by James Mixon 25 Replies latest watchtower bible
Why such a difference between Jew and Gentiles, so that the Jew is at once
recognized, no matter what race he lives among.
And how did the Jews come to have such strange traditions setting apart, racially
and religiously from Gentiles???
If you are a believer, please explain.
It seems like God intention, to bring division among mankind.
rebelfighter: Thanks for your response. My question if he didn't create religion how is
he supposedly to communicate with us???? And as for as I know, he create the Hebrew
religion.
Why such a difference between Jew and Gentiles ...
I don't think the difference is great at all. Jews and other Semitic peoples share quite a few things in common.
1. language: the Arabic for peace is 'salaam', the Hebrew cognate is 'shalom', in Aramaic it's 'shlama'. All apparently come from the tri-letter root 'S-L-M'.
2. culture/religion: religious Jews and Muslims share some similarities. Dietary restrictions; belief in one God (tawheed); stoning as capital punishment ...
I could go on if I weren't so ignorant. Anyway, I'm sure you get the gist ...
James, for each of us it is different. I can only tell you how God and I communicate. Music is very big for me as I feel those are the special gifts that he has given. First you understand that God gives each of us a special gift in life to share with everyone, mine is caring for people.
I listen to a lot of Gospel music, when I reach low or high points in my life I will drive to the coastline and watch the sunrise (God painting).
I also like long walks to enjoy God's nature. All of my homes I have purchased have been on conservations so I can sit outside and enjoy God's nature the trees and all the animals.
If you look around you can see God's handy work every where sometimes in people you meet.
The issue as I see it is identity; the israelites and later the jews hung on to their traditions as they moved and were conquered, refusing to assimilate.
Later, their oral histories and traditions were redacted, edited and filled with retrojections so that the things that made them different (customs, laws, dietary restrictions) were said to have come from God.
Understandable, but still divisive.
And so today we have people living their lives based on customs, stupid laws and
dietary restrictions (I love the pig). A clever move by some sheep herdsmen.
L'Shana Tova, everybody! My trip was cut short by two months due to my developing a respiratory problem during traveling. I have recovered and am home for the Jewish new year: 5776!
As to why Jews are SO different, I guess it depends on who you ask and your concept of what a Jew is.
First of all though many of share a common ancestry, we are not actually a race. Some Jews are not Semites.
As for those who do have "Jewish" DNA markers (as they are called, often referred to by some as merely "J"), we definitely do not look alike. Ashkenazi Jews look a lot more Caucasian than Sephardic Jews. I'm Sephardic, have a Spanish-sounding name, and many people never know I am Jewish until something causes it to come out into the open. Go visit Tel-Aviv and you will see Jewish people with blonde hair and blue eyes, red hair and green eyes, and a little more Sephardic Jews like me than what you will find in America or England. Jews are a collection of tribes that make up one larger tribe.
As for customs, it depends again on where you are from and what branch of Judaism you hail from. Sephardic customs are different from Ashkenazi customs. Reform Jews are very different from Orthodox Jews, and you would have a hard time pinning down a Post-denominational Jew. Some believe in G-d, others don't.
In the East it is customary for all peoples, regardless of religion or race, to pray with a head covering, to grow facial hair, to avoid pork, to have a national weekly holy day that forbids work, to worship using a language unique and exclusive to a national group. Also Easterners have been worshipping their deity (deities) longer than Westerners, so our theologies are far more complex, and many of us (Jews and Muslims) developed critical thinking during the Golden Age (when Christians were having their "Dark Ages"). This "Golden Age" of enlightenment opened us to advances in science, mathematics, even introducing logic into ancient religions. We are different in many of these areas because Westerners cut themselves off from us for a while and are still playing catch up.
Many of us have and do assimilate. I have had friends who for years did not know I was a Jew until a couple of years ago when Chanukah landed on Thanksgiving in the U.S.A. It startled a lot of people, let me tell you. I may talk a lot about being Jewish here, but only because religion is the main subject on so many threads. Outside of this site most people think I am Latino because of my name and the food me and my family eats.
So it depends on what you think a Jew is. Maybe you haven't been around enough of them. Only a small number dress like the Orthodox, whereas the majority of us would be hard to spot.
