at the end of the day a truly Christian nation would burn me as a witch, and a truly Islamic nation would stone me. I’m not entirely sure about Judaism, but by what I’ve heard of Israel I’m not in a mad hurry to go and live there.
Here in particular, you're making the extremists' arguments for them. I am quite sure that the historical Christ would not have burned you as anything, and I doubt Mohammad or Abraham would either.
This is the core of Judaism in a nutshell, and it could stand just as easily for any other religion you'd care to name (courtesy of the Rabbi Hillel): "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary."
I'm not any kind of Jew except by heritage, but in interpreting Judaism, I'd sooner take my cues from Hillel than Avigdor Lieberman. Just as I'll take my cues on Christianity from Martin Luther King Jr or Walter Wink before Torquemada. Just as I take my cues on Islam from Leila Ahmed over Ayatollah Khomeini or Khameini.
Your hatred of religion in general seems to me founded in accepting the latter individuals' claims of representing the only "true" version of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or whatever. By implication, it denies the validity of all those who have drawn upon their belief in a beneficent deity or pantheon in their own struggle for good in the world. (Including the many Christians who saved Jews from the Holocaust.)
I can see how progressive religious types might agree with you, seeing as how I imagine their opinion of the kind of person you're talking about is approximates a Marxist's opinion of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, I know how ticked off I'd be if somebody were to point to the flaws of representative electoral politics (infinite) and then used that as an argument for the inherent oppressiveness of democracy.
... I feel like that all may have come out harsher than I'd intended. Obviously, you're free to feel what you like, so long as you don't try to to punish others for continuing to believe in God/practice their religion. I just felt these were some important considerations that you don't really address (although it is hard to fit everything you have to say into just 500 words, I am aware).
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-29 12:30 am (UTC)Here in particular, you're making the extremists' arguments for them. I am quite sure that the historical Christ would not have burned you as anything, and I doubt Mohammad or Abraham would either.
This is the core of Judaism in a nutshell, and it could stand just as easily for any other religion you'd care to name (courtesy of the Rabbi Hillel): "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary."
I'm not any kind of Jew except by heritage, but in interpreting Judaism, I'd sooner take my cues from Hillel than Avigdor Lieberman. Just as I'll take my cues on Christianity from Martin Luther King Jr or Walter Wink before Torquemada. Just as I take my cues on Islam from Leila Ahmed over Ayatollah Khomeini or Khameini.
Your hatred of religion in general seems to me founded in accepting the latter individuals' claims of representing the only "true" version of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or whatever. By implication, it denies the validity of all those who have drawn upon their belief in a beneficent deity or pantheon in their own struggle for good in the world. (Including the many Christians who saved Jews from the Holocaust.)
I can see how progressive religious types might agree with you, seeing as how I imagine their opinion of the kind of person you're talking about is approximates a Marxist's opinion of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, I know how ticked off I'd be if somebody were to point to the flaws of representative electoral politics (infinite) and then used that as an argument for the inherent oppressiveness of democracy.
... I feel like that all may have come out harsher than I'd intended. Obviously, you're free to feel what you like, so long as you don't try to to punish others for continuing to believe in God/practice their religion. I just felt these were some important considerations that you don't really address (although it is hard to fit everything you have to say into just 500 words, I am aware).