cb5150
Contributor
The biggest problem I have with religion...is the people.
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I guess the above would make me a "liberal" the way Americans presently classify the world.
Interesting that you should say that. The thing is that nobody's born as/into any particular religion. Religion is something that you are taught, almost always by your parents. There are no Jewish (or Christian, or Hindu, etc) children because they're too young to understand what they're supposed to believe in. There are only children of Jewish parents. The most you could say is that you were raised Jewish, and that today you're a cultural Jew, same as people who celebrate Christmas but aren't religious can be said to be cultural Christians. (These are actual things, not something I made up.)I was born Jewish ...
Interesting that you should say that. The thing is that nobody's born as/into any particular religion. Religion is something that you are taught, almost always by your parents. There are no Jewish (or Christian, or Hindu, etc) children because they're too young to understand what they're supposed to believe in. There are only children of Jewish parents. The most you could say is that you were raised Jewish, and that today you're a cultural Jew, same as people who celebrate Christmas but aren't religious can be said to be cultural Christians. (These are actual things, not something I made up.)
The same is true for things like baptisms. Some churches want you to believe that once you're baptized, that's it. Now you're a Catholic (or Protestant, or ...) for life and there's nothing you can do about it. Not so! Nobody's defined by what was done to them as a child. When it comes to religion, it's all about what you actively believe in (or don't believe in). I was baptized in a Catholic church, but I'm not a Catholic by any means because I don't believe any of their tenets. I could even go and attend mass or participate in the communion or go and "confess my sins" (lol) or anything like that and I still wouldn't be Catholic.
The thing is that nobody's born as/into any particular religion.
You're talking about a cultural identity or perhaps ethnic background, I'm talking about religion and beliefs. Two completely different things, which in this case unfortunately share the same word/name.actually one is born Jewish. You are taught the laws, traditions and customs. A child born of a Jewish mother is Jewish. It is not about belief or practice. In that sense, being Jewish is more like a nationality than a religion. Even if one does not follow the tenets of the Jewish faith, if your mother is Jewish...then you are too. A longer and better written explanation is at Judaism 101: Who Is a Jew?
What, you mean the Nazis actually had it right?Hilarious. Tell that to the Nazis.
I'm convinced that religion is the biggest cause of evil in this world today.