is anything but Christlike and/or righteous. She is a hypocrite of the worst kind.

[stanwyck]

31. She loathes women

absolutely hates, hates, hates women. I listen to her occasionally. Just for perversity. It's always the women's fault. The woman should be doing more. The Jewish people are lucky. Who wants her association? She is truly vile.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

33. dr laura...

Laura was taking classes at USC to get her Doctorate in Physiology. One of her teachers was Lew Bishop,(husband #3) and his interest in her ended up being quite strong. Attracted to her for her mind and her strong interest in science, he eventually started spending his spare time with her. And while Laura stated in recent interviews that she dated Lew while he was separated from his wife, Jeanne, friends and family state that Lew's divorce was based solely around the time he spent with Laura Schlessinger. Bishop had three children at the time. That's right, friends and family, Dr. Laura was a home wrecker. Additionally, when Lew and Jeanne got their divorce, he didn't pay his child support and alimony payments and prescribed in the divorce decree. Dr. Laura's future husband was a deadbeat dad! Jeanne Bishop had to go to court to get him to pay his allocated sum, and it should be pointed out that his relationship with his children effectively ended with his marriage to Laura in 1984. She had no interest in his past family.

At this point, Laura had become Dr. Laura, and had attained a certificate in marriage, family, and child counseling, but her degree was still in Physiology. She set up a practice as a family therapist in 1981, and continued her stints on various radio and television talk shows for quite a while. Her parents had been divorced, her relationship with her sister strained the point of collapse, and her desire for a child got her to reverse her tubal ligation performed years before. After the birth of her son, she kept her practice going two days a week, and even had a close friendship with one of her patients that got her a personal baby-sitter at times. She would get her patients to become active in her other ventures, like her knitting classes and karate classes, failing to maintain a professional distance from those she was aspiring to help. All this from the woman who now denounces other mothers who work with young children.

Coworkers related Laura's efforts to discredit Barbara De Angelis(talk show host). She distributed the information she had gathered by placing a list of background data on everyone at the station's desk. And while De Angelis happily helped Laura by giving advice on how to get her book published, Laura secretly made anonymous phone calls to any company who interacted with De Angelis, alerting them that Barbara could not be called Doctor with either a medical degree or a license to practice Psychology in the state of California. And while De Angelis had a doctorate in psychology, she did not have either of these credentials. Keep in mind that Laura had a degree in physiology, and while that made her legally able to use Doctor in front of her name, it seems silly that she should point fingers at someone with a doctorate in the field they practice. This conflict continued, even years after Barbara had left KFI. And while Dr. Laura had gotten the shift she wanted on afternoon radio, she continued to dog her "adversary" and discredit her at every turn

[Iris]

15. why not? She already thinks she's an expert on all religions of the world

It makes me so angry to hear her tell Catholic callers what THEIR church teaches them to do.

[IggleDoer]

18. The unloved

If your life sucks and you can't get out of your current situation, come over to the fundy side. For a few bucks and your soul we'll tell things will be great in the afterlife, whatever that is.

[panzerfaust]

20. She embodies many fundamental Xtian beliefs ...

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
-Luke 14:26

[Perky]

21. Oh Please

It is the goal of Christians everywhere to convert. We are commanded by God to do so.



THe Great commission is a great tenet of the faith whether we are fundamentalist or not.

[panzerfaust]

25. We are commanded by God to do so

And it was commanded by Allah to fly the Boeings into the buildings (If one accepts the popular version of what happened).

What sort of world do you really want to live in: An ancient, savage, intolerant world limned by Godly Commands, or a more tolerant world of Common Hopes, of Decency, of Reason, and of Understanding?

[donco6]

36. Yet another reason . . .

not to be one.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

26. According To Jewish Law

Dr. Laura wasn't really Jewish anyway since Jews believe your religion is passed down from your mother; i.e. if you have a Jewish mother you're a Jew regardless of your father's religion.


But of course you can convert.

[SyracuseDemocrat]

27. Thanks Laura,

you sellout.

[coda]

29. Moved to conversion, based on one of the Seven Deadly Sins?

Envy...and irony...live together in perfect...har mo ny...

"Love is patient, love is kind…" Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

30. is she flip-flopping again? she denounced her Catholic Christ

to marry her 3rd husband, who happened to be a married jewish rabbi and also let her mothers corpse rot for 4 months because they were estranged...good GOP women giving others advise on family values........ bitch

[ElsewheresDaughter]

32. Dr Laura converted to judiasim to marry her 3rd husband

she was raised Catrholic ...i believe that's why her mother and sister were estranged ..Laura was taking classes at USC to get her Doctorate in Physiology. One of her teachers was Lew Bishop,(husband #3) and his interest in her ended up being quite strong. Attracted to her for her mind and her strong interest in science, he eventually started spending his spare time with her. And while Laura stated in recent interviews that she dated Lew while he was separated from his wife, Jeanne, friends and family state that Lew's divorce was based solely around the time he spent with Laura Schlessinger. Bishop had three children at the time. That's right, friends and family, Dr. Laura was a home wrecker. Additionally, when Lew and Jeanne got their divorce, he didn't pay his child support and alimony payments and prescribed in the divorce decree. Dr. Laura's future husband was a deadbeat dad! Jeanne Bishop had to go to court to get him to pay his allocated sum, and it should be pointed out that his relationship with his children effectively ended with his marriage to Laura in 1984. She had no interest in his past family.

At this point, Laura had become Dr. Laura, and had attained a certificate in marriage, family, and child counseling, but her degree was still in Physiology. She set up a practice as a family therapist in 1981, and continued her stints on various radio and television talk shows for quite a while. Her parents had been divorced, her relationship with her sister strained the point of collapse, and her desire for a child got her to reverse her tubal ligation performed years before. After the birth of her son, she kept her practice going two days a week, and even had a close friendship with one of her patients that got her a personal baby-sitter at times. She would get her patients to become active in her other ventures, like her knitting classes and karate classes, failing to maintain a professional distance from those she was aspiring to help. All this from the woman who now denounces other mothers who work with young children.

Coworkers related Laura's efforts to discredit Barbara De Angelis(talk show host). She distributed the information she had gathered by placing a list of background data on everyone at the station's desk. And while De Angelis happily helped Laura by giving advice on how to get her book published, Laura secretly made anonymous phone calls to any company who interacted with De Angelis, alerting them that Barbara could not be called Doctor with either a medical degree or a license to practice Psychology in the state of California. And while De Angelis had a doctorate in psychology, she did not have either of these credentials. Keep in mind that Laura had a degree in physiology, and while that made her legally able to use Doctor in front of her name, it seems silly that she should point fingers at someone with a doctorate in the field they practice. This conflict continued, even years after Barbara had left KFI. And while Dr. Laura had gotten the shift she wanted on afternoon radio, she continued to dog her "adversary" and discredit her at every turn




....she knows where your liver is and its function but doesn't know squat about human relationships!...she is an evil charlatan

[waggawagga]

35. Not that it matters.

Dr. Laura didn't convert so she could marry her present husband (whom, I think, is only #2 for her). This occured years later and was the result of her meeting many leaders and personalities in the Jewish community of Los Angeles. This is very cosmopolitan and well-organized (I'm sure they were flattered when she showed interest). Her husband, apparantly, doesn't care that much about these things.

All of which would make any new conversion much funnier. Dr. Laura wasn't that conservative when she started out (I remember calls she took from gays and lesbians, she handled them sensitively, there was no animus there). The tilt to the right occured after her show was syndicated nationally.

And I don't think the "why" of this is that mysterious. Fundies love her. From the conservative Jewish community in LA she might get respect, even appreciation. But she wouldn't get the kind of blind adulation which soldiers on a mission give to their flag bearers. Judaism, as a religion, isn't really about that (indeed, tends to frown on that).

This was like dangling candy in front of a baby. "They'll love me more if I start bashing gays and single mothers". Not that she actually thought this. I don't think she has the self-awareness. But that, essentially, is what happened. It's easy to demonize conservatives but I think it pays to figure out who these people are.

[waggawagga]

34. Hahaha, Dr. Laura is Sincere but Very Weird

I'm more than a bit embarassed to admit that I listened to Dr. Laura before she was syndicated nationally. To the extent you can pick up someone's personality from a radio program here's the impression I got: she had a very unhappy childhood; she's intensely insecure and compensates for this by seeking adulation and bullying people; as weird as it sounds she seems to have gotten a lot of her ideas about life from listening to other radio programs (especially Dennis Prager, another LA radio host, in a fairer world she'd be paying him a steady stream of royalties); and all of this makes her a lot like the people she criticizes routinely on her program (her commitment to principles is situational, it's really about this search for adulation and new opportunities to bully people).

All of which makes her strangely compelling as a radio personality. It's quite funny to me how the rest of the country took to her. She's so quintessentially LA (a member of the second wives club, bleach blonde, shopaholic, a student of the language of self-actualization while nursing grudges which would take years of therapy to untangle, a comparative religionist, kept her name after getting married, transplanted East Coaster, student of karate, etc.).

What does she have in common with fundamentalists in places like Oklahoma and Texas? And I'm avoiding the nasty stuff. If you take who she says she is at face value she doesn't seem to be the kind of person whom students at Oral Roberts university would normally strive to emulate.

As for the Christian stuff. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she converted again during the next year or so. This would be very funny but really it's very consistent with this search for adulation and new opportunities to bully people. This is the hole she's trying to fill (guess Judaism just didn't give her the constant reassurance someone with this kind of personality always needs).

I'm waiting for her son to grow up and get caught up in some big drug scandal (that's just a matter of time, if he's gay that would be the icing).

[mumon]

37. They can get Michael Medved too!

C'mon Michael, stop playing footsie with fundies & become one yourself!

[mumon]

38. Omidog! it's written by Farah

another Jee for Joozus.

[mumon]

39. Wait up!

Schlessinger, known to millions as Dr. Laura, says she is ''very committed still to all my moral issues, and the charitable issues. I mean that hasn't changed. My putting out hasn't changed. My identifying with this entity and fulfilling the rituals, etc., of the entity – that has ended."



Enquiring minds want to know:

1. Well, uh, what about moral absolutes? Huh?

2. Your "putting out" hasn't changed? Does that mean we'll get NEW nudie pics of you???