I was asked recently why it seemed that I preferred Judaism to Christianity. Fair question. I was raised in a secular household by a Jewish father and a Christian mother, neither of whom were religious. My mom stopped practicing Lutheranism at age 13, when she approached her parents and said, "I don't want to go to church anymore because I can't love a God that would send an unbaptized child to hell." Her parents, also not religious, were relieved, responding that they only took her and her siblings to church because they thought it was the right thing to do, but they had no desire to go themselves. When she met my dad she converted to Judaism, mostly to pacify my dad's moderately conservative family who preferred that he marry another Jew (as most Jews do), but also because she genuinely felt that Judaism spoke to her in a way that Christianity didn't. I tell this story because while I clearly think both religions are bullshit (excuser mon français), I DO indeed favor Jewish ideals IN GENERAL. Overall, I find it a rather more progressive and tolerant religion. While I won't go into the long-winded explanation, I did find this chart rather handy (and much more concise) to help me justify the reasons for why I feel that way.
http://www.acme.com/jef/religion_sex/
- Jessica
- Welcome to The Secular Gospel According to Jess! In this blog you’ll find everything from cartoons that make me laugh, to quotes that inspire me, to stories of my own personal experience when it comes to dealing with religion and pretty much everything in between. The title of my blog is intended to be ironic, as one doesn’t often hear the word, “gospel”, associated with secularism, but my intent is to preach, for lack of a better word, what I think gospel should really be about: love, rationalism, fairness, equality, human rights, science and truth. Enjoy!
While I find your view acceptable, as you have a right to your views, I do not like the tone of your message in some cases. I am Jewish and I respect all religion for what the true message of religion means. Calling religion "bullshit" is judgmental and close minded. I am not a, "as you say a religious person", but I do believe in the culture of who I am and respect those around me. As I respect your views on atheism because it is your choice. I do not respect how you display your opinion by using a lack of tact to talk about it. I am someone, like yourself, who needs proof when it comes to things, but I will not demonize or ridicule someone who has faith in a higher power as long as they are a good person.
ReplyDeleteHi, thank you for your comment. I have many close friends and family members who are believers in God and who pay respect to the traditions of the religion they grew up with. I, too, growing up, observed the traditions of both Jewish and Christian cultures and enjoyed them. I do not demonize or ridicule the importance of culture, nor would I ever deny that I identify with being Jewish in the cultural and ethnic sense. My problem is not with the culture, only with blind faith that often accompanies it. With blind faith comes a huge capacity for evil, and that is what causes me to distrust people who claim to be believers. However, if from experience I can tell that the person is good and does not hold pernicious beliefs, I am fully able to look past their faith. Take care.
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