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.