If you hadn't had kids...

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2004
If you hadn't had kids...
1649
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 10:34pm
And your dh made enough $$ to support both of you comfortably, do you think you would be working?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 6:53pm
OTBM, I was so inspired by your "board addiction" post below, that I've been staying away, only to miss an opportunity to defend you. ;)

If some of the Christians on this board spent half as much time volunteering on behalf of *their* religions as you do on yours, maybe Christianity wouldn't have such a bad rap.

Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear it. I just heard the good news and popped back over, just in case you were still checking in.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 7:01pm
Do you really think that *dying* to atone for someone else's sin is the moral equivalent to *killing* someone else to atone for your own sin?

When you call the crucifixion a "human sacrifice," if sounds as if you see these two things as different sides of the same coin. I'm no Christian, but surely you see that there's a moral difference there?

Is stealing a loaf of bread from a hungry person equivalent to giving a loaf of bread to a hungry person, too?

Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear it. I just heard the good news and popped back over, just in case you were still checking in.
Avatar for outside_the_box_mom
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 7:21pm
Because I highly respect you, I will attempt to explain what I mean. First off, let me preface it with that when I come here, I am usually exhausted mentally. I write for high-tech; the topic matter is technical, hard to understand, and boring. This morning, for example, I was writing about a "breakthrough discovery" and had spent hours reading the patent (which was written in chemistry-ese) and then trying to put it in plain English. By the time I came here for a "lurk break," I had already been up and working since 4:00 AM. Many times, what I write here is dashed off and not well thought out because I am too tired. I am happy if I can manage to get my "to/too" and "your/you're" usage correct. So you are probably correct when you say I write using generalizations.

But anyway, with regard to the armed guards in temple thing, this is/was my thought process. Before 9/11, I went to temple with no thought to safety. When I first converted, my DH said, "You know you're setting yourself up for harrassment by becoming Jewish, don't you?" I had no clue. I was so happy with becoming Jewish, I didn't even think about what it has been like for Jews to be Jews in Europe and America.

Since 9/11, we have had armed guards in temple for the high holy days. That first year, DH leaned over to me and said, "That man in the row ahead is packing heat." I said, "What??? How do you know?" "I know," he said. We had lunch at the Rabbi's that day so I asked -- did we have armed officers at services? We had indeed. Three of them. I was blown away. We have had them ever since.

What bothers me is that this is America, the land of religious freedom, and in a sense, we are not free to worship as we like. I, and others like me, have to worry about going to temple. That bothered me. I know that people worry about sending their children to public school due to gun violence or letting them play out of doors unsupervised, but religious freedom is a constitutional right. Having guards said to me my right was being limited. Does that make sense? The reason I bring Christianity into it is because Christianity is the majority religion and I don't think anyone worries about going to worship at church. Do you? Do you worry about getting blown up in church because you are a Christian? I'm not saying Christians will come blow Jews up. I'm just asking, "Doesn't it bother you that people who want to worship have to worry about this?" It bothers me.

I live in a semi-rural area that doesn't have a large Jewish population. I think we have two Jewish families in our town, if that. Unlike my Christian neighbors, I don't hang holiday themed flags. They hang Easter flags, flags with crosses, Christmas flags etc. I would not dare hang a Star of David or place my mennorah in the window at Chanukah; I am too afraid to. Again, I'm not saying Christians will come place a burning cross on our lawn. I'm saying it bothers me that in America I am afraid to do this. Does that make sense?

As to the burning bag of dog sh*t, that was only one incident. I think I posted before that the year previous, somone took a contractor-sized box of large nails and poured them on the street in front of our temple so no one could park. The city had to come clean them up. This year we were leafleted by a hate group. I wish you could have seen the ugly pictures and words. They were frightening. Again, I'm not saying Christians are doing this. I am saying it bothers me that in America this is happening. And not only in America. All over Europe, too.

So that is what I meant. As I said, I had no clue what a minority group experiences. Now that I'm Jewish, I understand a tiny bit what African Americans and other minorities have gone through. It isn't a good feeling.

Does that make sense now?

Shalom.

outside_the_box_mom

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 7:22pm
Mine is a story.

My niece and nephew were here at Christmas. Nephew, 5, says "poopypants."

I tell my sister, "Hmm. DS1 doesn't use potty talk. He doesn't even know what it is. Must be an age thing."

Two seconds later, DS1 says, "You can't say "poopypants, and you can't say fvck."

Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear it. I just heard the good news and popped back over, just in case you were still checking in.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 8:00pm
Okay......and once again, I am not that familiar with those parts of history....can you either point me to a source or list a reference in the bible?
PumpkinAngel

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 8:08pm

Great.....so now you can

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-1999
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 8:22pm
Popping in to add my $.02. It isn't just Jews who are targeted! Have you not seen the stories of churches being bombed or set on fire? There have been a few in my area lately.... I'm not saying Jews aren't persecuted, but you're not just being persecuted b/c you're Jewish, the terrorists (9/11) were out to kill Americans, not just Jewish Americans.

Quite honestly, the majority of this country may be "Christian" but you're forgetting the religion of terrorists (Timothy McVeigh and his cohorts excluded) generally isn't the Christian faith. We're not preaching jihad and haven't declared a holy war on anyone, the holy war has been declared on us.

And of the "Christian majority," how many of those are devout? Probably less than more...

JMHO, C

C

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 10:18pm
OTBM, if you're still around and are willing to discuss it, I'm curious about something. Your post leaves me with the impression that your beef is with Christians, not with Jesus. For instance, you said that you told your Rabbi that you were "not converting" and "not giving up Jesus." But I assume that in converting to Judaism, you renounced your belief that Jesus is the messiah. Is that accurate? If so, what made you change your mind? I apologize if this is too personal, but I've always been curious about Christians who convert to Judaism, and I don't know anyone to ask IRL.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-10-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 10:25pm
That makes no sense. *Choosing* to do something does not automatically make someone good at something.
Avatar for taylormomma
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 10:53pm
It wasn't "Where Love Has Gone", was it? I read that right around tenth grade as well, lol.

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