Something has been troubling me a bit since we returned home-part of a conversation I had at the Cafe Du Monde while enjoying coffee with my sister in law, my husband's niece and my little family. At one point (I can't remember what we were discussing) my sis in law made a comment that some things should just be believed, like Christianity. She made a statement that even if one doesn't understand Christianity, one should just believe in it because it's the truth (or something like that-I might not be quoting her exactly). She knows I'm Jewish, and she doesn't try to convert me to her belief system, but there were comments such as this sprinkled here and there throughout our trip and they make me uncomfortable sometimes. I felt as though little jabs were, however unintentionally, being poked at my own belief system. At another point during the trip my husband mentioned a pastor who has a television show which I cannot stand, to the extent that my husband usually won't switch his show on if I'm in the room. My sister in law said that she didn't like him either, but for different reasons than me. She said that he speaks the truth, to which I responded that he speaks his own version of the truth. I went on further to say that depending upon who you are listening to, Biblical translations and even purely historical translations can be different. I'm not sure this went over very well, but it's the truth, and I'm not sorry I said it because I'm tired of my own religion being bashed because most people don't know much or anything about it. I have no problems with someone else practicing a different religion. On the contrary, I love to listen to people talk about what they believe in and I respect people when they are passionate about those beliefs. For me, conflict enters when people start professing that their religion is the only true way and that if I don't believe what they do I will not enjoy a pathway to G-d. To me this sounds like bigotry and I have very little tolerance for bigotry. I'm going to post something here, not to offend anyone and certainly not to sway anyone else from their Christian faith, but simply to offer an explanation. It comes from the website Jews for Judaism (a great resource for Jewish parents and also for Jews who are "on the fence" about Christianity).
The Real Messiah: A Jewish Response to Missionaries
There's too much here for me to copy and paste, so I'm just going to provide this link. If you open it and read, even if you skim the document (it's quite extensive) it will provide you with the answers as to why Jews do not believe that Jesus was G-d in the flesh and why he could not be the Messiah. Again, it's not to intended to sway anyone but rather to inform with regard to Jewish belief. I feel that if people understood Judaism a bit more, they would not be so quick to react negatively toward it.
Living in a interfaith relationship can, at times, be difficult. I'm trying to raise our daughter in a Jewish way while still respecting my husband's faith as a Catholic. He isn't one of those thump you over the head with a copy of the New Testament Catholics, but that doesn't mean that sometimes our differing religious views don't pose struggles. I am the product of an interfaith marriage; my parents really didn't raise us with any definite religion, but with little bits and peices of both Judaism and Christianity. As a result, I grew up confused and have for years struggled with what it really is that I believe in. I think that my most recent searches religiously have brought me to an even deeper understanding of Judaism. I understand what I believe in now better than ever because I've wandered a little bit; I've discovered different avenues down which G-d can be reached and found that some of them work well in a Jewish context. I don't want my daughter to have to struggle so much, though. I want to provide her with a solid foundation of faith, to show her that Judaism can be deeply spiritual, that it can be compatable with feminist ideas, that it can be fun. Sometimes doing this can be like swimming against a strong current and sometimes I get tired. I will admit that the winter holidays are the most difficult in this regard because everyone just assumes that we celebrate Christmas and will ask my daughter about Santa and, afterward, what she got for Christmas. Although we have a tree for my husband, we don't "do" the whole Santa spiel. My daughter doesn't even like Santa Claus; he creeps her out when she sees him the mall. She doesn't seem to be deprived in any way because we don't have a Santa tradition. We light our menorah, say the blessings and open gifts and it's a beautiful time for our whole family. If we're home for Christmas, we usually open a few gifts on Christmas day so that my husband's religion will be respected. During the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays, I feel more tension in our home. The differences in faith that my husband and I possess are more clearly defined, while during the rest of the year there doesn't seem to be as much conflict. That said, I'm glad that they are now over for another year. The tree will come down tomorrow or Sunday, and life can resume normally. Tonight is Shabbat, and I'll go to the synagogue and maybe bring my daughter (she's only four, but a few people have told me that the experience might still be good for her and I agree). I will not be logging on tomorrow due to the Sabbath, but I wish you all a wonderful tomorrow!
1 comment:
The sad thing is that your sister-in-law is the one who does not understand Christianity. And, having been raised Catholic myself, I know that they are, by far, the most ignorant about their own religion of all the Christian sects.
I had a Catholic high school education, with an hour out of each day studying Catholic theology, which turned out to be an unintentional primer on paganism. The majority of religious rituals and holy days are out right rip-offs of the pagan traditions. From the signs and the symbols, from the incense and the vestments, from the Easter Bonnet to the Easter Bunny, they are all taken directly from the pagan.
But, the real ignorance is in how it relates to your situation being Jewish. The whole idea of following Jesus was meant to be, not part of a new religion, but a reformation of the Jewish faith. Jesus was not “Christ”, he was not even Jesus, his name was Joshua. Jesus Christ is a Greek term that came into usage to gentile up someone who was so obviously a Jewish rabbi that it was too hard to be ignored.
Even a cursory reading of the New Testament should reveal to an unencumbered mind that Jesus was really a fundamental orthodox Jew. From how he dealt with the money changers in the Temple to have he got on the Pharisees for getting too Roman in their behavior it is obvious that he was about toeing the line and acting more like Jews.
When the Apostles first set off preaching, this was the basic idea they were trying to put forth, under the leadership of Peter. That was until the arrival of the “Apostle” Paul.
Paul changed the whole thing, which is strange in itself in that he was the only Apostle who was not a Jew, had never met Jesus, let alone listened to him and he was very obviously playing both sides of the street, not being adverse to use his Roman citizenship when it suited him. Paul was a hustler and he was trying to “market” this idea of “Christianity” in order to build up a sufficient following to usurp Peter as head of the organization.
The conflict between Peter and Paul is pretty straight forward. Peter was intent on keeping to the Jewish origin. Paul’s main fights with Peter were on two subjects; circumcision and pork. Peter said every man that followed him had to get his weenie trimmed and Paul said every man that followed him didn’t. It isn’t hard to figure which group most men would join up with. Add to this that you could still enjoy your pork, which was the most eaten meat of the time and Peter was losing ground quickly in the converts contest. Paul was obviously going to take over and Peter caved in an dropped circumcision as a requirement for joining and the critical break with the Jewish tradition had been made.
I would like to say that it was deeper than that, that it was more a matter of spirituality and theological argument, but it was that base and that simple. It was all about putting bums on seats and who has the most people gets to make the rules.
Most Christian would hate to admit that they are Mel Gibson, fanatical about following Jewish messiah and hating the Jews at the same time, but the fact is that most of them would deny to their last breath that their religion is in anyway connected to Judaism.
Of course, this applies to Muslims as well, who will admit that they are descended from Abraham the Hebrew, the same as the Jews. It is the same thing, except that the Muslim’s schizophrenia starts a couple of thousand years before the Christians, but it is the same stupidity.
You would hope that logic would creep in somewhere and they would realize that there is some sort of psychotic break going on here in turning on the root of your own religious faith, but that is why your sister-in-law says that you should just believe in it. It she were to have to actually start thinking about it she might find that she doesn’t believe what she thinks she believes and blind faith is much more comforting to the psyche than seeing your whole belief system with clear and open eyes.
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