Bible time?

I have read the Bible for both religious reasons (raised Catholic) and for study purposes. I also did the whole Bible study crap when I was a kid, but I don't think that counts.

I neither enjoyed it or believed in it.

I've been to church about a hundred times or so. But having been raised Catholic in New England, our masses were often parsed with English AND Latin.

I never enjoyed church either.

I DO kind of wish I was raised Jewish, if only for the KICKASS TRADITIONS and shit. I spent about a year living with a Jewish family, and man. They were awesome.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Capo

What's so much better about being Jewish?

They seem a lot more fun. They actually have a sense of humor about their religion. Or the ones that I went to school with did. And I went to school in a pretty dense Jewish community in town, so.

Quote:

Also, just how Jewish was this family. Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, (gulp) Hasidic?

Reformed. Yea, yea. Go ahead. Laugh. ^_^

But they were active in their temple and they seemed to take religion more lightly. I don't know. It just seemed like they were more GROUNDED. They weren't god-fearing people, but they were a lot more....lighthearted, I guess. I really enjoyed it. It was a nice break from the HEAVY CHRISTIAN perspective.

Also, maybe its because it was more reminiscent of the European family unit. I'm not sure if thats what I liked most, you know? They seemed to really have a good, strong family unit.

But obviously, you can't say it of all Jews. I'm just saying the ones I knew (about two dozen families, mixed of Orthodox, Reformed and Hasidic) were all pretty rockin'. I had some friends over at the Yeshiva too. They were pretty neato. I have no idea what you call those undershirts they wore, and those AWESOME hats and shit. But they were all like "YEA, WE'RE AWESOME. LOOK AT US WITH OUR HATS AND BEARDS." You know. Sense of humor. ^_^

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Capo

The undershirt you're talking about is just a more practical form of a Tallit for daily use.

And, yeah, Reform (not Reformed, as my Rabbi once told me. "We're still reforming!" Haha.) Jews are a lot more relaxed about everything, it seems.

Conservative are still a little relaxed, but the main Conservative Rabbi around here is pretty strict, and really, a total douche. There was this co-Rabbi before who worked with him, but he quit because he couldn't stand the other Rabbi. He was this huge, 6'6" 300-some pound guy, with a nice Jew-fro, and a big beard. He was really funny and totally cool. I really liked him, and saw him a lot in the community. Hell, he played on the synagogue basketball team.

And then there are the Orthodox. These guys are fucking SERIOUS about Judaism. Almost like the internet. They go to synagogue everyday, and don't seem as carefree, and never make jokes during services. Plus, the women sit away from the men during their services, which is pretty odd. They're the ones you always see wearing the "undershirts", and kippas, or yamakahs.

The ones with the black hats and suits on all the time are the Hasidic. These are the extremely religious Jews, who adhere to as many commandments as possible. It's totally impractical for today, but they do it somehow. Haven't met many of these guys, but they are even more serious than the Orthodoxes.

As for the kids I have met, the majority of them are Conservative. Considering I went to a private Conservative Jew school for 6 years, this isn't really a surprise. They're your typical American kids for the most part. Some keep kosher, but they are in the minority. Same goes for kippa use.

The reform kids I know are completely "normal", and most of them never go to synagogue, save the so called "High Holidays". There were only a few of them at my school. Still, completely normal. Don't keep kosher. Don't wear kippot.

Orthodox kids are a mixed bunch. There's this kid Benny Schwartz (no relation!) who smokes weed everyday, and has sex regularly. He's not the usual Orthodox, but he's not in some HUGE minority, either. Some are pretty normal, some aren't, but all of them wear Tallits and kippot all of the time, keep kosher, and go to synagogue regularly.

I have never met a hasidic kid, but I see a ton of them around the neighborhood. They dress in all black, wear the hats and tallits, and grow out their sideburns into "peyot". You know the story from there. They're the typical, extremely Jewish kids.

So yeah, that's the little breakdown.

Yea, the reformed people I lived with for a while were wicked lax. They weren't kosher, though the expressed a feeling of guilt or gave off a joke about it now and then.

Typical fat Jewish mother who never cooked for her poor house. Disney-loving, Broadway attending Jews. I love 'em for it. ^_^

The Hasidic dudes were the ones over at the Yeshiva, yea. They literally didn't DRIVE or COOK on the Sabbath. I think thats how you call it - same in Christianity, but a different day, yea?

SEE WHY I WANT TO BE A JEW? ^_^

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Capo

Yeah, Sabbath, or the Hebrew, Shabbat. The Torah says you can't do any work then, and this somehow extends to not being able to use ANY electricity, including lights, and cars. Also, it begins sundown Friday night, and ends sundown Saturday night.

So whats the difference between Shomer Shabbas and Shabbat? If there even IS one? Forgive my spelling errors, if there were any. I am not sure how to spell Shomer Shabbas. ;_;

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Oric

The Bahá'í Faith is a global religion, founded in the 1800's by a Persian dude named Bahá'u'lláh. There are three basic principles, the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of humanity. We believe that the history of religion is a history of progressive revelations by other founders of religions planned by God. Bahá'u'lláh is the most recent, and most important (to us, at least), but not final. He claimed that his coming was predicted by Christians and Muslims. He wanted to establish a global unity, with peace and harmony.

This means, that unlike some religious groups, we regard other religions as divinely inspired, but they are just outdated according to progressive revelation. This doesn't mean that it's a combination of religions- it's a seperate group.

Most estimates say that there are betweeen five and six million Bahá'ís in the world now. We're very global, with followers from all races, and previous religions. We also aim to eliminate all prejudice and bigotry.

As to the churches, there are the Houses of Worship, of which there are seven, an eighth being designed. But worship and education are not on a large, monastic level. We believe spirituality should be pursued in everyday life, not just the church. That's why there are no sermons, nothing of the sort. Study circles at the local level are popular. There are also local Bahá'í centers. We don't have clergy either.

One of the big books is the one that contains most of the Bahá'í laws- the Kitáb-i-Aqdas ("The Most Holy Book"). These laws are followed as a matter of personal choice. Some of the laws- recite an obligatory prayer every day, pray and meditate every day, don't backbite or gossip, do the fast in March, don't drink or take drugs (unless for medical reasons), don't gamble, and don't be gay. (That last one is changing, though, or has, I'm not sure yet. It's one of those that reflect 1800's Iranian culture...)

As happy and peaceful as we may seem, some people don't like us, namely the Iranian government. According to Wikipedia, over 200 believers have been executed between 1978 and 1998. Many Iranian Bahá'ís aren't allowed to hold government jobs, go to university, have had their homes ransacked, and sent to prison for engaging in study circles.

Woo, that was a bit long. But there you go.

This actually sounds like a really interesting religion. Is it very popular in the United States? Are there any associations here in the US? I'd love to read more on this one. I've never really bumped into a religion which embraced these values.

I was speaking idiomatically.