JEWISH LEADER BLASTS THE 'RELIGIOUS RIGHT'
I've never understood how evangelical Christianity can claim religo-moral superiority over other faiths, let alone over other denominations. My first real exposure to evangelicalism was during my undergrad years, when I starting meeting folks who truly believed I and everyone else had a guaranteed ticket to hell if we didn't accept Jesus (as well as their own interpretation of Jesus).
What they looked liked to me, though, was a bunch of smiling, collared shirt-wearing, guitar strumming, good-teethed weirdos who had a complete incapacity for critical and independent thought. I could barely turn around without someone asking me if I'd accepted Christ as my savior--to include a gentlemen who danced in a religious fervor in his room directly above mine at midnight while I tried to get a decent night's roost, and then had the gall to ask me the golden question when I told him to save his religion for a more decent hour. Furthermore, not only did I think they were a bunch of quacks, but I found them to be the most bigoted and hateful folks on campus: non-evangelical? Going to hell. Muslim, Jewish, or other faith? Going to hell. Liked anything remotely related to fun? Going to hell? Saved money by switching to Geico? Going to hell. Maybe it's just me, but I thought Christ wasn't quite as paranoid and insular. It almost drove me to atheism, and I still have trouble coming to grips with the faith because of the taint evangelicals have put on it.
I lean towards Christianity because I was raised as such, but accepting Christ in some sort of blind emotional event, and giving up my ability to reason and knowledge that other deep and satisfying faiths also exist, let alone some for much longer? I don't think so. Furthermore, the last thing I want is some WWJD T-shirt wearing nutcase making laws to protect me from their vision of hell. Separation of church and state is a good thing... as the bumper sticker stays, the last time we mixed politics and religion people got burned at the stake.
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The leader of the largest branch of American Judaism blasted conservative religious activists in a speech Saturday, calling them "zealots" who claim a "monopoly on God" while promoting anti-gay policies akin to Adolf Hitler's. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the liberal Union for Reform Judaism, said "religious right" leaders believe "unless you attend my church, accept my God and study my sacred text you cannot be a moral person...What could be more bigoted than to claim that you have a monopoly on God?" he said during the movement's national assembly in Houston, which runs through Sunday. The audience of 5,000 responded to the speech with enthusiastic applause. Yoffie did not mention evangelical Christians directly, using the term "religious right" instead. In a separate interview, he said the phrase encompassed conservative activists of all faiths, including within the Jewish community. He used particularly strong language to condemn conservative attitudes toward homosexuals. He said he understood that traditionalists have concluded gay marriage violates Scripture, but he said that did not justify denying legal protections to same-sex partners and their children. "We cannot forget that when Hitler came to power in 1933, one of the first things that he did was ban gay organizations," Yoffie said. "Yes, we can disagree about gay marriage. But there is no excuse for hateful rhetoric that fuels the hellfires of anti-gay bigotry."
The Union for Reform Judaism represents about 900 synagogues in North America with an estimated membership of 1.5 million people. Of the three major streams of U.S. Judaism — Orthodox and Conservative are the others — it is the only one that sanctions gay ordination and supports civil marriage for same-gender couples. Yoffie said liberals and conservatives share some concerns, such as the potential damage to children from violent or highly sexual TV shows and other popular media. But he said, overall, conservatives too narrowly define family values, making a "frozen embryo in a fertility clinic" more important than a child, and ignoring poverty and other social ills. One attendee, Judy Weinman of Troy, N.Y., said she thought Yoffie was "right on target...He reminded us of where we have things in common and where we're different," she said. Yoffie also urged lawmakers to model themselves on presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, who famously told a Houston clergy group in 1960 that a president should not make policy based on his religion.
- KRISTEN HAYS, Associated Press Writer
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