Well you all seem to be of Christian upbringing, so I guess I'll try and bring a Jewish opinion to this matter. Sorry if some of the things are randomly ordered, it's just what popped into my head at the time.
I know a lot of super Orthodox Jews who have been that way since birth, and I know a lot of super Orthodox Jews who have been that way because of a certain event in their life that changed their opinion on God and the Jewish religion. My dad, for example, converted to Judaism (twice actually) because he lost his faith in Christianity, which I see a lot of in general in today's time, and even in this thread. There's also the people who become more religious because of a death in the family, or they just need some help finding themselves.
What I love about my sect of Judaism (Modern Orthodox) is that you aren't totally forced to be Jewish like Ultra-Orthodox sects do. It allows somewhat of a freedom, and it makes people, namely myself, enjoy the religion more. As I said I know a lot of people who have been super Orthodox since they were born because the religion was beat into their head and that's all they know. I also know some people who deviated from their parents and religion because of that.
Do I believe in God? Yes I do. Do I know what God is? Not totally. Do I think the Torah (Old Testament) is divine? Yes. The question of who wrote the Torah is very up-in-the-air when it comes to Judaism. I don't know about the rest of the Bible, but I personally don't care about it since I don't believe in it. Some people say God just snapped his fingers per se, and the Torah was there. Some people say Moses wrote the Torah from what God told him to write down (40 days on Mount Sinai). Some people say the Torah was written by multiple authors throughout the generations up until the destruction of the Temples. I don't know which I believe, but most Jews believe that the Torah is somehow directly from God and that's good enough for them/me.
A lot of the things mentioned in this thread are very controversial in Judaism, like the name of God some of you talked about. Seeing that I feel kinda of appalled, but that's mostly because none of you have really studied the Torah, Mishnah (oral law), and Talmud (commentary on the oral law). But in Judaism that is not the "Divine name of God." No one knows what the "Divine name" is because it died with the destruction of the Temples. Not to mention there are many, many, many, many, many (I could keep going) names for God.
The way I think you all view religion is through a Christian world, which isn't surprising to me at all. I don't mean to put myself on the high chair, but I do believe Judaism is the only "correct" religion. Christianity doesn't make sense, because if the messiah had come in Jesus then there wouldn't be anymore war. I also believe that Christianity isn't a monotheistic religion, because they worship more then just God (Jesus, saints, etc.). I won't get into Islam because of my feelings about Israel and the Middle East.
All I'm trying to say, I guess, is take a look at the world without the influence on Christianity. Christianity has done some pretty messed up things to the world and the people who follow it. Try to look at religion through a different perspective. A lot of you sound almost angry at Christianity, which clouds your vision about religion, since, I'm guessing, most of you were brought up Christian. And I'm not trying to get people to convert to Judaism, although it greatly sounds like it. It just irks me when people don't believe in God, or say that religion is just an excuse for war. I feel there's more to say, but I'll see how this thread progresses more first.
I know a lot of super Orthodox Jews who have been that way since birth, and I know a lot of super Orthodox Jews who have been that way because of a certain event in their life that changed their opinion on God and the Jewish religion. My dad, for example, converted to Judaism (twice actually) because he lost his faith in Christianity, which I see a lot of in general in today's time, and even in this thread. There's also the people who become more religious because of a death in the family, or they just need some help finding themselves.
What I love about my sect of Judaism (Modern Orthodox) is that you aren't totally forced to be Jewish like Ultra-Orthodox sects do. It allows somewhat of a freedom, and it makes people, namely myself, enjoy the religion more. As I said I know a lot of people who have been super Orthodox since they were born because the religion was beat into their head and that's all they know. I also know some people who deviated from their parents and religion because of that.
Do I believe in God? Yes I do. Do I know what God is? Not totally. Do I think the Torah (Old Testament) is divine? Yes. The question of who wrote the Torah is very up-in-the-air when it comes to Judaism. I don't know about the rest of the Bible, but I personally don't care about it since I don't believe in it. Some people say God just snapped his fingers per se, and the Torah was there. Some people say Moses wrote the Torah from what God told him to write down (40 days on Mount Sinai). Some people say the Torah was written by multiple authors throughout the generations up until the destruction of the Temples. I don't know which I believe, but most Jews believe that the Torah is somehow directly from God and that's good enough for them/me.
A lot of the things mentioned in this thread are very controversial in Judaism, like the name of God some of you talked about. Seeing that I feel kinda of appalled, but that's mostly because none of you have really studied the Torah, Mishnah (oral law), and Talmud (commentary on the oral law). But in Judaism that is not the "Divine name of God." No one knows what the "Divine name" is because it died with the destruction of the Temples. Not to mention there are many, many, many, many, many (I could keep going) names for God.
The way I think you all view religion is through a Christian world, which isn't surprising to me at all. I don't mean to put myself on the high chair, but I do believe Judaism is the only "correct" religion. Christianity doesn't make sense, because if the messiah had come in Jesus then there wouldn't be anymore war. I also believe that Christianity isn't a monotheistic religion, because they worship more then just God (Jesus, saints, etc.). I won't get into Islam because of my feelings about Israel and the Middle East.
All I'm trying to say, I guess, is take a look at the world without the influence on Christianity. Christianity has done some pretty messed up things to the world and the people who follow it. Try to look at religion through a different perspective. A lot of you sound almost angry at Christianity, which clouds your vision about religion, since, I'm guessing, most of you were brought up Christian. And I'm not trying to get people to convert to Judaism, although it greatly sounds like it. It just irks me when people don't believe in God, or say that religion is just an excuse for war. I feel there's more to say, but I'll see how this thread progresses more first.
That is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.
