OK. I am with Jack. This time of year makes me cranky.
Any other time of the year, the word "Judeo-Christian" makes my roll my eyes at the very least - while the basic premise may be that of "inclusiveness" or "tolerance" (or, let's face it, "marketing"), IMNSHO it's preferable and more intellectually honest to write "Jewish and/or Christian".
But having just seen a reference to "Judeo-Christian holidays", I am feeling the need...
A person, because of his/her parentage or immigration status, can be Israeli-American, Russian-American, African-American, etc. A person can feel strong bonds to their ancestry or place of birth and also their adopted country.
But a person can only practice one religion (and be intellectually honest about it).
"Judeo-Christian holidays"? Let's see, at this time of year, those would be... Hanukkah and Christmas.
Hanukkah is about the Jewish victory over the Greeks. It was our victory over assimilation. The Greeks wanted to wipe out the Jews.
Christmas is about the birth of the Christian deity, who Christians actively recruit non-Christians, especially Jews, to worship. I mean, that is Christian doctrine - no matter what kind of Christian theology you're talking about, they believe you're going to hell if you don't believe in Jesus. Jews are still (as always) fighting our battle for survival because Christians, too, ultimately want to wipe out the Jews.
So, when I, as a Jew, hear "Judeo-Christian", excuse me for wanting to hurl.
(donning my asbestos underwear)
(I reserve the right to dispose of nasty comments - it's still my blog)
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4 comments:
I hear you.
I am so with you!
I think it's a very nice thing that Christians think to include Jews in their holiday season. I'm seeing at as apologistic and friendly.
But that's how I see everything. Just get through the season, Chan. It puts food on lots of Jewish tables.
Well, you know how I feel!
I am with you 100%!
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