I believe that hose who get angered so easily regarding religious topics/conversations are not as strong in their beliefs as they present themselves to be. If one is strong in one’s faith then that strength should bring peace. Also, many seem to get angry when their fath is challenged merely because they despise being questioned; “I am right, you are wrong,” leaves no room for discussions or questions
If we do not discuss and/or ask questions, I don’t see how we can grow.
Annie
I was not an angry person when I first found this forum during a websearch. I am now, and I’ll tell you why I am.
Mostly all Catholics I’ve known offline were not the type to try to convert Jews. I have been heavily active in Jewish-Christian ecumenical work, and have had cause to meet many Catholics, plus half my family is Catholic, so its like I have not met any.
I came to this forum, seeking info on some Catholic legends my formerly Catholic mother (now Jewish) had once told me about before her death (she died 2 months ago.) I came here never expecting to have Catholics:
try to proselytize me, over and over, even after I told them I was not interested;
triumphantly assert, “God has abandoned your people!”
express such complete ignorance of my religious faith, even though theirs arose as an offshoot of mine;
post links to neoNazi and antisemitic websites, as a way of “showing how the Jews really are”;
and I could go on and on.
I am a very different person now, and I doubt I can ever look at Catholics IRL the same way again. I find that internet forums enable people to say what they REALLY think (just like wine does), and so I think they will say here what they would never say to my face offline. This is why I believe more what I read here than what people say to me offline.
So I am not angry because I lack faith in my own beliefs; quite the contrary. I chose to return to traditional Judaism after several years of being secular, and also investigating other religions (which is one reason also why I know so much about other faiths.)
I know what is out there, and I rejected it all for traditional Judaism, which was my birthright and childhood upbringing in the first place.
But it can be very annoying and time-consuming, when you come to a forum for one thing, and get bogged down with many long, protracted debates that go nowhere, because each side’s mind is already made up.
The only truly good thing to come out of my time here is that I have been PMed by several Catholics who are interested in Judaism (some are seeking to learn more to enrich their own faith; others, because they do not feel fulfilled by Catholicism and think Judaism is the next logical step). I was also contacted by one person who was a Jew by birth, had become Catholic, but wants to return to Judaism. So I feel my time here has not been a total waste, and in fact, until all those things happened, I was wondering why God would lead me here: now I know.
But I do not like the way events here have made me more suspicious of Catholics, and has helped to undo some of the work I’ve done over the years, in learning tolerance of their faith. I wonder why I care anymore about being tolerant, when so many are not tolerant of mine.
