Dear csteele,

Any religion that I know of does not accept lechery although it has been the prerogative of people in high places. Never having been in high places I do not know if I would be any better than Monash. I doubt that lechery was one of Howard’s sins, but I still greatly prefer Monash.

As far as defining a group by their behaviour that is one Christian idea I accept. Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits.

Dostoyevskii apparently shares your prejudice. He wanted to spread Orthodox Christianity. You may find agreement with most Christians in equating the word, Christian, with good, but I doubt whether most, if any, non-Christians use the word that way. If you confine your discourse to Christians you may have no problem. I find the usage offensive regardless of who uses it. I have heard an uncle say, “Don’t be a goy. Give the man a drink.” Also offensive.

I have a Marxist acquaintance who has said that a real Marxist would not beat his wife. His Marxists beliefs have a millennial twist. He seems to sincerely believe that there will be a final battle at which the forces of Marxism will emerge triumphant. He believes that being a Marxist means being a good person.

I don't think we have to be limited to our faith to seek a higher standard. One may sometimes find it outside of our faith. One fault of mine is letting a preoccupation become an obsession.

Two Buddhist monks approached a stream and found a young woman on the bank who was afraid to cross. The monks crossed and one of them picked up the woman and carried her to the other side. They walked along for a while, and one spoke up, “Our order forbids touching a woman, yet you picked her up and carried her.”

“I put her down when we got to the other side. Why don’t you.”

That also carries the meaning that human kindness should override religious commandments.

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John 14:6 states: "No one comes to the Father but by me" There is no comparable statement in Jewish scripture. One does not have to believe in Judaism to be accepted as a good person. However, one is supposed to lead a righteous life. One who leads a righteous or good life is not defined as Jewish. However, you seem to use the word, Christian, that way.

Some Christians believe in original sin. Jews don’t. Each of us is responsible for our own sins. We can neither take up someone else’s sins or put our sins on another. Whatever we believe cannot wash away our sins. Even those who have a literal belief in the Bible accept that guilt for the sin of Adam and Eve died with them. The idea of the scapegoat that existed in early Judaism has been discarded.

There are two kinds of sins, those against our fellow humans and those against God. No matter how much we pray or repent nothing can wash away a sin against another human being. The way we relieve ourselves of that kind of sin is to go to the person we have wronged and see if we can make up for it to that person. If we can’t do that we can try to behave better. If our good behaviour does not outweigh our bad behaviour we are not regarded as a good person no matter how sorry we are.

Sins against God are different. Penitence, prayer and charity will bring forgiveness for those sins. That is what Yom Kippur is about.

Unlike some branches of Christianity there is no hierarchy. A rabbi does not have a sacerdotal function the way a priest does. He is just supposed to be learned. Each congregation has the right to hire and fire. There are various organisations of congregations in different denominations, but each congregation has the right to withdraw.

Although there are some people who are highly regarded there are no saints. Even Moses because of flaws in his character was not allowed to enter the Holy Land.

Davidf

Had to look up "sacerdotal", new word thank you.

I believe your criticisms of Christianity are quite valid. Judaism has always been a far more pragmatic religion than either Islam or Christianity - which do place more emphasis on the supernatural than the practical. Most of my Jewish friends identify more with the culture than strict adherence to the Torah and find the question of Israel a difficult and fraught one. None could be described as Zionists I guess and the latest fracas over the Gaza strip saddens everyone.

I can't see peace in the Middle East until religion takes itself out of politics, and even then there is the battle for oil resources. However, I never thought I'd see the end to the Berlin wall either. There is always hope.

Dear Severin,

The following is mostly from another of my posts.

There is a way to end the long conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Jews. Recognise their connection!

Get rid of the barriers that keep related peoples apart.

From Alla Katsnelson. Jews worldwide share genetic ties: But analysis also reveals close links to Palestinians and Italians." Nature.com (June 3, 2010)

"Different communities of Jews around the world share more than just religious or cultural practices -- they also have strong genetic commonalities, according to the largest genetic analysis of Jewish people to date. But the study also found strong genetic ties to non-Jewish groups, with the closest genetic neighbours on the European side being Italians, and on the Middle Eastern side the Druze, Bedouin and Palestinians."

Give up the idea of a Jewish or a Palestinian state and work together to create a state which does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity or religion.

Have one state with public schools which integrate all students regardless of ethnicity or religion. If parents want to send their children to other schools they or their religious organisation must pay the entire cost - not the taxpayers. That is a good idea for Australia, too.

Have civil marriage. As it is now marriages must be approved by either Muslim, Jewish or Christian clergy. Let all marry who they will.

Go to school together. Work together. Live together. There is already too much separation. It is stupid to postulate more separation as a solution.

Tear down the walls. Create a new and vibrant nation by reuniting two related peoples!

Davidf

Nowhere has apartheid worked, whether it is between sexes, races or religions. I agree with your sentiments, however, there are too many who wish to hold power such as it is and do not understand cooperation - seeing it as a weakness.

The old adage, "united we stand, divided we fall" is as true as it ever was, with the power-mongers using division to disastrous effect.

Dear Severin,

I see it more as a continuous process. Groups of humans unite. Then they fall apart into the same or different groups. Then they reunite. And so on.

Yugoslavia and Russia united disparate elements. Then they fell apart.

The same is true for the Roman, British and all empires.

It is a dynamic process.

I think it is approaching time for the various elements in the Middle East to unite. Then they will separate.