But I don’t believe such a thing has ever been done. Usually the conservative folks leave the main denomination and start one of their own (this has happened on a massive scale within the Anglican/Episcopal Church, which was the focus of the essay).My immediate reaction was: of course it can, if they return to the Truth concerning Morality.
Perhaps you’re right, but I’m not entirely sure. Among some in the Orthodox Jewish community, liberal Judaism (that is, Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism, as well as Conservative Judaism) is not really regarded as Judaism at all, although its members are still thought of as Jews. So from the Orthodox Jewish perspective, there is only one Judaism, despite some differences even within Orthodoxy; however, according to the liberal Jewish viewpoint, there are several expressions of Judaism. It may be somewhat similar within Christianity.That’s just a foolish way of approaching the faith (any faith). There is no liberal Catholicism and conservative Catholicism. There is only Catholicism.
This viewpoint excludes the perspective of Jews who believe that Catholicism is the fullness of the truth. The vast majority of Jews who consider themselves Catholic do not believe they have “unconverted” because they are now Catholic but that they have become more deeply Jewish. They also still consider non-Catholic Jews to be Jews. Their perspective on Judaism, written about by Roy Schoeman, in Salvation is from the Jews seems more similar to this secular perspective from a Jew who is not a Catholic. In addition, they believe that much of Judaism “today” arises as a reaction to Christianity, not from inherent reasons. It also relates to the Holocaust, as many of the most orthodox Jews were most likely to be killed.Perhaps you’re right, but I’m not entirely sure. Among some in the Orthodox Jewish community, liberal Judaism (that is, Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism, as well as Conservative Judaism) is not really regarded as Judaism at all, although its members are still thought of as Jews. So from the Orthodox Jewish perspective, there is only one Judaism, despite some differences even within Orthodoxy; however, according to the liberal Jewish viewpoint, there are several expressions of Judaism. It may be somewhat similar within Christianity.
One important thing is that it looks like atheist children are the very least likely to retain their parents’ beliefs. The Church is growing powerfully in atheist China, even despite persecution. So if liberal Christianity keeps self-destructing and everyone become secular, then who knows? The majority of conversions seem to be one way. If you look at the Supreme Court, probably every single Justice who has changed their religion, has changed to Catholic. Is there an equivalent of the “Coming Home Network” for any other religion? chnetwork.org/ It currently has three Jewish people and six Catholics.I saw that. My immediate reaction was: of course it can, if they return to the Truth concerning Morality.
To be called a Jew –even to call yourself a Jew – is different than any other religion. To be called a Christian, you have to believe something. You have to believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. If you believe that, you’re a Christian. If you don’t believe that, you’re not a Christian. If you do believe that, then there are certain rites and rituals, practices and behaviors that tend to follow. To be called a Muslim you have to believe something. You have to believe that the Koran is the final testament of God and Muhammad his perfect messenger. If you believe that, you’re a Muslim. If you don’t believe that then you’re not a Muslim. If you do believe this then there are certain rites and rituals, practices and behaviors that tend to follow.
But, to be called a Jew you don’t have to believe anything. To be called a Jew, all you have to do is plop out of a Jewish womb. Because these Jews – I’ll call them here “The Plopping Jews” – do not believe anything particularly Jewish. Indeed, there’s absolutely no reason to expect them to vote in a way that reflects Jewish values and beliefs. Since a Jewish person’s Judaism is not of his own choosing or a reflection of his beliefs, his Jewishness is nothing more than an accident of his birth. Therefore, to expect him to choose to support Jewish causes is actually a form of bigotry. People’s behaviors are predicated on their beliefs, not on the circumstances of their birth.
In fact, not only is there no reason to expect the Plopping Jew to support Jewish causes, one might even argue that the folks who Dennis Prager calls “Non-Jewish Jews” and are more generally known as “Secular Jews” (note that it is almost unheard of for someone to call themselves or be called “Secular Christians” or “Secular Muslims”) are less likely to support Jewish causes and to be antipathetic to Israel and other Jewish issues than are others since we can assume, having been born to a Jewish mother, they were at least exposed to Judaism and chose to reject it. Put simply, the Plopping Jew is more likely to be an anti-Semite than your average American.
Sadly, in an America that has been successfully secularized by the Left, the Plopping Jews make up the vast majority of the people who are identified as “Jewish” and thus a major part of the explanation as to why so many “Jews” vote for the party that is, as we shall see, patently Jew-hating.
Now we get to the rest of the people who are called Jews. These Jews differ from the Plopping Jew in that they have made at least some personal decision to be Jewish. These Jews are typically divided into three categories, in ascending order of their belief and practice of Judaism there are the Reform Jews, the Conservative Jews and the Orthodox Jews.
The Reform Jew – sadly the majority of the remaining minority of all “Jews” – are not really Jewish either. In fact, while the Plopping Jew has done nothing Jewish in his life, the Reform Jew has done only one thing Jewish in his life – he joined a synagogue. But the Reform Jew didn’t join a synagogue to better learn and practice the rites and rituals, convictions and values of Judaism; he joined a synagogue because it was his local recreation center. Basically, it was more affordable than the country club and, while more costly than the YMCA, he didn’t have to worry about getting naked in front of strangers. Put simply, the Reform Jew is a Plopping Jew with a somewhat better social calendar.
Since there is nothing Jewish about the reform Jew that is Jewish, again, it would be unreasonable to expect his policies to reflect Jewish values. In fact, the Reform Jew, like the Plopping Jew, has rejected Jewish values and, as the name of the movement suggests, he doesn’t even like Judaism, which is why he seeks to “re-form” it to his liking.
The remaining Jews are the Jewish Jews – those whose beliefs and practices reflect a mature choice to be Jewish and to learn and better practice Judaism. These Jews comprise only a small percentage of the people who are identified in polls and elsewhere as “Jewish” and, not surprisingly, they are far more likely to embrace the policies of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. As the name of their movement reflects, the Conservative Jews like Judaism and rather than seek to re-form it around their beliefs, they seek to conserve the values and the practices of Judaism. The difference between the Conservative Jew and the Orthodox Jew – the latter’s commitment to the Jewish faith leading them to support the Republican/conservative movement as surely as the Plopping Jews rejection of Judaism leads them to support the party of Jew-haters – is that the Conservative Jew seeks to bring his Judaism into his daily life while the Orthodox Jew seeks to make Judaism his daily life.
The great gift of the Jews was a concept virtually unknown to humanity prior to the advent of Judaism – justice. Prior to the advent of Judaism, reward and punishment were typically predicated on the whim and the will of the powerful. Step on the Pharaoh’s toe and it might cost you your life. The oft-misunderstood (one presumes often intentionally) “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” far from being a call for vengeance was, in reality, exactly its opposite, it was – for one of the first times in human history – an insistence that the punishment must not exceed the crime and that, not matter who the person “wronged” or the wrong-doer might be, the consequences must be meted out fairly.
One important thing is that it looks like atheist children are the very least likely to retain their parents’ beliefs. The Church is growing powerfully in atheist China, even despite persecution. So if liberal Christianity keeps self-destructing and everyone become secular, then who knows?I saw that. My immediate reaction was: of course it can, if they return to the Truth concerning Morality.
Do you have any data on this point?The Church is growing powerfully in atheist China, even despite persecution.