Is anyone else here Jewish and celebrate Christmas?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Again, the fact that Christianity based itself on Jewish texts doesn't mean the two religions have much more than that in common. The differences run much deeper than conversion and the afterlife. Big picture, the Christian idea of salvation through faith alone is at odds with Jewish theology, which requires action here on earth. On a smaller scale, some little things are similar, while other little things are different. Some Jews would argue that the Trinity is inherently not monotheistic. Other Jews (and, in fact, Jewish law) see the common use of the crucifix in Christianity as an idol. Even the Ten Commandments are numbered differently between the two religions. By the way, the source you linked is from a Unificationist, which I admittedly had to look up. Turns out that Unificationists have been condemned by the American Jewish Committee for anti-Jewish rhetoric and stereotypes in their theology. |
Anonymous
This is complete and utter nonsense. |
Anonymous
For many Christians, the Eucharist is not "symbolic" and the fact that the Last Supper was a Passover supper is irrelevant. |
Anonymous
I was raised Catholic and attend Episcopal church. Various family members and friends are Catholic . I don’t know anyone who thinks they are literally eating the body of Christ during the Eucharist. The Symbols and Metaphors of the Eucharist | krausekorner There are deep symbolic and metaphoric meanings in the Eucharist. First, it is based in the Jewish celebration of the Passover, an annual meal that serves as the occasion for this meal with Jesus and his disciples (Luke 22:15). The Passover itself is rooted in the deliverance of the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage, a reenactment of the hasty meal they shared on the eve of their departure. The yearly celebration of the Passover was a way to remember this deliverance, the act of God that created the nation of Israel and was never to be forgotten (see Exodus 13:3). Jesus appropriated this theme to make the celebration of the Lord’s Supper a time of “remembrance” of him and his sacrificial death on the cross. In doing this, Jesus chose two symbolic elements from the several incorporated into the Passover meal: a cup of wine and a loaf of bread. While these remain central to the Christian celebration of the Eucharist, we have sometimes forgotten their metaphorical power. Why did he choose wine and bread? And how may we participate in the Lord’s Supper in a way that brings out its power and beauty? First, the cup. Paul gives Jesus’ words here, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (1 Corinthian 11:25). The wine of the cup is a metaphorical vehicle for us to remember the blood of Jesus which dripped from his body’s wounds as he died on the cross. We do not drink this cup for flavor or refreshment, but to see the red color of the liquid and be reminded of Jesus’ atoning blood sacrifice. In the debates over the proper way to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, this is often missed. We wonder, should the cup’s contents be alcoholic or non-alcoholic? Is it OK to use water or white wine? Sometimes circumstances dictate what is available, but these questions miss the metaphorical point. The liquid must be red to remind us of blood or else the metaphor is lost. Recently, a student asked me why churches used grape juice when it was purple and not the color of blood. Good question! My answer is that in America we have been conditioned to think purple is the “grape” color. Radar O’Reilly’s beloved “Grape Nehi soda” was purple, wasn’t it? Yes, but this does not reflect the color of wine used by Jesus. It was deep red, the color of blood. The most important aspect of proper celebration of the Lord’s supper is using liquid that is the color of blood. It is a metaphor that can be experienced. It is the visual metaphor that should cause us to remember. Second, the loaf. How does this represent the body of Christ? There are several metaphorical streams here but let me focus on one. A loaf of bread in Jesus’ day was not sliced. It was broken. Bread was baked with a crust that served to keep the inside soft and fresh. Breaking bread, the first task in eating bread, if done together was a powerful symbol of fellowship. Jesus takes this social act and applies it to his fellowshipping disciples. He asks them to use the breaking of bread as a way to remember his body which was violently abused in his painful death. This metaphor has been disfigured more than the red liquid aspect of the cup. We forget that the bread of Jesus’ day would not have been white from bleached flour and would not be shaped into loaves like we may be used to. It would certainly not have been individual wafers. The metaphor here is that the breaking in order to eat the bread metaphorically invokes Jesus’ body given for our salvation. |
Anonymous
Many academics and historians disagree with you . |
Anonymous
Christianity and Judaism (and Islam for that matter) are different religions so obviously they will have important differences but that does not negate clear commonalities. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_Judaism https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1052&context=utk_interstp2 https://oxfordre.com/religion/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-425;jsessionid=154CB3A2AF6681A5BB20C9F013D6A4B7?__prclt=AkoLKlqk https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3708674/ https://www.alislam.org/articles/judaism-christianity-islam-common-tradition/ |
Anonymous
To go back to your original claim that "[your Jewish friends celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas] is not surprising given we are both Abrahamic religions with so much in common" I have to repeat that it IS surprising, given that perhaps the pivotal divergence in Jewish and Christian theologies is over Jesus as the messiah and Christmas is a holiday that celebrates his birth. Both religions can claim to be descended from Abraham and hold some of the same texts as holy, but celebrating Jesus as a holy figure (and thus celebrating Christmas) is not in line with Judaism. |
Anonymous
As stated, many people do not regard Christmas trees as a religious but as a secular holiday symbol. It is fairly obvious that many, if not most, Christmas celebrations have little to do with religion. Plus many people prefer to wish happy holidays or seasons greetings (in cards with Christmas trees or commercial images of elves and the Coca Cola depiction of Santa splashed on them) - in order to avoid offending people of different faiths . We have good Jewish friends whose bright kids attended both Catholic and Episcopal schools without any injury to their Jewish identity.if anything, it strengthened their sense of belonging to their faith - when they embraced both commonalities and important differences. At the Episcopal school the Jewish kids were invited to give homilies in chapel services about shared values such as personal integrity and community service. I don’t love a lot of the way the holidays have become overly commercial. But for many children Christmas is the favorite time of year. My Jewish friends are very good at cultivating their cultural and religious identity in ways that communicate with the rest of society. I love being a member of our Jewish community center - not just for the well maintained gym and pools but for the cultural events and inclusive atmosphere. That does not mean I am joining a synagogue anytime soon but I enjoy the connecting with Jewish friends on things we do have in common - for me, the big ones are commitment to high quality education and community service. |
Anonymous
| DH and I are Jewish, but half of each of our families is Catholic, so we grew up celebrating Christmas. We have a tree and exchange presents. We also send DD to Sunday school at our synagogue and otherwise are a Jewish family. |