Posted on 12/23/2005 5:44:48 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
December 23, 2005 - 08:40
What the Today show probably intended as a warm-'n-fuzzy holiday segment just veered wildly off course when a rabbi spoke some unvarnished truth.
The topic was "December Dilemma: Interfaith Holdidays," and dealt with the issue of celebrating the holidays in families with children where the parents are of different religions.
Footage was played of a family with a Jewish wife, a Christian husband and a couple of very cute daughters. They were predictably shown admiring both a menorah and a Christmas tree.
Back in the studio, David Gregory interviewed "The God Squad," Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman, who for years have made joint appearances to discuss religious matters.
When Gregory asked the rabbi if there was anything wrong with bringing the children of mixed marriages up in some kind of combo religion, I had the feeling he was anticipating [as was I], a PC response. Instead, he got a shot of candor right between the eyes:
"[Kids] have to know how to answer when asked [as to their religion] 'what are you?' If they answer 'both,' that's answering that Jesus is and isn't the Messiah, that Christmas is and isn't the birth of the Savior. That's insane. That's crazy. And it shouldn't be put on a child to have to make those kinds of decisions."
Bravo, Rabbi!
>These verses tell me that there is a judgement of all, living AND dead, after Christ comes again.<
>Rev 20-15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.<
Yes their will be a judgment but no opportunity for repentence.If your name is not in that book it is to late.
"I am not an atheist by any stretch, but believe G-D could never ever intended or hopes mankind would act is does in his name."
I like the way you think- up to this point ...
In other words, "Huh?"
"Its actually amazing to see otherwise smart people believe the most ridiculous things just because the man in robes says so. "
Dittoooooooooooooooooooooo!
I think it's perfectly alright to have a smorgasbord religion- that's what they all are, historically, anyway- amalgamations and borrowings and "reinvented" "traditions" from competing cultures ... If a person blindly accepts his parents' religion, it's just another excuse for, in a sense, ancestor worship.
Still, if you can't take the time to teach your children your own values, then I guess the next best thing is to throw some organized religion at them. And then wonder why some people grow up to be insufferable ideologues.
OK, I'd better shut-up now.
"Providing a child with conflicting religious instruction in this context is worse than providing them no religious instruction at all -- because it trivializes and mocks two religions/cultures instead of just ignoring them completely. "
Why not just view this as an education? Why does a religious education have to "ignore" others? Isn't more information ALWAYS a good thing?
"It is very sad when people treat their pets better than even their own family and friends."
Yes, indeed. And may I add, Goy Vay.
You ask some good questions. I wish I had the answers. But, you know what - nobody does. We all act like we have it figured out, and our particular brand of religion is the right one (or mostly right). I'm willing to promise you that when we pass over and meet our Maker, we will find out that much, if not most, of what we accepted as dogma simply isn't true, or is so simplistic that is does not begin to describe what is. God makes it very clear in the Bible that we do not have the ability to understand God and the universe, beyond the little that we (think) we know.
So, what's important? I think a shared set of beliefs is very important to us, because that's the way we are made. Shared because that has many benefits, too many to state here.
Me - I just try to keep it simple. God is, the Bible is God's word to us, Jesus is the Messiah, and the Ten Commandments rule. Most of the rest is open for debate, in my opinion.
Anyone who does "matrimonial law" (divorce law) is going to have a skewed view of how married people treat each other-- they never see the happilly married ones.
Very true!
I still like the picture of the menorah with the 8 tiny lighted Christmas trees on it.
Jesus was and still is Jewish and celebrated all of the Jewish holidays, why shouldn't I?
I don't know where the drinking comment came from or how to respond to it.
Read what Isiah says about the coming of the messiah (Isiah 53) and let me know what you think.
May God bless you and hold you!
Happy Chanukah!
Unfortunately, over time the term "Christian" came to mean more than simply a "follower of the Messiah." Many people today have a false dichotomy in their minds, that on the one hand, there are Jews and Judaism, and on the other hand there are Christians and Christianity, and supposedly you must choose between the two.
Accordingly, when a Jew accepts Yeshua he is thought to have "switched over" from the Jew-Judaism side to the Christian-Christianity side, and is therefore no longer regarded as a Jew, but a Christian.
For all intents and purposes the term "Christian" has become synonymous with "non-Jew" or "Gentile." We believe the opposite to be true. Nothing could be more Jewish than to follow Israel's Messiah! Consequently we choose to call ourselves "Messianic Jews" which identifies us as Jewish people who follow Messiah Yeshua.
Cryptonite is a good analogy. It has less to do with Jewish leaders filling young ones heads and more to do with the scriptures, however.
Everyday, observant Jews, restate G-ds Oneness by saying the Shema. Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One.
So, the thought of a hybrid man-god, is the height of idolatry.
For more information, google search RAMBAM's (a famous Rabbi) 13 principles of faith.
Most Jews would disagree with you. The early history of Christianity – how a Jewish sect became a separate religion -- is important knowledge for all of us to have. But you have to know that Christianity is a daughter religion of Judaism, not the same religion, although many teachings are similar to Jewish teachings, but with different emphasis. These days, as many Christians are seeking to know more about Judaism, many Jews want a better understanding of Christianity, beyond the old antagonistic characterizations they may have been taught. Wise rabbis and Christian clery know this and teach this. The ones stuck in the old ways keep the distance. That may be what you reacted to and what sent you to become a so-called "Messianic Jew." I'd say that all the things attracting you to accept Jesus are things that were in Judaism all along -- you simply were not educated properly in your own faith and felt you had to go elsewhere to achieve things like grace, forgiveness, etc. -- the "mercy" side of God that lives alongside the "justice" side.
Frankly, I suspect that "Messianic Jews" are trying to have it both ways because being a Jew has been so hard in our society because you are always on the outside. There is that longing to be "in" and at best, you are deluding yourselves or at worst, you are being dishonest. Your post is what Messianic Jews are taught to help you resolve your own the ambivalence. It is spin created by the founders of "Messianic Judaism." The first Christians were Jews but also came in from great numbers of Roman pagans. The pagans did not become Jews. They became Christians. While Jesus spread the teachings of his own people -- the way God meant them to be in the Torah, not what they had become under the corrupt politicians -- Christians made him a deity. Jews will not do this, as you well know. When you try to convince other people, it seems like you are trying to convince yourselves.
I think it's sad. You're in a no-man's land when you don't need to be if you just say you are Christians. It seems like your whole philosophy is an attempt to stop your parents sitting shiva.
I have to kindly disagree with you. As a teacher in a Hebrew and Jewish religious school I get a lot of children from mixed marriages and they are for the most part very confused. It is impossible to teach someone that there is only 1 g-d and then say oh but if your dad is Christian then Jesus is alright too. too many mixed messages.
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