I have a serious question about religion. OK, actually I have three.I promise you that I am not trying to be simplistic, disrespectful, or inflammatory. I really am interested to know if anyone has the answer to these questions.
Recently, a born-again Christian spent the better part of the day trying to convert me. I realize that it's her duty to convert anyone who hasn't seen the light, and so I was patient with her and didn't beat her to death with a heavy object. Instead, I told her I would consider it if she could answer my three simple questions.
- I'm Jewish. So was Jesus. Why do you want to convert me to a religion other than the one your Lord and Savior practiced? And he didn't just practice Judaism, he was a Rabbi. So I can't help but think that leaving the religion he himself taught to others would be extremely disrespectful.
- If you love Jesus so much, shouldn't you be the one converting to the religion he was born into and taught to others? To me that would seem to be the way to really show your love for him. He's a nice Jewish boy, it's the least you can do!
- Finally, since Jesus was Jewish- and the son of God - then does that mean that God is Jewish? I mean really, would God impregnate a girl who didn't share his religion? That would be kind of blasphemous, wouldn't it?
Thank you.
*Thank God Jews don't believe in hell.
34 comments:
Your little friends who "aren't really doing anything to me and never were" and I'm just crazy?
They just pulled another "prank" at this site using:
muchadoaboutsumthing.blogspot.com
While you're there, take a look at the posts before September 27th...at the ID "youliveinmyhead1 " that commented a few weeks ago...anyone's picture you know?
Except..gosh, that's not me...proven with sitemeter...after being investigated by Blogger:)
This same person sent Steph an email and signed it with my real name...misspelled, lol.
You're welcome to ask her about it...I just found out myself.
Two years, guys...now
Brooke, I never did anything to you...this really is somebody that keeps giving me shit, going on two years now...sorry you don't believe it...this one caused real-life trouble for a couple of people.
Sorry you don't believe me...the psycho here is whomever keeps making IDs with my pictures, etc., that AREN'T me...with sitemeter proof now.
I was going to comment on the post until I read the first comment. Now I'm totally lost and confused. Did I miss something? Did you switch up posts on me?
Wow. Someone put something in my meatloaf.
Christianity originally was a Jewish sect. We were (are?) Jewish.
Some Christians have a different view of who gets "saved" and who doesn't.
There also seems to be some cultural bias that entered Christianity later on as it spread through Europe. It never went away.
Southern - I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I don't know who Steph is, I don't know what you think I don't believe, and I have no interest in going to that blog or being dragged into a drama that has nothing to do with me. In fact, I really don't even know you, so I have no idea what brought you to my blog. Please, I'm not interested in any of this. Don't bring it here.
Nance - please ignore that first comment. It's got nothing to do with me, my blog, or any version of the reality that most of us reside in on a daily basis.
Ubie - one thing I didn't mention in my post - this girl had absolutely no idea that Jesus was Jewish. She told me I was crazy.
I never argue with people regarding their religion and I never try to convert anyone. The born-again you know? It's her duty to take care of her own business while staying out of yours.
How's that for ignoring the elephant in the room?
You've tried to convert me into being a beer drinking tramp.
Oh wait...
The thing that you're missing is that Christians do follow in the Jewish tradition, the main differences being that Christians are Jews who beleive:
A- The Messiah has already come.
B- Jesus Christ is the Messiah.
C- The teachings of Jesus constitute a new covenant with God.
I had no idea that Jewsus was Jesish.
You rock!!! I would've told them to scram.
Anthony - thank you for actually trying to answer my questions. However, I still have questions. If Christians follow in the Jewish traditions, then why do they not celebrate Jewish holidays?
Sysm - I had no idea you were dyslexic.
Valley Girl - well basically I did, it just took me a lot longer to do so.
The answer to all three is that... Freemasons rule the world!
Oh, you want a serious answer... geesh Ms Hip, that's like, hard going for a Monday.
1. But I'd say that Jesus didn't really get along with the Jewish mainstream, he started a Sect that taught a whole lot of stuff the Jews didn't have as part of their written doctrine, even criticising that doctrine, and they killed him for it. After about 2 or 3 Centuries that differences in the doctrines grew into Christianity. I doubt Christ ever said, 'Hey, let's start a religion and name it after me'. Although, I wasn't always around to listen to everything he said.
2. Christ never converted anyone, and would probably see the act as pretty silly. He just went round saying stuff like 'Be good to your neighbour' or 'Here have some fish and loaves'. People agreed with him and later ran around to the ones that didn't and tried to tell them they were wrong. I guess Christians should follow Christ's example not other church members example... or something.
3. God is Jewish in the same way hydrogen is in water... wait, everything starts out as hydrogen...
oh and... Freemasons rule the world!
Rich - I hate to break this to you, but the Jews didn't kill Jesus. The Romans did. Didn't you go to Sunday School? Wait, is that what they are teaching in Sunday School???
Hahaha, yeah, I went to Sunday school, damnnit. But, according the the bible anyway, the Jewish Elders turned Jesus over to the Romans... um... so they had a hand in it. The Romans didn't like this monotheistic stuff anyway, it's not like they needed much of an excuse. Yes, yes, it's all a rich tapestry of history... most of which comes from one source that isn't renowned for it accuracy.
I know a bunch of Christians that know that Christianity sprung from Judaism. Those that are into conversion even refer to Jews with a phrase that basically means something like "pre-Christian".
Also, I think the Jewish power structure kinda pissed off the early Christians by killing them and throwing them in jail, which kinda made them less likely to want to keep their Jewishness intact.
And even Jesus knew it wasn't the Jewish people who hated him and turned him over, but the Dick Cheney-like leadership that felt threatened by him.
Hey Brooke,
I usually just lurk here, but I'll throw in a little on this one. Christ came to free the Jews and to fulfill the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. The Jewish leaders rejected him and turned him over to the Romans to be crucified. Christ himself gave up on revising Judaism to accept him. There's a scene in the Bible where they come across a withered tree and discuss whether or not it can be saved. The tree represents Judaism and their verdict is that it cannot be saved and therefore, they must do something different. Christianity is, as someone else said, a new covenant with God that recognizes Jesus as the son of God and the Messiah whose coming was promised. Judaism does not recognize Jesus and the Jews consider themselves waiting on the first coming of the Messiah. Christians consider Christ the first coming and await his return.
Anyway, I really enjoy your blog and good luck with your religious questions.
Rich - that's the book that says it's ok to sell your kids into slavery, right?
Jiggs - does that mean I'm PC? Get it, PC? I crack myself up.
Ubie - and this is why I'm not religious, because more people have died in the name of religion than any other ideal ever created.
Shelly - thank you for that intelligent answer! Please comment again!
I don't know the answer to any of your questions -- but for what it's worth, I think they're good ones!
I like Shelley's answer. So I'll say ditto.
So ... how did Judaism start?
Sorry ... I mean, Shelly. (Too many e's.)
Hey Brooke:
You have articulated questions I have been asking myself my whole life, and I'm not Jewish, I'm Lutheran. Still, I can't believe in a God or his son or nephew or janitor for that matter who would refuse to "save" a righteous Jew but "save" a rotten Christian. Here's how I've resolved the issue in my own little mind: Everyone gets to heaven, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, or whatever. Humans are one species, why would there be different Gods for separate categories of humans? Doesn't make sense to me.
I think Christ was here to tell us how to live. As a person whose dearest friends are Jewish, I believe they are doing exactly what Christ wanted - living a Christ-like life. There is one God - the rest is trifles.
I think that the answer lies somewhere in the comments above. Anthony's was the most succinct.
i would just like to say "oh my."
also i didn't know you were jewish!! now we have even MORE in common.
Having Jesus Christ shoved down my throat for the first eighteen years of my life might make me an inappropriate person to answer your questions...mostly because I think Christianity is crazy. I belong to the church of please and thank yous. Life so much better there. Plus, we're allowed booze!
I'm cool with people having faith and being down with JC, but I don't like being proselytized. I've made a conscious choice about my religion after much analysis and searching. I would never try to convince someone about why they should be a Buddhist and accept the Four Noble Truths, etc., so just be happy that I have faith in something. I'm kind of a fan of the whole "many paths to one end" philosophy. I once had a Baptist (no knock to Baptists) who told me that I was going to go to hell because I didn't accept Jesus as my personal savior. I countered with, so, does a man like Ghandi, who was a great, peaceful man, go to hell because he didn't accept Jesus, and someone like Hitler would go to heaven if he repented and professed love to Jesus. I got a muddled response.
OK, read two very good books calle d"The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail" and "The Messianic Legacy" by the guys that Dan Browne plagiarised. Jesus ( which wasn't his name) didn't start a sect, he was jewish and a follower of a stream of Judaism called Essene ( those that lived at Qu'umran), but he was a jewish as you could get at that time, and seeing as Judaism still hadn't settled into the patterns that we know today it's pretty hard to say what the "real" Judaism is ( I include Islam in this, as it was founded by Jews who felt that the other Jews had strayed from God´s original teaching). So we should all really get off our high horses about this. Except Ms. Rose, whose erudite and pertinent questions made me smile and think..."Yeah Baby, Yeah!!"
Sandra - me too! Thank you!
Bill - I don't know. How did the universe start?
Leezer - very well put. I like that.
Flounder - I expected more from you.
Kendra - I don't talk much about religion because it's not a big part of my life. But I'm glad to know we have more in common, which means I'm just a little bit cooler today.
Pants - where do I sign up?
Jacob - see! That's the kind of thing I would have asked! Explain that one!
Hyper - the fact is, Orthodox Jews wouldn't even consider me to be a real Jew. Ultra conservatives of all religions go to extremes, leaving the rest of us wondering what is real and what is insanity.
Also, nobody has ever called me erudite before.
You sign up IN MY PANTS! :-)
I'm always saddened when I hear/read stuff like this. There really is a reason people are afraid of "religious" people; it's cause they shove it down other people's throats.
Anyway, I'm not going to attempt to answer your questions without more thought and such. Also I do think Anthony summed things up well. But I will say that a) I did know that Jesus was Jewish. b) I don't think you're going to hell cause you're Jewish, and it's even better for you that you don't believe in hell. c) this woman needs to go back to Christian Theology 101.
:-)
Oh, man.
I'm so sorry.
You are so going to hell. But, I'll be there, too. So, let's just have fun while we're still on this plane!
I really like these questions.
If only logic could be applied to religion. It is not logical.
I do seem to have faith, but I can't find a religion that supports it.
I feel the presence of God in a lot of things -- touch, sound, sights and the air. ...except in certain unsavory establishments.
In the end, I have to say that born agains are so annoying with all that witnessing and poor fashion choices.
Still. I admire you for staying cool and coming up with questions that are probably confusing her to no end. ...and that is good and healthy!
Rock on, Hot One!
kisses from the ghetto fabulous,
matty
Oh, and my mom has become almost scary christian. ...yet, she is so not kosher.
ham this, ham that
You heard the new Ann Coulter crap about Jews right?
You are too funny. Sigh, I wish I could write witty blogs. That was some good stuff.
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