Reason #647832 Why I Need to Get Out of Here

[attackfish]

So last night I helped out with Tot Shabbat, and we were getting the kids ready for the High Holy Days, and explaining to them about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and then there was a little party, and it was nice, and sweet, and I was feeling really pretty good about the world as I was driving home.  Then, on my way home, on my local classic rock station, which has no stated Christian leanings at all, it's a normal, nominally secular classic rock station, had a DJ on there going on about how she had this Jewish friend, who read the New Testament, and now, of course she's a Christian, and the Word of God will get you every time.  Then, she goes on to say she thinks the only reason more people aren't Christian is that Jesus has become a dirty word, and the country is against Christians, and if more people just knew what Christianity really taught everybody would convert.  And I'm sitting there thinking, I shouldn't have to deal with this, not on Shabbat.  This shouldn't be seen as neutral and normal, and uncontroversial programing on an apolitical areligious station.  And it would never be allowed if it were a Jewish woman, or a Muslim woman, or a Hindu Woman, or any other religious woman talking about how if people just knew more about their faith everyone would convert.  And I bet this woman would be outraged if anyone told her what she said is anti-Semitic.  And guess what.  I know the tenants of Christianity.  Every Jewish person I've ever met knows the tenants of Christianity.  We have to; we're surrounded my Christians.  Most of my Jewish friends have read the New Testament.  We're not Jewish because we don't know about Christianity.  We know all about Christianity.  We're Jewish because we're Jewish.  I've heard Christians talking about their Jewish friend who read the New Testament and was instantly converted for a while now, and I have never met such a person.  The story always sounds really familiar too.  It's almost always a Jewish woman, her name is never given, either no reason is given for her reading the New Testament, or the reason is because her Christian friend gave it to her, or because she wanted to read it to mock it and see how wrong it was.  And then, she is overcome by the true Word of God, and now she's a Christian.  No other details are given, this friend is never talked about in other contexts...  I don't think she's real.  I think she's a story Christians tell.

And then, I get home, and our air conditioner is broken.  In August.  In the Deep South.

Comments

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

It's like a "Black Best friend." I'm pretty sure they are imaginary best friends."That's not racist, my Black best friend says so."


And yes, Jews know the teachings of Christianity. We know it very well. http://www.pewforum.org/2010/09/28/u-s-religious-knowledge-survey/

In many ways, I do believe it's somewhat true, many Christians truly have no idea why there is such hostility from non-Christians, and it does come across as bigoted to them. Because they don't see any connection between them and the pogroms and mass forced conversion and the expulsions and blood libels and the sheer attempted genocide. It's possibly called privilege, it's possibly more complicated.

But that isn't even the problem to me. I finally got my Christian friend to get it when I challenged her to say something like this.

"I believe that the world is a better place for having the Jewish religion in it and I would see the disappearance of the Jewish religion as a tragedy." Because I can say it for Christians. I wish them much happiness in their faith, not because I believe it's right but because I believe in a God big enough to love them for who they are.

She was really torn because she couldn't say it. ANd it hurt her, because she understood now the hostility. It's not just that they tried to erase us. It's that they're still erasing us. And it's very hard not to feel hostile towards an idea that wishes you didn't exist.

She's been a lot better since.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

After the non-Jewish world has spent so much of the last few thousand years trying to eliminate us, and after we have managed to endure all of that, Christians still don't understand why we might not want to meet them on their terms, when their terms include accepting that they want the culture that sustained us and that we fight daily to sustain in turn to vanish from this earth. And then they call us bigoted when the idea is unpalatable to us.

And the thing is, there are plenty of Christians who are not that way, who don't see any reason they should try to make all the non-Christians believe as they do, but the ones who are that way are just so much louder than the ones who aren't.

And none of them seem to realize that when they talk about converting the Jews, we remember what happened the other times they talked about just that.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

I think the majority of us don't do it, but as you've mentioned, that minority is very loud. And it's frustrating to the rest of us because people tend to generalize when talking about these people. They all put us in the same block when in reality, those groups of people are generally not even the same denomination because there's like more than 100 denominations of Christianity that don't have much to do with one another. Mostly what you hear is the Evangelicals and Baptists. WE are not like! But no one cares. Every time someone mentions the word God or Jesus they immediately think of these people and just brush us off. So we do feel that now, the word Jesus has become a dirty word because of these people. We are not perfect, we are not saints, we're human and I wish the world would stop listening to these people and stop treating all of us as though we were the same. We are not.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

The thing is, I know most Christians aren't like that, but here in the US, between one fifth and one third of the population identifies as Evangelical, and the mainline Protestants and Catholics etc. have allowed these fundamentalist zealots to control the narrative of what Christianity is. I want more Christians like you to get vocal about your faith and start reminding the radical fringe that they're not the only Christians, because us non-Christians are sick of dealing with them all by ourselves.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

We also have to deal with them and what they do, but the media is only interesting in talking to these people and having them talk. It's hard to fight back because the mass media won't let us. We deal with the consequences of their action more than the non-Christians do because we have to deal with being slotted right alongside with them. You guys get to walk away from them, we have to hide our faith or tone it down because of them if not people start accusing us of trying to force our religion on them when that's not the case.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

We do not get to walk away from them. There are too few of us, especially in places like Alabama for us to ever get away from them. I don't ever feel safe because of them. No I don't go to church with them, but that doesn't stop them from coming to my temple. Sometimes we get Christians who want to come to services and watch our cute little customs, and we let them, because we want to be nice, and welcoming, and at the same time, we lock the doors in case another Christian tries to come in and shoot us with a machine gun while we're all gathered in one place. We can't get away from them.

Oh, if the religious left made enough noise all the time in every way, the media would get on board. It would be conflict and controversy, and that sells. But Evangelicals pride themselves on being loud and spreading the word of the lord. The non-Evangelical Christians need to stop keeping fights within the community in the name of Christian brotherhood and start standing on street corners next to the proselytizers if they must.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

I frankly don't get these people. What do they expect to accomplish? Blubbering someone until they convert? And most of those that claim to be Christians aren't. Those that use the name of God to hurt others are NOT Christians. No matter what they claim.

They are also fanatics. Have you ever tried talking to one of these people into stopping what they're doing? Believe me, we don't get any better results. You can't talk to those who won't listen.

You say we should get into corners and shout them down? We DO! Do you know how many of them go, oh my, we are very wrong and we should go home now? None! This has nothing to do with brotherhood. We're not the same denomination, I wouldn't even call us the same religion. Their beliefs and ours vary so vastly they might as well not even be on the same vine.

You can't fight hate with more hate. That might be naive, but how can you take them from that hole they dug themselves in with if you behave just like them? You can't.

This isn't about religion. This is about one side trying to get another side to live and do what they think they should. They just use religion as the excuse.

And I'm so sorry they hurt you. I am so sorry you don't feel safe because of them.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

I'm not asking you to convince them. No, that's impossible. I need Christians to say "we're Christian, and we don't agree with the Evangelicals." So that when the Evangelicals start ranting about how we hate Christians, there are a whole bunch of Christians saying "shut your trap." That has a political punch. The Evangelicals have been saying "You aren't a real Christian if you don't vote this way, do this thing, believe this bigoted thing, etc, oh and other people are oppressing us as Christians by not letting us run things this way, which is what makes them a political force. The religious left used to have power. We need to reawaken that power and say no, there is a different way to be Christian, and you Evangelicals can't extort any of the non-fringe Christians into agreeing with you anymore by denying their Christianity unless they do. Because there are the fringe, there are the people like you, and then in the middle, there are a lot of people who are looking for guidance on how to be Christian, and only hearing the loudest voices, and they're who you need to speak to.

I know it's hard, and I know it feels like banging your head into a wall. Believe me, I know, but I can't speak for Christians like you. You have to do it.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

I will. I promise you that. That's why I'm getting into Cinematography, into books, so I can make my voice be heard and those of us that keep getting slammed by those people and people like them.

I'm taking the fight to them. Trust me on that. I have no intention of not keep speaking. No matter how frustrating it is.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

I know. As I said, I wish there were more like you, not only who believe as you do, but speak up about it. And the thing is, you listen, and that's really wonderful. And if, sometimes, instead of just saying "I disagree with this," you say "As a Christian, I disagree with this," I think it would be a huge help.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I wish people would just stop doing awful, hateful things in the name of God.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Me too.