Reply to Jewish people: how do you view Christianity?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think that a lot of people here are not getting the point. She's not being asked to suppress her own identity. She is saying she is no longer going to practice Christianity or identify as a Christian. She is changing her identity. Many young people to not identify with a particular religion. Part of being an adult is forging one's own identify. A parent's identity is a parent's identity. Judaism is a tribe. We have people of all skin tones in our tribe. We have members of our tribe that have joined from other religions. We have members our tribe that were cut-off from mainstream Judaism and have different traditions as a result. All are valid members of our tribe. But our tribe is a small one. And we lose many members of our tribe every year due to our graying population, antisemitism, and, in some cases, intermarriage. It is difficult for a members of a majority culture to comprehend why passing our traditions on to our children is important - it is the continuation of our tribe. It's not selfish, it's not meant suppress anyone - it's a consequence of millennia of persecution, and existing as a minority. This woman's daughter is adult and she is free to make her own choices. For Jews, the fear is always that there is children will leave Judaism and become Christians (or another faith), meaning that the Jewish end of their family's history ends with them - that the line between generations is extinguished. It's painful. And it's not the same as when a Lutheran becomes a Baptist. [/quote]

Speaking as the non-Jewish wife ... if you really want to continue to pass down traditions, then you need to be more accepting of intermarriage. I've been told many times that my child "is not Jewish." So do you think I'm going to make much effort to raise him in those traditions? No, I am not.  [/quote]

That's your choice. Religiously a child not born to a Jewish mother is not Jewish unless he is converted (a simple process for a baby). Raising him in the traditions would require accepting this view. I don't really see how one can realistically raise a child in a tradition that isn't one's own anyway. My non-Jewish relatives converted, either formally or de factor, before having children, and participate as fully in the Jewish community as my Jewish-born mother (which granted is not a lot -- Mom doesn't have much use for religion!). If you don't want to do that, that's totally fine and no one wants to force you, but equally they're not going to accept your kids as Jewish because they're not Jewish and not being raised as Jewish. And that is fine. The idea isn't to "pass down traditions," it's for Judaism to continue and flourish, and that will only be done by and through Jews.[/quote]

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