Quoth GilaB:
I think we can rest assured that these folks are the last people who would ever think of sending anyone SPAM ;j.
I only wish I were joking. But I have here, right in front of me, a letter from the local Baptist church, which reads, in part:
All I can say is that they’d BETTER not ring my doorbell, or disturb my sleep. Or they’re gonna learn brand new words and phrases, the likes of which I should not post outside of the Pit.
You are failing to distinguish between considering Reform Jews to be Jews, and considering Reform Judaism to be a form of Judaism. Something to consider.
An atheist can be a Jew. They are not practicing Judaism. Judaism, like any religion, cannot be arbitrarily defined by whatever criteria anyone choses.
Eve, this is easy. You’re Jewish because A) you’re from New York City and B) you work in the movie business. So obviously you’re Jewish. And so is Spike Lee.
Oh, you forgot, Nemo—I also control the media. And every so often when I’m feeling peckish, I take the train uptown and suck black peoples’ blood.
I hope you saved some of that blood for me, Eve…I need to whip up another batch of Passover matzoh.
Wait a sec…I have never understood the whole “Jews control everything” idea. I mean, wouldn’t Israel be the world’s largest creditor nation if that were so? And wouldn’t the International Jewish Conspiracy[sup]TM[/sup] have been able to prevent minor inconveniences like the Holocaust? As far as loony prejudices go, anti-Semitism is one of the looniest.
On the other hand, it would be fun to see Eve bouncing on heaps of gold coins in a bank vault like Scrooge
McDuck. Hold on…Scrooge McDuck is a Scot…and what religious group came from Scotland?..The PRESBYTERIANS! What denomination is Bill Gates? PRESBYTERIAN! The Jews have just been fall guys for the International Presbyterian Conspiracy[sup]TM[/sup] all this time! Damn that John Knox!
“On the other hand, it would be fun to see Eve bouncing on heaps of gold coins in a bank vault like Scrooge McDuck.”
—Naw . . . I tend to roll around in a bed full of gold coins, like Trina in “Greed.”
There is a brilliantly written Staff Report on this topic:
Can you be an atheist and still be Jewish?
Basically, the answer to the question “Is Eve Jewish?” depends on who’s doing the asking and why, and who’s doing the answering.
To the extent that Judaism is a people, then being born Jewish means you are always Jewish, just as being born Irish or Italian or Japanese means you are always such. The Mitzvah Van tries to find people who were born Jewish but do not practice active Judaism, and get them to do more.
To the extent that Judaism is a religion, then you can convert into it or convert out of it. Failure to actively/formally convert out usually means that you are still in, regardless of beliefs or practice.
However, as noted, it depends on who’s asking and who’s answering. The Nazis defined you as Jewish if you had one Jewish grandparent, even if that grandparent had converted and you were third generation Christian.
Here’s a fun one, that I posted on awhile back.
My mother was adopted in 1946. Her adoptive parents were told she was Irish/Italian…just like them, amazingly enough! But last year’s adoption search revealed that her birth mother was Jewish.
My mother was raised in small town Illinois. I grew up on a farm, raised as protestant, corn-fed white girl. Even learned (and subsequently UNLEARNED) a hefty dose of xenophobia including anti-semitism from my ultra-conservative farm family.
Now I do research and find out that I am, by certain definitions, Jewish. I don’t FEEL Jewish. And as I said in my post on the topic, it’s not every day you go to bed Irish and wake up Jewish. Weird experience. Trying to learn some Jewish culture so that I can feel connected with that part of my heritage.
-L
xtnjohnson said:
Wow! I don’t know y’all had these too (she says as she throws out yet another copy of The Watchtower) …
Somehow, I strangely feel better.
And don’t forget the Catholics driving around in their Papal Fiats.