Jonathan H. B. Lobl

Years ago, when I was a student at CCNY; the rabbi at my Hillel was Reconstructionist. Judaism as a Civilization. An interesting thought. Not much to base a life on. I read the book. It was highly forgettable. More recently, I read Judaism beyond God. Sherwin Wine is clear about what is wrong with Judaism. Beyond that? A sloppy sentimentality. I couldn't figure out what he's for. I think if it has any long term effect at all; it will help the assimilation process. For the Jews who don't want to swallow their Judaism. It lets them put it in the refrigerator. They can throw it out later. My childhood introduction to Judaism, was Reform Sunday school. Not a lot of substance. Mostly a prolonged history lesson, about what they did to us. When I was an undergraduate, I fell in with a Chabad Lubavitch crowd. That was an education. I also encountered the Jews for Jesus movement. New York City is a nexus for their activities. Words fail. Well. One word. Gevalt. Enjoy your bagel.

Quite right. And I shared that perception when I read those scriptures. Of course, the Gospels are antisemitic. "By their fruits you will know them." What were the fruits of the Gospels? Two thousand years of persecution and hatred. The Jews were accused of "Killing Christ." This is no dramatic flourish. My mother, now 99, remembers from her childhood -- the little girl from next door. She refused to play with my mother, because my mother had killed Christ. I have other family traditions. And personal experiences. Later for both. The Gospels were not written by historians, as we now know the term. The Gospels were written by propagandists, working with the Roman government, to spread the new religion into the gentile world. Of course, the Jewish leadership had to be the bad guys of the story. They had to explain why the Jews were not part of their Jewish movement. Why their risen Christ did not have a Jewish following. Why the vast majority of Jews wanted nothing to do with them or their movement. They sure couldn't blame the government of Rome. That would have gotten them executed. We all know how the Roman government, executed members of disloyal movements. Look at the sign they put over the head of Jesus. I expect that we have all been sprayed by Christian Apologetics. Sprayed, that is, in the sense that a skunk will spray it's victims. Jesus, his mother and all the early disciples were all Jewish. No true Christian -- No Authentic follower -- etc. etc. ad nauseum -- would be antisemitic. The Scriptures are from God and God is not antisemitic. Even now, I find myself taking a lot of this clap personally. Jewish history speaks for itself. So does family history. One of the few Russian words that I know is Pogrom. One final thought. This is purely an emotional outburst on my part. If any pious Christian wants to tell me that I'm mistaken about Christ -- or True Christians -- or Scripture -- or Theology -- well then. ** you and the horse you rode in on. Thank you for listening. End of rant.

I don't have numbers for you. Many Jews are deeply religious. Many are Atheists. It's an old joke. There is no God and we are his people.

This topic will be controversial. The Jews for Jesus are/is having a debate on the topic of antisemitism. In particular, the question of whether the Christian Scriptures are, themselves, antisemitic and a source of antisemitism. In fairness, I must put my own bias up front. I am a Jewish Atheist. I have definite thoughts on the history of antisemitism. In terms of scriptural theology, I'm not clear on how much I actually have a dog in this race. I think this topic can fuel interesting conversation. The fuel can also be explosive. This is a time for tactful and cautious restraint. I will be on my good behavior. On balance, I'm optimistic. The board can use some serious conversation. If we have any Messianic Jewish lurkers, perhaps they will come out of hiding. Here goes. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-you-should-support-my-upcoming-debate-with-rabbi-shmuley-boteach/?utm_source=The+Blogs+Weekly+Highlights&utm_campaign=blogs-weekly-highlights-2019-08-01&utm_medium=email

The only Pagan that I know of -- still on this board -- is Geordon. He has posted on page one of this thread. I would begin by sending him a private message. I know nothing of the Pagan boards. They need their own Pagan only space and I have made it a policy not to intrude. I expect that they would be friendly to the father of a Pagan. Still, I don't know and I can't speak for them. Patheos Pagan puts out some interesting blogs. They are free. I subscribe. It's interesting stuff. I can't think of anything else to say, that would help.

I think that we are getting closer to what you want to know. This is strictly my understanding -- and I am not Pagan. Neither do I speak for any Pagans or Pagan group. There is no such thing as standard Paganism. Neither is there any kind of standard Pagan. At best, for purposes of analogy, we can think of Pagans as being cats. They are all individuals. If you know twenty cats, you know twenty individuals and the differences among them will be huge. At the same time, they will all be -- in some sense -- feline -- and you will not confuse them with dogs. If you want to know the minds of your daughter's Pagan friends, you will have to get to know each and every one of them, as individuals. If you want to know one individual Pagan group -- you will have to hang with them. There are no shortcuts. Going to the internet will only give you facts -- which is not what you need. You will not find out what you want to know.

I'm not clear about where this is going. Are you looking for therapies for your daughter? Is this your interest in herbs? Maybe physical training, like Yoga? Breath work? Horseback riding? What kind of spiritual development do you have in mind? You want like minded people. What kind of "like minded"? If I can be more clear about what you want -- it will help.

It takes patience and love to raise a seeing eye puppy. A true contribution to the greater good.

I'm going to quibble about your use of words. Not fictional. A fantasy. It's a nuance.

I can't even begin to estimate, how many times that Christians have said worse to me. Starting with threats of eternal damnation. Telling me that I'm not a real American, because I'm not Christian. Telling me that I'm a fool. Guess what? I never clammed up.

A literal reading of Genesis as history, does not allow wiggle room. The Earth is created alone in space -- three days -- or three yom -- before the Sun or any of the other stars. What do you mean --if that is how I choose to see it? Conflating the language of Bible mythology -- which is poetry -- with the language of physics -- which is science -- is silly. Even this is not the worst of it. What do we know about the Universe? Billions of galaxies. Billions of stars in each galaxy. M ore stars in the Cosmos than Earth has grains of sand. In the Bible, we are told some interesting things. On the fourth day -- "He made the stars also." That is some after thought. Little twinkly things, placed on the Firmament, to decorate the night sky. The Firmament? The series of crystal spheres? Which part of this, even begins to resemble external reality? At best, we have the imagination, of people who didn't know where the Sun goes at night. Or what the stars are.

External reality is not a choice. The laws of physics are not part of mythology.

Good one.

People like to feel useful. It gives life purpose. I don't know what her physical or mental challenges are. The only ability you describe, is empathy with other species. Dog and cat shelters generally need volunteer help. Someone with true empathy for animals, would be helpful. If not with direct physical care, then with the emotional needs of the animal guests. Veterinarians would have similar needs for volunteer help. Sick and injured patients of any species, need calming and emotional support. Zoos might have similar needs, for volunteers. I agree. It is good to focus on your daughter's strengths.

I don't have any specific agenda. It does seem to me, that Atheists and Polytheists are natural allies, in keeping the government secular. For instance, in removing "In God we trust" from the money. I'm tired of explaining to Christians that this is intrusive. At the moment, there isn't that much on my mind. The big A in my life right now, isn't Atheism. It's Arthritis. You know. Day to day life. Ideology aside, what we have in common as human beings, is way more significant than labels. Food is the same experience, regardless of ideology. When there is a Pagan slant, I will be happy to hear it. Much of the time, I don't think it will be an issue. Well, stay happy.

Either way, it's interesting. The scientists were shocked to discover that the expansion was speeding up. It's not what they were expecting. I have confidence that if different facts show up, they will be accepted. After all, these are scientists. Not clergy. They want to be corrected. One of the things that puzzles me: The finding that space itself has greater than zero mass. Very tiny, but greater than zero. And space is expanding. In time, that could be a lot of mass. Well, it's interesting.

It's based on observation of the "dopler" effect. (red and blue light shift) The most distant galaxies are receding the fastest. This is happening, because the space between the galaxies is expanding. Reality is stranger than fantasy.

Maybe not. Black Holes "leak". They emit energy in the form of Hawking radiation -- named for Stephen Hawking. Over time, a Black Hole will evaporate. It takes a lot of time for that to happen. Still, we are talking about the Cosmos. Deep time allows even Black Holes to dissipate. Do you want something to chew on? Nothing can travel through space, faster than the speed of light. However -- the space between galaxies can expand faster than the speed of light. In the distant future, the light from distant galaxies will be lost to us.

Of course? I am often mistaken. About many things. The field of Cosmology is in great flux. There are more questions than answers. For instance, the nature of Dark Energy. The force behind the expansion of space. Dark Energy might exist. Or the expansion of space could have a different explanation. If it is Dark Energy -- things could change. For all we know, there could be a mechanism -- which changes Dark Energy -- from a repulsive force -- to an attractive force. We don't know. Exploration is preliminary. At this point -- there is a consensus, that the expansion of space is caused by Dark Energy. If Dark Energy remains constant -- the Universe will end in heat death. That is -- total entropy. If Dark Energy becomes more powerful -- Heat Death is replaced by -- the Big Rip. Every atom and sub atomic particle will be ripped apart by the expansion of space. Of course, not for billions of years. Something to remember. The expansion of space only occurs between galaxies. That is why the galaxies are receding from each other. Inside galaxies, the expansion of space is countered by gravitational forces. The exception is galactic clusters. When galaxies are close enough to each other, gravity will prevent Dark Energy from expanding the space between them. It's fascinating stuff. I follow as well as I can. It does hurt my head.

An addendum: I read the author's vision of a Pagan future. The central feature is good. A Secular government (not Atheist -- Secular) with full religious freedom. I like it. For the rest -- I like it also -- but we could really use more Pagan voices. The ones that have gone silent on this board.

Just because the Monotheistic religions share a common mythology; does not mean they share a common authority. I have separate rants for all three. I'll spare you. Yes. The perfect friends and allies -- to get the Monotheistic God off the money -- and out of the Pledge. It's time to find common cause.

I think we can all see the joke coming. Getting Pagans to work together is like herding cats. Why am I not surprised? You have my sympathies. Pagan chaplains in the V.A. would be an interesting cultural development. So would Pagan chaplains in the military. I like the idea. It would shake things up. The dominant religious cultures need shaking up.