”The Believers”: An Analysis of Belief & Faith Essay

Auto-phobia otherwise known as self-hatred or self loathing is emblematic of low self-esteem. An extension of this behavior from a cultural perspective is ethic self-hatred – an extreme aversion to one’s ethic heritage. A self-hating Jew, a pejorative phrase classifying a Jewish person with alleged anti-Semitic beliefs, exemplifies ethic self-hatred. This life altering experience pervades the 2001 blockbuster film, The Believer, starring Ryan Gosling, Billy Zane, Theresa Russell, Garrett Dillahunt, and Summer Phoenix. Similar to the 1998 movie American X in terms of an expose on Neo Nazi beliefs, its infusion of ethnic self-hatred propels it into a unique sphere of its own. Recipient of the 2001” Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize,” The Believer was directed and written by acclaimed American director/screenwriter/ producer/actor Henry Bean (Internal Affairs, Deep Cover, Venus Rising, and Noise). The biogragphical motivation for the film is the real life story of Daniel “Dan” Burros (March 5, 1937 — October 31, 1965), an American Jew turned Nazi Party member and Kleagle (New York state branch of the United Klans of America).

Well received by critics, The Believer was described as thrilling, riveting, and astonishing (The Independent, 2001). A gripping and intense performance, Ryan Gosling (Notebook, Half Nelson) plays twenty-something year old Daniel Balint, a troubled Orthodox self-hating Jew turned Neo-Nazi. Danny epitomizes a person whose faith has gone a wry. This stance is fueled by his belief that the Jews have taken a cowardly stance on atrocities that have happened to them throughout history (Abraham’s sacrifice, Holocaust, etc.). A walking paradox, Danny deduces that blasphemy, heresy and denial of the soul are the only way to survive. He is the epitome of a life lived in hell on earth. As opposed to physical grotesqueness, he illustrates mental and spiritual deformity. God is viewed as tyrannical and obeisance to Him is being subject to his mercy.

The Believer poses many questions concerning belief and faith particularly in its association with God or a higher power. Does a higher power exist and what are the benefits of obeisance to such a power? Can one love that which they hate or truly hate that which they supposedly love? Suffice to say a double-minded man is inherently unstable- not trustworthy / reliable. A believer places their trust and faith in something which they may not have seen and/or heard. The film purports the standard viewpoint of belief, faith, and religion as being synonymous and equal. Religion entails human thought, perceptions, cultural traditions and mythology. Despite his quest for self fulfillment and meaning, Danny’s extremist faith/belief via violence makes it hard to align with this position. Psychopathic/schizophrenia and belief/faith in God should not coincide. God is not the author of confusion – to do so could unleash a hellish situation in God’s name. To simply believe in God is not enough. It must become a way of life, manifest in all things that you say and do [the pathway to true Faith]. This intrinsically deters and protect against crossing certain boundaries that might be destructive.

Hebraic/Hebrew concept of belief/faith is different and relatable. Belonging to Shemitic-Hamitic [Afro-Asiatic] language family, Hebrew is referred to as the Holy Tongue – the language of creation. According to the Genesis account in the TANAKH (Old Testament), prior to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:5-9) which lead to language diversification [confusion], Hebrew (Ivrit, עִבְרִית) was the spoken language which united all of mankind. The letters which comprise Hebrew have phenomenal meaning and essence – constituting a life-force which all things are created and understood. In Hebrew, the word for faith is emunah/eh-moo-nah – trust, steadfastness, firmness. Thus faith involves a process and belief is only a part of the process by way in which you acquire faith – faith being the ultimate expression of belief.

The process involves:

1. Le-Ah-Main,
2. E-Moon,
3. Le-Hah-Ah-Men,
4. Nay-Eh-Mahn,
5. Oh-Mahn.

Le-Ah-Main means to make firm, and removing doubt by serious study and investigation of the facts [or at least available information], in order be assured of the validity of your belief(s). You then confirm/verify what you have learned via your actions. E-moon means confirmation, training, or practice thus you must put into practice what you have learned or been taught – for without practice there is no progress and development [practice makes perfect]. With diligence and discipline you entrust and confirm your belief by your actions (faith without works is meaningless). Your actions illustrate your belief and simultaneously you inspire others to believe. Nay-Eh-Mahn incorporates reliability and trustworthiness, indicating a greater level of responsibility. With intensified teaching/learning and responsibility/trustworthiness, you become a master (O-Mahn) in your field(s) of studies (faith). Thus Hebraic faith consists of correlating thoughts, words, deeds and an intensified learning/teaching process which entails mastery, responsibility and accountability.

At the core of this faith/belief paradigm is the idea of God consciousness and moral responsibility- not from the viewpoint of religious sectarianism, but rather from the perspective of truth, justice, morals and ethics. We should focus on these Godly principles as opposed to the dogmas and personalities of any particular religion or ideology. God represents that which is true and right. Truth is the correct knowledge and understanding of reality. That which creates, sustains, and maintains life in harmony with the natural cycles of this planet, doing no harm to the ecology or people of the Earth – is right These definitions of Godliness, Truth, and Rightness often seem esoteric, but if they can be defined then they are knowable and thus attainable-Knowing Truth can make you free.

Belief based on religious ‘faith’ prevails in the world with the vast majority professing to believe in a higher power. Yet, as with the Tower of Babel, such diversity has been the cause of great strife and division. Despite this array of religions – mass scale pillaging, death and destruction are very much present in the world today. Corruption is rampant- a result of the failure to implement of these righteous principles beyond mere religious tokenism and rhetoric. The ramifications and repercussions are evident as indicated by rampant war and violence, deception (double speak &/or political spin), fraud, crime, torture, sexual abuse and lasciviousness, etc; which have been almost normalized via television, movies, music, the internet; and glossed over by the corporate controlled ‘news’ media. The above mentioned righteous/Godly principles such as Truth, Justice, Morals and Ethics, etc. have been down-played and even oft-times effectively eliminated from discourse in institutions of government, education, and especially business and science/technology – thus fading from society’s consciousness. ‘Greed is good’ and ‘Looking out for number one’ has replaced ‘I am my brother’s keeper’ and ‘Do onto other’s as you would have them do onto you’ as society’s current mottos.

Unfortunately the current paradigm for ‘successful’ individuals, institutions and societies is measured by their ability to project political, military, economic, and technological prowess and influence- not by establishing and upholding meaningful righteous/Godly principles and standards. So even though they often profess much religious ‘belief’ in God- yet their hearts [deeds] are far from what they profess. It is a blind faith – nebulous and unaccountable in nature. Thus these institutions and societies reveal the type of schizophrenic behavior that is so obvious in a Danny Balint/Daniel “Dan” Burros- the Nazi Jew.

Bibliography

Ross, Allen P. Introducing Biblical Hebrew: Baker Academic, 2001

“The Big Picture: The Believers (review)” The Independent, 2001. Web.