Yes, yes, we know, Judaism is everything wrong with the world

[dorchadas]

If I never see the "cruel Old Testament G-d vs Kind New Testament G-d" nonsense again it'll be too soon.

I could type out a whole comment that it's rooted in European antisemitism, in the idea of Jews as remnants of the past, slaves to "the law" from which Jesus came to free us but we were too stubborn and didn't listen, and so all our practices were backward nonsense. I could mention that the single most emphasized commandment in the Torah is to not oppress the stranger, the widow, and the orphan. I could mention that there's a lot of divine vengeance in the New Testament, too. But it never sticks so it's pointless.

Reminds me of when I saw friends' posting those "Do you not eat shrimp? Do you not wear mixed fabrics?" anti-evangelical memes and I was like, "Uh, I don't eat shrimp. I don't wear linen and wool. What exactly are you saying?"

So many people with no Christian religious beliefs who still have fundamentally Christian viewpoints.

Comments

[dorchadas]

I would love comments on my old posts--tell me my daughter is cute or write about your experiences with games I've reviewed or comment on my time in Japan. I have one post where I did some random RPG conversions and posted them here and like five years later someone anonymously commented and thanked me for writing them and it made my day.

I'm not one of those people who think Christianity is inherently problematic or oppressive. But there are certainly unexamined aspects that have seeped into Western culture that cause problems. As you mention, I've seen one of those rationalists say, "What if I told you there was no god?" to a Jew, and the response was, "I'd get up and say shacharit the next morning." Atheism is certainly not common in observant Judaism, but it's compatible with its practice, because Judaism isn't just Christianity without Jesus.

I hope you continue enjoying my posts!