[414] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: More male/female stuff... warning...
jik@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (jik@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Thu Oct 6 12:48:47 1988
>i find the whole idea of discriminating against anyone for
>any purpose on the account of religion repugnant. it is
>as repugnant as discriminating on account of race.
>
>it is this small-minded, not-well-thought-out sort of dis-
>crminiation that makes this world a lousy place to be.
>can you imagine what this world would be like if everyone
>married only members of their own faith?
>
>and how about those future children? sure ... *you* want
>them to be raised jewish, but what do *they* want?
>
>i can go on about this forever, but it seems pointless.
>i have better things to do than to explain to people
>who should know better why bigotry of any sort is
>bogus.
(Sorry to copy the whole thing, but I want to make a point.)
My first response to Henry's "Why does it matter?" was rather severe,
and I was questioned for it. I now feel that my severity has been
vindicated.
Henry, you're missing the point entirely. I don't think that people
who aren't Jewish are "worse people" than I am or that they are going
to "rot in hell" because they are not Jewish. On the contrary, my
belief, which is also the belief of traditional Judaism, is that any
monotheistic religion which enforces seven simple moral codes (no
adultery, setting up a justice system, and a few more) earns for its
followers as much of a place in the "world to come" as the most
righteous Jew.
I am bound to marry a Jew by Jewish law, but I am also bound to do so
by my personality, my life up to this point, and the entire way my
life is organized. I *love* my religion, and anyone with whom I would
choose to share my life would have to share that love.
The argument you make against raising children religiously is one
which has been brought by anti-religionists since the first
anti-religionist came into being. It's a bogus argument. We *all*
instill values in our children, and *all* of those values are
dependent on our beliefs. If I choose to teach my children to be
Jewish, I choose that because I believe that it will be the best way
of life for them -- a moral code with respect for other religions and
other people's belief, and with an incredible joy in living life.
You, on the other hand, will teach your children to be bigots who
sneer at anyone religious as somehow "inferior" to them.
I wish both my children and yours the best of luck.
