Criticism of Christianity and Islam Wikipedia pages

Criticism of Christianity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about criticism of the doctrines and practices of Christianity. For negative attitudes towards Christians, see Anti-Christian sentiment.
Part of a series on
Christianity
Jesus depicted as the Good Shepherd


Jesus ·
 Christ
 [hide]
Jesus in Christianity ·
 Virgin birth ·
 Ministry ·
 Crucifixion ·
 Resurrection
 


Bible ·
 Foundations
 [hide]
Old Testament ·
 New Testament ·
 Gospel ·
 Canon ·
 Books ·
 Church ·
 Creed ·
 New Covenant
 

Theology[hide]

God ·
 Trinity  (Father ·
 Son ·
 Holy Spirit)
 

Apologetics ·
 Baptism ·
 Catholicism ·
 Christology ·
 History of theology ·
 Mission ·
 Salvation
 


History ·
 Tradition
 [hide]
Mary ·
 Apostles ·
 Peter ·
 Paul ·
 Fathers ·
 Early Christianity ·
 Constantine ·
 Councils ·
 Augustine ·
 East–West Schism ·
 Crusades ·
 Aquinas ·
 Reformation ·
 Luther
 

Related topics[hide]

Art ·
 Holidays (list) ·
 Criticism ·
 Ecumenism ·
 Liturgy ·
 Music ·
 Other religions ·
 Prayer ·
 Sermon ·
 Symbolism
 


Denominations ·
 Groups
 [hide]

Western
Adventist ·
 Anabaptist ·
 Anglican ·
 Baptist ·
 Calvinist ·
 Catholic ·
 Evangelical ·
 Holiness ·
 Lutheran ·
 Methodist ·
 Protestant ·
 Pentecostal
 
Eastern
Eastern Orthodox ·
 Eastern Catholic ·
 Oriental Orthodox ·
 Assyrian
 
Nontrinitarian
Jehovah's Witness ·
 Latter Day Saint ·
 Oneness Pentecostal
 

Christian cross Christianity portal
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Shi'ism)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert Green Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayanand Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Criticism of Christianity varies from the criticism of Christian beliefs, teachings, history, activities, and terrorism. Throughout the history of Christianity, many have criticized Christianity, the church, Jesus, Christian Bible, Christians and other elements of Christianity.
The formal response of Christians to such criticisms is described as Christian apologetics. Several areas of criticism also include the claims of scripture itself, the ethics of biblical interpretations that have been used historically to justify certain attitudes and behaviors, the question of the religion's compatibility with science, and other Christian doctrines. The criticism came from the various religious and non-religious groups around the world, some of whom were themselves Christians.


Contents  [hide]
1 Scripture 1.1 Biblical criticism
1.2 Judaic view: Unfulfilled prophecy
1.3 Selective interpretation
1.4 Textual corruption
1.5 Mistranslation 1.5.1 Translation of Almah as Virgin
1.5.2 Prophecy of the Nazarene

2 Miracles
3 Ethics 3.1 Colonialism
3.2 Slavery
3.3 Christianity and women
3.4 Christianity and politics
3.5 Christianity and violence
4 Science
5 Doctrine 5.1 Incarnation
5.2 Hell and damnation
5.3 Idolatry
5.4 Limbo
5.5 Atonement
5.6 Second Coming
5.7 Inconsistency with Old Testament conception of the afterlife
6 Criticism of Christians 6.1 Negative attitudes in the United States
6.2 Negative attitudes in Nazi Germany
6.3 Hypocrisy
6.4 Bigotry
6.5 Materialism
6.6 Sectarianism
6.7 Persecution by Christians
6.8 Response of apologists
7 Criticism by other religions 7.1 Hinduism
7.2 Judaism
7.3 Islam
8 Origins
9 See also
10 References
11 Further reading 11.1 Skeptical of Christianity
11.2 Defending Christianity
12 External links 12.1 General
12.2 Skeptical
12.3 From other religions
12.4 Apologetic
12.5 Debates


Scripture[edit]
See also: Criticism of the Bible
Biblical criticism[edit]
See also: Biblical criticism, The Bible and History and Internal consistency and the Bible
Biblical criticism, in particular higher criticism, covers a variety of methods used since the Enlightenment in the early 18th century as scholars began to apply to biblical documents the same methods and perspectives which had already been applied to other literary and philosophical texts.[1] It is an umbrella term covering various techniques used mainly by mainline and liberal Christian theologians to study the meaning of biblical passages. It uses general historical principles, and is based primarily on reason rather than revelation or faith. There are four primary types of biblical criticism:[2]
##Form criticism: an analysis of literary documents, particularly the Bible, to discover earlier oral traditions (stories, legends, myths, etc.) upon which they were based.
##Tradition criticism: an analysis of the Bible, concentrating on how religious traditions grew and changed over the time span during which the text was written.
##Higher criticism: the study of the sources and literary methods employed by the biblical authors.[3][2]
##Lower criticism: the discipline and study of the actual wording of the Bible; a quest for textual purity and understanding.[3]
Inconsistencies have been pointed out by critics and skeptics,[4] presenting as difficulties the different numbers and names for the same feature and different sequences for what is supposed to be the same event. Responses to these criticisms include the modern documentary hypothesis, two source hypothesis (in various guises), and assertions that the Pastoral Epistles are pseudonymous. Contrasting with these critical stances are positions supported by literalists, considering the texts to be consistent, with the Torah written by a single source,[5][6] but the Gospels by four independent witnesses,[7] and all of the Pauline Epistles, except possibly the Hebrews, as having been written by Paul the Apostle.
While consideration of the context is necessary when studying the Bible, some find the accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus within the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, difficult to reconcile. E. P. Sanders concludes that the inconsistencies make the possibility of a deliberate fraud unlikely: "A plot to foster belief in the Resurrection would probably have resulted in a more consistent story. Instead, there seems to have been a competition: 'I saw him,' 'So did I,' 'The women saw him first,' 'No, I did; they didn't see him at all,' and so on."[8]
Harold Lindsell points out that it is a "gross distortion" to state that people who believe in biblical inerrancy suppose every statement made in the Bible is true (opposed to accurate).[9] He indicates there are expressly false statements in the Bible which are reported accurately[9] (for example, Satan is a liar whose lies are accurately reported as to what he actually said).[9] Proponents of biblical inerrancy generally do not teach that the Bible was dictated directly by God, but that God used the "distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers" of scripture and that God's inspiration guided them to flawlessly project his message through their own language and personality.[10]:Art. VIII
Those who believe in the inspiration of scripture teach that it is infallible (or inerrant), that is, free from error in the truths it expresses by its character as the word of God.[11] However, the scope of what this encompasses is disputed, as the term includes 'faith and practice' positions, with some denominations holding that the historical or scientific details, which may be irrelevant to matters of faith and Christian practice, may contain errors.[12] Other scholars take stronger views,[13] but for a few verses these positions require more exegetical work, leading to dispute (compare the serious debate over the related issue of perspicuity, attracting biblical and philosophical discussion).
Infallibility refers to the original texts of the Bible, and all mainstream scholars acknowledge the potential for human error in transmission and translation; yet, through use textual criticism modern (critical) copies are considered to "faithfully represent the original",[10]:Art. X and our understanding of the original language sufficiently well for accurate translation. The opposing view is that there is too much corruption, or translation too difficult, to agree with modern texts.
Judaic view: Unfulfilled prophecy[edit]



 God reveals himself to Abraham in scripture and he is seen here with three angels. By Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Hundreds of years before the time of Jesus, Jewish prophets promised that a messiah would come. Judaism claims that Jesus did not fulfill these prophecies. Other skeptics usually claim that the prophecies are either vague or unfulfilled,[14] or that the Old Testament writings influenced the composition of New Testament narratives.[15] Christian apologists claim that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies, which they argue are nearly impossible to fulfill by chance.[16] Many Christians anticipate the Second Coming of Jesus, when he will fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy, such as the Last Judgment, the general resurrection, establishment of the Kingdom of God, and the Messianic Age (see the article on Preterism for contrasting Christian views).
The New Testament traces Jesus' line to that of David; however, according to Stephen L. Harris:[17]
Jesus did not accomplish what Israel's prophets said the Messiah was commissioned to do: He did not deliver the covenant people from their Gentile enemies, reassemble those scattered in the Diaspora, restore the Davidic kingdom, or establish universal peace (cf. Isa. 9:6–7; 11:7–12:16, etc.). Instead of freeing Jews from oppressors and thereby fulfilling God's ancient promises—for land, nationhood, kingship, and blessing—Jesus died a "shameful" death, defeated by the very political powers the Messiah was prophesied to overcome. Indeed, the Hebrew prophets did not foresee that Israel's savior would be executed as a common criminal by Gentiles, making Jesus' crucifixion a "stumbling block" to scripturally literate Jews. (1 Cor.1:23)
Christian preachers counter this argument by stating that these prophecies will be fulfilled by Jesus in the Millennial Reign after the Great Tribulation, according to New Testament prophecies, especially in the Book of Revelation.
The 16th-century Jewish theologian Isaac ben Abraham, who lived in Trakai, Lithuania, penned a work called Chizzuk Emunah (Faith Strengthened) that attempted to refute the ideas that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament and that Christianity was the "New Covenant" of God. He systematically identified a number of inconsistencies in the New Testament, contradictions between the New Testament and the Old Testament, and Old Testament prophesies which remained unfulfilled in Jesus' lifetime. In addition, he questioned a number of Christian practices, such as Sunday Sabbath.[18] Written originally for Jews to persuade them not to convert to Christianity,[19] the work was eventually read by Christians. While the well-known Christian Hebraist Johann Christoph Wagenseil attempted an elaborate refutation of Abraham's arguments, Wagenseil's Latin translation of it only increased interest in the work and inspired later Christian freethinkers. Chizzuk Emunah was praised as a masterpiece by Voltaire.[18]
On the other hand, Blaise Pascal believed that "[t]he prophecies are the strongest proof of Jesus Christ". He wrote that Jesus was foretold, and that the prophecies came from a succession of people over a span of four thousand years.[20] Apologist Josh McDowell defends the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy as supporting Christianity, arguing that prophecies fulfilled by Christ include ones relating to his ancestral line, birthplace, virgin birth, miracles, manner of death, and resurrection. He says that even the timing of the Messiah in years and in relation to events is predicted, and that the Jewish Talmud (not accepting Jesus as the Messiah, see also Rejection of Jesus) laments that the Messiah had not appeared despite the scepter being taken away from Judah.[21]
Selective interpretation[edit]
See also: Expounding of the Law, Biblical law in Christianity and Cafeteria Christianity
Critics argue that the selective invocation of portions of the Old Testament is hypocritical, particularly when those portions endorse hostility towards women and homosexuals, when other portions are considered obsolete. The entire Mosaic Law is described in Galatians 3:24-25 as a tutor which is no longer necessary, according to some interpretations, see also Antinomianism in the New Testament.
On the other hand, many of the Old Testament laws are seen as specifically abrogated by the New Testament, such as circumcision,[22] though this may simply be a parallel to Jewish Noahide Laws. See also Split of early Christianity and Judaism. On the other hand, other passages are pro-Law, such as Romans 3:31: "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." See also Pauline passages opposing antinomianism.
There are a number of positions which are taken in response to these critics:
##Some argue that the specific principles invoked by Christians are endorsed or renewed in the New Testament.[23]
##Others argue that the Old Testament law applies, except as modified by the New Testament.[24]
Textual corruption[edit]
See also: Biblical criticism and Textual criticism
Within the abundance of biblical manuscripts exist a number of textual variants. The vast majority of these textual variants are the inconsequential misspelling of words, word order variations[25] and the mistranscription of abbreviations.[26] Text critics such as Bart D. Ehrman have proposed that some of these textual variants and interpolations were theologically motivated.[27] Ehrman's conclusions and textual variant choices have been challenged by reviewers, including Daniel B. Wallace, Craig Blomberg and Thomas Howe.[28]
In attempting to determine the original text of the New Testament books, some modern textual critics have identified sections as probably not original. In modern translations of the Bible, the results of textual criticism have led to certain verses being left out or marked as not original. These possible later additions include the following:[29][30]
##The ending of Mark[Mk. 16]
##The story in John of the woman taken in adultery, the Pericope Adulterae
##An explicit reference to the Trinity in 1 John, the Comma Johanneum
Most Bibles have footnotes to indicate areas which have disputed source documents. Bible Commentaries also discuss these, sometimes in great detail.
In The Text Of The New Testament, Kurt and Barbara Aland compare the total number of variant-free verses, and the number of variants per page (excluding orthographic errors), among the seven major editions of the Greek NT (Tischendorf, Westcott-Hort, von Soden, Vogels, Merk, Bover and Nestle-Aland) concluding 62.9%, or 4999/7947, agreement.[31] They concluded, "Thus in nearly two-thirds of the New Testament text, the seven editions of the Greek New Testament which we have reviewed are in complete accord, with no differences other than in orthographical details (e.g., the spelling of names, etc.). Verses in which any one of the seven editions differs by a single word are not counted. This result is quite amazing, demonstrating a far greater agreement among the Greek texts of the New Testament during the past century than textual scholars would have suspected… In the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation the agreement is less, while in the letters it is much greater."[31]
With the discovery of the Hebrew Bible texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, questions have been raised about the textual accuracy of the Masoretic text. That is, whether the Masoretic text which forms the basis of most modern English translations of the Old Testament, or translations which pre-date the masoretic text, such as the Septuagint, Syriac Peshitta, and Samaritan Pentateuch are more accurate.[citation needed]
Mistranslation[edit]
See also: Bible errata, Bible translations and English translations of the Bible
Translation has given rise to a number of issues, as the original languages are often quite different in grammar as well as word meaning. While the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy[10] states that inerrancy applies only to the original languages, some believers trust their own translation to be the accurate one. One such group of believers is known as the King-James-Only Movement. For readability, clarity, or other reasons, translators may choose different wording or sentence structure, and some translations may choose to paraphrase passages. Because some of the words in the original language have ambiguous or difficult to translate meanings, debates over the correct interpretation occur.
Criticisms are also sometimes raised because of inconsistencies arising between different English translations of the Hebrew or Greek text. Some Christian interpretations are criticized for reflecting specific doctrinal bias[32] or a variant reading between the Masoretic Hebrew and Septuagint Greek manuscripts often quoted in the New Testament.
Translation of Almah as Virgin[edit]
Matthew 1:22-1:23 reads: "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." As early as the 2nd century CE, Jewish critics have argued that Christians were mistaken in their reading of the word almah ("עלמה") in Isaiah 7:14.[33] Jewish translations of the verse from Isaiah read: "Behold, the young woman is with child and will bear a son and she will call his name Immanuel." Moreover, it is claimed that Christians have taken this verse out of context (see Immanuel for further information).[32]
Christians claim that the reference to the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15 refers to a virgin birth, but critics claim otherwise.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
The Greek text of Matthew 1:23 uses the term "parthenos", which is the usual Greek word for virgin:
"ιδού η παρθένος εν γαστρί έξει και τέξεται υιόν και καλέσουσιν το όνομα αυτού Εμμανουήλ ο έστιν μεθερμηνευόμενος μεθ' ημών ο Θεός". (Matthew 1:23 Textus Receptus)[34]
The (right-to-left) Hebrew of Isaiah 7:14 uses the word almah:
יד לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא, לָכֶם--אוֹת: הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה, הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן, וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ, עִמָּנוּ אֵל. 14Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)[35]
The Jewish translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek that was in use during the 1st century, the Septuagint, uses the word "parthenos" ("virgin") in Isaiah 7:14 rather than the usual Greek word "neanis" for "young woman".[36] The Septuagint's Greek term παρθένος (parthenos) is considered by many to be an inexact rendering of the Hebrew word `almah in the text of Isaiah, but only in light of the Masoretic Canon which was finalized nearly 1000 years after the Septuagint.[37]
Some scholars contend that debates over the precise meaning of bethulah ("בתולה"-virgin) and almah (young woman) are misguided because no Hebrew word encapsulates the idea of certain virginity.[38] Martin Luther also argued that the debate was irrelevant, not because the words do not clearly mean virgin, but because almah and bethulah were functional synonyms.[39]
(For more information, see the articles on the Virgin birth of Jesus and Isaiah 7:14.)
Prophecy of the Nazarene[edit]
Another example is Nazarene in Matthew 2:23: "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." The website for Jews for Judaism claims that "Since a Nazarene is a resident of the city of Nazareth and this city did not exist during the time period of the Jewish Bible, it is impossible to find this quotation in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was fabricated."[32][40] However, one common suggestion is that the New Testament verse is based on a passage relating to Nazirites, either because this was a misunderstanding common at the time, or through deliberate re-reading of the term by the early Christians. Another suggestion is "that Matthew was playing on the similarity of the Hebrew word nezer (translated 'Branch' or 'shoot' in Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23:5) with the Greek nazoraios, here translated 'Nazarene.'"[41] Christians also suggest that by using an indirect quotation and the plural term prophets, "Matthew was only saying that by living in Nazareth, Jesus was fulfilling the many Old Testament prophecies that He would be despised and rejected."[42] The background for this is illustrated by Philip's initial response in John 1:46 to the idea that Jesus might be the Messiah: "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"[41]
Miracles[edit]
Further information: Miracle, Faith healing and Exorcism
Philosopher David Hume argued against the plausibility of miracles:[43]


1) A miracle is a violation of the known laws of nature;
 2) We know these laws through repeated and constant experience;
 3) The testimony of those who report miracles contradicts the operation of known scientific laws;
 4) Consequently no one can rationally believe in miracles.
Hume's argument against the plausibility of miracles produced by humans is answered by Jesus' own admission of the human impossibility of miracles, which are acts of God that are "impossible for men", but "with God all things are possible". (Matthew 19:26)
The Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church reject Hume's argument against miracles outright with the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas, who postulated that Reason alone was not sufficient to understand God's energies (activities such as miracles) and essence, but faith was.[44]
Miraculous healings through prayers, often involving the "laying on of hands", have been reported. However, reliance on faith healing alone can indirectly contribute to serious harm and even death.[45] Christian apologists including C.S. Lewis, Norman Geisler and William Lane Craig have argued that miracles are reasonable and plausible.[46][47][48]
Ethics[edit]
Main article: Ethics in the Bible
Certain interpretations of some moral decisions in the Bible are considered ethically questionable by many modern groups. Some of the passages most commonly criticized include colonialism, the subjugation of women, religious intolerance, condemnation of homosexuality, and support for the institution of slavery in both Old and New Testaments.
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche criticized the ethics of Christianity. See Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche#Christianity and morality.
Colonialism[edit]
Main article: Christianity and colonialism
Christianity and colonialism are often closely associated because Catholicism, Russian Orthodoxy and Protestantism were the religions of the European colonial powers[49] and acted in many ways as the "religious arm" of those powers.[50] Initially, Christian missionaries were portrayed as "visible saints, exemplars of ideal piety in a sea of persistent savagery". However, by the time the colonial era drew to a close in the last half of the twentieth century, missionaries became viewed as “ideological shock troops for colonial invasion whose zealotry blinded them.”[51]
Christianity is targeted by critics of colonialism because the tenets of the religion were used to justify the actions of the colonists.[52] For example, Michael Wood asserts that the indigenous peoples were not considered to be human beings and that the colonisers was shaped by "centuries of Ethnocentrism, and Christian monotheism, which espoused one truth, one time and version of reality."[53]
Slavery[edit]
Main article: Christianity and slavery
Early Christianity variously opposed, accepted, or ignored slavery.[54] The early Christian perspectives of slavery were formed in the contexts of Christianity's roots in Judaism, and as part of the wider culture of the Roman Empire. Both the Old and New Testaments recognize that the institution of slavery existed.
The earliest surviving Christian teachings about slavery are from Paul the Apostle, who frequently referred to himself as a "Slave of Christ", perhaps implying that he was a slave and Jesus was his master, although it may have just been an expression. Paul did not renounce the institution of slavery. Conversely, he taught that Christian slaves ought to serve their masters wholeheartedly.[Eph. 6:5-8] At the same time, he taught slave owners to treat their slaves fairly. The entire Epistle to Philemon is devoted to Onesimus, a runaway slave and convert whom Paul returns to his master, to be seen as "not just a slave, but much more than a slave; he is a dear brother in Christ".[Philemon 16] Tradition describes Pope Pius I (term c. 158-167) and Pope Callixtus I (term c. 217-222) as former slaves.[55]
Since the Middle Ages, the Christian understanding of slavery has been subjected to significant internal conflict and has endured dramatic change. Nearly all Christian leaders before the late 17th century recognised slavery, within specific biblical limitations, as consistent with Christian theology. The key verse used to justify slavery was Genesis 9:25-27: "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. He also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem." which was interpreted to mean that Africans were the descendants of Ham, cursed with "the mark of Ham" to be servants to the descendants of Japheth (Europeans) and Shem (Asians).[54] In early Medieval times, the Church discouraged slavery throughout Europe, largely eliminating it.[56] That changed in 1452, when Pope Nicholas V instituted the hereditary slavery of captured Muslims and pagans, regarding all non-Christians as "enemies of Christ."[57]
Rodney Stark makes the argument in For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery,[58] that Christianity helped to end slavery worldwide, as does Lamin Sanneh in Abolitionists Abroad.[59] These authors point out that Christians who viewed slavery as wrong on the basis of their religious convictions spearheaded abolitionism, and many of the early campaigners for the abolition of slavery were driven by their Christian faith and a desire to realize their view that all people are equal under God.[60] In the late 17th century, anabaptists began to criticize slavery. Criticisms from the Society of Friends, Mennonites, and the Amish followed suit. Prominent among these Christian abolitionists were William Wilberforce, and John Woolman. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, according to her Christian beliefs in 1852. Earlier, in Britain and America, Quakers were active in abolitionism. A group of Quakers founded the first English abolitionist organization, and a Quaker petition brought the issue before government that same year. The Quakers continued to be influential throughout the lifetime of the movement, in many ways leading the way for the campaign. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was instrumental in starting abolitionism as a popular movement.[61]
Many modern Christians are united in the condemnation of slavery as wrong and contrary to God's will. Only peripheral groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other Christian hate groups on the racist fringes of the Christian Reconstructionist and Christian Identity movements advocate the reinstitution of slavery.[54] Full adherents to reconstructionism are few and marginalized among conservative Christians.[62][63][64] With these exceptions, all Christian faith groups now condemn slavery, and see the practice as incompatible with basic Christian principles.[54][56]
In addition to aiding[dubious – discuss] abolitionism, many Christians made further efforts toward establishing racial equality, contributing to the Civil Rights Movement.[65] The African American Review notes the important role Christian revivalism in the black church played in the Civil Rights Movement.[66] Martin Luther King, Jr., an ordained Baptist minister, was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a Christian Civil Rights organization.[67]
Christianity and women[edit]
See also: Women in Christianity and Women in the Bible



Joan of Arc led battles in the fight to free France from England. She believed that God had commanded her to do so. Upon capture, she was tried for heresy by an English court and burned at the stake. She is now a saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church.[68]
Many feminists have accused notions such as a male God, male prophets, and the man-centered stories in the Bible of contributing to a patriarchy.[69] Though many women disciples and servants are recorded in the Pauline epistles, there have been occasions in which women have been denigrated and forced into a second-class status.[70] For example, women were told to keep silent in the churches for "it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church".[1 Cor. 14:34-35] Suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton said in The Woman's Bible that "the Bible in its teachings degrades women from Genesis to Revelation".[71]
Elizabeth Clark cites early Christian writings by authors such as Tertullian, Augustine, and John Chrysostom as being exemplary of the negative perception of women that has been perpetuated in church tradition.[72] Until the latter part of the 20th century, only the names of very few women who contributed to the formation of Christianity in its earliest years were widely known: Mary, the mother of Jesus;[73] Mary Magdalene, disciple of Jesus and the first witness to the resurrection; and Mary and Martha, the sisters who offered him hospitality in Bethany.[74]
Harvard scholar Karen King writes that more of the many women who contributed to the formation of Christianity in its earliest years are becoming known. Further, she concludes that for centuries in Western Christianity, Mary Magdalene has been wrongly identified as the adulteress and repentant prostitute presented in John 8—a connection supposed by tradition but nowhere claimed in the New Testament. According to King, the Gospel of Mary shows that she was an influential figure, a prominent disciple and leader of one wing of the early Christian movement that promoted women's leadership.
King claims that every sect within early Christianity which had advocated women's prominence in ancient Christianity was eventually declared heretical, and evidence of women's early leadership roles was erased or suppressed.[74]
Classicist Evelyn Stagg and New Testament scholar Frank Stagg in their jointly authored book, Woman in the World of Jesus, document very unfavorable attitudes toward women that prevailed in the world into which Jesus came. They assert that there is no recorded instance where Jesus disgraces, belittles, reproaches, or stereotypes a woman. They interpret the recorded treatment and attitude Jesus showed to women as evidence that the Founder of Christianity treated women with great dignity and respect.[75] Various theologians have concluded that the canonical examples of the manner of Jesus are instructive for inferring his attitudes toward women. They are seen as showing repeatedly and consistently how he liberated and affirmed women.[76] However, Schalom Ben-Chorin argues that Jesus' reply to his mother in John 2:4 during the wedding at Cana amounted to a blatant violation of the commandment to honor one's parent.[Ex. 20:12] [77] He mistakenly assumes Jesus' response to be an offensive statement, when in all actuality, the term "woman" was used to show respect in the Hebrew cultures. Also, Christ was an adult at the time, thirty years of age. He had the biblical right to refuse a command by his mother, and he did so stating that he was doing his Father's (God's) business.
There are three major viewpoints within modern Christianity over the role of women. They are known respectively as Christian feminism, Christian egalitarianism and complementarianism.
##Christian feminists take an actively feminist position from a Christian perspective.[78]
##Christian egalitarians advocate ability-based, rather than gender-based, ministry of Christians of all ages, ethnicities and socio-economic classes.[79] Egalitarians support the ordination of women and equal roles in marriage, but are theologically and morally more conservative than Christian feminists and prefer to avoid the label "feminist". A limited notion of gender complementarity is held by some, known as "complementarity without hierarchy".[80]
##Complementarians support both equality and beneficial differences between men and women.[81] They believe the Bible teaches that men and women have distinct complementary roles in both marriage and in the church. They maintain that men have a responsibility to lead and women have a responsibility to submit to the leadership of men.
Some Christians argue that the idea of God as a man is based less on gender but rather on the dominant Patriarchal society of the time in which men acted as leaders and caretakers of the Family.[82] Thus, the idea of God being "The Father" is with regards to his relationship with what are "his children", Christians.
Most mainline Christians claim that the doctrine of the Trinity implies that God should be called Father and not called Mother, in the same way that Jesus was a man and was not a woman.[83] Jesus tells His followers to address God as Father.[Mt. 6:9-13] He tells his disciples to be merciful as their heavenly Father is merciful.[Lk. 6:36] He says the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask[Lk. 11:13] and that the Spirit of their Father will speak through them in times of persecution.[Mt. 10:20] On Easter Sunday, he directs Mary Magdalene to tell the other disciples, "I am going to my Father and your Father...."[Jn. 20:17] Mark Brumley points out that behind New Testament language of Divine Adoption and regeneration is the idea that God is our Father because He is the "source" or "origin" of our new life in Christ. He has saved us through Christ and sanctified us in the Spirit. Brumley claims this is clearly more than a metaphor; the analogy with earthly fatherhood is obvious. God is not merely like a father for Christ’s followers; he is really their Father. Among Christians who hold to this idea, there is a distinct sense that Jesus' treatment of women should imply equality in leadership and marital roles every bit as strongly as the definite male gender of Jesus should imply a name of Father for God. Rather than as antifeminist, they characterize alternative naming as unnecessary and unsupported by the words found in the Bible.[83]
In 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to revise its "Baptist Faith and Message" (Statement of Faith),[84] opposing women as pastors. While this decision is not binding and would not prevent women from serving as pastors, the revision itself has been criticized by some from within the convention. In the same document, the Southern Baptist Convention took a strong position of the subordinating view of woman in marriage: "A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband. She has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation."[84] (Emphasis added)
The Eastern Orthodox Church does not allow female clergy. The Chaldean Catholic Church on the other hand continues to maintain a large number of deaconesses serving alongside male deacons during mass.[85]
In some evangelical churches, it is forbidden for women to become pastors, deacons or church elders. In support of such prohibitions, the verse 1 Timothy 2:12 is often cited:[86]
“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
Christianity and politics[edit]
Main article: Christianity and politics
See also: Christian left, Christian right and Religion and politics
Some leftists and libertarians, including Christians who disavow the Religious Right, use the term Christian fascism or Christofascism to describe what some see as an emerging neoconservative proto-fascism or Evangelical nationalism and possible theocratic sentiment in the United States.[87]
Reverend Rich Lang of the Trinity United Methodist Church of Seattle gave a sermon titled "George Bush and the Rise of Christian Fascism", in which he said, "I want to flesh out the ideology of the Christian Fascism that Bush articulates. It is a form of Christianity that is the mirror opposite of what Jesus embodied."[88]
Christianity and violence[edit]
Main article: Christianity and violence
See also: Christian terrorism and Crusades
Many critics of Christianity have cited the violent acts of Christian nations as a reason to denounce the religion. Science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said that he could not forgive religions for the atrocities and wars over time.[89] Richard Dawkins makes a similar case in his book, The God Delusion. In The Dawkins Delusion?, Alister McGrath responds to Dawkins by suggesting that, far from endorsing "out-group hostility", Jesus commanded an ethic of "out-group affirmation". McGrath agrees that it is necessary to critique religion, but says that Dawkins seems unaware that it possesses internal means of reform and renewal. While Christians may certainly be accused of failing to live up to Jesus' standard of acceptance, it is there at the heart of the Christian ethic.[90]
Peace, compassion and forgiveness of wrongs done by others are key elements of Christian teaching.[91] However, Christians have struggled since the days of the Church fathers with the question of when the use of force is justified.[92] Such debates have led to concepts such as just war theory. Throughout history, biblical passages have been used to justify the use of force against heretics,[93] sinners[94] and external enemies.[95] Heitman and Hagan identify the Inquisitions, Crusades, wars of religion and antisemitism as being "among the most notorious examples of Christian violence".[96] To this list, J. Denny Weaver adds, "warrior popes, support for capital punishment, corporal punishment under the guise of 'spare the rod and spoil the child', justifications of slavery, world-wide colonialism in the name of conversion to Christianity, the systemic violence of women subjected to men". Weaver employs a broader definition of violence that extends the meaning of the word to cover "harm or damage", not just physical violence per se. Thus, under his definition, Christian violence includes "forms of systemic violence such as poverty, racism, and sexism".[97]
Although some Christians have relied on Christian teaching to justify their use of force, other[which?] Christians have opposed the use of force and violence. Some[which?] of the latter have formed sects that have emphasized pacificism as a central tenet of their faith.[citation needed] Christians have also engaged in violence against those that they classify as heretics and non-believers. In Letter to a Christian Nation, critic of religion Sam Harris writes that "...faith inspires violence in at least two ways. First, people often kill other human beings because they believe that the creator of the universe wants them to do it... Second, far greater numbers of people fall into conflict with one another because they define their moral community on the basis of their religious affiliation..."[98]
Christian theologians point to a strong doctrinal and historical imperative within Christianity against violence, particularly Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which taught nonviolence and love of enemies. Weaver says that Jesus' pacifism was "preserved in the justifiable war doctrine that declares all war as sin even when declaring it occasionally a necessary evil, and in the prohibition of fighting by monastics and clergy as well as in a persistent tradition of Christian pacifism".[97] Others point out sayings and acts of Jesus that do not fit this description: the absence of any censure of the soldier who asks Jesus to heal his servant, his overturning the tables and chasing the moneychangers from the temple with a rope in his hand, and through his Apostles, baptising a Roman Centurion who is never asked to first give up arms.[99]
Science[edit]

Unbalanced scales.svg
 The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (March 2013)
See also: Science and the Bible and Relationship between religion and science
During the 19th century an interpretive model of the relationship between religion and science known today as the conflict theory developed, according to which interaction between religion and science almost inevitably leads to hostility and conflict. A popular example was the misconception that people from the Middle Ages believed that the Earth was flat, and that only science, freed from religious dogma, had shown that it was spherical. This thesis was a popular historiographical approach during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but most contemporary historians of science now reject it.[100][101][102]
The notion of a war between science and religion remained common in the historiography of science during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[103] Most of today's historians of science consider that the conflict thesis has been superseded by subsequent historical research.[104] The framing of the relationship between Christianity and science as being predominantly one of conflict is still prevalent in popular culture.[105]
The astronomer Carl Sagan, mentioned the dispute between the astronomical systems of Ptolemy (who thought that the sun and planets revolved around the earth) and Copernicus (who thought the earth and planets revolved around the sun). He states in Cosmos: A Personal Voyage that Ptolemy's belief was "supported by the church through the Dark Ages… [It] effectively prevented the advance of astronomy for 1,500 years."[106] Ted Peters in Encyclopedia of Religion writes that although there is some truth in this story, it has been exaggerated and has become "a modern myth perpetuated by those wishing to see warfare between science and religion who were allegedly persecuted by an atavistic and dogma-bound ecclesiastical authority".[107] In 1992, the Catholic Church's seeming vindication of Galileo attracted much comment in the media.
Numerous scientists have criticized Christian fundamentalism and creationism as inherently unscientific and incompatible with modern understanding of evolutionary biology, geology, and cosmology.[108][109]



 Medieval scholars sought to understand the geometric and harmonic principles by which God created the universe.[110]
Doctrine[edit]
Incarnation[edit]
Main article: Incarnation (Christianity)
The earliest objections to incarnation come from Celsus and Porphyry.[citation needed] Celsus found it hard to reconcile Christian human God who was born and matured with his Jewish God who was supposed to be one and unchanging. He asked "if God wanted to reform humanity, why did he choose to descend and live on earth? How his brief presence in Jerusalem could benefit all the millions of people who lived elsewhere in the world or who had lived and died before his incarnation?"[111]
One classical response is Lewis's trilemma, a syllogism popularised by C. S. Lewis that intended to demonstrate the logical inconsistency of both holding Jesus of Nazareth to be a "great moral teacher" while also denying his divinity. The logical soundness of this trilemma has been widely questioned.[112]
Hell and damnation[edit]
See also: Problem of Hell and Hell in Christianity



Adam and Eve being driven from Eden due to original sin, portrayed by Gustave Doré.
Christianity has been criticized as seeking to persuade people into accepting its authority through simple fear of punishment or, conversely, through hope of reward after death, rather than through rational argumentation or empirical evidence.[113] Traditional Christian doctrine dictates that, without faith in Jesus Christ or in the Christian faith in general, one is subject to eternal punishment in Hell.[114]
Critics regard the eternal punishment of those who fail to adopt Christian faith as morally objectionable, and consider it an abhorrent picture of the nature of the world. On a similar theme objections are made against the perceived injustice of punishing a person for all eternity for a temporal crime. Some Christians agree (see Annihilationism and Trinitarian Universalism). These beliefs have been considered especially repugnant[115] when the claimed omnipotent God makes, or allows a person to come into existence, with a nature that desires that which God finds objectionable.[116]
In the Abrahamic religions, Hell has traditionally been regarded as a punishment for wrongdoing or sin in this life, as a manifestation of divine justice. As in the problem of evil, some apologists argue that the torments of Hell are attributable not to a defect in God's benevolence, but in human free will. Although a benevolent God would prefer to see everyone saved, he would also allow humans to control their own destinies. This view opens the possibility of seeing Hell not as retributive punishment, but rather as an option that God allows, so that people who do not wish to be with God are not forced to be. C. S. Lewis most famously proposed this view in his book The Great Divorce, saying: "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"
Hell is not seen as strictly a matter of retributive justice even by the more traditionalist churches. For example, the Eastern Orthodox see it as a condition brought about by, and the natural consequence of, free rejection of God's love.[117] The Roman Catholic Church teaches that hell is a place of punishment[118] brought about by a person's self exclusion from communion with God.[119] In some ancient Eastern Orthodox traditions, Hell and Heaven are distinguished not spatially, but by the relation of a person to God's love.
Some modern critics of the doctrine of Hell (such as Marilyn McCord Adams) claim that, even if Hell is seen as a choice rather than as punishment, it would be unreasonable for God to give such flawed and ignorant creatures as humans the awesome responsibility of their eternal destinies.[120] Jonathan Kvanvig, in his book, The Problem of Hell, agrees that God would not allow one to be eternally damned by a decision made under the wrong circumstances. For instance, one should not always honor the choices of human beings, even when they are full adults, if, for instance, the choice is made while depressed or careless. On Kvanvig's view, God will abandon no person until they have made a settled, final decision, under favorable circumstances, to reject God, but God will respect a choice made under the right circumstances. Once a person finally and competently chooses to reject God, out of respect for the person's autonomy, God allows them to be annihilated.[121]
Idolatry[edit]
Despite Christians usually alleges different religions to be idolatrous, they have been pointed out by number of notable people to have been engaged in idolatry, the common practices of Christians that have been regarded as idolatry contains the use of images of Jesus, Mary, Saints, etc.[122]
Limbo[edit]
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that baptism is a necessity. In the 5th century, St. Augustine concluded that infants who die without baptism were consigned to hell.[123] By the 13th century, theologians referred to the "limbo of infants" as a place where unbaptized babies were deprived of the vision of God, but did not suffer because they did not know of that which they were deprived, and moreover enjoyed perfect natural happiness. The 1983 Code of Canon Law (1183 §2) specifies that "Children whose parents had intended to have them baptized but who died before baptism, may be allowed church funeral rites by the local ordinary".[124] In 2007, the 30-member International Theological Commission revisited the concept of limbo.[125][126] However, the commission also said that hopefulness was not the same as certainty about the destiny of such infants.[125] Rather, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1257, "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments."[127] Hope in the mercy of God is not the same as certainty through the sacraments, but it is not without result, as demonstrated in Jesus' statement to the thief on the cross in Luke 23:42-43.
The concept of limbo is not accepted by the Orthodox Church or by Protestants.[128]
Atonement[edit]
The idea of atonement for sin is criticized by Richard Dawkins on the grounds that the image of God as requiring the suffering and death of Jesus to effect reconciliation with humankind is immoral. The view is summarized by Dawkins: "if God wanted to forgive our sins, why not just forgive them? Who is God trying to impress?"[129] Oxford theologian Alister McGrath maintains that Dawkins is "ignorant" of Christian theology, and therefore unable to engage religion and faith intelligently. He goes on to say that the atonement was necessary because of our flawed human nature, which made it impossible for us to save ourselves, and that it expresses God's love for us by removing the sin that stands in the way of our reconciliation with God.[130] Responding to the criticism that he is "ignorant" of theology, Dawkins asks, "Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in leprechauns?"[131] and "[y]es, I have, of course, met this point before. It sounds superficially fair. But it presupposes that there is something in Christian theology to be ignorant about. The entire thrust of my position is that Christian theology is a non-subject."[132] Dinesh D'Souza says that Dawkins' criticism "only makes sense if you assume Christians made the whole thing up." He goes on to say that Christians view it as a beautiful sacrifice, and that "through the extremity of Golgotha, Christ reconciles divine justice and divine mercy."[133] Andrew Wilson argues that Dawkins misses the point of the atonement, which has nothing to do with masochism, but is based on the concepts of holiness, sin and grace.[134]
Robert Green Ingersoll suggests that the concept of the atonement is simply an extension of the Mosaic tradition of blood sacrifice and "is the enemy of morality".[135][136] The death of Jesus Christ represents the blood sacrifice to end all blood sacrifices; the resulting mechanism of atonement by proxy through that final sacrifice has appeal as a more convenient and much less costly approach to redemption than repeated animal sacrifice—a common sense solution to the problem of reinterpreting ancient religious approaches based on sacrifice.
The prominent Christian apologist Josh McDowell, in More Than A Carpenter, addresses the issue through an analogy of a real-life judge in California who was forced to fine his daughter $100 for speeding, but then came down, took off his robe, and paid the fine for her from his billfold,[137] though as in this and other cases, illustrations are only cautiously intended to describe certain aspects of the atonement.[138]
Second Coming[edit]
Main article: Second Coming
Several verses in the New Testament appear to contain Jesus' predictions that the Second Coming would take place within a century following his death.[139] Jesus appears to promise for his followers the second coming to happen before the generation he is preaching to vanishes. This is seen as an essential failure in the teachings of Christ by many critics such as Bertrand Russell.[140]
However, Preterists argue that Jesus did not mean his second coming[Matt. 16:28] but speaks about demonstrations of his might, formulating this as "coming in his kingdom", especially the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple 70 AD, which he foretold, and by which time not all of his disciples were still living.[141] According to this view Matthew 10:23 should be understood in the same way.[142]
Inconsistency with Old Testament conception of the afterlife[edit]
See also: Afterlife § Christianity
Most Christian traditions teach belief in life after death as a central and indispensable tenet of their faith. Critics argue that the Christian conception of the afterlife is inconsistent with that described in the Old Testament. George E. Mendenhall believes there is no concept of immortality or life after death in the Old Testament.[143] The presumption is that the deceased are inert, lifeless, and engaging in no activity.[143] However, two men, Enoch and Elijah, are taken into the afterlife without ever experiencing death.
The idea of Sheol ("שׁאול") or a state of nothingness was shared among Babylonian and Israelite beliefs. "Sheol, as it was called by the ancient Israelites, is the land of no return, lying below the cosmic ocean, to which all, the mighty and the weak, travel in the ghostly form they assume after death, known as Raphraim. There the dead have no experience of either joy or pain, perceiving no light, feeling no movement."[144] Obayashi alludes that the Israelites were satisfied with such a shadowy realm of afterlife because they were more deeply concerned with survival.[144]
Before Christianity began in the 1st century, the belief in an afterlife was already prevalent in Jewish thinking[145] among the Pharisees[146][147] and Essenes.[148] The themes of unity and sheol which largely shaped the ancient tradition of Judaism had been undermined when only the most pious of Jews were being massacred during the Maccabean revolt.

Criticism of Christians[edit]
See also: Anti-Christian sentiment
Negative attitudes in the United States[edit]
David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Institute, and Gabe Lyons of the Fermi Project published a study of attitudes of 16- to 29-year-old Americans towards Christianity. They found that about 38% of all those who were not regular churchgoers had negative impressions of Christianity, and especially evangelical Christianity, associating it with conservative political activism, hypocrisy, anti-homosexuality, authoritarianism, and judgmentalism.[149] About 17% had "very bad" perceptions of Christianity.[150][151]
Negative attitudes in Nazi Germany[edit]



 The Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, among the most aggressive anti-Church Nazis, wrote that there was "an insoluble opposition between the Christian and a heroic-German world view".[152]
Nazi ideology was hostile to Christianity and clashed with Christian beliefs in many respects.[153] Nazism saw Christian ideals of meekness and conscience as obstacles to the violent instincts required to defeat other races.[153] The Nazis opposed Catholic teachings against racism, euthanasia and eugenics.
Aggressive anti-Church radicals like Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann saw the conflict with the Churches as a priority concern, and anti-church and anti-clerical sentiments were strong among grassroots party activists.[152] According to biographer Alan Bullock, Hitler, who had been raised Catholic, retained some regard for the organisational power of Catholicism - but had utter contempt for its central teachings, which he said, if taken to their conclusion, "would mean the systematic cultivation of the human failure.":[154]



 The Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was anti-clerical and hostile to Christianity.[152][154]
In Hitler's eyes, Christianity was a religion fit only for slaves; he detested its ethics in particular. Its teaching, he declared, was a rebellion against the natural law of selection by struggle and the survival of the fittest.
— Extract from Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, by Alan Bullock
Joseph Goebbels, the Minister for Propaganda, was among the most aggressive anti-Church Nazi radicals. In 1928, soon after his election to the Reichstag, Goebbels wrote in his diary that National Socialism was a "religion" that needed a genius to uproot "outmoded religious practices" and put new ones in their place: "One day soon National Socialism will be the religion of all Germans. My Party is my church, and I believe I serve the Lord best if I do his will, and liberate my oppressed people from the fetters of slavery. That is my gospel."[155] Goebbels led the Nazi persecution of the German Catholic clergy and, as the war progressed, on the "Church Question", he wrote "after the war it has to be generally solved... There is, namely, an insoluble opposition between the Christian and a heroic-German world view".[152]
Hitler's chosen deputy and private secretary, Martin Bormann, was a rigid guardian of National Socialist orthodoxy and saw Christianity and Nazism as "incompatible" (mainly because of its Jewish origins),[153][156] as did the official Nazi philosopher, Alfred Rosenberg. In his "Myth of the Twentieth Century" (1930), Rosenberg wrote that the main enemies of the Germans were the "Russian Tartars" and "Semites" - with "Semites" including Christians, especially the Catholic Church.[157]
According to Bullock, Hitler considered the Protestant clergy to be "insignificant" and "submissive" and lacking in a religion to be taken seriously.[158] Kershaw wrote that the subjugation of the Protestant churches proved more difficult than Hitler had envisaged however. With 28 separate regional churches, his bid to create a unified Reich Church through Gleichschaltung ultimately failed, and Hitler became disinterested in supporting the so-called "German Christians" Nazi aligned movement. Hitler initially lent support to Ludwig Muller, a Nazi and former naval chaplain, to serve as Reich Bishop, but his heretical views against St Paul and the Semitic origins of Christ and the Bible (see Positive Christianity) quickly alienated sections of the Protestant church. Pastor Martin Neimoller responded with the Pastors Emergency League which re-affirmed the Bible. The movement grew into the Confessing Church, from which some clergymen opposed the Nazi regime.[159] Neimoller was arrested by the Gestapo in 1937, and sent to the Concentration Camps.[160] The Confessing Church seminary was prohibited that same year.[161]
Hypocrisy[edit]
Gaudium et spes claims that the example of Christians may be a contributory factor to atheism, writing, "…believers can have more than a little to do with the birth of atheism. To the extent that they neglect their own training in the faith, or teach erroneous doctrine, or are deficient in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than reveal the authentic face of God and religion."[162]
Secular and religious critics have accused many Christians of being hypocritical.[163] Tom Whiteman, a Philadelphia psychologist found that the primary reasons for Christian divorce include adultery, abuse (including substance, physical and verbal abuse), and abandonment whereas the number one reason cited for divorce in the general population was incompatibility.[164]
Bigotry[edit]



 Protestant Christian dominated KKK hinting at violence toward Jews and Catholics. Illustration by Rev. Branford Clarke from Heroes of the Fiery Cross 1928 by Bishop Alma White published by the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, NJ.
Conservative Christians are often accused of being intolerant by secular humanists and liberal Christians, claiming that they oppose science that seems to contradict scripture (Creationism, use of birth control, research into embryonic stem cells, etc.), liberal democracy (separation of church and state), and progressive social policies (rights of people of other races and religions, of women, and of people with different sexual orientations).[165][166][167][168]
Materialism[edit]

Instead of understanding and following the teachings of Jesus, the Christians argued and quarreled about the nature of Jesus’s divinity and about the Trinity. They called each other heretics and persecuted each other and cut each other’s heads off. There was a great and violent controversy at one time among different Christian sects over a certain diphthong. One party said that the word Homo-ousion should be used in a prayer; the other wanted Homoi-ousion-this difference had reference to the divinity of Jesus. Over this diphthong fierce war was raged and large numbers of people were slaughtered.



— Jawaharlal Nehru[169][170]

I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. The materialism of affluent Christian countries appears to contradict the claims of Jesus Christ that says it's not possible to worship both Mammon and God at the same time.



— Mahatma Gandhi[171]
Sectarianism[edit]
Main articles: Sectarianism and Christian denomination
Some have argued that Christianity is undermined by the inability of Christians to agree on matters of faith and church governance, and the tendency for the content of their faith to be determined by regional or political factors. Schopenhauer sarcastically suggested:
To the South German ecclesiastic the truth of the Catholic dogma is quite obvious, to the North German, the Protestant. If then, these convictions are based on objective reasons, the reasons must be climatic, and thrive, like plants, some only here, some only there. The convictions of those who are thus locally convinced are taken on trust and believed by the masses everywhere.[172]
Christians respond that Ecumenism has helped bring together such communities, where in the past mistranslations of Christological Greek terms may have resulted in seemingly different views. Non-denominational Christianity represents another approach towards reducing the divisions within Christianity, although many Christian groups claiming to be non-denominational wind up with similar problems.
Persecution by Christians[edit]
Main articles: Christian debate on persecution and toleration and Christianity and violence
Individuals and groups throughout history have been persecuted by certain Christians (and Christian groups) based upon sex, sexual orientation, race, and religion (even within the bounds of Christianity itself). Many of the persecutors attempted to justify their actions with particular scriptural interpretations. During Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, important Christian theologians advocated religious persecution to varying degrees.[citation needed] However, Early modern Europe witnessed a turning point in the Christian debate on persecution and toleration. Nowadays all significant Christian denominations embrace religious toleration, and "look back on centuries of persecution with a mixture of revulsion and incomprehension".[173]
Early Christianity was a minority religion in the Roman Empire and the early Christians were themselves persecuted during that time. After Constantine I converted to Christianity, it became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. Already under the reign of Constantine I, Christian heretics had been persecuted; beginning in the late 4th century AD also the ancient pagan religions were actively suppressed. In the view of many historians, the Constantinian shift turned Christianity from a persecuted into a persecuting religion.[174]
After the decline of the Roman Empire, the further Christianization of Europe was to a large extent peaceful.[175] However, encounters between Christians and Pagans were sometimes confrontational, and some Christian kings (Charlemagne, Olaf I of Norway) were known for their violence against pagans. In the late Middle Ages, the appearance of the Cathars and Bogomils in Europe laid the stage for the later witch-hunts. These (probably gnostic-influenced) sects were seen as heretics by the Catholic Church, and the Inquisition was established to counter them.
After the Protestant Reformation, the devastation caused by the partly religiously motivated wars (Thirty Years' War, English Civil War, French Wars of Religion) in Europe in the 17th century gave rise to the ideas of Religious toleration, Freedom of religion and Religious pluralism.
Response of apologists[edit]
Christians will sometimes point out that in their points of view, the wrongdoings of other Christians are not the fault of their religious scriptures but of those who have wrongly interpreted it. They posit that the mistakes of Christians do not refute the validity of their teachings, but merely proves their weakness and sinful nature, of which they then turn to Christ. Thus, according to them, the "Word of God" can still be true and valid without it having been accurately followed.[citation needed] According to Ron Sider, an Evangelical theologian, "The tragedy is that poll after poll by Gallup and Barna show that evangelicals live just like the world. Contrast that with what the New Testament says about what happens when people come to living faith in Christ. There's supposed to be radical transformation in the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 5:17, 1 Cor 10:13). The disconnect between our biblical beliefs and our practice is just, I think, heart-rending."[176]
Similar arguments are held by Roman Catholics against critics of the Catholic Church, or by other Christians defending their respective Churches.[citation needed] of the Church's structure. Roman Catholics will argue that Popes who were corrupt in the Middle Ages is not the fault of the position of the Papacy or of the fact that there are obedient Priests lower in the hierarchy, but the fault of the individual people who act as "God's representative on Earth". Such examples can be seen in Dante's Divine Comedy, where Roman Catholic Clergy who had practiced simony find themselves in the lower circles of hell.
Criticism by other religions[edit]
Hinduism[edit]



 Statue of Raja Ram Mohan Roy at College Green, Bristol, UK.
Ram Mohan Roy criticized Christian doctrines, and asserted that how "unreasonable" and "self-contradictory" they are.[177] He further adds that people, even from India were embracing Christianity due to the economic hardship and weakness, just like European Jews were pressured to embrace Christianity, by both encouragement and force.[178]
Vivekananda regarded Christianity as "..collection of little bits of Indian thought. Ours is the religion of which Buddhism with all its greatness is a rebel child, and of which Christianity is a very patchy imitation."[179]
Philosopher Dayanand Saraswati, regarded Christianity as "barbarous religion, and a 'false religion' religion believed only by fools and by the people in a state of barbarism,"[180] he included that Bible contains many stories and precepts that are immoral, praising cruelty, deceit and encouraging sin.[181]
Highly acclaimed Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, writes :-

Unfortunately Christian religion inherited the Semitic creed of the ‘jealous God’ in the view of Christ as ‘the only begotten son of God’ so could not brook any rival near the throne. When Europe accepted the Christian religion, in spite of its own broad humanism, it accepted the fierce intolerance which is the natural result of belief in 'the truth once for all delivered to the saints.'[182]
Judaism[edit]
See also: Talmud



Moshe Halbertal in 2009.
Shlomo ben Aderet criticized Christianity, adding that it has lesser form of monotheism, and lacks a unified deity compared to Judaism.[183]
David Flusser viewed Christianity as "Cheaper Judaism" and highly anti-judaism, he also highlighted the "failure of christianity to convert the Jewish people to the new message" as "precisely the reason for the strong anti-jewish trend in christianity."[184]
Professor Moshe Halbertal, regards Christianity to be "idolatrous religion," and he further adds that the idolatry by Christians "opened the door to the easing of many other restrictive prohibitions."[185]
Stephen Samuel Wise in his own words was critical towards Christian community, for their failure to rescue Jews, from Europe, during Nazi rule. He wrote that:-

A Christian world that will permit millions of Jews to be slain without moving heaven by prayer and earth in every human way to save its Jews has lost its capacity for moral and spiritual survival.[186]
Islam[edit]
Islam's prophet Muhammad said that Christians had to follow one God, but they have made multiple, he said:-

They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God.[187]
Muslim scholars have criticized Christianity, usually for its Trinity concept. They argue that this doctrine is an invention, distortion of the idea about God, and presentation of the idea that there are three gods.[188]
Origins[edit]
See also: Historicity of Jesus, Christ myth theory and Christianity and Paganism
Some have argued that Christianity is not founded on a historical Jesus, but rather on a mythical creation.[189] This view proposes that the idea of Jesus was the Jewish manifestation of Hellenistic mystery cults that acknowledged the non-historic nature of their deity using it instead as a teaching device.[190] Author Brian Branston has argued that Christianity adopted many mythological tales and traditions into its views of Jesus. According to Branston these traditions, largely from Greco-Roman religions, have parallels to the story of Jesus.[191] However, the position that Jesus was not a historical figure is essentially without support among biblical scholars and classical historians, most of whom regard its arguments as examples of pseudo-scholarship.[192]
Scholars and historians such as James H. Charlesworth caution against using parallels with life-death-rebirth gods in the widespread mystery religions prevalent in the Hellenistic culture to conclude that Jesus is a purely legendary figure. Charlesworth argues that "it would be foolish to continue to foster the illusion that the Gospels are merely fictional stories like the legends of Hercules and Asclepius. The theologies in the New Testament are grounded on interpretations of real historical events…"[193]
See also[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Criticism of Christianity
##Anti-Catholicism
##Anti-Christian sentiment
##Anti-clericalism
##Anti-Protestantism
##Antireligion
##Antitheism
##Biblical cosmology
##Biblical literalism
##Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
##Christianity and multiculturalism
##Criticism of Jesus
##Christ myth theory
##Internal consistency of the Bible
##Criticism of the Roman Catholic Church
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Browning, W.R.F. "Biblical criticism." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997 Encyclopedia.com. 8 Apr. 2010
2.^ Jump up to: a b Robinson, B.A. Biblical Criticism, including Form Criticism, Tradition Criticism, Higher Criticism, etc. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 2008. Web: 8 Apr 2010.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Mather, G.A. & L.A. Nichols, Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult, Zondervan (1993) (quoted in Robinson, Biblical Criticism
4.Jump up ^ See for example the list of alleged contradictions from The Skeptic's Annotated Bible and Robert G. Ingersoll's article Inspiration Of Bible.
5.Jump up ^ M.W.J. Phelan. The Inspiration of the Pentateuch, Two-edged Sword Publications (March 9, 2005) ISBN 978-0-9547205-6-8
6.Jump up ^ Ronald D. Witherup, Biblical Fundamentalism: What Every Catholic Should Know, Liturgical Press (2001), page 26.
7.Jump up ^ France, R.T., Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Matthew, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England (1985), pg. 17.
8.Jump up ^ Britannica Encyclopedia, Jesus Christ, p.17
9.^ Jump up to: a b c Lindsell, Harold. "The Battle for the Bible", Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA (1976), pg. 38.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
11.Jump up ^ As in 2 Timothy 3:16, discussed by Thompson, Mark (2006). A Clear and Present Word. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove: Apollos. p. 92. ISBN 1-84474-140-0.
12.Jump up ^ Norman L. Geisler, William E. Nix (2012), From God To Us Revised and Expanded: How We Got Our Bible, Moody Publishers, p. PT45, ISBN 978-0802483928 "faith and practice"
13.Jump up ^ See notably Grudem, representative of recent scholarship with this emphasis (Grudem, Wayne (1994). Systematic Theology. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 90–105. ISBN 978-0-85110-652-6.).
14.Jump up ^ Till, Farrell (1991). "Prophecies: Imaginary and Unfulfilled". Internet Infidels. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
15.Jump up ^ W. H. Bellinger; William Reuben Farmer, eds. (1998). Jesus and the Suffering Servant: Isaiah 53 and Christian Origins. Trinity Press. ISBN 9781563382307. Retrieved 2 August 2013. "Did Jesus of Nazareth live and die without the teaching about the righteous Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53 having exerted any significant influence on his ministry? Is it probable that this text exerted no significant influence upon Jesus' understanding of the plan of God to save the nations that the prophet Isaiah sets forth?" —Two questions addressed in a conference on "Isaiah 53 and Christian Origins" at Baylor University in the fall of 1995, the principal papers of which are available in "Jesus and the Suffering Servant."
16.Jump up ^ Peter W. Stoner, Science Speaks, Moody Pr, 1958, ISBN 0-8024-7630-9
17.Jump up ^ Harris, Stephen L. (2002). did not accomplish%22 Understanding the Bible (6 ed.). McGraw-Hill College. pp. 376–377. ISBN 9780767429160. Retrieved 2 August 2013. (Further snippets of quote: B C D)
18.^ Jump up to: a b Biography of Isaac ben Abraham of Troki
19.Jump up ^ Chizzuk Emunah, TorahLab Store
20.Jump up ^ Pascal, Blaise (1958). Pensees. Translator W. F. Trotter. chapter x, xii, xiii.
21.Jump up ^ McDowell, Josh (1999). "chapter 8". The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 9781850785521.
22.Jump up ^ See, for example, the Council of Jerusalem described in Acts 15
23.Jump up ^ For instance "What's wrong with being gay?" at ChristianAnswers.net argues that the Old Testament prohibitions against homosexuality are renewed in the New Testament
24.Jump up ^ For example, Theonomy: What it is; What it is not
25.Jump up ^ Bruce Metzger, cited in The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel
26.Jump up ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2005). Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins. p. 91. ISBN 9780060738174. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
27.Jump up ^ Ehrman, Bart D. The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture. New York: Oxford U. Press, 1993
28.Jump up ^ Wallace, Daniel B. "The Gospel According to Bart: A Review Article of Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, June 2006 (also available at Bible.org) ##Craig L. Blomberg, "Review of Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why," Denver Seminary, February 2006
##Howe, Thomas (2006). "A Response To Bart D_ Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus". International Society of Christian Apologetics. p. PDF download. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
29.Jump up ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2006). Whose Word Is It?. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-9129-4. p. 166
30.Jump up ^ Bruce Metzger "A Textual Commentary on the New Testament", Second Edition, 1994, German Bible Society
31.^ Jump up to: a b K. Aland and B. Aland, "The Text Of The New Testament: An Introduction To The Critical Editions & To The Theory & Practice Of Modern Text Criticism", 1995, op. cit., p. 29-30.
32.^ Jump up to: a b c "English Handbook Page 34 999KB" (PDF).
33.Jump up ^ Dialogue of Trypho Dialogue of Justin Martyr, with Trypho, a Jew, LXIII
34.Jump up ^ Matthew 1:23 compare multiple versions and languages
35.Jump up ^ Interlinear Hebrew in English order
36.Jump up ^ The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon
37.Jump up ^ Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article Virgin Birth of Christ
38.Jump up ^ Charles D. Isbell, Biblical Archaeological Review, June 1977, "Does the Gospel of Matthew Proclaim Mary’s Virginity?"
39.Jump up ^ Martin Luther, "That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew," in Luther's Works, vol. 45: The Christian in Society II, ed. H. T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1962).
40.Jump up ^ See also "Given the New Testament a Chance?" from the Messiah Truth website
41.^ Jump up to: a b David Sper, Managing Editor, "Questions Skeptics Ask About Messianic Prophecies," RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI, 1997
42.Jump up ^ See Psalms 22:6-8,22:13; 69:8, 69:20-21; Isaiah 11:1, 49:7, 53:2-3,53:8; Daniel 9:26
43.Jump up ^ Hume, David (2000). "Chapter 10. Of Religion". In Tom L. Beauchamp. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: A Critical Edition. Volume 3 of The Clarendon edition of the works of David Hume (Oxford University Press). p. 86. ISBN 9780198250609. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
44.Jump up ^ *Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas, Vol. 1 (ISBN 1-878997-67-X) Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas, Vol. 2 (ISBN 187899767X)
45.Jump up ^ Bruce L. Flamm, MD (2004). "Inherent Dangers of Faith-Healing Studies". The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.
46.Jump up ^ "Are Miracles Logically Impossible?". Come Reason Ministries, Convincing Christianity. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
47.Jump up ^ ""Miracles are not possible," some claim. Is this true?". ChristianAnswers.net. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
48.Jump up ^ Paul K. Hoffman. "A Jurisprudential Analysis Of Hume’s "in Principal" Argument Against Miracles" (PDF). Christian Apologetics Journal, Volume 2, No. 1, Spring, 1999; Copyright ©1999 by Southern Evangelical Seminary. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
49.Jump up ^ Melvin E. Page, Penny M. Sonnenburg (2003). Colonialism: an international, social, cultural, and political encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 496. "Of all religions, Christianity has been most associated with colonialism because several of its forms (Catholicism and Protestantism) were the religions of the European powers engaged in colonial enterprise on a global scale."
50.Jump up ^ Bevans, Steven. "Christian Complicity in Colonialism/ Globalism" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-17. "The modern missionary era was in many ways the ‘religious arm’ of colonialism, whether Portuguese and Spanish colonialism in the sixteenth Century, or British, French, German, Belgian or American colonialism in the nineteenth. This was not all bad — oftentimes missionaries were heroic defenders of the rights of indigenous peoples"
51.Jump up ^ Andrews, Edward (2010). "Christian Missions and Colonial Empires Reconsidered: A Black Evangelist in West Africa, 1766–1816". Journal of Church & State 51 (4): 663–691. doi:10.1093/jcs/csp090. "Historians have traditionally looked at Christian missionaries in one of two ways. The first church historians to catalogue missionary history provided hagiographic descriptions of their trials, successes, and sometimes even martyrdom. Missionaries were thus visible saints, exemplars of ideal piety in a sea of persistent savagery. However, by the middle of the twentieth century, an era marked by civil rights movements, anti-colonialism, and growing secularization, missionaries were viewed quite differently. Instead of godly martyrs, historians now described missionaries as arrogant and rapacious imperialists. Christianity became not a saving grace but a monolithic and aggressive force that missionaries imposed upon defiant natives. Indeed, missionaries were now understood as important agents in the ever-expanding nation-state, or “ideological shock troops for colonial invasion whose zealotry blinded them."
52.Jump up ^ Meador, Jake. "Cosmetic Christianity and the Problem of Colonialism – Responding to Brian McLaren". Retrieved 17 November 2010. "According to Jake Meador, "some Christians have tried to make sense of post-colonial Christianity by renouncing practically everything about the Christianity of the colonizers. They reason that if the colonialists’ understanding of Christianity could be used to justify rape, murder, theft, and empire then their understanding of Christianity is completely wrong."
53.Jump up ^ Conquistadors, Michael Wood, p. 20, BBC Publications, 2000
54.^ Jump up to: a b c d Robinson, B. A. (2006). "Christianity and slavery". Retrieved 2007-01-03.
55.Jump up ^ Catholic Encyclopedia Slavery and Christianity
56.^ Jump up to: a b Ostling, Richard N. (2005-09-17). "Human slavery: why was it accepted in the Bible?". Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News (Associated Press). Retrieved 28 October 2014.
57.Jump up ^ Jack D. Forbes (1993), Africans and Native Americans: The Language of Race and the Evolution of Red-Black Peoples, University of Illinois Press, p. 27, ISBN 978-0252063213
58.Jump up ^ Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery ISBN 978-0-691-11436-1 (2003)
59.Jump up ^ Lamin Sanneh, Abolitionists Abroad: American Blacks and the Making of Modern West Africa, Harvard University Press ISBN 978-0-674-00718-5 (2001)
60.Jump up ^ Ostling, Richard N. (2005-09-17). "Human slavery: why was it accepted in the Bible?". Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
61.Jump up ^ "Abolitionist Movement". MSN Encyclopedia Encarta. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
62.Jump up ^ Martin, William. 1996. With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America. New York: Broadway Books.
63.Jump up ^ Diamond, Sara, 1998. Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right, New York: Guilford Press, p.213.
64.Jump up ^ Ortiz, Chris 2007. "Gary North on D. James Kennedy", Chalcedon Blog, 6 September 2007.
65.Jump up ^ "Civil Rights Movement in the United States". MSN Encyclopedia Encarta. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
66.Jump up ^ "Religious Revivalism in the Civil Rights Movement". African American Review. Winter 2002. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
67.Jump up ^ "Martin Luther King: The Nobel Peace Prize 1964". The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2006-01-03.
68.Jump up ^ Thurston, Herbert. St. Joan of Arc. 1910. Catholic Encyclopedia
69.Jump up ^ Feminist philosophy of religion
70.Jump up ^ "The Status Of Women In The Old Testament".
71.Jump up ^ The Woman's Bible
72.Jump up ^ Clark, Elizabeth. Women in the Early Church. Liturgical Press, 1984. ISBN 0-8146-5332-4
73.Jump up ^ Jesus' Family Tree
74.^ Jump up to: a b "King, Karen L. "Women in Ancient Christianity: the New Discoveries." Karen L. King is Professor of New Testament Studies and the History of Ancient Christianity at Harvard University in the Divinity School.
75.Jump up ^ Stagg, Evelyn and Frank. Woman in the World of Jesus. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978. ISBN 0-664-24195-6
76.Jump up ^ Bilezikian, Gilbert. Beyond Sex Roles (2nd ed.) Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1989, ISBN 978-0-8010-0885-6. pp. 82–104
77.Jump up ^ Schalom Ben-Chorin.Brother Jesus: the Nazarene through Jewish eyes. U of Georgia Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8203-2256-8, p.66
78.Jump up ^ See "About the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus".
79.Jump up ^ Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE)
80.Jump up ^ Ronald W. Pierce and Rebecca Merrill Groothuis (eds.). Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity without Hierarchy. IVP 2004. p. 17.
81.Jump up ^ Grudem, Wayne A. "Should We Move Beyond the New Testament to a Better Ethic?" Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS), 47/2 (June 2004) 299–346
82.Jump up ^ Eck, Diana L. Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras. (2003) p. 98
83.^ Jump up to: a b Brumley, Mark. "Why God is Father and not Mother". The Catholic Faith Magazine. July/August 1999. Accessed 25 Feb 2013
84.^ Jump up to: a b "Baptist Faith and Message"
85.Jump up ^ (non-English) - The second image shows deaconnesses, on August 15th, for the prayers on the day of the Assumption of Mary
86.Jump up ^ The 9 Most Important Issues Facing the Evangelical Church
87.Jump up ^ See, for example, Everybody's Talkin' About Christian Fascism by Gary Leupp.
88.Jump up ^ George Bush and the Rise of Christian Fascism
89.Jump up ^ Clarke, Arthur C. & Watts, Alan (January), “At the Interface: Technology and Mysticism”, Playboy (Chicago, Ill.: HMH Publishing) 19 (1): 94, ISSN 0032-1478, OCLC 3534353
90.Jump up ^ Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion?, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2007, ISBN 978-0-281-05927-0
91.Jump up ^ Luke 6
92.Jump up ^ Peoples, Dr., Glenn Andrew. "Whittling down the pacifist narrative: Did early Christians serve in the army?". www.rightreason.org. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
93.Jump up ^ 1Kings 18:17-46
94.Jump up ^ Deuteronomy 17:5
95.Jump up ^ Psalm 18:37
96.Jump up ^ International encyclopedia of violence research, Volume 2. Springer. 2003.
97.^ Jump up to: a b J. Denny Weaver (2001). "Violence in Christian Theology". Cross Currents. Retrieved 28 October 2014. ""[3rd paragraph] I am using broad definitions of the terms "violence" and "nonviolence." "Violence" means harm or damage, which obviously includes the direct violence of killing – in war, capital punishment, murder – but also covers the range of forms of systemic violence such as poverty, racism, and sexism. "Nonviolence" also covers a spectrum of attitudes and actions, from the classic Mennonite idea of passive nonresistance through active nonviolence and nonviolent resistance that would include various kinds of social action, confrontations and posing of alternatives that do not do bodily harm or injury."
98.Jump up ^ Sam Harris (2006). Letter to a Christian Nation. Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0-307-26577-7.
99.Jump up ^ War, A Catholic Dictionary: Containing some Account of the Doctrine, Discipline, Rites, Ceremonies, Councils, and Religious Orders of the Catholic Church, W. E Addis, T. Arnold, Revised T. B Scannell and P. E Hallett, 15th Edition, Virtue & Co, 1953, Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Philips, Imprimatur: E. Morrogh Bernard, 2 October 1950, "In the Name of God : Violence and Destruction in the World's Religions", M. Jordan, 2006, p. 40[unreliable source?]
100.Jump up ^ Quotation: "The conflict thesis, at least in its simple form, is now widely perceived as a wholly inadequate intellectual framework within which to construct a sensible and realistic historiography of Western science." (p. 7), from the essay by Colin A. Russell "The Conflict Thesis" in Gary Ferngren (editor). Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8018-7038-0".
101.Jump up ^ Quotation: "In the late Victorian period it was common to write about the "warfare between science and religion" and to presume that the two bodies of culture must always have been in conflict. However, it is a very long time since these attitudes have been held by historians of science." (p. 195) Shapin, S. (1996). The Scientific Revolution. University of Chicago Press Chicago, Ill.
102.Jump up ^ Quotation: "In its traditional forms, the [conflict] thesis has been largely discredited." (p. 42) Brooke, J.H. (1991). Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives. Cambridge University Press.
103.Jump up ^ Quotation from Ferngren's introduction at "Gary Ferngren (editor). Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8018-7038-0.": "…while [John] Brooke's view [of a complexity thesis rather than conflict thesis] has gained widespread acceptance among professional historians of science, the traditional view remains strong elsewhere, not least in the popular mind." (p. x)
104.Jump up ^ Gary Ferngren (editor). Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8018-7038-0. (Introduction, p. ix)
105.Jump up ^ From Ferngren's introduction:
 "…while [John] Brooke's view [of a complexity thesis rather than conflict thesis] has gained widespread acceptance among professional historians of science, the traditional view remains strong elsewhere, not least in the popular mind. (p. x)-Gary Ferngren, (2002); Introduction, p. ix)
106.Jump up ^ Sagan, Carl. Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, Episode 3: "The Harmony of the Worlds"
107.Jump up ^ quoted in Ted Peters, Science and Religion, Encyclopedia of Religion, p.8182
108.Jump up ^ Petto, Andrew J.; Godfrey, Laurie R. (2007). Scientists Confront Intelligent Design and Creationism. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0393050904.
109.Jump up ^ Gould, Stephen Jay (1992). Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History. New York: Norton. pp. 432–447. ISBN 039330857X.
110.Jump up ^ The compass in this 13th-century manuscript is a symbol of God's act of Creation.
 * Thomas Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, (Washington, DC: Regenery, 2005), ISBN 0-89526-038-7
111.Jump up ^ Howard W. Clarke, The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers, Indiana University Press, 2003, p. 12
112.Jump up ^ William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, Crossway Books (1994) pages 38-39.
113.Jump up ^ "Let no cultured person draw near, none wise and none sensible, for all that kind of thing we count evil; but if any man is ignorant, if any man is wanting in sense and culture, if anybody is a fool, let him come boldly [to become a Christian]. Celsus, AD178
114.Jump up ^ "Since we all inherit Adam's sin, we all deserve eternal damnation. All who die unbaptized, even infants, will go to hell and suffer unending torment. We have no reason to complain of this, since we are all wicked. (In the Confessions, the Saint enumerates the crimes of which he was guilty in the cradle.) But by God's free grace certain people, among those who have been baptized, are chosen to go to heaven; these are the elect. They do not go to heaven because they are good; we are all totally depraved, except insofar as God's grace, which is only bestowed on the elect, enables us to be otherwise. No reason can be given why some are saved and the rest damned; this is due to God's unmotivated choice. Damnation proves God's justice; salvation His mercy. Both equally display His goodness." A history of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, Simon & Schuster, 1945
115.Jump up ^ Bible Teaching and Religious Practice essay: "Europe and Elsewhere," Mark Twain, 1923)
116.Jump up ^ Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years (New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), p. 27
117.Jump up ^ What do Orthodox Christians teach about death and when we die?
118.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1035, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, ISBN 0-89243-565-8,1994-the revised version issued 1997 has no changes in this section
119.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1033, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, ISBN 0-89243-565-8,1994
120.Jump up ^ Richard Beck. "Christ and Horrors, Part 3: Horror Defeat, Universalism, and God's Reputation". Experimental Theology. March 19, 2007.
121.Jump up ^ Jonathan Kvanvig, The Problem of Hell, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-508487-0, 1993
122.Jump up ^ "The Works of Thomas Manton", by Thomas Manton, p. 99
123.Jump up ^ Cultural Anxieties over the Child in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries by William F. MacLehose
124.Jump up ^ Canon Law 1983
125.^ Jump up to: a b CNS STORY: Vatican commission: Limbo reflects 'restrictive view of salvation'
126.Jump up ^ n:Vatican abolishes Limbo
127.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday. 1994. p. 845. ISBN 0-385-47967-0.
128.Jump up ^ Limbo: Recent statements by the Catholic church; Protestant views on Limbo at Religioustolerance.org
129.Jump up ^ Root of All Evil? (2006) (TV)-Memorable quotes
130.Jump up ^ McGrath, Alister (2004). Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 1-4051-2538-1.
131.Jump up ^ Dawkins, Richard (September 17, 2007). "Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?". RichardDawkins.net. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
132.Jump up ^ Marianna Krejci-Papa, 2005. "Taking On Dawkins' God:An interview with Alister McGrath." Science & Theology News, 2005–04–25.
133.Jump up ^ Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity, Regnery Publishing, ISBN 1-59698-517-8 (2007)
134.Jump up ^ Andrew Wilson, Deluded by Dawkins?, Kingsway Publications, ISBN 978-1-84291-355-0 (2007)
135.Jump up ^ A Biographical Appreciation of Robert Green Ingersoll: Chapter 11
136.Jump up ^ Brandt, Eric T., and Timothy Larsen (2011). "The Old Atheism Revisited: Robert G. Ingersoll and the Bible". Journal of the Historical Society 11 (2): 211–238. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5923.2011.00330.x.
137.Jump up ^ More Than A Carpenter, Tyndale House, Wheaton, Illinois, 1977, ISBN 978-0-8423-4552-1
138.Jump up ^ Jeffery, Steve; Ovey, Michael; Sach, Andrew (2007). Pierced for our transgressions. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press. ch. 13. ISBN 978-1-84474-178-6.
139.Jump up ^ Most notably, Matthew 10:22-23, 16:27-28, 23:36, 24:29-34, 26:62-64; Mark 9:1, 14:24-30, 14:60-62; and Luke 9:27
140.Jump up ^ In his famous essay Why I Am Not a Christian
141.Jump up ^ Dr. Knox Chamblin, Professor of New Testament Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary: Commentary on Matthew 16:21-28 - see last 4 paragraphs
142.Jump up ^ Theodor Zahn, F.F. Bruce, J. Barton Payne, etc. hold this opinion - What is the meaning of Matthew 10:23?
143.^ Jump up to: a b From Witchcraft to Justice: Death and Afterlife in the Old Testament, George E. Mendenhall.
144.^ Jump up to: a b Hiroshi Obayashi, Death and Afterlife: Perspectives of World Religions. See Introduction.
145.Jump up ^ Jewish eschatology#Olam Haba - the afterlife and the world to come Jewish eschatology: The afterlife and olam haba
146.Jump up ^ Acts 23:6-8
147.Jump up ^ Pharisees#Pharisaic principles and values Pharisees: Pharisaic Principles and Values
148.Jump up ^ Essenes#Rules, customs, theology and beliefs Essenes: Rules, customs, theology and beliefs
149.Jump up ^ About 91% of young outsiders felt Christians were anti-homosexual, 87% felt Christians were judgemental and 85% thought Christians were hypocritical.
150.Jump up ^ unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, Baker Books, October 1, 2007, ISBN 0-8010-1300-3
151.Jump up ^ Who Do People Say We Are? It doesn't hurt to listen to what non-Christians think of us., A Christianity Today editorial, Christianity Today, December 12, 2007
152.^ Jump up to: a b c d Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; WW Norton & Company; London; p.381-382
153.^ Jump up to: a b c Encyclopedia Britannica Online: Fascism - Identification with Christianity; 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2013
154.^ Jump up to: a b Alan Bullock; Hitler: A Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p219
155.Jump up ^ American Experience . The Man Behind Hitler . Transcript | PBS
156.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Martin Bormann; web 25 April 2013
157.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Alfred Rosenberg; web 25 April 2013.
158.Jump up ^ Alan Bullock; Hitler: A Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p219"
159.Jump up ^ Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; WW Norton & Company; London; p.295-297
160.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Martin Niemöller; web 24 April 2013
161.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Dietrich Bonhoeffer; web 25 April 2013
162.Jump up ^ Gaudium et spes, 19
163.Jump up ^ The Evangelical Scandal – Christianity Today
164.Jump up ^ Marriage 103: The Raw Reality of Divorce and its Terrible Results
165.Jump up ^ Chip Berlet, "Following the Threads," in Ansell, Amy E. Unraveling the Right: The New Conservatism in American Thought and Politics, pp. 24, Westview Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8133-3147-1
166.Jump up ^ "MPs turn attack back on Cardinal Pell". Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-06-06.
167.Jump up ^ "Pope warns Bush on stem cells". BBC News. 2001-07-23.
168.Jump up ^ Andrew Dickson, White (1898). A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. p. X. Theological Opposition to Inoculation, Vaccination, and the Use of Anaesthetics.
169.Jump up ^ In his book "Glimpses of world history", p. 86-87
170.Jump up ^ "Secularism and Hindutva, a Discursive Study", by A. A. Parvathy, p.42
171.Jump up ^ As quoted by William Rees-Mogg 4 April 2005 edition of The Times. Gandhi here makes reference to a statement of Jesus: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:13)
172.Jump up ^ Schopenhauer, Arthur; trans. T. Bailey Saunders. "Religion: A Dialogue". The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer.
173.Jump up ^ see e.g.: John Coffey, Persecution and Toleration on Protestant England 1558-1689, 2000, p. 206.
174.Jump up ^ see e.g.: John Coffey, Persecution and Toleration on Protestant England 1558-1689, 2000, p.22
175.Jump up ^ *Lutz E. von Padberg (1998), Die Christianisierung Europas im Mitterlalter, Reclam (German), p. 183
176.Jump up ^ The Evangelical Scandal
177.Jump up ^ "Raja Rammohun Roy: Encounter with Islam and Christianity and the Articulation of Hindu Self-Consciousness. Page 166, by Abidullah Al-Ansari Ghazi, year = 2010
178.Jump up ^ "Raja Rammohun Roy: Encounter with Islam and Christianity and the Articulation of Hindu Self-Consciousness. Page 169, by Abidullah Al-Ansari Ghazi, year = 2010
179.Jump up ^ "Neo-Hindu Views of Christianity", p. 96, by Arvind Sharma, year = 1988
180.Jump up ^ "Gandhi on Pluralism and Communalism", by P. L. John Panicker, p.39, year = 2006
181.Jump up ^ "Dayānanda Sarasvatī, his life and ideas", p. 267, by J. T. F. Jordens
182.Jump up ^ The Philosophy of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, by Paul Arthur Schilpp, page = 641
183.Jump up ^ "Judaism and Other Religions", p. 88, publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
184.Jump up ^ Anti-Judaism and Early Christian Identity: A Critique of the Scholarly Consensus, by Miriam S. Taylor, p. 41
185.Jump up ^ "Idolatry", by Moshe Halbertal, p. 212
186.Jump up ^ Wise Criticizes Christian World for Failure to Rescue Jews in Nazi Europe 19 February 1943
187.Jump up ^ "Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue", by Daisaku Ikeda, Majid Tehranian, p. 36
188.Jump up ^ Christianity: An Introduction, p. 125, by Alister E. McGrath
189.Jump up ^ Examples of authors who argue the Jesus myth theory: Thomas L. Thompson The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David (Jonathan Cape, Publisher, 2006); Michael Martin, The Case Against Christianity (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991), 36–72; John Mackinnon Robertson
190.Jump up ^ Freke, Timothy and Gandy, Peter (1999) The Jesus Mysteries. London: Thorsons (Harper Collins)
191.Jump up ^ Brian Branston, The Lost Gods of England
192.Jump up ^ Historian Michael Grant stated, "To sum up, modern critical methods fail to support the Christ myth theory. It has 'again and again been answered and annihilated by first rank scholars.' In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." —Michael Grant, Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels (Scribner, 1995). ##"There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more." —Burridge, R & Gould, G, Jesus Now and Then, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004, p.34.
##Michael James McClymond, Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth, Eerdrmans (2004), page 24: "most scholars regard the argument for Jesus' non-existence as unworthy of any response".
193.Jump up ^ Charlesworth, James H. (ed.) (2006). Jesus and Archaeology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-4880-X.
Further reading[edit]


 This article's further reading may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive, less relevant or many publications with the same point of view; or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (August 2013)
Skeptical of Christianity[edit]
##A Rationalist Encyclopaedia: A book of reference on religion, philosophy, ethics and science, Gryphon Books (1971).
##Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, by Daniel Dennett
##Civilization and its discontents, by Sigmund Freud
##Death and Afterlife, Perspectives of World Religions, by Hiroshi Obayashi
##Einstein and Religion, by Max Jammer
##From Jesus to Christianity, by L. Michael White
##Future of an illusion, by Sigmund Freud
##Letter to a Christian Nation, by Sam Harris
##Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, by Bart Ehrman
##Out of my later years and the World as I see it, by Albert Einstein
##Russell on Religion, by Louis Greenspan (Includes most all of Russell's essays on religion)
##The Antichrist, by Friedrich Nietzsche
##The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
##The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, by Carl Sagan
##Understanding the Bible, by Stephen L Harris
##Where God and Science Meet [Three Volumes]: How Brain and Evolutionary Studies Alter Our Understanding of Religion, by Patrick McNamara
##Why I am not a Christian and other essays, by Bertrand Russell
##Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, by John W. Loftus (Prometheus Books, 2008)
##The Christian Delusion, edited by John W. Loftus, foreword by Dan Barker (Prometheus Books, 2010)
##The End of Christianity, edited by John W. Loftus (Prometheus Books, 2011)
##The Historical Evidence for Jesus, by G. A. Wells (Prometheus Books, 1988)
##The Jesus Puzzle, by Earl Doherty (Age of Reason Publications, 1999)
##The encyclopedia of Biblical errancy, by C. Dennis McKinsey (Prometheus Books, 1995)
##godless, by Dan Barker (Ulysses Press 2008)
##The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy (Element 1999)
##The reason driven life by Robert M. Price (Prometheus Books, 2006)
##The case against the case for Christ by Robert M. Price (American atheist press 2010)
##God, the failed hypothesis by Victor J. Stenger (Prometheus Books, 2007)
##Jesus never existed by Kenneth Humphreys (Iconoclast Press, 2005)
Defending Christianity[edit]
Main article: List of Christian apologetic works
##"The Jury Returns: A Juridical Defense of Christianity" by John Warwick Montgomery. An Excerpt from "Evidence for Faith" Chapter 6, Part 2 http://www.mtio.com/articles/bissart1.htm
##"The Infidel Delusion" by Patrick Chan, Jason Engwer, Steve Hays, and Paul Manata http://www.calvindude.com/ebooks/InfidelDelusion.pdf
##Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies, by David Bentley Hart
##Dethroning Jesus, by Darrell Bock, Daniel B. Wallace
##Jesus Among Other Gods, by Ravi Zacharias
##Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis
##Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton
##Reasonable Faith, by William Lane Craig
##Reinventing Jesus, by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, Daniel B. Wallace
##The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel
##The Dawkins Letters, by David Robertson
##The Reason For God, by Timothy J Keller
External links[edit]


 This section's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2013)
General[edit]
##Professor James Tabor's educational site on the Jewish Roman world of Jesus
##Roman Sources on the Jews and Judaism, 1 BCE-110 CE
Skeptical[edit]
##The Warfare of Science With Theology by Andrew White
##New Testament contradictions by Paul Carlson
##Christian Anti-Semitism
##PBS Special: Apocalypse! Contains Jesus' apocalyptic promises along with those of Saint Paul's.
From other religions[edit]
##Chizzuk Emunah (Faith Strengthened): English translation of Isaac of Troki's 16th-century Jewish anti-Christian polemic
##Jewish Encyclopedia: New Testament: Unhistorical Character of the Gospels
Apologetic[edit]
##Reasonable Faith http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/PageServer
##Probe Ministries
##Ravi Zacharias International Ministries http://www.rzim.org/
##Stand to Reason http://www.str.org/site/PageServer
##Reasons to Believe http://www.reasons.org/
Debates[edit]
##"Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?" A Debate Between William Lane Craig and Richard Carrier (audio) http://www.philvaz.com/CraigCarrierDebate.mp3
##The Great Debate: Does God Exist?-transcript in PDF of a formal debate between presuppositionalist Christian Greg Bahnsen and atheist Gordon Stein.
##The Martin-Frame Debate A written debate between skeptic Michael Martin and Christian John Frame about the transcendental argument for the existence of God.
##The Drange-Wilson Debate A written debate between skeptic Theodore Drange and Christian Douglas Wilson.
##"Is Non-Christian Thought Futile?" A written debate between Christian Doug Jones and skeptics Keith Parsons and Michael Martin in Antithesis magazine (vol. 2, no. 4).
##"Is Christianity Good for the World?" A written debate between atheist Christopher Hitchens and theologian Douglas Wilson in Christianity Today magazine (web only, May 2007).
##God Debate: Sam Harris vs. Rick Warren Debate between Christian Rick Warren and atheist Sam Harris as reported by Newsweek (April 9, 2007).
##"Does God Exist? The Nightline Face-Off." A video debate between Christians Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron and atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Connor of the Rational Response Squad. Report of the debate posted on the Nightline website. Video of the debate posted on The Way of the Master website.
##The Jesseph-Craig Debate: Does God Exist? (1996)-Transcripts of a debate between Christian William Lane Craig and atheist Douglas M. Jesseph.


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Christianity











Stained glass at St John's Ashfield, illustrating Jesus' description of himself, "I am the Good Shepherd", from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11.









































































































Category
Portal icon
WikiProject




[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion
































































































































  


Categories: Criticism of Christianity
Criticism of religion






















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Español
Français
한국어
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
Português
Română
Русский
Simple English
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
தமிழ்
Edit links
This page was last modified on 5 April 2015, at 22:29.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Christianity
















Criticism of Christianity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about criticism of the doctrines and practices of Christianity. For negative attitudes towards Christians, see Anti-Christian sentiment.
Part of a series on
Christianity
Jesus depicted as the Good Shepherd


Jesus ·
 Christ
 [hide]
Jesus in Christianity ·
 Virgin birth ·
 Ministry ·
 Crucifixion ·
 Resurrection
 


Bible ·
 Foundations
 [hide]
Old Testament ·
 New Testament ·
 Gospel ·
 Canon ·
 Books ·
 Church ·
 Creed ·
 New Covenant
 

Theology[hide]

God ·
 Trinity  (Father ·
 Son ·
 Holy Spirit)
 

Apologetics ·
 Baptism ·
 Catholicism ·
 Christology ·
 History of theology ·
 Mission ·
 Salvation
 


History ·
 Tradition
 [hide]
Mary ·
 Apostles ·
 Peter ·
 Paul ·
 Fathers ·
 Early Christianity ·
 Constantine ·
 Councils ·
 Augustine ·
 East–West Schism ·
 Crusades ·
 Aquinas ·
 Reformation ·
 Luther
 

Related topics[hide]

Art ·
 Holidays (list) ·
 Criticism ·
 Ecumenism ·
 Liturgy ·
 Music ·
 Other religions ·
 Prayer ·
 Sermon ·
 Symbolism
 


Denominations ·
 Groups
 [hide]

Western
Adventist ·
 Anabaptist ·
 Anglican ·
 Baptist ·
 Calvinist ·
 Catholic ·
 Evangelical ·
 Holiness ·
 Lutheran ·
 Methodist ·
 Protestant ·
 Pentecostal
 
Eastern
Eastern Orthodox ·
 Eastern Catholic ·
 Oriental Orthodox ·
 Assyrian
 
Nontrinitarian
Jehovah's Witness ·
 Latter Day Saint ·
 Oneness Pentecostal
 

Christian cross Christianity portal
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Shi'ism)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert Green Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayanand Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Criticism of Christianity varies from the criticism of Christian beliefs, teachings, history, activities, and terrorism. Throughout the history of Christianity, many have criticized Christianity, the church, Jesus, Christian Bible, Christians and other elements of Christianity.
The formal response of Christians to such criticisms is described as Christian apologetics. Several areas of criticism also include the claims of scripture itself, the ethics of biblical interpretations that have been used historically to justify certain attitudes and behaviors, the question of the religion's compatibility with science, and other Christian doctrines. The criticism came from the various religious and non-religious groups around the world, some of whom were themselves Christians.


Contents  [hide]
1 Scripture 1.1 Biblical criticism
1.2 Judaic view: Unfulfilled prophecy
1.3 Selective interpretation
1.4 Textual corruption
1.5 Mistranslation 1.5.1 Translation of Almah as Virgin
1.5.2 Prophecy of the Nazarene

2 Miracles
3 Ethics 3.1 Colonialism
3.2 Slavery
3.3 Christianity and women
3.4 Christianity and politics
3.5 Christianity and violence
4 Science
5 Doctrine 5.1 Incarnation
5.2 Hell and damnation
5.3 Idolatry
5.4 Limbo
5.5 Atonement
5.6 Second Coming
5.7 Inconsistency with Old Testament conception of the afterlife
6 Criticism of Christians 6.1 Negative attitudes in the United States
6.2 Negative attitudes in Nazi Germany
6.3 Hypocrisy
6.4 Bigotry
6.5 Materialism
6.6 Sectarianism
6.7 Persecution by Christians
6.8 Response of apologists
7 Criticism by other religions 7.1 Hinduism
7.2 Judaism
7.3 Islam
8 Origins
9 See also
10 References
11 Further reading 11.1 Skeptical of Christianity
11.2 Defending Christianity
12 External links 12.1 General
12.2 Skeptical
12.3 From other religions
12.4 Apologetic
12.5 Debates


Scripture[edit]
See also: Criticism of the Bible
Biblical criticism[edit]
See also: Biblical criticism, The Bible and History and Internal consistency and the Bible
Biblical criticism, in particular higher criticism, covers a variety of methods used since the Enlightenment in the early 18th century as scholars began to apply to biblical documents the same methods and perspectives which had already been applied to other literary and philosophical texts.[1] It is an umbrella term covering various techniques used mainly by mainline and liberal Christian theologians to study the meaning of biblical passages. It uses general historical principles, and is based primarily on reason rather than revelation or faith. There are four primary types of biblical criticism:[2]
##Form criticism: an analysis of literary documents, particularly the Bible, to discover earlier oral traditions (stories, legends, myths, etc.) upon which they were based.
##Tradition criticism: an analysis of the Bible, concentrating on how religious traditions grew and changed over the time span during which the text was written.
##Higher criticism: the study of the sources and literary methods employed by the biblical authors.[3][2]
##Lower criticism: the discipline and study of the actual wording of the Bible; a quest for textual purity and understanding.[3]
Inconsistencies have been pointed out by critics and skeptics,[4] presenting as difficulties the different numbers and names for the same feature and different sequences for what is supposed to be the same event. Responses to these criticisms include the modern documentary hypothesis, two source hypothesis (in various guises), and assertions that the Pastoral Epistles are pseudonymous. Contrasting with these critical stances are positions supported by literalists, considering the texts to be consistent, with the Torah written by a single source,[5][6] but the Gospels by four independent witnesses,[7] and all of the Pauline Epistles, except possibly the Hebrews, as having been written by Paul the Apostle.
While consideration of the context is necessary when studying the Bible, some find the accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus within the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, difficult to reconcile. E. P. Sanders concludes that the inconsistencies make the possibility of a deliberate fraud unlikely: "A plot to foster belief in the Resurrection would probably have resulted in a more consistent story. Instead, there seems to have been a competition: 'I saw him,' 'So did I,' 'The women saw him first,' 'No, I did; they didn't see him at all,' and so on."[8]
Harold Lindsell points out that it is a "gross distortion" to state that people who believe in biblical inerrancy suppose every statement made in the Bible is true (opposed to accurate).[9] He indicates there are expressly false statements in the Bible which are reported accurately[9] (for example, Satan is a liar whose lies are accurately reported as to what he actually said).[9] Proponents of biblical inerrancy generally do not teach that the Bible was dictated directly by God, but that God used the "distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers" of scripture and that God's inspiration guided them to flawlessly project his message through their own language and personality.[10]:Art. VIII
Those who believe in the inspiration of scripture teach that it is infallible (or inerrant), that is, free from error in the truths it expresses by its character as the word of God.[11] However, the scope of what this encompasses is disputed, as the term includes 'faith and practice' positions, with some denominations holding that the historical or scientific details, which may be irrelevant to matters of faith and Christian practice, may contain errors.[12] Other scholars take stronger views,[13] but for a few verses these positions require more exegetical work, leading to dispute (compare the serious debate over the related issue of perspicuity, attracting biblical and philosophical discussion).
Infallibility refers to the original texts of the Bible, and all mainstream scholars acknowledge the potential for human error in transmission and translation; yet, through use textual criticism modern (critical) copies are considered to "faithfully represent the original",[10]:Art. X and our understanding of the original language sufficiently well for accurate translation. The opposing view is that there is too much corruption, or translation too difficult, to agree with modern texts.
Judaic view: Unfulfilled prophecy[edit]



 God reveals himself to Abraham in scripture and he is seen here with three angels. By Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Hundreds of years before the time of Jesus, Jewish prophets promised that a messiah would come. Judaism claims that Jesus did not fulfill these prophecies. Other skeptics usually claim that the prophecies are either vague or unfulfilled,[14] or that the Old Testament writings influenced the composition of New Testament narratives.[15] Christian apologists claim that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies, which they argue are nearly impossible to fulfill by chance.[16] Many Christians anticipate the Second Coming of Jesus, when he will fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy, such as the Last Judgment, the general resurrection, establishment of the Kingdom of God, and the Messianic Age (see the article on Preterism for contrasting Christian views).
The New Testament traces Jesus' line to that of David; however, according to Stephen L. Harris:[17]
Jesus did not accomplish what Israel's prophets said the Messiah was commissioned to do: He did not deliver the covenant people from their Gentile enemies, reassemble those scattered in the Diaspora, restore the Davidic kingdom, or establish universal peace (cf. Isa. 9:6–7; 11:7–12:16, etc.). Instead of freeing Jews from oppressors and thereby fulfilling God's ancient promises—for land, nationhood, kingship, and blessing—Jesus died a "shameful" death, defeated by the very political powers the Messiah was prophesied to overcome. Indeed, the Hebrew prophets did not foresee that Israel's savior would be executed as a common criminal by Gentiles, making Jesus' crucifixion a "stumbling block" to scripturally literate Jews. (1 Cor.1:23)
Christian preachers counter this argument by stating that these prophecies will be fulfilled by Jesus in the Millennial Reign after the Great Tribulation, according to New Testament prophecies, especially in the Book of Revelation.
The 16th-century Jewish theologian Isaac ben Abraham, who lived in Trakai, Lithuania, penned a work called Chizzuk Emunah (Faith Strengthened) that attempted to refute the ideas that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament and that Christianity was the "New Covenant" of God. He systematically identified a number of inconsistencies in the New Testament, contradictions between the New Testament and the Old Testament, and Old Testament prophesies which remained unfulfilled in Jesus' lifetime. In addition, he questioned a number of Christian practices, such as Sunday Sabbath.[18] Written originally for Jews to persuade them not to convert to Christianity,[19] the work was eventually read by Christians. While the well-known Christian Hebraist Johann Christoph Wagenseil attempted an elaborate refutation of Abraham's arguments, Wagenseil's Latin translation of it only increased interest in the work and inspired later Christian freethinkers. Chizzuk Emunah was praised as a masterpiece by Voltaire.[18]
On the other hand, Blaise Pascal believed that "[t]he prophecies are the strongest proof of Jesus Christ". He wrote that Jesus was foretold, and that the prophecies came from a succession of people over a span of four thousand years.[20] Apologist Josh McDowell defends the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy as supporting Christianity, arguing that prophecies fulfilled by Christ include ones relating to his ancestral line, birthplace, virgin birth, miracles, manner of death, and resurrection. He says that even the timing of the Messiah in years and in relation to events is predicted, and that the Jewish Talmud (not accepting Jesus as the Messiah, see also Rejection of Jesus) laments that the Messiah had not appeared despite the scepter being taken away from Judah.[21]
Selective interpretation[edit]
See also: Expounding of the Law, Biblical law in Christianity and Cafeteria Christianity
Critics argue that the selective invocation of portions of the Old Testament is hypocritical, particularly when those portions endorse hostility towards women and homosexuals, when other portions are considered obsolete. The entire Mosaic Law is described in Galatians 3:24-25 as a tutor which is no longer necessary, according to some interpretations, see also Antinomianism in the New Testament.
On the other hand, many of the Old Testament laws are seen as specifically abrogated by the New Testament, such as circumcision,[22] though this may simply be a parallel to Jewish Noahide Laws. See also Split of early Christianity and Judaism. On the other hand, other passages are pro-Law, such as Romans 3:31: "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." See also Pauline passages opposing antinomianism.
There are a number of positions which are taken in response to these critics:
##Some argue that the specific principles invoked by Christians are endorsed or renewed in the New Testament.[23]
##Others argue that the Old Testament law applies, except as modified by the New Testament.[24]
Textual corruption[edit]
See also: Biblical criticism and Textual criticism
Within the abundance of biblical manuscripts exist a number of textual variants. The vast majority of these textual variants are the inconsequential misspelling of words, word order variations[25] and the mistranscription of abbreviations.[26] Text critics such as Bart D. Ehrman have proposed that some of these textual variants and interpolations were theologically motivated.[27] Ehrman's conclusions and textual variant choices have been challenged by reviewers, including Daniel B. Wallace, Craig Blomberg and Thomas Howe.[28]
In attempting to determine the original text of the New Testament books, some modern textual critics have identified sections as probably not original. In modern translations of the Bible, the results of textual criticism have led to certain verses being left out or marked as not original. These possible later additions include the following:[29][30]
##The ending of Mark[Mk. 16]
##The story in John of the woman taken in adultery, the Pericope Adulterae
##An explicit reference to the Trinity in 1 John, the Comma Johanneum
Most Bibles have footnotes to indicate areas which have disputed source documents. Bible Commentaries also discuss these, sometimes in great detail.
In The Text Of The New Testament, Kurt and Barbara Aland compare the total number of variant-free verses, and the number of variants per page (excluding orthographic errors), among the seven major editions of the Greek NT (Tischendorf, Westcott-Hort, von Soden, Vogels, Merk, Bover and Nestle-Aland) concluding 62.9%, or 4999/7947, agreement.[31] They concluded, "Thus in nearly two-thirds of the New Testament text, the seven editions of the Greek New Testament which we have reviewed are in complete accord, with no differences other than in orthographical details (e.g., the spelling of names, etc.). Verses in which any one of the seven editions differs by a single word are not counted. This result is quite amazing, demonstrating a far greater agreement among the Greek texts of the New Testament during the past century than textual scholars would have suspected… In the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation the agreement is less, while in the letters it is much greater."[31]
With the discovery of the Hebrew Bible texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, questions have been raised about the textual accuracy of the Masoretic text. That is, whether the Masoretic text which forms the basis of most modern English translations of the Old Testament, or translations which pre-date the masoretic text, such as the Septuagint, Syriac Peshitta, and Samaritan Pentateuch are more accurate.[citation needed]
Mistranslation[edit]
See also: Bible errata, Bible translations and English translations of the Bible
Translation has given rise to a number of issues, as the original languages are often quite different in grammar as well as word meaning. While the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy[10] states that inerrancy applies only to the original languages, some believers trust their own translation to be the accurate one. One such group of believers is known as the King-James-Only Movement. For readability, clarity, or other reasons, translators may choose different wording or sentence structure, and some translations may choose to paraphrase passages. Because some of the words in the original language have ambiguous or difficult to translate meanings, debates over the correct interpretation occur.
Criticisms are also sometimes raised because of inconsistencies arising between different English translations of the Hebrew or Greek text. Some Christian interpretations are criticized for reflecting specific doctrinal bias[32] or a variant reading between the Masoretic Hebrew and Septuagint Greek manuscripts often quoted in the New Testament.
Translation of Almah as Virgin[edit]
Matthew 1:22-1:23 reads: "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." As early as the 2nd century CE, Jewish critics have argued that Christians were mistaken in their reading of the word almah ("עלמה") in Isaiah 7:14.[33] Jewish translations of the verse from Isaiah read: "Behold, the young woman is with child and will bear a son and she will call his name Immanuel." Moreover, it is claimed that Christians have taken this verse out of context (see Immanuel for further information).[32]
Christians claim that the reference to the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15 refers to a virgin birth, but critics claim otherwise.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
The Greek text of Matthew 1:23 uses the term "parthenos", which is the usual Greek word for virgin:
"ιδού η παρθένος εν γαστρί έξει και τέξεται υιόν και καλέσουσιν το όνομα αυτού Εμμανουήλ ο έστιν μεθερμηνευόμενος μεθ' ημών ο Θεός". (Matthew 1:23 Textus Receptus)[34]
The (right-to-left) Hebrew of Isaiah 7:14 uses the word almah:
יד לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא, לָכֶם--אוֹת: הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה, הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן, וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ, עִמָּנוּ אֵל. 14Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)[35]
The Jewish translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek that was in use during the 1st century, the Septuagint, uses the word "parthenos" ("virgin") in Isaiah 7:14 rather than the usual Greek word "neanis" for "young woman".[36] The Septuagint's Greek term παρθένος (parthenos) is considered by many to be an inexact rendering of the Hebrew word `almah in the text of Isaiah, but only in light of the Masoretic Canon which was finalized nearly 1000 years after the Septuagint.[37]
Some scholars contend that debates over the precise meaning of bethulah ("בתולה"-virgin) and almah (young woman) are misguided because no Hebrew word encapsulates the idea of certain virginity.[38] Martin Luther also argued that the debate was irrelevant, not because the words do not clearly mean virgin, but because almah and bethulah were functional synonyms.[39]
(For more information, see the articles on the Virgin birth of Jesus and Isaiah 7:14.)
Prophecy of the Nazarene[edit]
Another example is Nazarene in Matthew 2:23: "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." The website for Jews for Judaism claims that "Since a Nazarene is a resident of the city of Nazareth and this city did not exist during the time period of the Jewish Bible, it is impossible to find this quotation in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was fabricated."[32][40] However, one common suggestion is that the New Testament verse is based on a passage relating to Nazirites, either because this was a misunderstanding common at the time, or through deliberate re-reading of the term by the early Christians. Another suggestion is "that Matthew was playing on the similarity of the Hebrew word nezer (translated 'Branch' or 'shoot' in Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23:5) with the Greek nazoraios, here translated 'Nazarene.'"[41] Christians also suggest that by using an indirect quotation and the plural term prophets, "Matthew was only saying that by living in Nazareth, Jesus was fulfilling the many Old Testament prophecies that He would be despised and rejected."[42] The background for this is illustrated by Philip's initial response in John 1:46 to the idea that Jesus might be the Messiah: "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"[41]
Miracles[edit]
Further information: Miracle, Faith healing and Exorcism
Philosopher David Hume argued against the plausibility of miracles:[43]


1) A miracle is a violation of the known laws of nature;
 2) We know these laws through repeated and constant experience;
 3) The testimony of those who report miracles contradicts the operation of known scientific laws;
 4) Consequently no one can rationally believe in miracles.
Hume's argument against the plausibility of miracles produced by humans is answered by Jesus' own admission of the human impossibility of miracles, which are acts of God that are "impossible for men", but "with God all things are possible". (Matthew 19:26)
The Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church reject Hume's argument against miracles outright with the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas, who postulated that Reason alone was not sufficient to understand God's energies (activities such as miracles) and essence, but faith was.[44]
Miraculous healings through prayers, often involving the "laying on of hands", have been reported. However, reliance on faith healing alone can indirectly contribute to serious harm and even death.[45] Christian apologists including C.S. Lewis, Norman Geisler and William Lane Craig have argued that miracles are reasonable and plausible.[46][47][48]
Ethics[edit]
Main article: Ethics in the Bible
Certain interpretations of some moral decisions in the Bible are considered ethically questionable by many modern groups. Some of the passages most commonly criticized include colonialism, the subjugation of women, religious intolerance, condemnation of homosexuality, and support for the institution of slavery in both Old and New Testaments.
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche criticized the ethics of Christianity. See Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche#Christianity and morality.
Colonialism[edit]
Main article: Christianity and colonialism
Christianity and colonialism are often closely associated because Catholicism, Russian Orthodoxy and Protestantism were the religions of the European colonial powers[49] and acted in many ways as the "religious arm" of those powers.[50] Initially, Christian missionaries were portrayed as "visible saints, exemplars of ideal piety in a sea of persistent savagery". However, by the time the colonial era drew to a close in the last half of the twentieth century, missionaries became viewed as “ideological shock troops for colonial invasion whose zealotry blinded them.”[51]
Christianity is targeted by critics of colonialism because the tenets of the religion were used to justify the actions of the colonists.[52] For example, Michael Wood asserts that the indigenous peoples were not considered to be human beings and that the colonisers was shaped by "centuries of Ethnocentrism, and Christian monotheism, which espoused one truth, one time and version of reality."[53]
Slavery[edit]
Main article: Christianity and slavery
Early Christianity variously opposed, accepted, or ignored slavery.[54] The early Christian perspectives of slavery were formed in the contexts of Christianity's roots in Judaism, and as part of the wider culture of the Roman Empire. Both the Old and New Testaments recognize that the institution of slavery existed.
The earliest surviving Christian teachings about slavery are from Paul the Apostle, who frequently referred to himself as a "Slave of Christ", perhaps implying that he was a slave and Jesus was his master, although it may have just been an expression. Paul did not renounce the institution of slavery. Conversely, he taught that Christian slaves ought to serve their masters wholeheartedly.[Eph. 6:5-8] At the same time, he taught slave owners to treat their slaves fairly. The entire Epistle to Philemon is devoted to Onesimus, a runaway slave and convert whom Paul returns to his master, to be seen as "not just a slave, but much more than a slave; he is a dear brother in Christ".[Philemon 16] Tradition describes Pope Pius I (term c. 158-167) and Pope Callixtus I (term c. 217-222) as former slaves.[55]
Since the Middle Ages, the Christian understanding of slavery has been subjected to significant internal conflict and has endured dramatic change. Nearly all Christian leaders before the late 17th century recognised slavery, within specific biblical limitations, as consistent with Christian theology. The key verse used to justify slavery was Genesis 9:25-27: "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. He also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem." which was interpreted to mean that Africans were the descendants of Ham, cursed with "the mark of Ham" to be servants to the descendants of Japheth (Europeans) and Shem (Asians).[54] In early Medieval times, the Church discouraged slavery throughout Europe, largely eliminating it.[56] That changed in 1452, when Pope Nicholas V instituted the hereditary slavery of captured Muslims and pagans, regarding all non-Christians as "enemies of Christ."[57]
Rodney Stark makes the argument in For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery,[58] that Christianity helped to end slavery worldwide, as does Lamin Sanneh in Abolitionists Abroad.[59] These authors point out that Christians who viewed slavery as wrong on the basis of their religious convictions spearheaded abolitionism, and many of the early campaigners for the abolition of slavery were driven by their Christian faith and a desire to realize their view that all people are equal under God.[60] In the late 17th century, anabaptists began to criticize slavery. Criticisms from the Society of Friends, Mennonites, and the Amish followed suit. Prominent among these Christian abolitionists were William Wilberforce, and John Woolman. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, according to her Christian beliefs in 1852. Earlier, in Britain and America, Quakers were active in abolitionism. A group of Quakers founded the first English abolitionist organization, and a Quaker petition brought the issue before government that same year. The Quakers continued to be influential throughout the lifetime of the movement, in many ways leading the way for the campaign. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was instrumental in starting abolitionism as a popular movement.[61]
Many modern Christians are united in the condemnation of slavery as wrong and contrary to God's will. Only peripheral groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other Christian hate groups on the racist fringes of the Christian Reconstructionist and Christian Identity movements advocate the reinstitution of slavery.[54] Full adherents to reconstructionism are few and marginalized among conservative Christians.[62][63][64] With these exceptions, all Christian faith groups now condemn slavery, and see the practice as incompatible with basic Christian principles.[54][56]
In addition to aiding[dubious – discuss] abolitionism, many Christians made further efforts toward establishing racial equality, contributing to the Civil Rights Movement.[65] The African American Review notes the important role Christian revivalism in the black church played in the Civil Rights Movement.[66] Martin Luther King, Jr., an ordained Baptist minister, was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a Christian Civil Rights organization.[67]
Christianity and women[edit]
See also: Women in Christianity and Women in the Bible



Joan of Arc led battles in the fight to free France from England. She believed that God had commanded her to do so. Upon capture, she was tried for heresy by an English court and burned at the stake. She is now a saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church.[68]
Many feminists have accused notions such as a male God, male prophets, and the man-centered stories in the Bible of contributing to a patriarchy.[69] Though many women disciples and servants are recorded in the Pauline epistles, there have been occasions in which women have been denigrated and forced into a second-class status.[70] For example, women were told to keep silent in the churches for "it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church".[1 Cor. 14:34-35] Suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton said in The Woman's Bible that "the Bible in its teachings degrades women from Genesis to Revelation".[71]
Elizabeth Clark cites early Christian writings by authors such as Tertullian, Augustine, and John Chrysostom as being exemplary of the negative perception of women that has been perpetuated in church tradition.[72] Until the latter part of the 20th century, only the names of very few women who contributed to the formation of Christianity in its earliest years were widely known: Mary, the mother of Jesus;[73] Mary Magdalene, disciple of Jesus and the first witness to the resurrection; and Mary and Martha, the sisters who offered him hospitality in Bethany.[74]
Harvard scholar Karen King writes that more of the many women who contributed to the formation of Christianity in its earliest years are becoming known. Further, she concludes that for centuries in Western Christianity, Mary Magdalene has been wrongly identified as the adulteress and repentant prostitute presented in John 8—a connection supposed by tradition but nowhere claimed in the New Testament. According to King, the Gospel of Mary shows that she was an influential figure, a prominent disciple and leader of one wing of the early Christian movement that promoted women's leadership.
King claims that every sect within early Christianity which had advocated women's prominence in ancient Christianity was eventually declared heretical, and evidence of women's early leadership roles was erased or suppressed.[74]
Classicist Evelyn Stagg and New Testament scholar Frank Stagg in their jointly authored book, Woman in the World of Jesus, document very unfavorable attitudes toward women that prevailed in the world into which Jesus came. They assert that there is no recorded instance where Jesus disgraces, belittles, reproaches, or stereotypes a woman. They interpret the recorded treatment and attitude Jesus showed to women as evidence that the Founder of Christianity treated women with great dignity and respect.[75] Various theologians have concluded that the canonical examples of the manner of Jesus are instructive for inferring his attitudes toward women. They are seen as showing repeatedly and consistently how he liberated and affirmed women.[76] However, Schalom Ben-Chorin argues that Jesus' reply to his mother in John 2:4 during the wedding at Cana amounted to a blatant violation of the commandment to honor one's parent.[Ex. 20:12] [77] He mistakenly assumes Jesus' response to be an offensive statement, when in all actuality, the term "woman" was used to show respect in the Hebrew cultures. Also, Christ was an adult at the time, thirty years of age. He had the biblical right to refuse a command by his mother, and he did so stating that he was doing his Father's (God's) business.
There are three major viewpoints within modern Christianity over the role of women. They are known respectively as Christian feminism, Christian egalitarianism and complementarianism.
##Christian feminists take an actively feminist position from a Christian perspective.[78]
##Christian egalitarians advocate ability-based, rather than gender-based, ministry of Christians of all ages, ethnicities and socio-economic classes.[79] Egalitarians support the ordination of women and equal roles in marriage, but are theologically and morally more conservative than Christian feminists and prefer to avoid the label "feminist". A limited notion of gender complementarity is held by some, known as "complementarity without hierarchy".[80]
##Complementarians support both equality and beneficial differences between men and women.[81] They believe the Bible teaches that men and women have distinct complementary roles in both marriage and in the church. They maintain that men have a responsibility to lead and women have a responsibility to submit to the leadership of men.
Some Christians argue that the idea of God as a man is based less on gender but rather on the dominant Patriarchal society of the time in which men acted as leaders and caretakers of the Family.[82] Thus, the idea of God being "The Father" is with regards to his relationship with what are "his children", Christians.
Most mainline Christians claim that the doctrine of the Trinity implies that God should be called Father and not called Mother, in the same way that Jesus was a man and was not a woman.[83] Jesus tells His followers to address God as Father.[Mt. 6:9-13] He tells his disciples to be merciful as their heavenly Father is merciful.[Lk. 6:36] He says the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask[Lk. 11:13] and that the Spirit of their Father will speak through them in times of persecution.[Mt. 10:20] On Easter Sunday, he directs Mary Magdalene to tell the other disciples, "I am going to my Father and your Father...."[Jn. 20:17] Mark Brumley points out that behind New Testament language of Divine Adoption and regeneration is the idea that God is our Father because He is the "source" or "origin" of our new life in Christ. He has saved us through Christ and sanctified us in the Spirit. Brumley claims this is clearly more than a metaphor; the analogy with earthly fatherhood is obvious. God is not merely like a father for Christ’s followers; he is really their Father. Among Christians who hold to this idea, there is a distinct sense that Jesus' treatment of women should imply equality in leadership and marital roles every bit as strongly as the definite male gender of Jesus should imply a name of Father for God. Rather than as antifeminist, they characterize alternative naming as unnecessary and unsupported by the words found in the Bible.[83]
In 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to revise its "Baptist Faith and Message" (Statement of Faith),[84] opposing women as pastors. While this decision is not binding and would not prevent women from serving as pastors, the revision itself has been criticized by some from within the convention. In the same document, the Southern Baptist Convention took a strong position of the subordinating view of woman in marriage: "A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband. She has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation."[84] (Emphasis added)
The Eastern Orthodox Church does not allow female clergy. The Chaldean Catholic Church on the other hand continues to maintain a large number of deaconesses serving alongside male deacons during mass.[85]
In some evangelical churches, it is forbidden for women to become pastors, deacons or church elders. In support of such prohibitions, the verse 1 Timothy 2:12 is often cited:[86]
“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
Christianity and politics[edit]
Main article: Christianity and politics
See also: Christian left, Christian right and Religion and politics
Some leftists and libertarians, including Christians who disavow the Religious Right, use the term Christian fascism or Christofascism to describe what some see as an emerging neoconservative proto-fascism or Evangelical nationalism and possible theocratic sentiment in the United States.[87]
Reverend Rich Lang of the Trinity United Methodist Church of Seattle gave a sermon titled "George Bush and the Rise of Christian Fascism", in which he said, "I want to flesh out the ideology of the Christian Fascism that Bush articulates. It is a form of Christianity that is the mirror opposite of what Jesus embodied."[88]
Christianity and violence[edit]
Main article: Christianity and violence
See also: Christian terrorism and Crusades
Many critics of Christianity have cited the violent acts of Christian nations as a reason to denounce the religion. Science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said that he could not forgive religions for the atrocities and wars over time.[89] Richard Dawkins makes a similar case in his book, The God Delusion. In The Dawkins Delusion?, Alister McGrath responds to Dawkins by suggesting that, far from endorsing "out-group hostility", Jesus commanded an ethic of "out-group affirmation". McGrath agrees that it is necessary to critique religion, but says that Dawkins seems unaware that it possesses internal means of reform and renewal. While Christians may certainly be accused of failing to live up to Jesus' standard of acceptance, it is there at the heart of the Christian ethic.[90]
Peace, compassion and forgiveness of wrongs done by others are key elements of Christian teaching.[91] However, Christians have struggled since the days of the Church fathers with the question of when the use of force is justified.[92] Such debates have led to concepts such as just war theory. Throughout history, biblical passages have been used to justify the use of force against heretics,[93] sinners[94] and external enemies.[95] Heitman and Hagan identify the Inquisitions, Crusades, wars of religion and antisemitism as being "among the most notorious examples of Christian violence".[96] To this list, J. Denny Weaver adds, "warrior popes, support for capital punishment, corporal punishment under the guise of 'spare the rod and spoil the child', justifications of slavery, world-wide colonialism in the name of conversion to Christianity, the systemic violence of women subjected to men". Weaver employs a broader definition of violence that extends the meaning of the word to cover "harm or damage", not just physical violence per se. Thus, under his definition, Christian violence includes "forms of systemic violence such as poverty, racism, and sexism".[97]
Although some Christians have relied on Christian teaching to justify their use of force, other[which?] Christians have opposed the use of force and violence. Some[which?] of the latter have formed sects that have emphasized pacificism as a central tenet of their faith.[citation needed] Christians have also engaged in violence against those that they classify as heretics and non-believers. In Letter to a Christian Nation, critic of religion Sam Harris writes that "...faith inspires violence in at least two ways. First, people often kill other human beings because they believe that the creator of the universe wants them to do it... Second, far greater numbers of people fall into conflict with one another because they define their moral community on the basis of their religious affiliation..."[98]
Christian theologians point to a strong doctrinal and historical imperative within Christianity against violence, particularly Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which taught nonviolence and love of enemies. Weaver says that Jesus' pacifism was "preserved in the justifiable war doctrine that declares all war as sin even when declaring it occasionally a necessary evil, and in the prohibition of fighting by monastics and clergy as well as in a persistent tradition of Christian pacifism".[97] Others point out sayings and acts of Jesus that do not fit this description: the absence of any censure of the soldier who asks Jesus to heal his servant, his overturning the tables and chasing the moneychangers from the temple with a rope in his hand, and through his Apostles, baptising a Roman Centurion who is never asked to first give up arms.[99]
Science[edit]

Unbalanced scales.svg
 The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (March 2013)
See also: Science and the Bible and Relationship between religion and science
During the 19th century an interpretive model of the relationship between religion and science known today as the conflict theory developed, according to which interaction between religion and science almost inevitably leads to hostility and conflict. A popular example was the misconception that people from the Middle Ages believed that the Earth was flat, and that only science, freed from religious dogma, had shown that it was spherical. This thesis was a popular historiographical approach during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but most contemporary historians of science now reject it.[100][101][102]
The notion of a war between science and religion remained common in the historiography of science during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[103] Most of today's historians of science consider that the conflict thesis has been superseded by subsequent historical research.[104] The framing of the relationship between Christianity and science as being predominantly one of conflict is still prevalent in popular culture.[105]
The astronomer Carl Sagan, mentioned the dispute between the astronomical systems of Ptolemy (who thought that the sun and planets revolved around the earth) and Copernicus (who thought the earth and planets revolved around the sun). He states in Cosmos: A Personal Voyage that Ptolemy's belief was "supported by the church through the Dark Ages… [It] effectively prevented the advance of astronomy for 1,500 years."[106] Ted Peters in Encyclopedia of Religion writes that although there is some truth in this story, it has been exaggerated and has become "a modern myth perpetuated by those wishing to see warfare between science and religion who were allegedly persecuted by an atavistic and dogma-bound ecclesiastical authority".[107] In 1992, the Catholic Church's seeming vindication of Galileo attracted much comment in the media.
Numerous scientists have criticized Christian fundamentalism and creationism as inherently unscientific and incompatible with modern understanding of evolutionary biology, geology, and cosmology.[108][109]



 Medieval scholars sought to understand the geometric and harmonic principles by which God created the universe.[110]
Doctrine[edit]
Incarnation[edit]
Main article: Incarnation (Christianity)
The earliest objections to incarnation come from Celsus and Porphyry.[citation needed] Celsus found it hard to reconcile Christian human God who was born and matured with his Jewish God who was supposed to be one and unchanging. He asked "if God wanted to reform humanity, why did he choose to descend and live on earth? How his brief presence in Jerusalem could benefit all the millions of people who lived elsewhere in the world or who had lived and died before his incarnation?"[111]
One classical response is Lewis's trilemma, a syllogism popularised by C. S. Lewis that intended to demonstrate the logical inconsistency of both holding Jesus of Nazareth to be a "great moral teacher" while also denying his divinity. The logical soundness of this trilemma has been widely questioned.[112]
Hell and damnation[edit]
See also: Problem of Hell and Hell in Christianity



Adam and Eve being driven from Eden due to original sin, portrayed by Gustave Doré.
Christianity has been criticized as seeking to persuade people into accepting its authority through simple fear of punishment or, conversely, through hope of reward after death, rather than through rational argumentation or empirical evidence.[113] Traditional Christian doctrine dictates that, without faith in Jesus Christ or in the Christian faith in general, one is subject to eternal punishment in Hell.[114]
Critics regard the eternal punishment of those who fail to adopt Christian faith as morally objectionable, and consider it an abhorrent picture of the nature of the world. On a similar theme objections are made against the perceived injustice of punishing a person for all eternity for a temporal crime. Some Christians agree (see Annihilationism and Trinitarian Universalism). These beliefs have been considered especially repugnant[115] when the claimed omnipotent God makes, or allows a person to come into existence, with a nature that desires that which God finds objectionable.[116]
In the Abrahamic religions, Hell has traditionally been regarded as a punishment for wrongdoing or sin in this life, as a manifestation of divine justice. As in the problem of evil, some apologists argue that the torments of Hell are attributable not to a defect in God's benevolence, but in human free will. Although a benevolent God would prefer to see everyone saved, he would also allow humans to control their own destinies. This view opens the possibility of seeing Hell not as retributive punishment, but rather as an option that God allows, so that people who do not wish to be with God are not forced to be. C. S. Lewis most famously proposed this view in his book The Great Divorce, saying: "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"
Hell is not seen as strictly a matter of retributive justice even by the more traditionalist churches. For example, the Eastern Orthodox see it as a condition brought about by, and the natural consequence of, free rejection of God's love.[117] The Roman Catholic Church teaches that hell is a place of punishment[118] brought about by a person's self exclusion from communion with God.[119] In some ancient Eastern Orthodox traditions, Hell and Heaven are distinguished not spatially, but by the relation of a person to God's love.
Some modern critics of the doctrine of Hell (such as Marilyn McCord Adams) claim that, even if Hell is seen as a choice rather than as punishment, it would be unreasonable for God to give such flawed and ignorant creatures as humans the awesome responsibility of their eternal destinies.[120] Jonathan Kvanvig, in his book, The Problem of Hell, agrees that God would not allow one to be eternally damned by a decision made under the wrong circumstances. For instance, one should not always honor the choices of human beings, even when they are full adults, if, for instance, the choice is made while depressed or careless. On Kvanvig's view, God will abandon no person until they have made a settled, final decision, under favorable circumstances, to reject God, but God will respect a choice made under the right circumstances. Once a person finally and competently chooses to reject God, out of respect for the person's autonomy, God allows them to be annihilated.[121]
Idolatry[edit]
Despite Christians usually alleges different religions to be idolatrous, they have been pointed out by number of notable people to have been engaged in idolatry, the common practices of Christians that have been regarded as idolatry contains the use of images of Jesus, Mary, Saints, etc.[122]
Limbo[edit]
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that baptism is a necessity. In the 5th century, St. Augustine concluded that infants who die without baptism were consigned to hell.[123] By the 13th century, theologians referred to the "limbo of infants" as a place where unbaptized babies were deprived of the vision of God, but did not suffer because they did not know of that which they were deprived, and moreover enjoyed perfect natural happiness. The 1983 Code of Canon Law (1183 §2) specifies that "Children whose parents had intended to have them baptized but who died before baptism, may be allowed church funeral rites by the local ordinary".[124] In 2007, the 30-member International Theological Commission revisited the concept of limbo.[125][126] However, the commission also said that hopefulness was not the same as certainty about the destiny of such infants.[125] Rather, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1257, "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments."[127] Hope in the mercy of God is not the same as certainty through the sacraments, but it is not without result, as demonstrated in Jesus' statement to the thief on the cross in Luke 23:42-43.
The concept of limbo is not accepted by the Orthodox Church or by Protestants.[128]
Atonement[edit]
The idea of atonement for sin is criticized by Richard Dawkins on the grounds that the image of God as requiring the suffering and death of Jesus to effect reconciliation with humankind is immoral. The view is summarized by Dawkins: "if God wanted to forgive our sins, why not just forgive them? Who is God trying to impress?"[129] Oxford theologian Alister McGrath maintains that Dawkins is "ignorant" of Christian theology, and therefore unable to engage religion and faith intelligently. He goes on to say that the atonement was necessary because of our flawed human nature, which made it impossible for us to save ourselves, and that it expresses God's love for us by removing the sin that stands in the way of our reconciliation with God.[130] Responding to the criticism that he is "ignorant" of theology, Dawkins asks, "Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in leprechauns?"[131] and "[y]es, I have, of course, met this point before. It sounds superficially fair. But it presupposes that there is something in Christian theology to be ignorant about. The entire thrust of my position is that Christian theology is a non-subject."[132] Dinesh D'Souza says that Dawkins' criticism "only makes sense if you assume Christians made the whole thing up." He goes on to say that Christians view it as a beautiful sacrifice, and that "through the extremity of Golgotha, Christ reconciles divine justice and divine mercy."[133] Andrew Wilson argues that Dawkins misses the point of the atonement, which has nothing to do with masochism, but is based on the concepts of holiness, sin and grace.[134]
Robert Green Ingersoll suggests that the concept of the atonement is simply an extension of the Mosaic tradition of blood sacrifice and "is the enemy of morality".[135][136] The death of Jesus Christ represents the blood sacrifice to end all blood sacrifices; the resulting mechanism of atonement by proxy through that final sacrifice has appeal as a more convenient and much less costly approach to redemption than repeated animal sacrifice—a common sense solution to the problem of reinterpreting ancient religious approaches based on sacrifice.
The prominent Christian apologist Josh McDowell, in More Than A Carpenter, addresses the issue through an analogy of a real-life judge in California who was forced to fine his daughter $100 for speeding, but then came down, took off his robe, and paid the fine for her from his billfold,[137] though as in this and other cases, illustrations are only cautiously intended to describe certain aspects of the atonement.[138]
Second Coming[edit]
Main article: Second Coming
Several verses in the New Testament appear to contain Jesus' predictions that the Second Coming would take place within a century following his death.[139] Jesus appears to promise for his followers the second coming to happen before the generation he is preaching to vanishes. This is seen as an essential failure in the teachings of Christ by many critics such as Bertrand Russell.[140]
However, Preterists argue that Jesus did not mean his second coming[Matt. 16:28] but speaks about demonstrations of his might, formulating this as "coming in his kingdom", especially the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple 70 AD, which he foretold, and by which time not all of his disciples were still living.[141] According to this view Matthew 10:23 should be understood in the same way.[142]
Inconsistency with Old Testament conception of the afterlife[edit]
See also: Afterlife § Christianity
Most Christian traditions teach belief in life after death as a central and indispensable tenet of their faith. Critics argue that the Christian conception of the afterlife is inconsistent with that described in the Old Testament. George E. Mendenhall believes there is no concept of immortality or life after death in the Old Testament.[143] The presumption is that the deceased are inert, lifeless, and engaging in no activity.[143] However, two men, Enoch and Elijah, are taken into the afterlife without ever experiencing death.
The idea of Sheol ("שׁאול") or a state of nothingness was shared among Babylonian and Israelite beliefs. "Sheol, as it was called by the ancient Israelites, is the land of no return, lying below the cosmic ocean, to which all, the mighty and the weak, travel in the ghostly form they assume after death, known as Raphraim. There the dead have no experience of either joy or pain, perceiving no light, feeling no movement."[144] Obayashi alludes that the Israelites were satisfied with such a shadowy realm of afterlife because they were more deeply concerned with survival.[144]
Before Christianity began in the 1st century, the belief in an afterlife was already prevalent in Jewish thinking[145] among the Pharisees[146][147] and Essenes.[148] The themes of unity and sheol which largely shaped the ancient tradition of Judaism had been undermined when only the most pious of Jews were being massacred during the Maccabean revolt.

Criticism of Christians[edit]
See also: Anti-Christian sentiment
Negative attitudes in the United States[edit]
David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Institute, and Gabe Lyons of the Fermi Project published a study of attitudes of 16- to 29-year-old Americans towards Christianity. They found that about 38% of all those who were not regular churchgoers had negative impressions of Christianity, and especially evangelical Christianity, associating it with conservative political activism, hypocrisy, anti-homosexuality, authoritarianism, and judgmentalism.[149] About 17% had "very bad" perceptions of Christianity.[150][151]
Negative attitudes in Nazi Germany[edit]



 The Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, among the most aggressive anti-Church Nazis, wrote that there was "an insoluble opposition between the Christian and a heroic-German world view".[152]
Nazi ideology was hostile to Christianity and clashed with Christian beliefs in many respects.[153] Nazism saw Christian ideals of meekness and conscience as obstacles to the violent instincts required to defeat other races.[153] The Nazis opposed Catholic teachings against racism, euthanasia and eugenics.
Aggressive anti-Church radicals like Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann saw the conflict with the Churches as a priority concern, and anti-church and anti-clerical sentiments were strong among grassroots party activists.[152] According to biographer Alan Bullock, Hitler, who had been raised Catholic, retained some regard for the organisational power of Catholicism - but had utter contempt for its central teachings, which he said, if taken to their conclusion, "would mean the systematic cultivation of the human failure.":[154]



 The Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was anti-clerical and hostile to Christianity.[152][154]
In Hitler's eyes, Christianity was a religion fit only for slaves; he detested its ethics in particular. Its teaching, he declared, was a rebellion against the natural law of selection by struggle and the survival of the fittest.
— Extract from Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, by Alan Bullock
Joseph Goebbels, the Minister for Propaganda, was among the most aggressive anti-Church Nazi radicals. In 1928, soon after his election to the Reichstag, Goebbels wrote in his diary that National Socialism was a "religion" that needed a genius to uproot "outmoded religious practices" and put new ones in their place: "One day soon National Socialism will be the religion of all Germans. My Party is my church, and I believe I serve the Lord best if I do his will, and liberate my oppressed people from the fetters of slavery. That is my gospel."[155] Goebbels led the Nazi persecution of the German Catholic clergy and, as the war progressed, on the "Church Question", he wrote "after the war it has to be generally solved... There is, namely, an insoluble opposition between the Christian and a heroic-German world view".[152]
Hitler's chosen deputy and private secretary, Martin Bormann, was a rigid guardian of National Socialist orthodoxy and saw Christianity and Nazism as "incompatible" (mainly because of its Jewish origins),[153][156] as did the official Nazi philosopher, Alfred Rosenberg. In his "Myth of the Twentieth Century" (1930), Rosenberg wrote that the main enemies of the Germans were the "Russian Tartars" and "Semites" - with "Semites" including Christians, especially the Catholic Church.[157]
According to Bullock, Hitler considered the Protestant clergy to be "insignificant" and "submissive" and lacking in a religion to be taken seriously.[158] Kershaw wrote that the subjugation of the Protestant churches proved more difficult than Hitler had envisaged however. With 28 separate regional churches, his bid to create a unified Reich Church through Gleichschaltung ultimately failed, and Hitler became disinterested in supporting the so-called "German Christians" Nazi aligned movement. Hitler initially lent support to Ludwig Muller, a Nazi and former naval chaplain, to serve as Reich Bishop, but his heretical views against St Paul and the Semitic origins of Christ and the Bible (see Positive Christianity) quickly alienated sections of the Protestant church. Pastor Martin Neimoller responded with the Pastors Emergency League which re-affirmed the Bible. The movement grew into the Confessing Church, from which some clergymen opposed the Nazi regime.[159] Neimoller was arrested by the Gestapo in 1937, and sent to the Concentration Camps.[160] The Confessing Church seminary was prohibited that same year.[161]
Hypocrisy[edit]
Gaudium et spes claims that the example of Christians may be a contributory factor to atheism, writing, "…believers can have more than a little to do with the birth of atheism. To the extent that they neglect their own training in the faith, or teach erroneous doctrine, or are deficient in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than reveal the authentic face of God and religion."[162]
Secular and religious critics have accused many Christians of being hypocritical.[163] Tom Whiteman, a Philadelphia psychologist found that the primary reasons for Christian divorce include adultery, abuse (including substance, physical and verbal abuse), and abandonment whereas the number one reason cited for divorce in the general population was incompatibility.[164]
Bigotry[edit]



 Protestant Christian dominated KKK hinting at violence toward Jews and Catholics. Illustration by Rev. Branford Clarke from Heroes of the Fiery Cross 1928 by Bishop Alma White published by the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, NJ.
Conservative Christians are often accused of being intolerant by secular humanists and liberal Christians, claiming that they oppose science that seems to contradict scripture (Creationism, use of birth control, research into embryonic stem cells, etc.), liberal democracy (separation of church and state), and progressive social policies (rights of people of other races and religions, of women, and of people with different sexual orientations).[165][166][167][168]
Materialism[edit]

Instead of understanding and following the teachings of Jesus, the Christians argued and quarreled about the nature of Jesus’s divinity and about the Trinity. They called each other heretics and persecuted each other and cut each other’s heads off. There was a great and violent controversy at one time among different Christian sects over a certain diphthong. One party said that the word Homo-ousion should be used in a prayer; the other wanted Homoi-ousion-this difference had reference to the divinity of Jesus. Over this diphthong fierce war was raged and large numbers of people were slaughtered.



— Jawaharlal Nehru[169][170]

I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. The materialism of affluent Christian countries appears to contradict the claims of Jesus Christ that says it's not possible to worship both Mammon and God at the same time.



— Mahatma Gandhi[171]
Sectarianism[edit]
Main articles: Sectarianism and Christian denomination
Some have argued that Christianity is undermined by the inability of Christians to agree on matters of faith and church governance, and the tendency for the content of their faith to be determined by regional or political factors. Schopenhauer sarcastically suggested:
To the South German ecclesiastic the truth of the Catholic dogma is quite obvious, to the North German, the Protestant. If then, these convictions are based on objective reasons, the reasons must be climatic, and thrive, like plants, some only here, some only there. The convictions of those who are thus locally convinced are taken on trust and believed by the masses everywhere.[172]
Christians respond that Ecumenism has helped bring together such communities, where in the past mistranslations of Christological Greek terms may have resulted in seemingly different views. Non-denominational Christianity represents another approach towards reducing the divisions within Christianity, although many Christian groups claiming to be non-denominational wind up with similar problems.
Persecution by Christians[edit]
Main articles: Christian debate on persecution and toleration and Christianity and violence
Individuals and groups throughout history have been persecuted by certain Christians (and Christian groups) based upon sex, sexual orientation, race, and religion (even within the bounds of Christianity itself). Many of the persecutors attempted to justify their actions with particular scriptural interpretations. During Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, important Christian theologians advocated religious persecution to varying degrees.[citation needed] However, Early modern Europe witnessed a turning point in the Christian debate on persecution and toleration. Nowadays all significant Christian denominations embrace religious toleration, and "look back on centuries of persecution with a mixture of revulsion and incomprehension".[173]
Early Christianity was a minority religion in the Roman Empire and the early Christians were themselves persecuted during that time. After Constantine I converted to Christianity, it became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. Already under the reign of Constantine I, Christian heretics had been persecuted; beginning in the late 4th century AD also the ancient pagan religions were actively suppressed. In the view of many historians, the Constantinian shift turned Christianity from a persecuted into a persecuting religion.[174]
After the decline of the Roman Empire, the further Christianization of Europe was to a large extent peaceful.[175] However, encounters between Christians and Pagans were sometimes confrontational, and some Christian kings (Charlemagne, Olaf I of Norway) were known for their violence against pagans. In the late Middle Ages, the appearance of the Cathars and Bogomils in Europe laid the stage for the later witch-hunts. These (probably gnostic-influenced) sects were seen as heretics by the Catholic Church, and the Inquisition was established to counter them.
After the Protestant Reformation, the devastation caused by the partly religiously motivated wars (Thirty Years' War, English Civil War, French Wars of Religion) in Europe in the 17th century gave rise to the ideas of Religious toleration, Freedom of religion and Religious pluralism.
Response of apologists[edit]
Christians will sometimes point out that in their points of view, the wrongdoings of other Christians are not the fault of their religious scriptures but of those who have wrongly interpreted it. They posit that the mistakes of Christians do not refute the validity of their teachings, but merely proves their weakness and sinful nature, of which they then turn to Christ. Thus, according to them, the "Word of God" can still be true and valid without it having been accurately followed.[citation needed] According to Ron Sider, an Evangelical theologian, "The tragedy is that poll after poll by Gallup and Barna show that evangelicals live just like the world. Contrast that with what the New Testament says about what happens when people come to living faith in Christ. There's supposed to be radical transformation in the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 5:17, 1 Cor 10:13). The disconnect between our biblical beliefs and our practice is just, I think, heart-rending."[176]
Similar arguments are held by Roman Catholics against critics of the Catholic Church, or by other Christians defending their respective Churches.[citation needed] of the Church's structure. Roman Catholics will argue that Popes who were corrupt in the Middle Ages is not the fault of the position of the Papacy or of the fact that there are obedient Priests lower in the hierarchy, but the fault of the individual people who act as "God's representative on Earth". Such examples can be seen in Dante's Divine Comedy, where Roman Catholic Clergy who had practiced simony find themselves in the lower circles of hell.
Criticism by other religions[edit]
Hinduism[edit]



 Statue of Raja Ram Mohan Roy at College Green, Bristol, UK.
Ram Mohan Roy criticized Christian doctrines, and asserted that how "unreasonable" and "self-contradictory" they are.[177] He further adds that people, even from India were embracing Christianity due to the economic hardship and weakness, just like European Jews were pressured to embrace Christianity, by both encouragement and force.[178]
Vivekananda regarded Christianity as "..collection of little bits of Indian thought. Ours is the religion of which Buddhism with all its greatness is a rebel child, and of which Christianity is a very patchy imitation."[179]
Philosopher Dayanand Saraswati, regarded Christianity as "barbarous religion, and a 'false religion' religion believed only by fools and by the people in a state of barbarism,"[180] he included that Bible contains many stories and precepts that are immoral, praising cruelty, deceit and encouraging sin.[181]
Highly acclaimed Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, writes :-

Unfortunately Christian religion inherited the Semitic creed of the ‘jealous God’ in the view of Christ as ‘the only begotten son of God’ so could not brook any rival near the throne. When Europe accepted the Christian religion, in spite of its own broad humanism, it accepted the fierce intolerance which is the natural result of belief in 'the truth once for all delivered to the saints.'[182]
Judaism[edit]
See also: Talmud



Moshe Halbertal in 2009.
Shlomo ben Aderet criticized Christianity, adding that it has lesser form of monotheism, and lacks a unified deity compared to Judaism.[183]
David Flusser viewed Christianity as "Cheaper Judaism" and highly anti-judaism, he also highlighted the "failure of christianity to convert the Jewish people to the new message" as "precisely the reason for the strong anti-jewish trend in christianity."[184]
Professor Moshe Halbertal, regards Christianity to be "idolatrous religion," and he further adds that the idolatry by Christians "opened the door to the easing of many other restrictive prohibitions."[185]
Stephen Samuel Wise in his own words was critical towards Christian community, for their failure to rescue Jews, from Europe, during Nazi rule. He wrote that:-

A Christian world that will permit millions of Jews to be slain without moving heaven by prayer and earth in every human way to save its Jews has lost its capacity for moral and spiritual survival.[186]
Islam[edit]
Islam's prophet Muhammad said that Christians had to follow one God, but they have made multiple, he said:-

They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God.[187]
Muslim scholars have criticized Christianity, usually for its Trinity concept. They argue that this doctrine is an invention, distortion of the idea about God, and presentation of the idea that there are three gods.[188]
Origins[edit]
See also: Historicity of Jesus, Christ myth theory and Christianity and Paganism
Some have argued that Christianity is not founded on a historical Jesus, but rather on a mythical creation.[189] This view proposes that the idea of Jesus was the Jewish manifestation of Hellenistic mystery cults that acknowledged the non-historic nature of their deity using it instead as a teaching device.[190] Author Brian Branston has argued that Christianity adopted many mythological tales and traditions into its views of Jesus. According to Branston these traditions, largely from Greco-Roman religions, have parallels to the story of Jesus.[191] However, the position that Jesus was not a historical figure is essentially without support among biblical scholars and classical historians, most of whom regard its arguments as examples of pseudo-scholarship.[192]
Scholars and historians such as James H. Charlesworth caution against using parallels with life-death-rebirth gods in the widespread mystery religions prevalent in the Hellenistic culture to conclude that Jesus is a purely legendary figure. Charlesworth argues that "it would be foolish to continue to foster the illusion that the Gospels are merely fictional stories like the legends of Hercules and Asclepius. The theologies in the New Testament are grounded on interpretations of real historical events…"[193]
See also[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Criticism of Christianity
##Anti-Catholicism
##Anti-Christian sentiment
##Anti-clericalism
##Anti-Protestantism
##Antireligion
##Antitheism
##Biblical cosmology
##Biblical literalism
##Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
##Christianity and multiculturalism
##Criticism of Jesus
##Christ myth theory
##Internal consistency of the Bible
##Criticism of the Roman Catholic Church
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Browning, W.R.F. "Biblical criticism." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997 Encyclopedia.com. 8 Apr. 2010
2.^ Jump up to: a b Robinson, B.A. Biblical Criticism, including Form Criticism, Tradition Criticism, Higher Criticism, etc. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 2008. Web: 8 Apr 2010.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Mather, G.A. & L.A. Nichols, Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult, Zondervan (1993) (quoted in Robinson, Biblical Criticism
4.Jump up ^ See for example the list of alleged contradictions from The Skeptic's Annotated Bible and Robert G. Ingersoll's article Inspiration Of Bible.
5.Jump up ^ M.W.J. Phelan. The Inspiration of the Pentateuch, Two-edged Sword Publications (March 9, 2005) ISBN 978-0-9547205-6-8
6.Jump up ^ Ronald D. Witherup, Biblical Fundamentalism: What Every Catholic Should Know, Liturgical Press (2001), page 26.
7.Jump up ^ France, R.T., Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Matthew, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England (1985), pg. 17.
8.Jump up ^ Britannica Encyclopedia, Jesus Christ, p.17
9.^ Jump up to: a b c Lindsell, Harold. "The Battle for the Bible", Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA (1976), pg. 38.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
11.Jump up ^ As in 2 Timothy 3:16, discussed by Thompson, Mark (2006). A Clear and Present Word. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove: Apollos. p. 92. ISBN 1-84474-140-0.
12.Jump up ^ Norman L. Geisler, William E. Nix (2012), From God To Us Revised and Expanded: How We Got Our Bible, Moody Publishers, p. PT45, ISBN 978-0802483928 "faith and practice"
13.Jump up ^ See notably Grudem, representative of recent scholarship with this emphasis (Grudem, Wayne (1994). Systematic Theology. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 90–105. ISBN 978-0-85110-652-6.).
14.Jump up ^ Till, Farrell (1991). "Prophecies: Imaginary and Unfulfilled". Internet Infidels. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
15.Jump up ^ W. H. Bellinger; William Reuben Farmer, eds. (1998). Jesus and the Suffering Servant: Isaiah 53 and Christian Origins. Trinity Press. ISBN 9781563382307. Retrieved 2 August 2013. "Did Jesus of Nazareth live and die without the teaching about the righteous Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53 having exerted any significant influence on his ministry? Is it probable that this text exerted no significant influence upon Jesus' understanding of the plan of God to save the nations that the prophet Isaiah sets forth?" —Two questions addressed in a conference on "Isaiah 53 and Christian Origins" at Baylor University in the fall of 1995, the principal papers of which are available in "Jesus and the Suffering Servant."
16.Jump up ^ Peter W. Stoner, Science Speaks, Moody Pr, 1958, ISBN 0-8024-7630-9
17.Jump up ^ Harris, Stephen L. (2002). did not accomplish%22 Understanding the Bible (6 ed.). McGraw-Hill College. pp. 376–377. ISBN 9780767429160. Retrieved 2 August 2013. (Further snippets of quote: B C D)
18.^ Jump up to: a b Biography of Isaac ben Abraham of Troki
19.Jump up ^ Chizzuk Emunah, TorahLab Store
20.Jump up ^ Pascal, Blaise (1958). Pensees. Translator W. F. Trotter. chapter x, xii, xiii.
21.Jump up ^ McDowell, Josh (1999). "chapter 8". The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 9781850785521.
22.Jump up ^ See, for example, the Council of Jerusalem described in Acts 15
23.Jump up ^ For instance "What's wrong with being gay?" at ChristianAnswers.net argues that the Old Testament prohibitions against homosexuality are renewed in the New Testament
24.Jump up ^ For example, Theonomy: What it is; What it is not
25.Jump up ^ Bruce Metzger, cited in The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel
26.Jump up ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2005). Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins. p. 91. ISBN 9780060738174. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
27.Jump up ^ Ehrman, Bart D. The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture. New York: Oxford U. Press, 1993
28.Jump up ^ Wallace, Daniel B. "The Gospel According to Bart: A Review Article of Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, June 2006 (also available at Bible.org) ##Craig L. Blomberg, "Review of Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why," Denver Seminary, February 2006
##Howe, Thomas (2006). "A Response To Bart D_ Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus". International Society of Christian Apologetics. p. PDF download. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
29.Jump up ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2006). Whose Word Is It?. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-9129-4. p. 166
30.Jump up ^ Bruce Metzger "A Textual Commentary on the New Testament", Second Edition, 1994, German Bible Society
31.^ Jump up to: a b K. Aland and B. Aland, "The Text Of The New Testament: An Introduction To The Critical Editions & To The Theory & Practice Of Modern Text Criticism", 1995, op. cit., p. 29-30.
32.^ Jump up to: a b c "English Handbook Page 34 999KB" (PDF).
33.Jump up ^ Dialogue of Trypho Dialogue of Justin Martyr, with Trypho, a Jew, LXIII
34.Jump up ^ Matthew 1:23 compare multiple versions and languages
35.Jump up ^ Interlinear Hebrew in English order
36.Jump up ^ The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon
37.Jump up ^ Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article Virgin Birth of Christ
38.Jump up ^ Charles D. Isbell, Biblical Archaeological Review, June 1977, "Does the Gospel of Matthew Proclaim Mary’s Virginity?"
39.Jump up ^ Martin Luther, "That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew," in Luther's Works, vol. 45: The Christian in Society II, ed. H. T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1962).
40.Jump up ^ See also "Given the New Testament a Chance?" from the Messiah Truth website
41.^ Jump up to: a b David Sper, Managing Editor, "Questions Skeptics Ask About Messianic Prophecies," RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI, 1997
42.Jump up ^ See Psalms 22:6-8,22:13; 69:8, 69:20-21; Isaiah 11:1, 49:7, 53:2-3,53:8; Daniel 9:26
43.Jump up ^ Hume, David (2000). "Chapter 10. Of Religion". In Tom L. Beauchamp. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: A Critical Edition. Volume 3 of The Clarendon edition of the works of David Hume (Oxford University Press). p. 86. ISBN 9780198250609. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
44.Jump up ^ *Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas, Vol. 1 (ISBN 1-878997-67-X) Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas, Vol. 2 (ISBN 187899767X)
45.Jump up ^ Bruce L. Flamm, MD (2004). "Inherent Dangers of Faith-Healing Studies". The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.
46.Jump up ^ "Are Miracles Logically Impossible?". Come Reason Ministries, Convincing Christianity. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
47.Jump up ^ ""Miracles are not possible," some claim. Is this true?". ChristianAnswers.net. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
48.Jump up ^ Paul K. Hoffman. "A Jurisprudential Analysis Of Hume’s "in Principal" Argument Against Miracles" (PDF). Christian Apologetics Journal, Volume 2, No. 1, Spring, 1999; Copyright ©1999 by Southern Evangelical Seminary. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
49.Jump up ^ Melvin E. Page, Penny M. Sonnenburg (2003). Colonialism: an international, social, cultural, and political encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 496. "Of all religions, Christianity has been most associated with colonialism because several of its forms (Catholicism and Protestantism) were the religions of the European powers engaged in colonial enterprise on a global scale."
50.Jump up ^ Bevans, Steven. "Christian Complicity in Colonialism/ Globalism" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-17. "The modern missionary era was in many ways the ‘religious arm’ of colonialism, whether Portuguese and Spanish colonialism in the sixteenth Century, or British, French, German, Belgian or American colonialism in the nineteenth. This was not all bad — oftentimes missionaries were heroic defenders of the rights of indigenous peoples"
51.Jump up ^ Andrews, Edward (2010). "Christian Missions and Colonial Empires Reconsidered: A Black Evangelist in West Africa, 1766–1816". Journal of Church & State 51 (4): 663–691. doi:10.1093/jcs/csp090. "Historians have traditionally looked at Christian missionaries in one of two ways. The first church historians to catalogue missionary history provided hagiographic descriptions of their trials, successes, and sometimes even martyrdom. Missionaries were thus visible saints, exemplars of ideal piety in a sea of persistent savagery. However, by the middle of the twentieth century, an era marked by civil rights movements, anti-colonialism, and growing secularization, missionaries were viewed quite differently. Instead of godly martyrs, historians now described missionaries as arrogant and rapacious imperialists. Christianity became not a saving grace but a monolithic and aggressive force that missionaries imposed upon defiant natives. Indeed, missionaries were now understood as important agents in the ever-expanding nation-state, or “ideological shock troops for colonial invasion whose zealotry blinded them."
52.Jump up ^ Meador, Jake. "Cosmetic Christianity and the Problem of Colonialism – Responding to Brian McLaren". Retrieved 17 November 2010. "According to Jake Meador, "some Christians have tried to make sense of post-colonial Christianity by renouncing practically everything about the Christianity of the colonizers. They reason that if the colonialists’ understanding of Christianity could be used to justify rape, murder, theft, and empire then their understanding of Christianity is completely wrong."
53.Jump up ^ Conquistadors, Michael Wood, p. 20, BBC Publications, 2000
54.^ Jump up to: a b c d Robinson, B. A. (2006). "Christianity and slavery". Retrieved 2007-01-03.
55.Jump up ^ Catholic Encyclopedia Slavery and Christianity
56.^ Jump up to: a b Ostling, Richard N. (2005-09-17). "Human slavery: why was it accepted in the Bible?". Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News (Associated Press). Retrieved 28 October 2014.
57.Jump up ^ Jack D. Forbes (1993), Africans and Native Americans: The Language of Race and the Evolution of Red-Black Peoples, University of Illinois Press, p. 27, ISBN 978-0252063213
58.Jump up ^ Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery ISBN 978-0-691-11436-1 (2003)
59.Jump up ^ Lamin Sanneh, Abolitionists Abroad: American Blacks and the Making of Modern West Africa, Harvard University Press ISBN 978-0-674-00718-5 (2001)
60.Jump up ^ Ostling, Richard N. (2005-09-17). "Human slavery: why was it accepted in the Bible?". Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
61.Jump up ^ "Abolitionist Movement". MSN Encyclopedia Encarta. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
62.Jump up ^ Martin, William. 1996. With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America. New York: Broadway Books.
63.Jump up ^ Diamond, Sara, 1998. Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right, New York: Guilford Press, p.213.
64.Jump up ^ Ortiz, Chris 2007. "Gary North on D. James Kennedy", Chalcedon Blog, 6 September 2007.
65.Jump up ^ "Civil Rights Movement in the United States". MSN Encyclopedia Encarta. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
66.Jump up ^ "Religious Revivalism in the Civil Rights Movement". African American Review. Winter 2002. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
67.Jump up ^ "Martin Luther King: The Nobel Peace Prize 1964". The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2006-01-03.
68.Jump up ^ Thurston, Herbert. St. Joan of Arc. 1910. Catholic Encyclopedia
69.Jump up ^ Feminist philosophy of religion
70.Jump up ^ "The Status Of Women In The Old Testament".
71.Jump up ^ The Woman's Bible
72.Jump up ^ Clark, Elizabeth. Women in the Early Church. Liturgical Press, 1984. ISBN 0-8146-5332-4
73.Jump up ^ Jesus' Family Tree
74.^ Jump up to: a b "King, Karen L. "Women in Ancient Christianity: the New Discoveries." Karen L. King is Professor of New Testament Studies and the History of Ancient Christianity at Harvard University in the Divinity School.
75.Jump up ^ Stagg, Evelyn and Frank. Woman in the World of Jesus. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978. ISBN 0-664-24195-6
76.Jump up ^ Bilezikian, Gilbert. Beyond Sex Roles (2nd ed.) Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1989, ISBN 978-0-8010-0885-6. pp. 82–104
77.Jump up ^ Schalom Ben-Chorin.Brother Jesus: the Nazarene through Jewish eyes. U of Georgia Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8203-2256-8, p.66
78.Jump up ^ See "About the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus".
79.Jump up ^ Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE)
80.Jump up ^ Ronald W. Pierce and Rebecca Merrill Groothuis (eds.). Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity without Hierarchy. IVP 2004. p. 17.
81.Jump up ^ Grudem, Wayne A. "Should We Move Beyond the New Testament to a Better Ethic?" Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS), 47/2 (June 2004) 299–346
82.Jump up ^ Eck, Diana L. Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras. (2003) p. 98
83.^ Jump up to: a b Brumley, Mark. "Why God is Father and not Mother". The Catholic Faith Magazine. July/August 1999. Accessed 25 Feb 2013
84.^ Jump up to: a b "Baptist Faith and Message"
85.Jump up ^ (non-English) - The second image shows deaconnesses, on August 15th, for the prayers on the day of the Assumption of Mary
86.Jump up ^ The 9 Most Important Issues Facing the Evangelical Church
87.Jump up ^ See, for example, Everybody's Talkin' About Christian Fascism by Gary Leupp.
88.Jump up ^ George Bush and the Rise of Christian Fascism
89.Jump up ^ Clarke, Arthur C. & Watts, Alan (January), “At the Interface: Technology and Mysticism”, Playboy (Chicago, Ill.: HMH Publishing) 19 (1): 94, ISSN 0032-1478, OCLC 3534353
90.Jump up ^ Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion?, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2007, ISBN 978-0-281-05927-0
91.Jump up ^ Luke 6
92.Jump up ^ Peoples, Dr., Glenn Andrew. "Whittling down the pacifist narrative: Did early Christians serve in the army?". www.rightreason.org. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
93.Jump up ^ 1Kings 18:17-46
94.Jump up ^ Deuteronomy 17:5
95.Jump up ^ Psalm 18:37
96.Jump up ^ International encyclopedia of violence research, Volume 2. Springer. 2003.
97.^ Jump up to: a b J. Denny Weaver (2001). "Violence in Christian Theology". Cross Currents. Retrieved 28 October 2014. ""[3rd paragraph] I am using broad definitions of the terms "violence" and "nonviolence." "Violence" means harm or damage, which obviously includes the direct violence of killing – in war, capital punishment, murder – but also covers the range of forms of systemic violence such as poverty, racism, and sexism. "Nonviolence" also covers a spectrum of attitudes and actions, from the classic Mennonite idea of passive nonresistance through active nonviolence and nonviolent resistance that would include various kinds of social action, confrontations and posing of alternatives that do not do bodily harm or injury."
98.Jump up ^ Sam Harris (2006). Letter to a Christian Nation. Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0-307-26577-7.
99.Jump up ^ War, A Catholic Dictionary: Containing some Account of the Doctrine, Discipline, Rites, Ceremonies, Councils, and Religious Orders of the Catholic Church, W. E Addis, T. Arnold, Revised T. B Scannell and P. E Hallett, 15th Edition, Virtue & Co, 1953, Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Philips, Imprimatur: E. Morrogh Bernard, 2 October 1950, "In the Name of God : Violence and Destruction in the World's Religions", M. Jordan, 2006, p. 40[unreliable source?]
100.Jump up ^ Quotation: "The conflict thesis, at least in its simple form, is now widely perceived as a wholly inadequate intellectual framework within which to construct a sensible and realistic historiography of Western science." (p. 7), from the essay by Colin A. Russell "The Conflict Thesis" in Gary Ferngren (editor). Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8018-7038-0".
101.Jump up ^ Quotation: "In the late Victorian period it was common to write about the "warfare between science and religion" and to presume that the two bodies of culture must always have been in conflict. However, it is a very long time since these attitudes have been held by historians of science." (p. 195) Shapin, S. (1996). The Scientific Revolution. University of Chicago Press Chicago, Ill.
102.Jump up ^ Quotation: "In its traditional forms, the [conflict] thesis has been largely discredited." (p. 42) Brooke, J.H. (1991). Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives. Cambridge University Press.
103.Jump up ^ Quotation from Ferngren's introduction at "Gary Ferngren (editor). Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8018-7038-0.": "…while [John] Brooke's view [of a complexity thesis rather than conflict thesis] has gained widespread acceptance among professional historians of science, the traditional view remains strong elsewhere, not least in the popular mind." (p. x)
104.Jump up ^ Gary Ferngren (editor). Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8018-7038-0. (Introduction, p. ix)
105.Jump up ^ From Ferngren's introduction:
 "…while [John] Brooke's view [of a complexity thesis rather than conflict thesis] has gained widespread acceptance among professional historians of science, the traditional view remains strong elsewhere, not least in the popular mind. (p. x)-Gary Ferngren, (2002); Introduction, p. ix)
106.Jump up ^ Sagan, Carl. Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, Episode 3: "The Harmony of the Worlds"
107.Jump up ^ quoted in Ted Peters, Science and Religion, Encyclopedia of Religion, p.8182
108.Jump up ^ Petto, Andrew J.; Godfrey, Laurie R. (2007). Scientists Confront Intelligent Design and Creationism. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0393050904.
109.Jump up ^ Gould, Stephen Jay (1992). Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History. New York: Norton. pp. 432–447. ISBN 039330857X.
110.Jump up ^ The compass in this 13th-century manuscript is a symbol of God's act of Creation.
 * Thomas Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, (Washington, DC: Regenery, 2005), ISBN 0-89526-038-7
111.Jump up ^ Howard W. Clarke, The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers, Indiana University Press, 2003, p. 12
112.Jump up ^ William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, Crossway Books (1994) pages 38-39.
113.Jump up ^ "Let no cultured person draw near, none wise and none sensible, for all that kind of thing we count evil; but if any man is ignorant, if any man is wanting in sense and culture, if anybody is a fool, let him come boldly [to become a Christian]. Celsus, AD178
114.Jump up ^ "Since we all inherit Adam's sin, we all deserve eternal damnation. All who die unbaptized, even infants, will go to hell and suffer unending torment. We have no reason to complain of this, since we are all wicked. (In the Confessions, the Saint enumerates the crimes of which he was guilty in the cradle.) But by God's free grace certain people, among those who have been baptized, are chosen to go to heaven; these are the elect. They do not go to heaven because they are good; we are all totally depraved, except insofar as God's grace, which is only bestowed on the elect, enables us to be otherwise. No reason can be given why some are saved and the rest damned; this is due to God's unmotivated choice. Damnation proves God's justice; salvation His mercy. Both equally display His goodness." A history of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, Simon & Schuster, 1945
115.Jump up ^ Bible Teaching and Religious Practice essay: "Europe and Elsewhere," Mark Twain, 1923)
116.Jump up ^ Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years (New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), p. 27
117.Jump up ^ What do Orthodox Christians teach about death and when we die?
118.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1035, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, ISBN 0-89243-565-8,1994-the revised version issued 1997 has no changes in this section
119.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1033, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, ISBN 0-89243-565-8,1994
120.Jump up ^ Richard Beck. "Christ and Horrors, Part 3: Horror Defeat, Universalism, and God's Reputation". Experimental Theology. March 19, 2007.
121.Jump up ^ Jonathan Kvanvig, The Problem of Hell, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-508487-0, 1993
122.Jump up ^ "The Works of Thomas Manton", by Thomas Manton, p. 99
123.Jump up ^ Cultural Anxieties over the Child in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries by William F. MacLehose
124.Jump up ^ Canon Law 1983
125.^ Jump up to: a b CNS STORY: Vatican commission: Limbo reflects 'restrictive view of salvation'
126.Jump up ^ n:Vatican abolishes Limbo
127.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday. 1994. p. 845. ISBN 0-385-47967-0.
128.Jump up ^ Limbo: Recent statements by the Catholic church; Protestant views on Limbo at Religioustolerance.org
129.Jump up ^ Root of All Evil? (2006) (TV)-Memorable quotes
130.Jump up ^ McGrath, Alister (2004). Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 1-4051-2538-1.
131.Jump up ^ Dawkins, Richard (September 17, 2007). "Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?". RichardDawkins.net. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
132.Jump up ^ Marianna Krejci-Papa, 2005. "Taking On Dawkins' God:An interview with Alister McGrath." Science & Theology News, 2005–04–25.
133.Jump up ^ Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity, Regnery Publishing, ISBN 1-59698-517-8 (2007)
134.Jump up ^ Andrew Wilson, Deluded by Dawkins?, Kingsway Publications, ISBN 978-1-84291-355-0 (2007)
135.Jump up ^ A Biographical Appreciation of Robert Green Ingersoll: Chapter 11
136.Jump up ^ Brandt, Eric T., and Timothy Larsen (2011). "The Old Atheism Revisited: Robert G. Ingersoll and the Bible". Journal of the Historical Society 11 (2): 211–238. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5923.2011.00330.x.
137.Jump up ^ More Than A Carpenter, Tyndale House, Wheaton, Illinois, 1977, ISBN 978-0-8423-4552-1
138.Jump up ^ Jeffery, Steve; Ovey, Michael; Sach, Andrew (2007). Pierced for our transgressions. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press. ch. 13. ISBN 978-1-84474-178-6.
139.Jump up ^ Most notably, Matthew 10:22-23, 16:27-28, 23:36, 24:29-34, 26:62-64; Mark 9:1, 14:24-30, 14:60-62; and Luke 9:27
140.Jump up ^ In his famous essay Why I Am Not a Christian
141.Jump up ^ Dr. Knox Chamblin, Professor of New Testament Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary: Commentary on Matthew 16:21-28 - see last 4 paragraphs
142.Jump up ^ Theodor Zahn, F.F. Bruce, J. Barton Payne, etc. hold this opinion - What is the meaning of Matthew 10:23?
143.^ Jump up to: a b From Witchcraft to Justice: Death and Afterlife in the Old Testament, George E. Mendenhall.
144.^ Jump up to: a b Hiroshi Obayashi, Death and Afterlife: Perspectives of World Religions. See Introduction.
145.Jump up ^ Jewish eschatology#Olam Haba - the afterlife and the world to come Jewish eschatology: The afterlife and olam haba
146.Jump up ^ Acts 23:6-8
147.Jump up ^ Pharisees#Pharisaic principles and values Pharisees: Pharisaic Principles and Values
148.Jump up ^ Essenes#Rules, customs, theology and beliefs Essenes: Rules, customs, theology and beliefs
149.Jump up ^ About 91% of young outsiders felt Christians were anti-homosexual, 87% felt Christians were judgemental and 85% thought Christians were hypocritical.
150.Jump up ^ unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, Baker Books, October 1, 2007, ISBN 0-8010-1300-3
151.Jump up ^ Who Do People Say We Are? It doesn't hurt to listen to what non-Christians think of us., A Christianity Today editorial, Christianity Today, December 12, 2007
152.^ Jump up to: a b c d Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; WW Norton & Company; London; p.381-382
153.^ Jump up to: a b c Encyclopedia Britannica Online: Fascism - Identification with Christianity; 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2013
154.^ Jump up to: a b Alan Bullock; Hitler: A Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p219
155.Jump up ^ American Experience . The Man Behind Hitler . Transcript | PBS
156.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Martin Bormann; web 25 April 2013
157.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Alfred Rosenberg; web 25 April 2013.
158.Jump up ^ Alan Bullock; Hitler: A Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p219"
159.Jump up ^ Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; WW Norton & Company; London; p.295-297
160.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Martin Niemöller; web 24 April 2013
161.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Dietrich Bonhoeffer; web 25 April 2013
162.Jump up ^ Gaudium et spes, 19
163.Jump up ^ The Evangelical Scandal – Christianity Today
164.Jump up ^ Marriage 103: The Raw Reality of Divorce and its Terrible Results
165.Jump up ^ Chip Berlet, "Following the Threads," in Ansell, Amy E. Unraveling the Right: The New Conservatism in American Thought and Politics, pp. 24, Westview Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8133-3147-1
166.Jump up ^ "MPs turn attack back on Cardinal Pell". Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-06-06.
167.Jump up ^ "Pope warns Bush on stem cells". BBC News. 2001-07-23.
168.Jump up ^ Andrew Dickson, White (1898). A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. p. X. Theological Opposition to Inoculation, Vaccination, and the Use of Anaesthetics.
169.Jump up ^ In his book "Glimpses of world history", p. 86-87
170.Jump up ^ "Secularism and Hindutva, a Discursive Study", by A. A. Parvathy, p.42
171.Jump up ^ As quoted by William Rees-Mogg 4 April 2005 edition of The Times. Gandhi here makes reference to a statement of Jesus: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:13)
172.Jump up ^ Schopenhauer, Arthur; trans. T. Bailey Saunders. "Religion: A Dialogue". The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer.
173.Jump up ^ see e.g.: John Coffey, Persecution and Toleration on Protestant England 1558-1689, 2000, p. 206.
174.Jump up ^ see e.g.: John Coffey, Persecution and Toleration on Protestant England 1558-1689, 2000, p.22
175.Jump up ^ *Lutz E. von Padberg (1998), Die Christianisierung Europas im Mitterlalter, Reclam (German), p. 183
176.Jump up ^ The Evangelical Scandal
177.Jump up ^ "Raja Rammohun Roy: Encounter with Islam and Christianity and the Articulation of Hindu Self-Consciousness. Page 166, by Abidullah Al-Ansari Ghazi, year = 2010
178.Jump up ^ "Raja Rammohun Roy: Encounter with Islam and Christianity and the Articulation of Hindu Self-Consciousness. Page 169, by Abidullah Al-Ansari Ghazi, year = 2010
179.Jump up ^ "Neo-Hindu Views of Christianity", p. 96, by Arvind Sharma, year = 1988
180.Jump up ^ "Gandhi on Pluralism and Communalism", by P. L. John Panicker, p.39, year = 2006
181.Jump up ^ "Dayānanda Sarasvatī, his life and ideas", p. 267, by J. T. F. Jordens
182.Jump up ^ The Philosophy of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, by Paul Arthur Schilpp, page = 641
183.Jump up ^ "Judaism and Other Religions", p. 88, publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
184.Jump up ^ Anti-Judaism and Early Christian Identity: A Critique of the Scholarly Consensus, by Miriam S. Taylor, p. 41
185.Jump up ^ "Idolatry", by Moshe Halbertal, p. 212
186.Jump up ^ Wise Criticizes Christian World for Failure to Rescue Jews in Nazi Europe 19 February 1943
187.Jump up ^ "Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue", by Daisaku Ikeda, Majid Tehranian, p. 36
188.Jump up ^ Christianity: An Introduction, p. 125, by Alister E. McGrath
189.Jump up ^ Examples of authors who argue the Jesus myth theory: Thomas L. Thompson The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David (Jonathan Cape, Publisher, 2006); Michael Martin, The Case Against Christianity (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991), 36–72; John Mackinnon Robertson
190.Jump up ^ Freke, Timothy and Gandy, Peter (1999) The Jesus Mysteries. London: Thorsons (Harper Collins)
191.Jump up ^ Brian Branston, The Lost Gods of England
192.Jump up ^ Historian Michael Grant stated, "To sum up, modern critical methods fail to support the Christ myth theory. It has 'again and again been answered and annihilated by first rank scholars.' In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." —Michael Grant, Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels (Scribner, 1995). ##"There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more." —Burridge, R & Gould, G, Jesus Now and Then, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004, p.34.
##Michael James McClymond, Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth, Eerdrmans (2004), page 24: "most scholars regard the argument for Jesus' non-existence as unworthy of any response".
193.Jump up ^ Charlesworth, James H. (ed.) (2006). Jesus and Archaeology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-4880-X.
Further reading[edit]


 This article's further reading may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive, less relevant or many publications with the same point of view; or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (August 2013)
Skeptical of Christianity[edit]
##A Rationalist Encyclopaedia: A book of reference on religion, philosophy, ethics and science, Gryphon Books (1971).
##Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, by Daniel Dennett
##Civilization and its discontents, by Sigmund Freud
##Death and Afterlife, Perspectives of World Religions, by Hiroshi Obayashi
##Einstein and Religion, by Max Jammer
##From Jesus to Christianity, by L. Michael White
##Future of an illusion, by Sigmund Freud
##Letter to a Christian Nation, by Sam Harris
##Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, by Bart Ehrman
##Out of my later years and the World as I see it, by Albert Einstein
##Russell on Religion, by Louis Greenspan (Includes most all of Russell's essays on religion)
##The Antichrist, by Friedrich Nietzsche
##The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
##The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, by Carl Sagan
##Understanding the Bible, by Stephen L Harris
##Where God and Science Meet [Three Volumes]: How Brain and Evolutionary Studies Alter Our Understanding of Religion, by Patrick McNamara
##Why I am not a Christian and other essays, by Bertrand Russell
##Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, by John W. Loftus (Prometheus Books, 2008)
##The Christian Delusion, edited by John W. Loftus, foreword by Dan Barker (Prometheus Books, 2010)
##The End of Christianity, edited by John W. Loftus (Prometheus Books, 2011)
##The Historical Evidence for Jesus, by G. A. Wells (Prometheus Books, 1988)
##The Jesus Puzzle, by Earl Doherty (Age of Reason Publications, 1999)
##The encyclopedia of Biblical errancy, by C. Dennis McKinsey (Prometheus Books, 1995)
##godless, by Dan Barker (Ulysses Press 2008)
##The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy (Element 1999)
##The reason driven life by Robert M. Price (Prometheus Books, 2006)
##The case against the case for Christ by Robert M. Price (American atheist press 2010)
##God, the failed hypothesis by Victor J. Stenger (Prometheus Books, 2007)
##Jesus never existed by Kenneth Humphreys (Iconoclast Press, 2005)
Defending Christianity[edit]
Main article: List of Christian apologetic works
##"The Jury Returns: A Juridical Defense of Christianity" by John Warwick Montgomery. An Excerpt from "Evidence for Faith" Chapter 6, Part 2 http://www.mtio.com/articles/bissart1.htm
##"The Infidel Delusion" by Patrick Chan, Jason Engwer, Steve Hays, and Paul Manata http://www.calvindude.com/ebooks/InfidelDelusion.pdf
##Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies, by David Bentley Hart
##Dethroning Jesus, by Darrell Bock, Daniel B. Wallace
##Jesus Among Other Gods, by Ravi Zacharias
##Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis
##Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton
##Reasonable Faith, by William Lane Craig
##Reinventing Jesus, by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, Daniel B. Wallace
##The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel
##The Dawkins Letters, by David Robertson
##The Reason For God, by Timothy J Keller
External links[edit]


 This section's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2013)
General[edit]
##Professor James Tabor's educational site on the Jewish Roman world of Jesus
##Roman Sources on the Jews and Judaism, 1 BCE-110 CE
Skeptical[edit]
##The Warfare of Science With Theology by Andrew White
##New Testament contradictions by Paul Carlson
##Christian Anti-Semitism
##PBS Special: Apocalypse! Contains Jesus' apocalyptic promises along with those of Saint Paul's.
From other religions[edit]
##Chizzuk Emunah (Faith Strengthened): English translation of Isaac of Troki's 16th-century Jewish anti-Christian polemic
##Jewish Encyclopedia: New Testament: Unhistorical Character of the Gospels
Apologetic[edit]
##Reasonable Faith http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/PageServer
##Probe Ministries
##Ravi Zacharias International Ministries http://www.rzim.org/
##Stand to Reason http://www.str.org/site/PageServer
##Reasons to Believe http://www.reasons.org/
Debates[edit]
##"Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?" A Debate Between William Lane Craig and Richard Carrier (audio) http://www.philvaz.com/CraigCarrierDebate.mp3
##The Great Debate: Does God Exist?-transcript in PDF of a formal debate between presuppositionalist Christian Greg Bahnsen and atheist Gordon Stein.
##The Martin-Frame Debate A written debate between skeptic Michael Martin and Christian John Frame about the transcendental argument for the existence of God.
##The Drange-Wilson Debate A written debate between skeptic Theodore Drange and Christian Douglas Wilson.
##"Is Non-Christian Thought Futile?" A written debate between Christian Doug Jones and skeptics Keith Parsons and Michael Martin in Antithesis magazine (vol. 2, no. 4).
##"Is Christianity Good for the World?" A written debate between atheist Christopher Hitchens and theologian Douglas Wilson in Christianity Today magazine (web only, May 2007).
##God Debate: Sam Harris vs. Rick Warren Debate between Christian Rick Warren and atheist Sam Harris as reported by Newsweek (April 9, 2007).
##"Does God Exist? The Nightline Face-Off." A video debate between Christians Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron and atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Connor of the Rational Response Squad. Report of the debate posted on the Nightline website. Video of the debate posted on The Way of the Master website.
##The Jesseph-Craig Debate: Does God Exist? (1996)-Transcripts of a debate between Christian William Lane Craig and atheist Douglas M. Jesseph.


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Christianity











Stained glass at St John's Ashfield, illustrating Jesus' description of himself, "I am the Good Shepherd", from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11.









































































































Category
Portal icon
WikiProject




[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion
































































































































  


Categories: Criticism of Christianity
Criticism of religion






















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Español
Français
한국어
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
Português
Română
Русский
Simple English
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
தமிழ்
Edit links
This page was last modified on 5 April 2015, at 22:29.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Christianity





























Criticism of Judaism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For total or partial opposition to Judaism and Jews, see Anti-Judaism. For prejudice against or hostility toward Jewish people based on hostility to Judaism and to Jews as a religious group, see Religious antisemitism. For persecution of ethnic Jews, see Antisemitism.


 This article has been shortened from a longer article which misused sources.
 Details of the earlier versions may be found in the page's history. Please help us to rebuild the article properly.
Part of a series on
Judaism
Star of David Ten Commandments Menorah

Movements[show]

















Philosophy[show]










Texts[show]



















Law[show]













Holy cities / places[show]
















Important figures[show]



























Religious roles[show]











Culture and education[show]













Ritual objects[show]



















Prayers[show]















Other religions[show]













Related topics[show]









Portal icon Judaism portal

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Shi'ism)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert Green Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayanand Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Criticism of Judaism has existed since Judaism's formative stages, as with many other religions.


Contents  [hide]
1 Heretical views within Judaism 1.1 God as creator of the universe
2 Criticism from Christianity 2.1 Paul's criticism of Judaism
3 Criticism from Islam
4 Philosophical criticism
5 Kosher slaughter
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Heretical views within Judaism[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)
In many religions ex-members and excommunicates became known for doctrinal disputes with their former faith. In Judaism a process similar to excommunication is called cherem. The process is a form of ecclesiastical censure that states the person is not to be listened to by the community. Among people declared cherem there were a few critics of Judaism.
The most famous might be Baruch Spinoza who was censured primarily for rejecting the orthodox understanding of the Torah and its view of God. His Theologico-Political Treatise in particular rejected the idea of the Jews as a chosen people and saw the Torah as merely a kind of Jewish constitution. He further felt that Judaism allowed for little in the way of speculation or internal reflection. Spinoza's critique of the Judaism of his day formed the foundation for his broader radical critique of theology that would follow in his later writings, which have been seen as precursors to later trends in Enlightenment thought. An earlier heretic, Uriel da Costa, a convert of Jewish ancestry, had also been met with a writ of cherem for his denial of the immortality of the soul. However, cherem has rarely been practised since the Enlightenment.
God as creator of the universe[edit]
See also: Personal God and Philosophy of Spinoza
Spinoza,[1] a pantheïst, as well as some prominent modern atheists,[2] have criticized Judaism because its theology and religious texts describe a personal God who has conversations with important figures from ancient Judaism (Moses, Abraham, etc.) and forms relationships and covenants with the Jewish people. Spinoza instead believed God is abstract, impersonal, or a force of nature.[1] Theologian and philosopher Franz Rosenzweig suggested that the two viewpoints are both valid and are complementary within Judaism.[3]
Criticism from Christianity[edit]
See also: Supersessionism, Marcionism and Christian anti-Judaism
Paul's criticism of Judaism[edit]
Main articles: New Perspective on Paul and Paul the Apostle and Judaism
Paul criticizes Jews for their failure to believe that Jesus was the Messiah (Romans 9:30–10:13) and for their view about their favored status and lack of equality with gentiles (Roman 3:27).[4] In Romans 7–12, one criticism of Judaism made by Paul is that it is a religion based in law instead of faith. In many interpretations of this criticism made prior to the mid 20th century, Judaism was held to be fundamentally flawed by the sin of self-righteousness.[5] The issue is complicated by differences in the versions of Judaism extant at the time. Some scholars argue that Paul's criticism of Judaism are correct, others suggest that Paul's criticism is directed at Hellenistic Judaism, the forms with which Paul was most familiar,[6] rather than Rabbinic Judaism, which eschewed the militant line of Judaism which Paul embraced prior to his conversion.[7] There is also the question as to whom Paul was addressing. Paul saw himself as an apostle to the Gentiles, and it is unclear as to whether the text of Romans was directed to Jewish followers of Jesus (as was Paul), to Gentiles, or to both.[5] If adherence to Jewish law were a requirement for salvation, then salvation would be denied to Gentiles.[8] Krister Stendahl argues along similar lines that according to Paul, Judaism's rejection of Jesus as a savior is what allows salvation of non-Jews, that this rejection is part of God's overall plan, and that Israel will also be saved (per Romans 11:26–27).[5][8]
Some scholars argue that the fundamental issue underlying Paul's criticism of Judaism hinge on his understanding of Judaism's relationship to Jewish law. E. P. Sanders, for example, argues that the view held by many New Testament scholars from Weber on,[5] represent a caricature of Judaism.and that this interpretation of Paul's criticism is thus flawed by the misunderstanding of the tenets of Judaism.[9] Sander's interpretation asserts Judaism is instead best understood as a "covenantal nominism", in which God's grace is given and affirmed in the covenant, to which the appropriate response is to live within the bounds established in order to preserve the relationship.[10] James Dunn agrees with Sanders's view that Paul would not have criticized Judaism for claiming that salvation comes from adherence to the law or the performance of good works, since those are not tenets of Judaism, but argues against Sanders that Paul's criticism of Judaism represents a rebuttal of the "xenophobic" and ethnocentric form of Judaism to which Paul had previously belonged.[9][10] Dunn argues that Paul does not see his position as a betrayal of Judaism, but rather represents development of an open Judaism.[10] A similar argument is presented by George Smiga, who claims that criticism of Judaism found in the New Testament are best understood as varieties of religious polemic, intended as a call to conversion rather than criticism in the sense of common usage.[11]
Criticism from Islam[edit]
A prominent place in the Qur'anic polemic against the Jews is given to the conception of the religion of Abraham. The Qur'an presents Muslims as neither Jews nor Christians but followers of Abraham who was in a physical sense the father of the Jews and the Arabs and lived before the revelation of Torah. In order to show that the religion practiced by the Jews is not the pure religion of Abraham, the Qur'an mentions the incident of worshiping of the calf, argues that Jews do not believe in part of the revelation given to them, and that their taking of usury shows their worldliness and disobedience of God. Furthermore, the Quran claim they attribute to God what he has not revealed. According to the Qur'an, the Jews exalted a figure named Uzair as the "son of God." (See the Quranic statements about perceived Jewish exaltation). The character of Ezra, who was presumed to be the figure mentioned by the Qur'an (albeit with no corroborative evidence to suggest Ezra & Uzair to be the same person) became important in the works of the later Andalusian Muslim scholar Ibn Hazm who explicitly accused Ezra of being a liar and a heretic who falsified and added interpolations into the Biblical text. In his polemic against Judaism, Ibn Hazm provided a list of what he said were chronological and geographical inaccuracies and contradictions; theological impossibilities (anthropomorphic expressions, stories of fornication and whoredom, and the attributing of sins to prophets), as well as lack of reliable transmission (tawatur) of the text.[12][13] Heribert Busse writes "The only explanation is the presumption that Muhammad, in the heat of debate, wanted to accuse the Jews of heretical doctrine on a par with the heresy of the Christian doctrine that teaches the divine nature of Jesus. In doing so, he could take advantage of the high esteem granted Ezra in Judaism."[14]
Philosophical criticism[edit]
Philosophical criticism of Judaism is either part of religious criticism in general, or specifically focused on aspects unique to the Jewish religion. Immanuel Kant is an example of the latter. Kant believed that Judaism fails to "satisfy the essential criteria of [a] religion" by requiring external obedience to moral laws, having a secular focus, and lacking a concern for immortality.[15] However, Kant was not antisemitic. He had many Jewish students, supported their quest for faculty positions, and greatly admired the 18th century thinker, Moses Mendelssohn.[16]
Thomas Jefferson was critical of Judaism as he was of all revealed religion. He was also critical of Judaism's rituals for failing to further practical virtues. He believed Judaism lacked a belief in an afterlife, which he held was necessary for human ethical behavior in this life. Nevertheless, he argued for full rights of citizenship for America's Jews and assiduously defended their freedom of religion.[17][18]
Kosher slaughter[edit]


 This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this section or discuss this issue on the talk page. (September 2011)
Kosher slaughter has historically attracted criticism from non-Jews as allegedly being inhumane and unsanitary,[19] in part as an antisemitic canard that eating ritually slaughtered meat caused degeneration,[20] and in part out of economic motivation to remove Jews from the meat industry.[19] Sometimes, however, these criticisms were directed at Judaism as a religion. In 1893, animal advocates campaigning against kosher slaughter in Aberdeen attempted to link cruelty with Jewish religious practice.[21] In the 1920s, Polish critics of kosher slaughter claimed that the practice actually had no basis in scripture.[19] In contrast, Jewish authorities argue that the slaughter methods are based directly upon Genesis 9:3, and that "these laws are binding on Jews today."[22]
More recently, kosher slaughter has attracted criticism from some groups concerned with animal welfare, who contend that the absence of any form of anesthesia or stunning prior to the severance of the animal's jugular vein causes unnecessary pain and suffering. Calls for the abolition of kosher slaughter have been made in 2008 by Germany's federal chamber of veterinarians,[23] and in 2011 by the Party for Animals in the Dutch parliament.[24] In both incidents, Jewish groups responded that the criticisms were attacks against their religion.[23][24]
Supporters of kosher slaughter counter that Judaism requires the practice precisely because it is considered humane.[22] Research conducted by Temple Grandin and Joe M. Regenstein shows that, practiced correctly with proper restraint systems, kosher slaughter results in little pain and suffering, and notes that behavioral reactions to the incision made during kosher slaughter are less than those to noises such as clanging or hissing, inversion or pressure during restraint.[25]
See also[edit]
Anti-Judaism
Anti-Semitism
Nazism
On the Jewish Question by Karl Marx
Philo-Semitism
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Nadler, Steven (2001). Spinoza: a life. Cambridge University Press. pp. 66–72, 135–136, 145–146, 274–281. ISBN 0-521-00293-1.
2.Jump up ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God delusion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 37, 245. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
3.Jump up ^ Oppenheim, Michael D. (1997). Speaking/writing of God: Jewish philosophical reflections. SUNY press. p. 107.
4.Jump up ^ E. P. Sanders, Paul the Law and Jewish People, Fortress Press, p.154
5.^ Jump up to: a b c d Zetterholm, Magnus. Approaches to Paul: A Student's Guide to Recent Scholarship. Fortress Press. pp. 4–8, 98–105. ISBN 978-0-8006-6337-7.
6.Jump up ^ Sanders, E. P. (1977). Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion. Fortress Press. pp. 4, 8, 549. ISBN 0-8006-0499-7.
7.Jump up ^ Hacker, Klaus (2003). "Paul's Life". The Cambridge companion to St. Paul (Cambridge University Press): 23, 28. ISBN 0-521-78155-8.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Sanders, E. P. (1983). Paul the Law, and the Jewish People. Fortress Press. p. 159. ISBN 0-8006-1878-5.
9.^ Jump up to: a b Gorman, Michael J. Apostle of the crucified Lord: a theological introduction to Paul and his letters. pp. 19–20. ISBN 0-8028-3934-7.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c Horrell, David G. (2002). "Paul". The biblical world (Routledge) 2: 273–5. ISBN 0-415-16105-3.
11.Jump up ^ Smiga, George M. (1992). Pain and polemic: anti-Judaism in the Gospels. Paulist Press. pp. 18–21. ISBN 0-8091-3355-5.
12.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, Uzayr
13.Jump up ^ Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, Tahrif, Encyclopedia of Islam
14.Jump up ^ Busse, Heribert. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity: theological and historical affiliations, Princeton series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Publishers, 1998, p. 57.
15.Jump up ^ Manfred H. Vogel (2008). "Kant, Immanuel". Virtual Jewish Library.
16.Jump up ^ Manfred Kuehn (2002). Kant, A Biography. Cambridge University Press. pp. 162,333,371. ISBN 978-0521524063.
17.Jump up ^ Eli Kavon (3 July 2010). "America’s Founding Fathers and Judaism". Jerusalem Post.
18.Jump up ^ "Jefferson and the Jews". Jewish Virtual Library.
19.^ Jump up to: a b c Melzer, Emanuel (1997). No way out: the politics of Polish Jewry, 1935–1939. Hebrew Union College Press. pp. 81–90. ISBN 0-87820-418-0.
20.Jump up ^ Poliakov, Léon (1968). The History of Anti-semitism: From Voltaire to Wagner. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-8122-3766-8.
21.Jump up ^ Collins, Kenneth (November 2010). "A Community on Trial: The Aberdeen Shechita Case, 1893". Journal of Scottish Historical Studies 30: 75. doi:10.3366/jshs.2010.0103.
22.^ Jump up to: a b Chabad.org
23.^ Jump up to: a b "Halal, Kosher Slaughter Unacceptable, say German Vets". Deutsche Welle. 10.07.2008. Check date values in: |date= (help)
24.^ Jump up to: a b Runyan, Tamar (May 5, 2011). "Dutch Jews Mobilize Against Attempt to Outlaw Kosher Slaughter". Chabad.org.
25.Jump up ^ Religious slaughter and animal welfare: a discussion for meat scientists
External links[edit]
Hofesh organization - The largest Jewish secular web site.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion


By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam ·
 Jainism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Judaism ·
 Latter Day Saint movement ·
 Monotheism ·
 Roman Catholic ·
 Scientology ·
 Seventh-day Adventist ·
 Sikhism ·
 Twelver Shi’ism ·
 Unification Church
 

Religious texts
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 

Religious figures
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Charles Taze Russell ·
 Ellen White
 

Religion and violence
Violence ·
 Terrorism ·
 Persecution ·
 War ·
 Sectarian violence ·
 Christianity ·
 Mormonism ·
 Judaism ·
 Islam ·
 India
 

Books
Atheist Manifesto ·
 Christianity Unveiled ·
 God in the Age of Science? ·
 God Is Not Great ·
 Letter to a Christian Nation ·
 The Age of Reason ·
 The End of Faith ·
 The God Delusion ·
 The Rage Against God ·
 Why I Am Not a Christian ·
 Why I Am Not a Muslim
 

Movements
Antitheism ·
 Atheism ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Cārvāka ·
 Church of the SubGenius ·
 Flying Spaghetti Monster ·
 Invisible Pink Unicorn ·
 Nontheistic religions
 

People
Dan Barker ·
 George Carlin ·
 Pat Condell ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Daniel Dennett ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Sigmund Freud ·
 Annie Laurie Gaylor ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Walter Kaufman ·
 Bill Maher ·
 Karl Marx ·
 PZ Myers ·
 Taslima Nasrin ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Madalyn Murray O'Hair ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Penn & Teller ·
 Periyar E. V. Ramasamy ·
 Herman Philipse ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 James Randi ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Carl Sagan ·
 André Servier ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Michael Shermer ·
 David Silverman ·
 Robert Spencer ·
 Greydon Square ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Socrates ·
 Mark Twain ·
 Voltaire ·
 Ibn Warraq ·
 Frank Zappa
 

  


Categories: Criticism of Judaism
Criticism of religion







Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Français
Suomi
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 22 April 2015, at 13:30.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Judaism




























Criticism of Judaism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For total or partial opposition to Judaism and Jews, see Anti-Judaism. For prejudice against or hostility toward Jewish people based on hostility to Judaism and to Jews as a religious group, see Religious antisemitism. For persecution of ethnic Jews, see Antisemitism.


 This article has been shortened from a longer article which misused sources.
 Details of the earlier versions may be found in the page's history. Please help us to rebuild the article properly.
Part of a series on
Judaism
Star of David Ten Commandments Menorah

Movements[show]

















Philosophy[show]










Texts[show]



















Law[show]













Holy cities / places[show]
















Important figures[show]



























Religious roles[show]











Culture and education[show]













Ritual objects[show]



















Prayers[show]















Other religions[show]













Related topics[show]









Portal icon Judaism portal

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Part of a series on
Criticism of religion

By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity  (Catholicism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Seventh-day Adventist)
   ·
 Protestantism ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam  (Twelver Shi'ism)
   ·
 Jainism ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism ·
 Sikhism
 
By religious figure
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Ellen G. White
 
By text
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 
Critics
Mikhail Bakunin ·
 Giordano Bruno ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Stephen Fry ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Emma Goldman ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Robert Green Ingersoll ·
 Karl Marx ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 André Servier ·
 David Silverman ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Dayanand Saraswati ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Voltaire
 
Religious violence
Terrorism ·
 War ·
 Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Islam ·
 Judaism ·
 Mormonism
 
Related topics
Abuse ·
 Apostasy ·
 Crisis of faith ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Criticism of monotheism ·
 Persecution ·
 Sexuality ·
 Slavery
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Criticism of Judaism has existed since Judaism's formative stages, as with many other religions.


Contents  [hide]
1 Heretical views within Judaism 1.1 God as creator of the universe
2 Criticism from Christianity 2.1 Paul's criticism of Judaism
3 Criticism from Islam
4 Philosophical criticism
5 Kosher slaughter
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Heretical views within Judaism[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)
In many religions ex-members and excommunicates became known for doctrinal disputes with their former faith. In Judaism a process similar to excommunication is called cherem. The process is a form of ecclesiastical censure that states the person is not to be listened to by the community. Among people declared cherem there were a few critics of Judaism.
The most famous might be Baruch Spinoza who was censured primarily for rejecting the orthodox understanding of the Torah and its view of God. His Theologico-Political Treatise in particular rejected the idea of the Jews as a chosen people and saw the Torah as merely a kind of Jewish constitution. He further felt that Judaism allowed for little in the way of speculation or internal reflection. Spinoza's critique of the Judaism of his day formed the foundation for his broader radical critique of theology that would follow in his later writings, which have been seen as precursors to later trends in Enlightenment thought. An earlier heretic, Uriel da Costa, a convert of Jewish ancestry, had also been met with a writ of cherem for his denial of the immortality of the soul. However, cherem has rarely been practised since the Enlightenment.
God as creator of the universe[edit]
See also: Personal God and Philosophy of Spinoza
Spinoza,[1] a pantheïst, as well as some prominent modern atheists,[2] have criticized Judaism because its theology and religious texts describe a personal God who has conversations with important figures from ancient Judaism (Moses, Abraham, etc.) and forms relationships and covenants with the Jewish people. Spinoza instead believed God is abstract, impersonal, or a force of nature.[1] Theologian and philosopher Franz Rosenzweig suggested that the two viewpoints are both valid and are complementary within Judaism.[3]
Criticism from Christianity[edit]
See also: Supersessionism, Marcionism and Christian anti-Judaism
Paul's criticism of Judaism[edit]
Main articles: New Perspective on Paul and Paul the Apostle and Judaism
Paul criticizes Jews for their failure to believe that Jesus was the Messiah (Romans 9:30–10:13) and for their view about their favored status and lack of equality with gentiles (Roman 3:27).[4] In Romans 7–12, one criticism of Judaism made by Paul is that it is a religion based in law instead of faith. In many interpretations of this criticism made prior to the mid 20th century, Judaism was held to be fundamentally flawed by the sin of self-righteousness.[5] The issue is complicated by differences in the versions of Judaism extant at the time. Some scholars argue that Paul's criticism of Judaism are correct, others suggest that Paul's criticism is directed at Hellenistic Judaism, the forms with which Paul was most familiar,[6] rather than Rabbinic Judaism, which eschewed the militant line of Judaism which Paul embraced prior to his conversion.[7] There is also the question as to whom Paul was addressing. Paul saw himself as an apostle to the Gentiles, and it is unclear as to whether the text of Romans was directed to Jewish followers of Jesus (as was Paul), to Gentiles, or to both.[5] If adherence to Jewish law were a requirement for salvation, then salvation would be denied to Gentiles.[8] Krister Stendahl argues along similar lines that according to Paul, Judaism's rejection of Jesus as a savior is what allows salvation of non-Jews, that this rejection is part of God's overall plan, and that Israel will also be saved (per Romans 11:26–27).[5][8]
Some scholars argue that the fundamental issue underlying Paul's criticism of Judaism hinge on his understanding of Judaism's relationship to Jewish law. E. P. Sanders, for example, argues that the view held by many New Testament scholars from Weber on,[5] represent a caricature of Judaism.and that this interpretation of Paul's criticism is thus flawed by the misunderstanding of the tenets of Judaism.[9] Sander's interpretation asserts Judaism is instead best understood as a "covenantal nominism", in which God's grace is given and affirmed in the covenant, to which the appropriate response is to live within the bounds established in order to preserve the relationship.[10] James Dunn agrees with Sanders's view that Paul would not have criticized Judaism for claiming that salvation comes from adherence to the law or the performance of good works, since those are not tenets of Judaism, but argues against Sanders that Paul's criticism of Judaism represents a rebuttal of the "xenophobic" and ethnocentric form of Judaism to which Paul had previously belonged.[9][10] Dunn argues that Paul does not see his position as a betrayal of Judaism, but rather represents development of an open Judaism.[10] A similar argument is presented by George Smiga, who claims that criticism of Judaism found in the New Testament are best understood as varieties of religious polemic, intended as a call to conversion rather than criticism in the sense of common usage.[11]
Criticism from Islam[edit]
A prominent place in the Qur'anic polemic against the Jews is given to the conception of the religion of Abraham. The Qur'an presents Muslims as neither Jews nor Christians but followers of Abraham who was in a physical sense the father of the Jews and the Arabs and lived before the revelation of Torah. In order to show that the religion practiced by the Jews is not the pure religion of Abraham, the Qur'an mentions the incident of worshiping of the calf, argues that Jews do not believe in part of the revelation given to them, and that their taking of usury shows their worldliness and disobedience of God. Furthermore, the Quran claim they attribute to God what he has not revealed. According to the Qur'an, the Jews exalted a figure named Uzair as the "son of God." (See the Quranic statements about perceived Jewish exaltation). The character of Ezra, who was presumed to be the figure mentioned by the Qur'an (albeit with no corroborative evidence to suggest Ezra & Uzair to be the same person) became important in the works of the later Andalusian Muslim scholar Ibn Hazm who explicitly accused Ezra of being a liar and a heretic who falsified and added interpolations into the Biblical text. In his polemic against Judaism, Ibn Hazm provided a list of what he said were chronological and geographical inaccuracies and contradictions; theological impossibilities (anthropomorphic expressions, stories of fornication and whoredom, and the attributing of sins to prophets), as well as lack of reliable transmission (tawatur) of the text.[12][13] Heribert Busse writes "The only explanation is the presumption that Muhammad, in the heat of debate, wanted to accuse the Jews of heretical doctrine on a par with the heresy of the Christian doctrine that teaches the divine nature of Jesus. In doing so, he could take advantage of the high esteem granted Ezra in Judaism."[14]
Philosophical criticism[edit]
Philosophical criticism of Judaism is either part of religious criticism in general, or specifically focused on aspects unique to the Jewish religion. Immanuel Kant is an example of the latter. Kant believed that Judaism fails to "satisfy the essential criteria of [a] religion" by requiring external obedience to moral laws, having a secular focus, and lacking a concern for immortality.[15] However, Kant was not antisemitic. He had many Jewish students, supported their quest for faculty positions, and greatly admired the 18th century thinker, Moses Mendelssohn.[16]
Thomas Jefferson was critical of Judaism as he was of all revealed religion. He was also critical of Judaism's rituals for failing to further practical virtues. He believed Judaism lacked a belief in an afterlife, which he held was necessary for human ethical behavior in this life. Nevertheless, he argued for full rights of citizenship for America's Jews and assiduously defended their freedom of religion.[17][18]
Kosher slaughter[edit]


 This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this section or discuss this issue on the talk page. (September 2011)
Kosher slaughter has historically attracted criticism from non-Jews as allegedly being inhumane and unsanitary,[19] in part as an antisemitic canard that eating ritually slaughtered meat caused degeneration,[20] and in part out of economic motivation to remove Jews from the meat industry.[19] Sometimes, however, these criticisms were directed at Judaism as a religion. In 1893, animal advocates campaigning against kosher slaughter in Aberdeen attempted to link cruelty with Jewish religious practice.[21] In the 1920s, Polish critics of kosher slaughter claimed that the practice actually had no basis in scripture.[19] In contrast, Jewish authorities argue that the slaughter methods are based directly upon Genesis 9:3, and that "these laws are binding on Jews today."[22]
More recently, kosher slaughter has attracted criticism from some groups concerned with animal welfare, who contend that the absence of any form of anesthesia or stunning prior to the severance of the animal's jugular vein causes unnecessary pain and suffering. Calls for the abolition of kosher slaughter have been made in 2008 by Germany's federal chamber of veterinarians,[23] and in 2011 by the Party for Animals in the Dutch parliament.[24] In both incidents, Jewish groups responded that the criticisms were attacks against their religion.[23][24]
Supporters of kosher slaughter counter that Judaism requires the practice precisely because it is considered humane.[22] Research conducted by Temple Grandin and Joe M. Regenstein shows that, practiced correctly with proper restraint systems, kosher slaughter results in little pain and suffering, and notes that behavioral reactions to the incision made during kosher slaughter are less than those to noises such as clanging or hissing, inversion or pressure during restraint.[25]
See also[edit]
Anti-Judaism
Anti-Semitism
Nazism
On the Jewish Question by Karl Marx
Philo-Semitism
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Nadler, Steven (2001). Spinoza: a life. Cambridge University Press. pp. 66–72, 135–136, 145–146, 274–281. ISBN 0-521-00293-1.
2.Jump up ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God delusion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 37, 245. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
3.Jump up ^ Oppenheim, Michael D. (1997). Speaking/writing of God: Jewish philosophical reflections. SUNY press. p. 107.
4.Jump up ^ E. P. Sanders, Paul the Law and Jewish People, Fortress Press, p.154
5.^ Jump up to: a b c d Zetterholm, Magnus. Approaches to Paul: A Student's Guide to Recent Scholarship. Fortress Press. pp. 4–8, 98–105. ISBN 978-0-8006-6337-7.
6.Jump up ^ Sanders, E. P. (1977). Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion. Fortress Press. pp. 4, 8, 549. ISBN 0-8006-0499-7.
7.Jump up ^ Hacker, Klaus (2003). "Paul's Life". The Cambridge companion to St. Paul (Cambridge University Press): 23, 28. ISBN 0-521-78155-8.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Sanders, E. P. (1983). Paul the Law, and the Jewish People. Fortress Press. p. 159. ISBN 0-8006-1878-5.
9.^ Jump up to: a b Gorman, Michael J. Apostle of the crucified Lord: a theological introduction to Paul and his letters. pp. 19–20. ISBN 0-8028-3934-7.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c Horrell, David G. (2002). "Paul". The biblical world (Routledge) 2: 273–5. ISBN 0-415-16105-3.
11.Jump up ^ Smiga, George M. (1992). Pain and polemic: anti-Judaism in the Gospels. Paulist Press. pp. 18–21. ISBN 0-8091-3355-5.
12.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, Uzayr
13.Jump up ^ Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, Tahrif, Encyclopedia of Islam
14.Jump up ^ Busse, Heribert. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity: theological and historical affiliations, Princeton series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Publishers, 1998, p. 57.
15.Jump up ^ Manfred H. Vogel (2008). "Kant, Immanuel". Virtual Jewish Library.
16.Jump up ^ Manfred Kuehn (2002). Kant, A Biography. Cambridge University Press. pp. 162,333,371. ISBN 978-0521524063.
17.Jump up ^ Eli Kavon (3 July 2010). "America’s Founding Fathers and Judaism". Jerusalem Post.
18.Jump up ^ "Jefferson and the Jews". Jewish Virtual Library.
19.^ Jump up to: a b c Melzer, Emanuel (1997). No way out: the politics of Polish Jewry, 1935–1939. Hebrew Union College Press. pp. 81–90. ISBN 0-87820-418-0.
20.Jump up ^ Poliakov, Léon (1968). The History of Anti-semitism: From Voltaire to Wagner. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-8122-3766-8.
21.Jump up ^ Collins, Kenneth (November 2010). "A Community on Trial: The Aberdeen Shechita Case, 1893". Journal of Scottish Historical Studies 30: 75. doi:10.3366/jshs.2010.0103.
22.^ Jump up to: a b Chabad.org
23.^ Jump up to: a b "Halal, Kosher Slaughter Unacceptable, say German Vets". Deutsche Welle. 10.07.2008. Check date values in: |date= (help)
24.^ Jump up to: a b Runyan, Tamar (May 5, 2011). "Dutch Jews Mobilize Against Attempt to Outlaw Kosher Slaughter". Chabad.org.
25.Jump up ^ Religious slaughter and animal welfare: a discussion for meat scientists
External links[edit]
Hofesh organization - The largest Jewish secular web site.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Criticism of religion


By religion
Buddhism ·
 Christianity ·
 Hinduism ·
 Islam ·
 Jainism ·
 Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Judaism ·
 Latter Day Saint movement ·
 Monotheism ·
 Roman Catholic ·
 Scientology ·
 Seventh-day Adventist ·
 Sikhism ·
 Twelver Shi’ism ·
 Unification Church
 

Religious texts
Bible ·
 Book of Mormon ·
 Quran ·
 Talmud
 

Religious figures
Jesus ·
 Moses ·
 Muhammad ·
 Charles Taze Russell ·
 Ellen White
 

Religion and violence
Violence ·
 Terrorism ·
 Persecution ·
 War ·
 Sectarian violence ·
 Christianity ·
 Mormonism ·
 Judaism ·
 Islam ·
 India
 

Books
Atheist Manifesto ·
 Christianity Unveiled ·
 God in the Age of Science? ·
 God Is Not Great ·
 Letter to a Christian Nation ·
 The Age of Reason ·
 The End of Faith ·
 The God Delusion ·
 The Rage Against God ·
 Why I Am Not a Christian ·
 Why I Am Not a Muslim
 

Movements
Antitheism ·
 Atheism ·
 Criticism of atheism ·
 Cārvāka ·
 Church of the SubGenius ·
 Flying Spaghetti Monster ·
 Invisible Pink Unicorn ·
 Nontheistic religions
 

People
Dan Barker ·
 George Carlin ·
 Pat Condell ·
 Richard Dawkins ·
 Daniel Dennett ·
 Denis Diderot ·
 Epicurus ·
 Ludwig Feuerbach ·
 Sigmund Freud ·
 Annie Laurie Gaylor ·
 Sita Ram Goel ·
 Sam Harris ·
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali ·
 Christopher Hitchens ·
 Baron d'Holbach ·
 David Hume ·
 Walter Kaufman ·
 Bill Maher ·
 Karl Marx ·
 PZ Myers ·
 Taslima Nasrin ·
 Friedrich Nietzsche ·
 Madalyn Murray O'Hair ·
 Michel Onfray ·
 Thomas Paine ·
 Penn & Teller ·
 Periyar E. V. Ramasamy ·
 Herman Philipse ·
 Ayn Rand ·
 James Randi ·
 Bertrand Russell ·
 Carl Sagan ·
 André Servier ·
 Dayananda Saraswati ·
 Michael Shermer ·
 David Silverman ·
 Robert Spencer ·
 Greydon Square ·
 Victor J. Stenger ·
 Max Stirner ·
 Socrates ·
 Mark Twain ·
 Voltaire ·
 Ibn Warraq ·
 Frank Zappa
 

  


Categories: Criticism of Judaism
Criticism of religion







Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Français
Suomi
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 22 April 2015, at 13:30.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Judaism




























Judaism and sexuality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article improperly uses one or more religious texts as primary sources without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them. Please help improve this article by adding references to reliable secondary sources, with multiple points of view. (September 2014)
The Jewish tradition devotes considerable attention to sexuality. Sexuality is the subject of many narratives and laws in the Tanakh and rabbinic literature.


Contents  [hide]
1 Attitude towards sexuality
2 Forbidden sexual acts in Judaism 2.1 Isurei bi'ah 2.1.1 Homosexuality and bisexuality
2.1.2 Extramarital sex
2.2 Masturbation
2.3 Sexual fantasy and pornography
3 See also
4 Further reading
5 References
6 External links

Attitude towards sexuality[edit]
In Judaism, sexuality is viewed as having both positive and negative potential, depending on the context in which it is expressed. According to the Rabbinical enumerations of the 613 commandments, the commandment to procreate is the first mitzvah in the Torah:[1]

"And God blessed them; and God said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply [Peru Urevu], and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth"
—Genesis, 1:28
This commandment, known as peru urevu (פרו ורבו), is only binding on men; women are exempt because childbirth puts them in physical danger, though a dissenting opinion is recorded in the mishnah Yevamot 6:6. This commandment was originally binding on all of humanity, as it was given to Adam, the progenitor of all mankind. However, after the giving of the Torah it became obligatory on Jews only.[citation needed]
According to the Sefer haChinnuch, the central nature of this mitzvah is due to the fact that God desires for the world to be populated.[2] However, there is another Torah commandment known as onah (Heb: עונה) which obligates a man to provide sexual intercourse to his wife on a regular basis, regardless of whether they have already had children.
The Jewish sages recognized that the sexual need of mankind (also known as Yitzra De'arayot) is essential for perpetuating society, despite having its negative sides which may lead to sins. For this reason, Chazal's attitude and statements on the matter are dual, and they recognize two inclinations in mankind, the Yetzer hatov (the "Good inclination") and the Yetzer hara (the "evil inclination"), that can both influence sexuality and sexual behaviours. Maimonides discusses this dichotomy explicitly:

"A man's wife is permitted to him. Therefore a man may do whatever he desires with his wife. He may engage in relations whenever he desires, kiss any organ he desires, engage in vaginal or other intercourse or engage in physical intimacy without relations, provided he does not release seed in vain. Nevertheless, it is pious conduct for a person not to act frivolously concerning such matters and to sanctify himself at the time of relations, as explained in Hilchot Deot. He should not depart from the ordinary pattern of the world. For this act was [given to us] solely for the sake of procreation...

... Our Sages do not derive satisfaction from a person who engages in sexual relations excessively and frequents his wife like a rooster. This reflects a very blemished [character]; it is the way underdeveloped people conduct themselves. Instead, everyone who minimizes his sexual conduct is praiseworthy, provided he does not neglect his conjugal duties, without the consent of his wife"
—Mishneh Torah, Issurei Biah, 21:9,11
The basic Jewish positive attitude towards sex and sexuality within marriage is especially opposed to Western Christianity, which does not view the matter much in favor, due to a belief that sex has been contaminated by original sin.
On the other hand, sexual activity is also viewed as a grave sin within Judaism if it outside of the bounds of permissible behavior. Certain types of forbidden sexual behaviors, known as gilui arayot, are viewed so negatively that a Jew is obliged to sacrifice his life before committing them.
Forbidden sexual acts in Judaism[edit]
Isurei bi'ah[edit]
Main article: Forbidden relationships in Judaism
The term isurei bi'ah (Hebrew איסורי ביאה) refers to those one may not have intercourse with. The most serious of these form a subset known as arayot (Hebrew: עריות). Intercourse with arayot is one of the few acts in Judaism which one may not perform even to save one's life.
Arayot includes:
Incestuous relations[3]
Male homosexual anal intercourse
Bestiality
A Jewish woman during her menstrual period (known as niddah)
Other isurei bi'ah include:
Sexual intercourse between Jews and gentiles
Divorcees or converts to Kohanim
Mamzerim to regular Jews
Homosexuality and bisexuality[edit]
See also: Judaism and sexual orientation
The traditional view is that the Torah forbids all anal intercourse between two males, and this is the view of Orthodoxy; there are other modern views that disagree. The source of this prohibition is a verse from the Book of Leviticus: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination." (Leviticus, 18:22). However, Rashi interpreted the matter as only prohibiting anal sexual acts between two men (and not other sexual acts between them), as he stated: "As one would penetrate a blue-brush into a receiver." But other authoritative commentators of the Torah see all sexual acts between two males to be included within the ban on "sperm in vain".[citation needed] The Jewish sages added additional barriers to this ban, and forbid males to put themselves in any situation that might lead to such an offense. For example: Chazal prohibited two single males from sleeping under the same blanket.[citation needed]
There is no ban on female-female intercourse in the Hebrew Bible, but in later rabbinical halakhic texts such is mentioned as a forbidden act, as Maimonides wrote: "A conduct of women rubbing oneself against the other, lesbians" (Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, Book of Kedushah, Issurei Biah, 21:8).[4]
Extramarital sex[edit]
Opinions on extramarital sex differ. It is universally frowned upon; according to some authorities it even falls under a biblical prohibition.
Masturbation[edit]


 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: It appears that another article entitled "Sperm in vain" has been inexpertly merged into this section. Cleanup is therefore needed. Please help improve this section if you can. (August 2013)
Main article: Judaism and masturbation
Masturbation - despite not having been explicitly prohibited in the Torah,[5][6][7] the Halakha and the Oral Torah view masturbation as an Halakhic prohibition and a great sin. The attitude towards a male sperm is one of a potential future living human being, and thus masturbation is referred to as a murder, in which the masturbator is exterminating his potential offspring.
Sperm in vain (Hebrew: זרע לבטלה, pronounced: Zera Levatala) is a Talmudic term for any sexual act in which a male's sperm is consciously "wasted".[8] However, if his wife is pregnant, infertile, or elderly it is not considered wasting seed since this is for the purpose of fulfilling the "Onah" Mitzvah-commandment, the husband's marital obligations.

"But why all these precautions? — Because otherwise one might emit semen in vain, and R. Johanan stated: Whosoever emits semen in vain deserves death, for it is said in Scripture."
—Babylon Talmud, Tractate Niddah, p. 13a
Prior to the 20th century, it was a Jewish term usually (but not only) referring to male masturbation. In Shulkhan Arukh, on Yoreh Deah, it is stated that wasting sperm is considered a sin greater than any sin in the Torah.
Homosexual intercourse is also considered an act of sperm in vain, as masturbation. Even marital sexual acts in which the sperm does not enter the vagina are considered no less an act of sperm in vain.
The Halakhic attitude towards female masturbation is found in the opinions of the Ben Ish Chai,[9] who says that it is wrong because it creates evil forces (Qliphoth) and brings the woman to connect spiritually with the evil angel Samael, and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein,[10] who forbids it because it involves indulging in sexual fantasy about men, which falls under the prohibition of forbidden thoughts, which are forbidden for women as well. However, it does not carry the severity of male masturbation, because it does not involve the release of seed.
In modern days, the Halakhic question on whether taking male semen and sperm for the purpose of medical examinations or insemination remains in dispute among Jewish legal authorities.
Sexual fantasy and pornography[edit]
See also: Technology Awareness Group, Atzat Nefesh and Religious views on pornography § Judaism
The halakhic literature discusses the prohibitions of hirhur (lit. thought) and histaklut (lit. gazing). Many of the practices of tzniut (modesty) serve to prevent these prohibitions from occurring.
See also[edit]

Portal icon Judaism portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Portal icon Israel portal
Forbidden relationships in Judaism
Homosexual behavior and Judaism
Jewish views on marriage
Judaism and sexual orientation
LGBT-affirming denominations in Judaism
Polyamory (see the section "Polyamory and religion")
Religion and sexuality
Tzniut (Modesty)
Further reading[edit]
Rabbi Lisa J. Grushcow, The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality, CCAR Press, 2014, ISBN 9780881232035.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ See Rambam, Sefer Hamitzvot mitzvah #125 and Sefer haChinnuch mitzvah #1
2.Jump up ^ Sefer haChinnuch ibid.
3.Jump up ^ Leviticus 18
4.Jump up ^ Hebrew: "נשים המסוללות זו בזו"
5.Jump up ^ Maimonides stated that the Tanakh does not explicitly prohibit masturbation, see Maimonides, Commentary to the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 7:4, apud Dorff, Elliot N. (2003) [1998]. "Chapter Five. Preventing Pregnancy". (First paperback ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society. p. 117. ISBN 0827607687. OCLC 80557192. "Jews historically shared the abhorrence of male masturbation that characterized other societies.2 Interestingly, although the prohibition was not debated, legal writers had difficulty locating a biblical base for it, and no less an authority than Maimonides claimed that it could not be punishable by the court because there was not an explicit negative commandment forbidding it.3" Missing or empty |title= (help)
6.Jump up ^ Patton, Michael S. (June 1985). "Masturbation from Judaism to Victorianism". Journal of Religion and Health (Springer Netherlands) 24 (2): 133–146. doi:10.1007/BF01532257. ISSN 0022-4197. Retrieved 12 November 2011. "Nevertheless, there is no legislation in the Bible pertaining to masturbation."
7.Jump up ^ Kwee, Alex W.; David C. Hoover (2008). "Theologically-Informed Education about Masturbation: A Male Sexual Health Perspective". Journal of Psychology and Theology (La Mirada, CA, USA: Rosemead School of Psychology. Biola University) 36 (4): 258–269. ISSN 0091-6471. Retrieved 12 November 2011. "The Bible presents no clear theological ethic on masturbation, leaving many young unmarried Christians with confusion and guilt around their sexuality."
8.Jump up ^ Bris Kodesh i.e., released as an act not for the purpose of procreation, or in normal intercourse with one's wife, even when she is for whatever reason not able to become pregnant from that seed, Glossary
9.Jump up ^ Od Yosef Chai p. 37, quoting the Arizal in Shaar HaKavanos, Inyan Drushei Layla, sec. 7
10.Jump up ^ Igros Moshe, Even Ha'ezer 1, sec. 69.
External links[edit]
Judaism and sexuality, for an additional in depth reading on the matter; "My Jewish Learning" - Article
Links relating to "sperm in vain - zera levatala":
The Jewish Law Annual, Volume 14 (By The Institute of Jewish Law, Boston University School of Law).
H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Journal of Halacha: Artificial Insemination.
Aish.com: Spirituality: My personal struggles with homosexuality.
The Jewish Press: Fertility and Pregnancy;
Wiley Online Library: Kosher medicine and medicalized halacha: An exploration of triadic relations among Israeli rabbis, doctors, and infertility patients.
The Jewish Law Annual, VOL XIV: HALAKHIC ALTERNATIVES IN IVF-PREGNANCIES: A SURVEY;
American Reform responsa: Collected responsa of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
yoatzot.org: Hotza'at Zera Levatalah.
jewishwomenshealth.org: Expulsion of Semen (Hotza'at Zera Levatalah);
briskodesh.org: Shmiras Habris.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Halakha (Jewish religious law)


Ethics
Chillul Hashem (Desecration of God's name) ·
 Geneivat da'at (Theft of the mind) ·
 Gezel sheina (Theft of sleep) ·
 Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of God's name) ·
 Lashon hara (Derogatory information) ·
 Lifnei iver (Stumbling block in front of the blind) ·
 Noahide laws ·
 You shall not murder
 

Ritual purity
Mikveh ·
 Niddah ·
 Ritual washing in Judaism
 

Modesty
Negiah ·
 Yichud ·
 Mechitza ·
 Judaism and sexuality ·
 Forbidden relationships in Judaism ·
 Gender separation in Judaism
 

Halakhic principles
Aveira ·
 Bemeizid, beshogeg, and beones ·
 B'rov am hadrat melech ·
 Chumra ·
 D'Oraita and D'Rabbanan ·
 One commandment leads to another ·
 Ikar v'tafel ·
 Marit ayin ·
 Neder ·
 Osek b'mitzvah patur min hamitzvah ·
 Pikuach nefesh ·
 Positive commandment ·
 Sfeka d'yoma ·
 Self-sacrifice in Jewish law ·
 Shinuy ·
 Shomea k'oneh ·
 Testimony ·
 Toch k'dei dibur ·
 Yad soledet bo ·
 Zmanim
 

Punishment
Capital punishment in Judaism ·
 Kareth
 

Related boxes
High Holidays ·
 Passover ·
 Shabbat ·
 Sukkot ·
 Kashrut
 

  


Categories: Judaism and sexuality















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Français
עברית
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 21 February 2015, at 13:09.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism_and_sexuality


















Judaism and sexuality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article improperly uses one or more religious texts as primary sources without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them. Please help improve this article by adding references to reliable secondary sources, with multiple points of view. (September 2014)
The Jewish tradition devotes considerable attention to sexuality. Sexuality is the subject of many narratives and laws in the Tanakh and rabbinic literature.


Contents  [hide]
1 Attitude towards sexuality
2 Forbidden sexual acts in Judaism 2.1 Isurei bi'ah 2.1.1 Homosexuality and bisexuality
2.1.2 Extramarital sex
2.2 Masturbation
2.3 Sexual fantasy and pornography
3 See also
4 Further reading
5 References
6 External links

Attitude towards sexuality[edit]
In Judaism, sexuality is viewed as having both positive and negative potential, depending on the context in which it is expressed. According to the Rabbinical enumerations of the 613 commandments, the commandment to procreate is the first mitzvah in the Torah:[1]

"And God blessed them; and God said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply [Peru Urevu], and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth"
—Genesis, 1:28
This commandment, known as peru urevu (פרו ורבו), is only binding on men; women are exempt because childbirth puts them in physical danger, though a dissenting opinion is recorded in the mishnah Yevamot 6:6. This commandment was originally binding on all of humanity, as it was given to Adam, the progenitor of all mankind. However, after the giving of the Torah it became obligatory on Jews only.[citation needed]
According to the Sefer haChinnuch, the central nature of this mitzvah is due to the fact that God desires for the world to be populated.[2] However, there is another Torah commandment known as onah (Heb: עונה) which obligates a man to provide sexual intercourse to his wife on a regular basis, regardless of whether they have already had children.
The Jewish sages recognized that the sexual need of mankind (also known as Yitzra De'arayot) is essential for perpetuating society, despite having its negative sides which may lead to sins. For this reason, Chazal's attitude and statements on the matter are dual, and they recognize two inclinations in mankind, the Yetzer hatov (the "Good inclination") and the Yetzer hara (the "evil inclination"), that can both influence sexuality and sexual behaviours. Maimonides discusses this dichotomy explicitly:

"A man's wife is permitted to him. Therefore a man may do whatever he desires with his wife. He may engage in relations whenever he desires, kiss any organ he desires, engage in vaginal or other intercourse or engage in physical intimacy without relations, provided he does not release seed in vain. Nevertheless, it is pious conduct for a person not to act frivolously concerning such matters and to sanctify himself at the time of relations, as explained in Hilchot Deot. He should not depart from the ordinary pattern of the world. For this act was [given to us] solely for the sake of procreation...

... Our Sages do not derive satisfaction from a person who engages in sexual relations excessively and frequents his wife like a rooster. This reflects a very blemished [character]; it is the way underdeveloped people conduct themselves. Instead, everyone who minimizes his sexual conduct is praiseworthy, provided he does not neglect his conjugal duties, without the consent of his wife"
—Mishneh Torah, Issurei Biah, 21:9,11
The basic Jewish positive attitude towards sex and sexuality within marriage is especially opposed to Western Christianity, which does not view the matter much in favor, due to a belief that sex has been contaminated by original sin.
On the other hand, sexual activity is also viewed as a grave sin within Judaism if it outside of the bounds of permissible behavior. Certain types of forbidden sexual behaviors, known as gilui arayot, are viewed so negatively that a Jew is obliged to sacrifice his life before committing them.
Forbidden sexual acts in Judaism[edit]
Isurei bi'ah[edit]
Main article: Forbidden relationships in Judaism
The term isurei bi'ah (Hebrew איסורי ביאה) refers to those one may not have intercourse with. The most serious of these form a subset known as arayot (Hebrew: עריות). Intercourse with arayot is one of the few acts in Judaism which one may not perform even to save one's life.
Arayot includes:
Incestuous relations[3]
Male homosexual anal intercourse
Bestiality
A Jewish woman during her menstrual period (known as niddah)
Other isurei bi'ah include:
Sexual intercourse between Jews and gentiles
Divorcees or converts to Kohanim
Mamzerim to regular Jews
Homosexuality and bisexuality[edit]
See also: Judaism and sexual orientation
The traditional view is that the Torah forbids all anal intercourse between two males, and this is the view of Orthodoxy; there are other modern views that disagree. The source of this prohibition is a verse from the Book of Leviticus: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination." (Leviticus, 18:22). However, Rashi interpreted the matter as only prohibiting anal sexual acts between two men (and not other sexual acts between them), as he stated: "As one would penetrate a blue-brush into a receiver." But other authoritative commentators of the Torah see all sexual acts between two males to be included within the ban on "sperm in vain".[citation needed] The Jewish sages added additional barriers to this ban, and forbid males to put themselves in any situation that might lead to such an offense. For example: Chazal prohibited two single males from sleeping under the same blanket.[citation needed]
There is no ban on female-female intercourse in the Hebrew Bible, but in later rabbinical halakhic texts such is mentioned as a forbidden act, as Maimonides wrote: "A conduct of women rubbing oneself against the other, lesbians" (Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, Book of Kedushah, Issurei Biah, 21:8).[4]
Extramarital sex[edit]
Opinions on extramarital sex differ. It is universally frowned upon; according to some authorities it even falls under a biblical prohibition.
Masturbation[edit]


 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: It appears that another article entitled "Sperm in vain" has been inexpertly merged into this section. Cleanup is therefore needed. Please help improve this section if you can. (August 2013)
Main article: Judaism and masturbation
Masturbation - despite not having been explicitly prohibited in the Torah,[5][6][7] the Halakha and the Oral Torah view masturbation as an Halakhic prohibition and a great sin. The attitude towards a male sperm is one of a potential future living human being, and thus masturbation is referred to as a murder, in which the masturbator is exterminating his potential offspring.
Sperm in vain (Hebrew: זרע לבטלה, pronounced: Zera Levatala) is a Talmudic term for any sexual act in which a male's sperm is consciously "wasted".[8] However, if his wife is pregnant, infertile, or elderly it is not considered wasting seed since this is for the purpose of fulfilling the "Onah" Mitzvah-commandment, the husband's marital obligations.

"But why all these precautions? — Because otherwise one might emit semen in vain, and R. Johanan stated: Whosoever emits semen in vain deserves death, for it is said in Scripture."
—Babylon Talmud, Tractate Niddah, p. 13a
Prior to the 20th century, it was a Jewish term usually (but not only) referring to male masturbation. In Shulkhan Arukh, on Yoreh Deah, it is stated that wasting sperm is considered a sin greater than any sin in the Torah.
Homosexual intercourse is also considered an act of sperm in vain, as masturbation. Even marital sexual acts in which the sperm does not enter the vagina are considered no less an act of sperm in vain.
The Halakhic attitude towards female masturbation is found in the opinions of the Ben Ish Chai,[9] who says that it is wrong because it creates evil forces (Qliphoth) and brings the woman to connect spiritually with the evil angel Samael, and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein,[10] who forbids it because it involves indulging in sexual fantasy about men, which falls under the prohibition of forbidden thoughts, which are forbidden for women as well. However, it does not carry the severity of male masturbation, because it does not involve the release of seed.
In modern days, the Halakhic question on whether taking male semen and sperm for the purpose of medical examinations or insemination remains in dispute among Jewish legal authorities.
Sexual fantasy and pornography[edit]
See also: Technology Awareness Group, Atzat Nefesh and Religious views on pornography § Judaism
The halakhic literature discusses the prohibitions of hirhur (lit. thought) and histaklut (lit. gazing). Many of the practices of tzniut (modesty) serve to prevent these prohibitions from occurring.
See also[edit]

Portal icon Judaism portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Portal icon Israel portal
Forbidden relationships in Judaism
Homosexual behavior and Judaism
Jewish views on marriage
Judaism and sexual orientation
LGBT-affirming denominations in Judaism
Polyamory (see the section "Polyamory and religion")
Religion and sexuality
Tzniut (Modesty)
Further reading[edit]
Rabbi Lisa J. Grushcow, The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality, CCAR Press, 2014, ISBN 9780881232035.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ See Rambam, Sefer Hamitzvot mitzvah #125 and Sefer haChinnuch mitzvah #1
2.Jump up ^ Sefer haChinnuch ibid.
3.Jump up ^ Leviticus 18
4.Jump up ^ Hebrew: "נשים המסוללות זו בזו"
5.Jump up ^ Maimonides stated that the Tanakh does not explicitly prohibit masturbation, see Maimonides, Commentary to the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 7:4, apud Dorff, Elliot N. (2003) [1998]. "Chapter Five. Preventing Pregnancy". (First paperback ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society. p. 117. ISBN 0827607687. OCLC 80557192. "Jews historically shared the abhorrence of male masturbation that characterized other societies.2 Interestingly, although the prohibition was not debated, legal writers had difficulty locating a biblical base for it, and no less an authority than Maimonides claimed that it could not be punishable by the court because there was not an explicit negative commandment forbidding it.3" Missing or empty |title= (help)
6.Jump up ^ Patton, Michael S. (June 1985). "Masturbation from Judaism to Victorianism". Journal of Religion and Health (Springer Netherlands) 24 (2): 133–146. doi:10.1007/BF01532257. ISSN 0022-4197. Retrieved 12 November 2011. "Nevertheless, there is no legislation in the Bible pertaining to masturbation."
7.Jump up ^ Kwee, Alex W.; David C. Hoover (2008). "Theologically-Informed Education about Masturbation: A Male Sexual Health Perspective". Journal of Psychology and Theology (La Mirada, CA, USA: Rosemead School of Psychology. Biola University) 36 (4): 258–269. ISSN 0091-6471. Retrieved 12 November 2011. "The Bible presents no clear theological ethic on masturbation, leaving many young unmarried Christians with confusion and guilt around their sexuality."
8.Jump up ^ Bris Kodesh i.e., released as an act not for the purpose of procreation, or in normal intercourse with one's wife, even when she is for whatever reason not able to become pregnant from that seed, Glossary
9.Jump up ^ Od Yosef Chai p. 37, quoting the Arizal in Shaar HaKavanos, Inyan Drushei Layla, sec. 7
10.Jump up ^ Igros Moshe, Even Ha'ezer 1, sec. 69.
External links[edit]
Judaism and sexuality, for an additional in depth reading on the matter; "My Jewish Learning" - Article
Links relating to "sperm in vain - zera levatala":
The Jewish Law Annual, Volume 14 (By The Institute of Jewish Law, Boston University School of Law).
H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Journal of Halacha: Artificial Insemination.
Aish.com: Spirituality: My personal struggles with homosexuality.
The Jewish Press: Fertility and Pregnancy;
Wiley Online Library: Kosher medicine and medicalized halacha: An exploration of triadic relations among Israeli rabbis, doctors, and infertility patients.
The Jewish Law Annual, VOL XIV: HALAKHIC ALTERNATIVES IN IVF-PREGNANCIES: A SURVEY;
American Reform responsa: Collected responsa of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
yoatzot.org: Hotza'at Zera Levatalah.
jewishwomenshealth.org: Expulsion of Semen (Hotza'at Zera Levatalah);
briskodesh.org: Shmiras Habris.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Halakha (Jewish religious law)


Ethics
Chillul Hashem (Desecration of God's name) ·
 Geneivat da'at (Theft of the mind) ·
 Gezel sheina (Theft of sleep) ·
 Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of God's name) ·
 Lashon hara (Derogatory information) ·
 Lifnei iver (Stumbling block in front of the blind) ·
 Noahide laws ·
 You shall not murder
 

Ritual purity
Mikveh ·
 Niddah ·
 Ritual washing in Judaism
 

Modesty
Negiah ·
 Yichud ·
 Mechitza ·
 Judaism and sexuality ·
 Forbidden relationships in Judaism ·
 Gender separation in Judaism
 

Halakhic principles
Aveira ·
 Bemeizid, beshogeg, and beones ·
 B'rov am hadrat melech ·
 Chumra ·
 D'Oraita and D'Rabbanan ·
 One commandment leads to another ·
 Ikar v'tafel ·
 Marit ayin ·
 Neder ·
 Osek b'mitzvah patur min hamitzvah ·
 Pikuach nefesh ·
 Positive commandment ·
 Sfeka d'yoma ·
 Self-sacrifice in Jewish law ·
 Shinuy ·
 Shomea k'oneh ·
 Testimony ·
 Toch k'dei dibur ·
 Yad soledet bo ·
 Zmanim
 

Punishment
Capital punishment in Judaism ·
 Kareth
 

Related boxes
High Holidays ·
 Passover ·
 Shabbat ·
 Sukkot ·
 Kashrut
 

  


Categories: Judaism and sexuality















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Français
עברית
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 21 February 2015, at 13:09.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism_and_sexuality
































Homosexuality and Judaism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Judaism and homosexuality)
Jump to: navigation, search

"LGBT topics and Judaism" redirects here. For transgender topics in Judaism, see Transgenderism and religion § Judaism.
Homosexual behavior and Judaism

Halakhic texts relating to this article

Torah:
Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13.
Mishneh Torah:
• For men: Issurei Bi'ah 1:14, 21:18.
• For women: Issurei Bi'ah 21:8.
The subject of homosexual behavior and Judaism dates back to the Torah. The book of Vayiqra (Leviticus) is traditionally regarded as classifying sexual intercourse between males as a to'eivah (something abhorred or detested) that can be subject to capital punishment under halakha (Jewish law).



 Jewish marchers at San Francisco Pride 2014
The issue has been a subject of contention within modern Jewish denominations and has led to debate and division. Traditionally, Judaism has understood homosexual intercourse as contrary to Judaism, and this opinion is still maintained by Orthodox Judaism. On the other hand, Reconstructionist Judaism and Reform Judaism do not hold this view and allow homosexual intercourse. Conservative Judaism's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which until December 2006 held the same position as Orthodoxy, recently issued multiple opinions under its philosophy of pluralism, with one opinion continuing to follow the Orthodox position and another opinion substantially liberalizing its view of homosexual sex and relationships while continuing to regard certain sexual acts as prohibited.


Contents  [hide]
1 Homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible
2 Rabbinic Jewish application and interpretation of these verses 2.1 Applicability of Biblical death penalty
2.2 Lesbian sexual activity
2.3 Same-sex marriage in the Midrash and the Talmud
3 Orthodox Jewish views 3.1 2008 Israeli Document of Principles (Hod)
3.2 Statement by Rabbis Schachter, Willig, Rosensweig, and Twersky (2010)
3.3 July 2010 public statement by some leaders
3.4 Ex-gay organizations
3.5 Other viewpoints
4 Conservative and Masorti Judaism
5 Reform Judaism
6 Reconstructionist Judaism
7 Jewish Renewal
8 Humanistic Judaism
9 LGBT-affirmative activities
10 See also
11 Notes
12 Sources
13 Further reading
14 External links

Homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible[edit]
Further information: The Bible and homosexuality
The traditional viewpoint is that the Torah mentions homosexuality twice in the book of Leviticus (JPS):
וְאֶת-זָכָר—לֹא תִשְׁכַּב, מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה: תּוֹעֵבָה, הִוא.

Lev.18:22 "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is detestable."
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-זָכָר מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה—תּוֹעֵבָה עָשׂוּ, שְׁנֵיהֶם; מוֹת יוּמָתוּ, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם.

Lev.20:13 "And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed a detestable act: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
Deuteronomy 23:17 tells followers:

None of the daughters of Israel shall be a kedeshah, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a kadesh.
This has been interpreted as prohibiting the "sons of Israel" from serving as a homosexual temple prostitute.[citation needed]
The story of Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth is also occasionally interpreted as the story of a lesbian couple,[1][2] while the biblical description of the relationship between David and Jonathan in the Book of Kings is sometimes interpreted as male homosexual love.[3]
Rabbinic Jewish application and interpretation of these verses[edit]
Applicability of Biblical death penalty[edit]
Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for willful violation is the death penalty. However, even in Biblical times, it was very difficult to get a conviction that would lead to this prescribed punishment. The Jewish Oral Law states that capital punishment would only be applicable if two men were caught in the act of anal sex, if there were two witnesses to the act, if the two witnesses warned the men involved that they committed a capital offense, and the two men — or the willing party, in case of rape — subsequently acknowledged the warning but continued to engage in the prohibited act anyway. In fact, there is no account of capital punishment, in regards to this law, in Jewish history.
Rabbinic tradition understands the Torah's system of capital punishment to not be in effect for the past approximately 2,000 years, in the absence of a Sanhedrin and Temple.[4]
Classical rabbinic Jewish sources do not specifically mention that homosexual attraction is inherently sinful. However, someone who has had homosexual intercourse is considered to have violated a prohibition.[citation needed] If he does teshuva (repentance)—i.e., he ceases his forbidden actions, regrets what he has done, apologizes to God, and makes a binding resolution never to repeat those actions, he is seen to be forgiven by God.[5]
Lesbian sexual activity[edit]
Although there is no direct textual prohibition of homosexual acts between women (lesbianism) anywhere in the Torah, homosexual acts[vague] between women are widely viewed as forbidden by most rabbis. It is based on a Drash interpretation of the Biblical verse "Do not follow the ways of Egypt where you once lived, nor of Canaan, where I will be bringing you. Do not follow any of their customs." (Leviticus 18:3).
A midrash, Sifra Aharei Mot 8:8–9, states that this refers to sexual customs, and that one of those customs was the marriage of women to each other, as well as a man to a woman and to her daughter. Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, summarizes the matter as follows:[6]

For women to be mesollelot[vague] with one another is forbidden, as this is the practice of Egypt, which we were warned against: "Like the practice of the land of Egypt ... you shall not do" (Leviticus 18:3). The Sages said [in the midrash of Sifra Aharei Mot 8:8–9], "What did they do? A man married a man, and a woman married a woman, and a woman married two men." Even though this practice is forbidden, one is not lashed [as for a Torah prohibition] on account of it, since there is no specific prohibition against it, and there is no real intercourse. Therefore, [one who does this] is not forbidden to the priesthood because of harlotry, and a woman is not prohibited to her husband by this, since it is not harlotry. But it is appropriate to administer to them lashings of rebellion [i.e., those given for violation of rabbinic prohibitions], since they did something forbidden. And a man should be strict with his wife in this matter, and should prevent women known to do this from coming to her or from her going to them.
Same-sex marriage in the Midrash and the Talmud[edit]
The Babylonian Talmud is one of the few ancient religious texts that makes reference to same-sex marriage:

"'Ula said: Non-Jews [litt. Bnei Noach, the progeny of Noah] accepted upon themselves thirty mitzvot [divinely ordered laws] but they only abide by three of them: the first one is that they do not write marriage documents for male couples, the second one is that they don't sell dead [human] meat by the pound in stores and the third one is that they respect the Torah.'" [7]
Orthodox Jewish views[edit]
While a variety of views regarding homosexuality as an inclination or status exist within the Orthodox Jewish community, Orthodox Judaism generally prohibits homosexual conduct. While there is disagreement about which acts come under core prohibitions, all of Orthodox Judaism puts certain core homosexual acts, including male-male anal sex in the category of yehareg ve'al ya'avor, "die rather than transgress", the small category of Biblically-prohibited acts (also including murder, idolatry, adultery, and incest) which an Orthodox Jew is obligated under the laws of Self-sacrifice under Jewish Law to die rather than do.[citation needed] According to the Talmud, homosexual acts are forbidden between non-Jews as well, and is included among the sexual restrictions of the Noachide laws.[8]
In a speech given in 1986, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, discussed "individuals who express an inclination towards a particular form of physical relationship in which the libidinal gratification is sought with members of one's own gender". He wrote that "society and government must be to offer a helping hand to those who are afflicted with this problem".[9]
Rabbi Dr. Immanuel Jakobovits, in his entry Homosexuality in the Encyclopedia Judaica (Keter Publishing), describes the traditional opinion on homosexuality in this way:

Jewish law [...] rejects the view that homosexuality is to be regarded merely as a disease or as morally neutral.... Jewish law holds that no hedonistic ethic, even if called "love", can justify the morality of homosexuality any more than it can legitimize adultery or incest, however genuinely such acts may be performed out of love and by mutual consent.
Rabbi Norman Lamm (the Chancellor, Rosh Yeshiva ["head of the yeshiva"], and former president of Yeshiva University, a major Modern Orthodox Jewish institution) advocated[10] that some (although not all) homosexuals should be viewed as diseased and in need of compassion and treatment, rather than willful rebels who should be ostracized. He distinguishes between six varieties of homosexuals, including "genuine homosexuals" who have "strong preferential erotic feelings for members of the same sex", "transitory" and "situational" homosexuals who would prefer heterosexual intercourse but are denied it or seek gain in homosexuality, and heterosexuals who are merely curious.
When Steven Greenberg, who received Orthodox rabbinic ordination, publicly announced in 1999 that he was homosexual, there was a significant response from rabbis of all denominations reported in the Jewish newspapers. Rabbi Moshe Tendler, a leading rabbi at Yeshiva University, stated "It is very sad that an individual who attended our yeshiva sunk to the depths of what we consider a depraved society,"

Tendler said that Rabbi Greenberg's announcement is "the exact same as if he said, 'I'm an Orthodox Rabbi and I eat ham sandwiches on Yom Kippur.' What you are is a Reform Rabbi."[11]
Sandi Simcha Dubowski's movie Trembling Before G-d (2001) documented the experiences of several homosexual Modern Orthodox and Haredi Jews. The spokesperson for Agudath Israel of America, Rabbi Avi Shafran, attacked the film with an article "Dissembling Before G-d", maintaining that gay people can be cured through therapy, and that the movie is meant to promote homosexuality:
Unfortunately, though, "Trembling" seems to have other intents as well. While it never baldly advocates the case for broader societal acceptance of homosexuality or for the abandonment of elements of the Jewish religious tradition, those causes are subtly evident in the stark, simplistic picture the film presents of sincere, conflicted and victimized men and women confronted by a largely stern and stubborn cadre of rabbis.That picture is both incomplete and distorted. For starters, the film refuses to even allow for the possibility that men and women with homosexual predilections might—with great effort, to be sure—achieve successful and happy marriages to members of the opposite sex.[12]
Orthodox Israeli rabbi Ron Yosef became in 2009 the first Israeli orthodox Rabbi to come out, by appearing in Uvda ("Fact"), Israel's leading investigative television program, in a episode regarding conversion therapies in Israel.[13] Yosef remains in his position as a pulpit Rabbi.[14] Yosef testified that his Yemenite congregation didn't accept him being a homosexual very easily and it took them a while to accept it. He stated that the younger generation strengthened and supported him, while the older generation had a more difficult experience Yosef received death threats in the year leading up to the 2009 Tel Aviv gay centre shooting.[15]
In 2013, he stated he is in a relationship with a man.[16]
Yosef has stated his approach to the issue of homosexuality in Judaism as follows:

"It is clear to me that lying with another man is forbidden, and our starting point is commitment to halacha and Torah. The goal is not to seek permission. But you need to give us a shoulder and support.".[14]
2008 Israeli Document of Principles (Hod)[edit]
In an open letter distributed to Orthodox community leaders,[17] the Hod organization appealed to the Orthodox community to recognize them as part of the religious society. This was sent to over 100 rabbis in 2008, and eventually was known as the "Document of Principles". In part, the document states:
"Anal intercourse between men (Isur Mishkav Zachar) is what is forbidden in the Torah, and not the homosexual orientation....One can advise a person who is interested in doing so, to consult a certified professional mental health worker, on condition that complete information is provided about the type of treatment, its chances of success and its risks. No treatment should be seen as either ultimate or exclusive.A homosexual man may not be coerced into marriage, since marriage provides no inherent solution to a person struggling with his sexuality...One’s capacity to marry does not only include a readiness to fulfill the commandment of "Be fruitful and multiply" but also the suitability to manage a healthy and moral relationship with one’s spouse.On the condition that he does not publicize his actions, a person who has transgressed the prohibition of homosexual intercourse should not be cast out from the religious community. Homosexual activity (as opposed to the homosexual orientation itself) is prohibited absolutely by the Torah......A homosexual should be acknowledged as a full member of the religious community, be it in making up a minyan (prayer quorum), delivering the Priestly Blessing, being called up for a blessing on the Torah or being recognized as a valid witness – in these and in any other matter he should not be treated differently to any other person....It is of great importance to set up support groups for homosexuals, and such organizations are to be considered charity organizations...An ‘all or nothing’ policy is opposed to the way of Halakha. Every Jewish person should try to keep all the commandments and should do everything he or she can to be as observant of the Torah as possible".
Up to 2013, 163 Orthodox rabbis from Israel and abroad have signed this statement, among them: rabbi Yuval Cherlow, rabbi Binyamin Lau, rabbi Haim Navon, rabbi Daniel Sperber, rabbi Eliezer Melamed, rabbi Shai Piron and rabbi Yehuda Gilad.
Statement by Rabbis Schachter, Willig, Rosensweig, and Twersky (2010)[edit]
In 2010, TorahWeb.org published a brief position statement entitled "Torah View on Homosexuality".[18] It was co-authored by Rav Hershel Schachter, Rav Mordechai Willig, Rav Michael Rosensweig, and Rav Mayer Twersky. These four are all roshei yeshiva (i.e., rabbinic leaders) at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, the largest and most influential Modern Orthodox rabbinic program in America. In part, the statement reads:
... Prohibited homosexual activity includes any non-platonic physical contact; even yichud (seclusion) with someone of the same gender is forbidden for homosexually active individuals. ...... today's galus [exile] seeks to legitimize and mainstream the abominable practice (toeiva) of homosexuality. Frighteningly, we who live here are not only practically affected, but also axiologically and ideationally infected. Not only our behavior but our very Weltanschauung has been compromised and contaminated.... Homosexual behavior is absolutely prohibited and constitutes an abomination. Discreet, unconditionally halachically committed Jews who do not practice homosexuality but feel same sex attraction (ssa) should be sympathetically and wholeheartedly supported. They can be wonderful Jews, fully deserving of our love, respect, and support. They should be encouraged to seek professional guidance. Moreover, in an uninfected Torah society, appropriate sympathy for discreet shomrei Torah u'mitzvos who experience but do not act upon ssa is clearly distinguished from brazen public identification of their yetzer hara [temptation] for forbidden behavior. ...How painful, sad and sobering is the sharp contrast between the clear attitude that should prevail in a pure Torah community and the confusion that exists among well-intentioned individuals within our communities. ... ssa is not viewed as a challenge of kevishas hayetzer (overcoming and taming impulses for forbidden behavior), but rather as a troubling halacha lacking in compassion, rachmanah litzlan [God forbid].... Inevitably, with respect to homosexuality, Talmud Torah [Torah study] will place us at odds with political correctness and the temper of the times. Nevertheless, we must be honest with ourselves, and with Hakadosh Baruch Hu [God], regardless of political correctness, considerations or consequences.
July 2010 public statement by some leaders[edit]
On July 22, 2010, a "Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community" was released.[19] It was written primarily by Nathaniel Helfgot, Aryeh Klapper, and Yitzchak Blau. Signatories include more than a hundred rabbis and laypeople. Some of the statement's more notable supporters are Rabbi Marc Angel, co-founder of The Rabbinic Fellowship; Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, founder of Lincoln Square Synagogue, Efrat, and Ohr Torah Stone Institutions; and Rabbi Avi Weiss, head of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat, and co-founder of The Rabbinic Fellowship.[20]
The statement makes it clear that homosexual activity is still prohibited, saying inter alia that "Halakhah sees heterosexual marriage as the ideal model and sole legitimate outlet for human sexual expression"; "Halakhic Judaism views all male and female same-sex sexual interactions as prohibited"; and "halakhic values proscribe individuals and communities from encouraging practices that grant religious legitimacy to gay marriage and couplehood". However, it emphasizes that homosexuals need to be treated with compassion and respect. Some of the statement's points that diverge from other common Orthodox positions are:
We affirm the religious right of those with a homosexual orientation to reject therapeutic approaches they reasonably see as useless or dangerous.
We believe that the decision as to whether to be open about one's sexual orientation should be left to such individuals, who should consider their own needs and those of the community. We are opposed on ethical and moral grounds to both the “outing” of individuals who want to remain private and to coercing those who desire to be open about their orientation to keep it hidden.
Communities should display sensitivity, acceptance and full embrace of the adopted or biological children of homosexually active Jews in the synagogue and school setting.
Jews who have an exclusively homosexual orientation should, under most circumstances, not be encouraged to marry someone of the other gender.
See also: Mixed-orientation marriage
Ex-gay organizations[edit]
Further information: Ex-gay movement, Atzat Nefesh, JONAH, and Kamoha
Atzat Nefesh is an Orthodox organization based in Israel; it addresses people with a variety of sexual "problems." It operates a hotline and several support groups in Israel, and aims to change people's sexual behavior and sexual orientation.[21]
Kamoha promotes conversion therapy,[22] and offers subsidies to finance it, declaring that some gay men might yet be able to develop opposite sex attraction and live a fulfilling normative heterosexual lifestyle. Yet it states that success is not guaranteed and that these treatments cannot be a sufficient solution for all gay men.
JONAH is a Jewish ex-gay organization that focuses on "prevention, intervention, and healing of the underlying issues causing same-sex attractions."[23] It is a world-wide organization, with the majority of its membership in the United States, Israel, Canada and Europe.[24] It uses a variety of psycho-educational methods, including live support group meetings, E-mail list-serv groups, networking, therapy referrals, experiential weekend programs.[25]
In 2012, four former clients of JONAH sued the organization for fraud, claiming that it sold them therapies that were ineffective and counterproductive.[26] Soon after in that same year, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), a professional association of more than 1,000 Orthodox rabbis around the world, sent an open email to its members that it no longer supported reparative therapy generally, or JONAH specifically.[26]
In 2014 Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso ruled that JONAH and its co-defendants could have to pay three times the cost paid by the participants for therapy they said they needed because of JONAH's conversion therapy.[27]
Other viewpoints[edit]
UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote the foreword to Rabbi Chaim Rapoport's book Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View.[28] In the foreword, Rabbi Sacks has written: "Compassion, sympathy, empathy, understanding - these are essential elements of Judaism. They are what homosexual Jews who care about Judaism need from us today."
Modern Orthodox leader Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein is reported to have said that the intensity of Orthodox community's condemnation of homosexuality goes beyond what its status as a religious transgression warrants and that he feels toward homosexual people "criticism, disapproval, but tempered with an element of sympathy".[29]
In both the United States and in Israel several groups have sprung up in the last few years that seek to support those who identify as both Orthodox and homosexual; support Orthodox parents of LGBT children;[30] and promote understanding of homosexuality within Orthodox communities and among Orthodox rabbis. These include an umbrella organization called Eshel,[31] the Gay and Lesbian Yeshiva Day School Alumni Association,[32] the women's group OrthoDykes,[33] the youth group JQYouth,[34] the American-Israeli group headquartered in Jerusalem Bat Kol[35] and the Israeli group Hod ("Majesty").[36][37] In 2012, Hod held an advertising campaign against conversion therapies and for self-acceptance of the religious homosexual community in Israel.[38] Online blogs and support groups have enabled many to find other Orthodox LGBT people with whom to share the conflict between Orthodox religious and social norms and LGBT self-identification.[39]
Orthodox rabbis Shmuley Boteach and Zev Farber have publicly questioned the opposition of Orthodox groups to government recognition of same-sex civil marriages, arguing that although Judaism as they understand it does not condone homosexuality, governments should not enforce any particular religion's view of marriage, and that conferring civil benefits to committed homosexual couples should be viewed as promoting family values.[40][41] Modern Orthodox Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz declared that the Jewish values of justice, equality, and dignity lead him to support the cause of gay rights and advocate for same-sex civil marriage.[42]
Conservative and Masorti Judaism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Conservative Judaism
As a matter of both Jewish law and institutional policy, Conservative Judaism has wrestled with homosexuality issues since the 1980s.
In Conservative Judaism, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) of the Rabbinical Assembly makes the movement's decisions concerning Jewish law. In 1992, the CJLS action affirmed its traditional prohibition on homosexual conduct, blessing same-sex unions, and ordaining openly gay/lesbian/bisexual clergy. However, these prohibitions grew increasingly controversial within the Conservative movement.
In 2006, the CJLS shifted its position and paved the way for significant changes regarding the Conservative movement's policies toward homosexuality. On December 6, 2006, The CJLS adopted three distinct responsa reflecting very different approaches to the subject. One responsum substantially liberalized Conservative Judaism's approach including lifting most (but not all) classical prohibitions on homosexual conduct and permitted the blessing of homosexual unions and the ordination of openly gay/lesbian/bisexual clergy. Two others completely retained traditional prohibitions. Under the rules of the Conservative movement, the adoption of multiple opinions permits individual Conservative rabbis, congregations, and rabbinical schools to select which opinion to accept, and hence to choose individually whether to maintain a traditional prohibition on homosexual conduct, or to permit openly gay/lesbian/bisexual unions and clergy.
The liberalizing responsum, adopted as a majority opinion by 13 of 25 votes, was authored by Rabbis Elliot N. Dorff, Daniel Nevins, and Avram Reisner. It lifted most restrictions on homosexual conduct and opened the way to the ordination of openly gay/lesbian/bisexual rabbis and cantors and acceptance of homosexual unions, but stopped short of religiously recognizing same-sex marriage. The responsum invoked the Talmudic principle of kavod habriyot, which the authors translated as "human dignity", as authority for this approach. The responsum maintained a prohibition on male-male anal sex, which it described as the sole Biblically prohibited homosexual act. This act remains a yehareg ve'al ya'avor ("die rather than transgress" offense) under the decision.[43]
Two traditionalist responsa were adopted. A responsum by Rabbi Joel Roth,[44] adopted as a majority opinion by 13 votes, reaffirmed a general complete prohibition on homosexual conduct. A second responsum by Rabbi Leonard Levy, adopted as a minority opinion by 6 votes, delineated ways in which to ensure that gays and lesbians would be accorded human dignity and a respected place in Conservative communities and institutions while maintaining the authority of the traditional prohibitions against same sex sexual activity.
The Committee rejected a fourth paper by Gordon Tucker which would have lifted all restrictions on homosexual sexual practices.
The consequences of the decision have been mixed. On the one hand, four members of the Committee, Rabbis Joel Roth, Leonard Levy, Mayer Rabinowitz, and Joseph Prouser, resigned from the CJLS following adoption of the change.[45][46] On the other hand, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles had previously stated that it will immediately begin admitting gay/lesbian/bisexual students as soon as the law committee passes a policy that sanctions such ordination.[47] On March 26, 2007, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York followed suit and began accepting openly gay/lesbian/bisexual candidates for admission for their Rabbinical program.[48]
On June 2012, the American branch of Conservative Judaism formally approved same-sex marriage ceremonies in a 13–0 vote.[49]
Meanwhile, Masorti synagogues in Europe and Israel, which have historically been somewhat more traditional than the American movement, continue to maintain a complete ban on homosexual and bisexual conduct, clergy, and unions. As such, most Conservative rabbis outside the USA are exercising their authority as local rabbinic authorities (mara d'atra) to reject the more liberal responsa. The head of the Israeli Masorti movement's Vaad Halakha (equivalent to the CJLS), Rabbi David Golinkin, wrote the CJLS protesting its reconsideration of the traditional ban on homosexual conduct.[50] The Masorti movements in Argentina, Hungary, and the United Kingdom have indicated that they will not admit or ordain openly gay/lesbian/bisexual rabbinical students.[51] The Masorti Movement's Israeli seminar also rejected a change in its view of the status of homosexual conduct, stating that "Jewish law has traditionally prohibited homosexuality."[52]
Rabbi Bradley Artson, Dean of the Rabbinic School at American Jewish University, claims to have studied every reference he could find to homosexual activity mentioned in ancient Greek and Latin writers. Every citation he found described an encounter between males where one party, the master, physically abused another, the slave. Rabbi Artson could not find a single example where one partner was not subservient to the other. "Homosexual relationships today," Rabbi Artson says, "should not be compared to the ancient world. I know too many homosexual individuals, including close friends and relatives, who are committed to one another in loving long-term monogamous relationships. I know too many same-sex couples that are loving parents raising good descent [sic] ethical children. Who's to say their family relationships are less sanctified in the eyes of God than mine is with my wife and our children?"[53]
Reform Judaism[edit]
The Reform Judaism movement, the largest branch of Judaism in North America, has rejected the traditional view of Jewish Law on homosexuality and bisexuality. As such, they do not prohibit ordination of openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people as rabbis and cantors. They view Levitical laws as sometimes seen to be referring to prostitution, making it a stand against Jews adopting the idolatrous fertility cults and practices of the neighbouring Canaanite nations rather than a blanket condemnation of same-sex intercourse, homosexuality, or bisexuality. Reform authorities consider that, in light of what is seen as current scientific evidence about the nature of homosexuality and bisexuality as inborn sexual orientations, a new interpretation of the law is required.
In 1972 Beth Chayim Chadashim, the world's first explicitly-gay-and-lesbian-centered synagogue recognized by the Reform Jewish community, was established in West Los Angeles, resulting in a slew of non-Orthodox congregations being established along similar lines. Beth Chayim Chadashim now focuses on the entire LGBT community, rather than just gays and lesbians.
In 1977, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), which is the Union for Reform Judaism's principal body, adopted a resolution calling for legislation decriminalizing homosexual acts between consenting adults, and calling for an end to discrimination against gays and lesbians.[54] The resolution called on Reform Jewish organizations to develop programs to implement this stand.[54]
In the late 1980s the primary seminary of the Reform movement, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, changed its admission requirements to allow openly gay and lesbian people to join the student body.
In 1990, the Union for Reform Judaism announced a national policy declaring lesbian and gay Jews to be full and equal members of the religious community. Also in 1990, the CCAR officially endorsed a report of their own Ad Hoc Committee on Homosexuality and the Rabbinate.[54] This position paper urged that "all rabbis, regardless of sexual orientation, be accorded the opportunity to fulfill the sacred vocation that they have chosen."[54] The committee endorsed the view that "all Jews are religiously equal regardless of their sexual orientation."[54]
In 1996 the CCAR passed a resolution approving same-sex civil marriage. However, this same resolution made a distinction between civil marriages and religious marriages; this resolution thus stated:
However we may understand homosexuality, whether as an illness, as a genetically based dysfunction or as a sexual preference and lifestyle—we cannot accommodate the relationship of two homosexuals as a "marriage" within the context of Judaism, for none of the elements of qiddushin (sanctification) normally associated with marriage can be invoked for this relationship.[55]The Central Conference of American Rabbis support the right of gay and lesbian couples to share fully and equally in the rights of civil marriage, andThat the CCAR oppose governmental efforts to ban gay and lesbian marriage.That this is a matter of civil law, and is separate from the question of rabbinic officiation at such marriages.
In 1998, an ad hoc CCAR committee on Human Sexuality issued its majority report (11 to 1, 1 abstention) which stated that the holiness within a Jewish marriage "may be present in committed same gender relationships between two Jews and that these relationships can serve as the foundation of stable Jewish families, thus adding strength to the Jewish community." The report called for the CCAR to support rabbis in officiating at same-sex marriages. Also in 1998, the Responsa Committee of the CCAR issued a lengthy teshuvah (rabbinical opinion)[56] that offered detailed argumentation in support of both sides of the question whether a rabbi may officiate at a commitment ceremony for a same-sex couple.
In March 2000 the CCAR issued a new resolution stating that "We do hereby resolve that the relationship of a Jewish, same gender couple is worthy of affirmation through appropriate Jewish ritual, and further resolve, that we recognize the diversity of opinions within our ranks on this issue. We support the decision of those who choose to officiate at rituals of union for same-sex couples, and we support the decision of those who do not."
Also in 2000, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion established the Institute for Judaism, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity to "educate HUC-JIR students on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues to help them challenge and eliminate homophobia and heterosexism; and to learn tools to be able to transform the communities they encounter into ones that are inclusive and welcoming of LGBT Jews."[57] It is the first and only institute of its kind in the Jewish world.[57]
In 2003, the Union for Reform Judaism retroactively applied its pro-rights policy on gays and lesbians to the bisexual and transgender communities, issuing a resolution titled, "Support for the Inclusion and Acceptance of the Transgender and Bisexual Communities".[58]
Also in 2003, Women of Reform Judaism issued a statement describing their support for human and civil rights and the struggles of the bisexual and transgender communities, and saying, "Women of Reform Judaism accordingly: Calls for civil rights protections from all forms of discrimination against bisexual and transgender individuals; Urges that such legislation allows transgender individuals to be seen under the law as the gender by which they identify; and Calls upon sisterhoods to hold informative programs about the transgender and bisexual communities."[59]
In 2009 Siddur Sha'ar Zahav, the first complete prayer book to address the lives and needs of LGBTQ as well as straight Jews, was published. Publisher: J Levine Judaica & Sha'ar Zahav (2009); ISBN 0-982197-91-8; ISBN 978-0982197-91-2. Sha'ar Zahav is a progressive Reform synagogue in San Francisco.
In 2014, the CCAR joined a lawsuit challenging North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage, which is America's first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage bans.[60][61]
In 2015, Rabbi Denise Eger became the first openly gay president of the CCAR.[62][63]
Also in 2015 the High Holy Days Reform Jewish prayer book Mishkan HaNefesh was released; it is intended as a companion to Mishkan T'filah.[64] Mishkan HaNefesh can be translated as "sanctuary of the soul."[64] It replaces a line from the Reform movement’s earlier prayerbook, "Gates of Repentance," that mentioned the joy of a bride and groom specifically, with the line "rejoicing with couples under the chuppah [wedding canopy]", and adds a third, non-gendered option to the way worshippers are called to the Torah, offering “mibeit,” Hebrew for “from the house of,” in addition to the traditional “son of” or “daughter of.”[64]
Reconstructionist Judaism[edit]
The Reconstructionist movement sees homosexuality and bisexuality as normal expressions of sexuality and welcomes gays, bisexuals, and lesbians into Reconstructionist communities to participate fully in every aspect of community life. Since 1985, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College has admitted openly gay, bisexual, and lesbian candidates to their rabbinical and cantorial programs. In 1993, a movement Commission issued: Homosexuality and Judaism: The Reconstructionist Position.[65] The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) encourages its members to officiate at same-sex marriages/commitment ceremonies, though the RRA does not require its members to officiate at them. In 2007, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association elected as president Rabbi Toba Spitzer, the first openly LGBT person chosen to head a rabbinical association in the United States. In 2013, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association elected as president Rabbi Jason Klein, the first openly gay man chosen to head a national rabbinical association of one of the major Jewish denominations in the United States.[66] Also in 2013, Rabbi Deborah Waxman was elected as the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.[67][68] As the President, she is believed to be the first woman and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first female rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is both a congregational union and a seminary.[67][69]
Jewish Renewal[edit]
Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices; it describes itself as "a worldwide, transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism's prophetic and mystical traditions." [70] The Jewish Renewal movement ordains people of all sexual orientations as rabbis and cantors. In 2005, Eli Cohen became the first openly gay rabbi ordained by the Jewish Renewal Movement, followed by Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein in 2006, who became the two first openly lesbian rabbis ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement. In 2007, Jalda Rebling, born in Amsterdam and now living in Germany, became the first openly lesbian cantor ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement.[71] In 2011, the bisexual rights activist Debra Kolodny was ordained as a rabbi by the Jewish Renewal movement and hired as the rabbi for congregation P'nai Or of Portland.[72][73] The Statement of Principles of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal (and OHALAH and the Rabbinic Pastors Association) states in part, "We welcome and recognize the sanctity of every individual regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We recognize respectful and mutual expressions of adult human sexuality as potentially sacred expressions of love and therefore we strive to welcome a variety of constellations of intimate relationships and family forms including gay, lesbian, and heterosexual relationships as well as people choosing to be single." [74]
Humanistic Judaism[edit]
Humanistic Judaism is a movement in Judaism that offers a nontheistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. In 2004 the Society for Humanistic Judaism issued a resolution supporting "the legal recognition of marriage and divorce between adults of the same sex," and affirming " the value of marriage between any two committed adults with the sense of obligations, responsibilities, and consequences thereof."[75] In 2010 they pledged to speak out against homophobic bullying.[76] The Association of Humanistic Rabbis has also issued a pro-LGBT statement titled "In Support of Diverse Sexualities and Gender Identities." [77] It was adopted in 2003 and issued in 2004.[77]
LGBT-affirmative activities[edit]



 An egalitarian orthodox Pride minyan held in Tel Aviv on the second Shabat of Hanukkah.
Jewish LGBT rights advocates and sympathetic clergy have created various institutions within Jewish life to accommodate gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parishioners. Beth Chayim Chadashim, established in 1972 in West Los Angeles, was the world's first explicitly-gay-and-lesbian-centered synagogue recognized by the Reform Jewish community, resulting in a slew of non-Orthodox congregations being established along similar lines, including Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City, Bet Mishpachah in Washington, D.C. and Congregation Or Chadash in Chicago. Beth Chayim Chadashim now focuses on the entire LGBT community, rather than just gays and lesbians.
LGBT-inclusive services and ceremonies specific to Jewish religious culture have also been created, ranging from LGBT-affirmative haggadot for Passover[78] to so-called "Stonewall Sederim".[79][80]
In October 2012 Rainbow Jews, an oral history project showcasing the lives of Jewish bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender people in the United Kingdom from the 1950s until the present, was launched.[81] It is the United Kingdom's first archive of Jewish bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender history.[82]
The ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives has, among other things, the Twice Blessed Collection, circa 1966-2000; this collection "consists of materials documenting the Jewish lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender experience, circa 1966-2000, collected by the Jewish Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Archives, founded and operated by Johnny Abush." [83]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Judaism portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Portal icon Israel portal
Tel Aviv Pride
Bat Kol Religious lesbian community in Israel
Bet Mishpachah: LGBT welcoming Jewish congregation in Washington, D.C.
Chicks in White Satin: a 1994 American short documentary film about the Jewish same-sex marriage of two lesbians.
Havruta Religious gay community in Israel
Hod
Judaism and sexuality
Keep Not Silent: A documentary about Orthodox Jewish lesbians.
Keshet Rabbis
LGBT clergy in Judaism
LGBT matters and religion
LGBT rights in Israel
List of LGBT Jews
Mixed-orientation marriage: A marriage between partners of differing sexual orientations.
Same-sex marriage and Judaism
Say Amen: A documentary about a gay man coming out to his Orthodox family
Touro University Gay-Straight Alliance: The GLBT student group for the largest Jewish sponsored university in the world.
Transgenderism and religion
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ ''Soliciting Interpretation''. Books.google.com. 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
2.Jump up ^ "Finding Our Past: A Lesbian Interpretation of the Book of Ruth", by Rebecca Alpert, in Reading Ruth: Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story, edited by J. A. Kates and G.T. Reimer (1994).
3.Jump up ^ Horner, Tom (1978-01-01). ''Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times''. 'Westminster John Knox Press'. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
4.Jump up ^ Samuel J. Levine (1997–1998). "Capital Punishment in Jewish Law and its Application to the American Legal System: A Conceptual Overview". St. Mary's Law Journal 29: 1037–1051.
5.Jump up ^ Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance, Chapter 2
6.Jump up ^ "Issurei Bi'ah 21:8–9" (in Hebrew). Retrieved November 26, 2014.
7.Jump up ^ Chullin 92ab
8.Jump up ^ http://www.jonahweb.org/cms/e/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=42[dead link]
9.Jump up ^ "Rights or Ills". Jonah International. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
10.Jump up ^ Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm. "Judaism and the Modern Attitude to Homosexuality | 2002". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
11.Jump up ^ "Rabbi Ordained by Yeshiva University Announces He is Gay". Israel Wire. May 18, 1999.
12.Jump up ^ Avi Shafran. "Dissembling Before G_d". Dissembling Before G-d. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
13.Jump up ^ Yermi Brenner (2009). Gay Rabbi Comes Out of His Orthodox Closet. VJ Movement. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
14.^ Jump up to: a b Nissan Strauchler (February 16, 2010). "Gay with perfect faith". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
15.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (August 2, 2009). "Rabbis condemn anti-gay shooting". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
16.Jump up ^ minute 00:39 in a radio interview with Razi Barkay here [1])
17.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (February 10, 2008). "Religious homosexuals seek acceptance". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
18.Jump up ^ "Torah View on Homosexuality". Torahweb. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
19.Jump up ^ Nati Helfgot (July 28, 2010). "Statement of Principles". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
20.Jump up ^ "RCA: No Female Rabbis". Israel National News. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
21.Jump up ^ "Atzat Nefesh" (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 6, 2006.
22.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (February 25, 2011). "Religious gays offered 'conversion therapy'". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
23.Jump up ^ "JONAH'S Mission Statement". Retrieved April 6, 2007.
24.Jump up ^ "News from JONAH". NARTH Institute.[dead link]
25.Jump up ^ Pathinfo.org Retrieved April 6, 2006[dead link]
26.^ Jump up to: a b Jay Michaelson (2012-08-02). "Orthodox Rabbis Say Gay 'Cure' Therapy Doesn't Work". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
27.Jump up ^ "Hudson judge allows gay conversion therapy lawsuit to continue". The Jersey Journal. June 9, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
28.Jump up ^ Rapoport, Rabbi Chaim (2004). Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View. London; Portland, OR: Vallentine Mitchell. ISBN 0853034524.
29.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (January 1, 2013). "Top rabbi: Soften attitude towards gays". Ynetnews.
30.Jump up ^ Maayan Jaffe (January 27, 2014). "Orthodox and out of the closet". JNS. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
31.Jump up ^ "Eshel". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
32.Jump up ^ "Frum Gay Jews' Home Page". Glydsa.org. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
33.Jump up ^ Orthodykes.org[dead link]
34.Jump up ^ "JQY". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
35.Jump up ^ Bat-kol.org
36.Jump up ^ HOD.org
37.Jump up ^ Ari Rabinovitch (February 14, 2008). "Orthodox gays in Israel find support in Web site". Reuters. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
38.Jump up ^ Sarah Karlan (March 19, 2013). "Guerilla Campaign Against Gay Conversion Launched In Orthodox Jewish Community". Buzzfeed. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
39.Jump up ^ "For LGBT Orthodox Jews, Growth of Social Media Creates a Safe Space Online". Tablet. June 26, 2013.
40.Jump up ^ Shmuley Boteach (May 14, 2013). "What If Government Recognized Only Civil Unions and Left Marriage to Religion?". Huffington Post.
41.Jump up ^ Zev Farber (May 22, 2013). "Obama's Advocacy of Gay Marriage: An Alternative Orthodox Response – by Rabbi Zev Farber". Morethodoxy.
42.Jump up ^ Shmuly Yanklowitz (December 19, 2013). "5 Reasons Being an Orthodox Rabbi Compelled Me to Support Gay Marriage". The Huffington Post.
43.Jump up ^ Elliott N. Dorff, Daniel Nevins, and Avram Reisner. Homosexuality, Human Dignity, and Halakha. Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006[dead link]
44.Jump up ^ "Joel Roth, Homosexuality Revisited, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-01-23.
45.Jump up ^ Ben Harris (2006-12-06). "Conflicting Conservative opinions expected to open the way for gays". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2006-12-07.[dead link]
46.Jump up ^ Rabbi Joel Roth, "Op-Ed: Law committee in its gay ruling stepped outside halachic framework", JTS News, December 10, 2006[dead link]
47.Jump up ^ Rebecca Spence (December 8, 2006). "Conservative Panel Votes To Permit Gay Rabbis". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
48.Jump up ^ "Chancellor-elect Eisen's Letter to the Community". The Jewish Theological Seminary. March 26, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
49.Jump up ^ Conservative Jews approve gay wedding guidelines[dead link]
50.Jump up ^ Rabbi Joseph Prouser. "The Conservative Movement and Homosexuality: Settled Law in Unsettling Times" (PDF). Retrieved November 26, 2014.
51.Jump up ^ Rebecca Spence (December 15, 2006). "Overseas Seminaries Set To Reject Gay Ordination: Canadian Rabbis Mull Forming Separate Wing of Movement". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
52.Jump up ^ "No gay ordinations in conservative seminar". Ynetnews. March 28, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
53.Jump up ^ Elliot Fein (October 28, 2008). "Religious "No!" to Proposition 8". Jewish Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
54.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "CCAR". Ccarnet.org. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
55.Jump up ^ "Question 18.3.8: Reform's Position On...Homosexuality". Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
56.Jump up ^ CCARnet.org[dead link]
57.^ Jump up to: a b "Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation".
58.Jump up ^ "Support for the Inclusion and Acceptance of the Transgender and Bisexual Communities".
59.Jump up ^ http://www.wrj.org/Advocacy/ResolutionsStatements/Resolutions2003/2003TransgenderandBisexualRights.aspx[dead link]
60.Jump up ^ Mark Price (June 3, 2014). "Rabbis group joins N.C. same-sex marriage suit". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
61.Jump up ^ Michael O'Loughlin (June 6, 2014). "Rabbis Join Marriage Equality Fight". Advocate. Retrieved November 26, 2014.f
62.Jump up ^ Tess Cutler, "Rabbi Denise Eger seeks to open doors wider to all Jews", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, March 4, 2015.
63.Jump up ^ "Reform rabbis install first openly gay president, Denise Eger | Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Jta.org. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
64.^ Jump up to: a b c "‘Gates of Repentance’ replacement advances Reform trends | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California". Jweekly.com. 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
65.Jump up ^ "Becoming a "Kehillah Mekabelet": The Struggles of Transformation" by Roberta Israeloff[dead link]
66.Jump up ^ "Gay man chosen to lead U.S. Reconstructionist rabbis". Haaretz. The Forward. March 12, 2013. Retrieved November 2014.
67.^ Jump up to: a b "Reconstructionists Pick First Woman, Lesbian As Denominational Leader". The Jewish Week. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 10, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
68.Jump up ^ Anne Cohen (October 18, 2013). "Trailblazing Reconstructionist Deborah Waxman Relishes Challenges of Judaism". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
69.Jump up ^ "RRC Announces New President Elect" (PDF) (Press release). Reconstructionst Rabbinical College. October 9, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
70.Jump up ^ "About Jewish Renewal". Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
71.Jump up ^ Axelrod, Toby (1999-11-30). "New Renewal cantor looks ahead". JTA. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
72.Jump up ^ http://www.jewishreview.org/special/Pnai-Or-hires-new-rabbi[dead link]
73.Jump up ^ "Profile: Debra Kolodny". The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Religious Archives Network. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
74.Jump up ^ "Statement of Principles". OHALAH. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
75.Jump up ^ http://www.shj.org/MarriageEquality.htm[dead link]
76.Jump up ^ http://www.shj.org/Homophobic%20Bullying.html[dead link]
77.^ Jump up to: a b "Sexualities & Identities". Association of Humanistic Rabbis. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
78.Jump up ^ "GLBT Passover Haggadah". JQ International.[dead link]
79.Jump up ^ Mark Horn. "The Stonewall Seder". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
80.Jump up ^ Nick Street (April 17, 2008). "An old story finds new life in LGBT haggadah". Jewish Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
81.Jump up ^ "About us". Rainbow Jews.
82.Jump up ^ Hephzibah Anderson (February 12, 2014). "Trove of Jewish LGBT history goes on display in U.K.". Haaretz. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
83.Jump up ^ "Finding aid of the Twice Blessed Collection, circa 1966-2000 Coll2010.003". Online Archives of California. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
Sources[edit]
Alpert, Rebecca, Like Bread on a Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition, Columbia University Press, New York, 1998.
Alpert, Rebecca, Sue Levi Elwell and Shirley Idelson (editors), Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 2001.
Marc Angel, Hillel Goldberg, and Pinchas Stolper, "Homosexuality and the Orthodox Jewish Community" Jewish Action 53:2 p. 54 (1992).
Balka, Christie and Rose, Andy, Twice Blessed: on Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish Boston: Beacon Press, 1989.
J. David Bleich. "Homosexuality" in Judaism and Healing KTAV, 1981
Boyarin, Itzkovitz, Pellegrini, eds. Queer theory and the Jewish question, Columbia Univ Press, 2003
Michael Broyde, "Jews, Public Policy and Civil Rights: A Religious Jewish Perspective" at jlaw.com
Cohen, Uri C. "Bibliography of Contemporary Orthodox Jewish Responses to Homosexuality" ATID, Jerusalem. (PDF also available.)
Dworkin, Sara H. Jewish, Bisexual, Feminist in a Christian Heterosexual World: Oy Vey!
Dag Øistein Endsjø, Sex and Religion. Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths. Reaktion Books 2011.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Igrot Moshe OH 4:115, 1 Adar I, 5736
Gorlin, Rebecca. "The Voice of a Wandering Jewish Bisexual", in Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, Alyson Publications, 1991, edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu
Greenberg, Steven, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition. University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. ISBN 0-299-19090-0
_______. (Under pseudonym Yaakov Levado). Gayness and God, Tikkun magazine, 1993.
Kahn, Yoel H. "Judaism and Homosexuality: The Traditionalist/Progressive Debate" in Homosexuality and Religion, Richard Hasbany, ed. Haworth Press, 1989
Kolodny, Debra and Rosenthal, Gilly, "Hear, I Pray You, This Dream Which I Have Dreamed" and "I Can Love All The Faces of G-d" in Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith, Continuum, 2000, edited by Kolodny, Debra
Moss, Jacob A. and Rivka Ulmer, “Two men under one cloak—the Sages permit it: Homosexual Marriage in Judaism.” Journal of Homosexuality 55 (2008), 71-105.
Jewish Reconstruction Federation & RRA, Homosexuality and Judaism: The Reconstructionist Position, The Reconstructionist Press, 1993
Unterman, Alan. "Judaism and Homosexuality: Some Orthodox Perspectives" in Jewish Explorations of Sexuality, Jonathan Magonet, ed.
Further reading[edit]
Found Tribe: Jewish Coming Out Stories, edited by Lawrence Schimel (May 1, 2004)
A Gay Synagogue in New York by Moshe Shokeid (Nov 1, 2002)
Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View by Rabbi Chaim Rapoport (Apr 1, 2004)
"Hear, I Pray You, This Dream Which I Have Dreamed" by Debra Kolodny and "I Can Love All The Faces of G-d" by Gilly Rosenthal, both in Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith, edited by Debra Kolodny (2000)
"Lesbianism", by Rebecca Alpert, part of Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation by Rebecca Alpert, Sue Levi Elwell and Shirley Idelson (Aug 15, 2001)
Like Bread on the Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition by Rebecca Alpert (Nov 15, 1998)
Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology edited by Evelyn Torton Beck (Dec 1989)
Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish, edited by Christie Balka and Andy Rose (Apr 2, 1991)
"The Voice of a Wandering Jewish Bisexual" by Rebecca Gorlin, in Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, Alyson Publications, 1991, edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu
"Judaism, Sephardic" by Daniel Eisenberg, in Encyclopedia of Homosexuality,
http://www.sexarchive.info/BIB/EOH/index.htm
Research References:
Coyle, Adrian; Rafalin, Deborah (2001). "Jewish gay men's accounts of negotiating cultural, religious, and sexual identity: A qualitative study". Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality (Taylor and Francis) 12 (4): 21–48. doi:10.1300/J056v12n04_02. Pdf.
Etengoff, Chana; Daiute, Colette (February 2014). "Family members’ uses of religion in post–coming-out conflicts with their gay relative". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (PsycNET) 6 (1): 33–43. doi:10.1037/a0035198.
Etengoff, Chana; Daiute, Colette (November 2014). "Online coming-out communications between gay men and their religious family allies: a family of choice and origin perspective". Journal of GLBT Family Studies (Taylor and Francis) 0: 1–27. doi:10.1080/1550428X.2014.964442.
Etengoff, Chana; Daiute, Colette (2015). "Clinicians’ perspective of the relational processes for family and individual development during the mediation of religious and sexual identity disclosure". Journal of Homosexuality (Taylor and Francis) 62 (3): 394–426. doi:10.1080/00918369.2014.977115.
Glassgold, Judith M. (2008). "Bridging the divide integrating lesbian identity and orthodox Judaism". Women & Therapy (Taylor and Francis) 31 (1): 59–73. doi:10.1300/02703140802145227.
Halbertal, T. H., & Koren, I. (2006). Between “being” and “doing”: Conflict and coherence in the identity formation of gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews. In D. P. McAdams, R. Josselson, and A. Lieblich (Eds.), Identity and story: Creating self in narrative (p. 37–61). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
Mark, Naomi (2008). "Identities in conflict: forging an orthodox gay identity". Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health (Taylor and Francis) 12 (3): 179–194. doi:10.1080/19359700802111189.
Schnoor, Randal F. (2006). "Being gay and Jewish: Negotiating intersecting identities". Sociology of Religion (Oxford Journals) 67 (1): 43–60. doi:10.1093/socrel/67.1.43.
External links[edit]


 This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (November 2014)
Orthodox: Rabbi Shalom Spira, on how gay Jews can marry feminine men, and on how lesbian Jews can marry masculine women
Letter to a homosexual baal teshuva, by Rabbi Aharon Feldman
Homosexuality in Orthodox Judaism by Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel
Judaism, Nature and Homosexuality
(Hebrew) "Chapter 48: Yichud zecharim in bathhouses and yeshivot" from Nitei Gavriel: Laws of Yichud
Conservative: Rabbi Danny Nevins, Living Law: A Journal of the CJLS Vote on Homosexuality and Halakhah, 16 Kislev 5767 / December 7, 2006
Homosexuality and Judaism: Synthesis or Impasse? by Rabbi Brad Artson
Reform: Decades-Long Fight for LGBT Equality from ReformJudaism.org
Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School - official documentary website
Non-denominational / unclassifiable: JONAH non-profit organization for educating about the prevention, intervention, and healing of the underlying issues causing same-sex attractions
FAQ on homosexual Jews
Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity
OrthoDykes For Orthodox Jewish lesbians
Publications on LGBT issues at the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner



[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and religion topics


Overview
Homosexuality and religion ·
 Transgenderism and religion
 

Religions


Abrahamic
Bahá'í Faith ·
 Christianity  (Anglican ·
 Baptist ·
 LDS Church ·
 Lutheran ·
 Methodist ·
 Presbyterian ·
 Quaker ·
 Roman Catholic)
   ·
 Judaism ·
 Islam
 

Indian
Buddhism ·
 Hinduism  (Hare Krishna)
   ·
 Sikhism
 

Other
Scientology ·
 Unitarian Universalism ·
 Vodou ·
 Wicca ·
 Zoroastrianism
 


Other
LGBT-affirming religious groups  (Judaism ·
 Christianity)
   ·
 Ordination of LGBT clergy  (Judaism ·
 Christianity)
   ·
 Religious views on same-sex marriage  (Judaism ·
 Christianity)
   ·
 The Bible ·
 Hijra ·
 Two-Spirit ·
 Khanith
 

  


Categories: LGBT topics and Judaism
Jewish marital law
Jewish views on society
Judaism and sexuality
LGBT and religion















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Español
Esperanto
فارسی
Français
Italiano
עברית
Русский
Türkçe
Tiếng Việt
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 14 April 2015, at 18:16.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Judaism














Homosexuality and Judaism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Judaism and homosexuality)
Jump to: navigation, search

"LGBT topics and Judaism" redirects here. For transgender topics in Judaism, see Transgenderism and religion § Judaism.
Homosexual behavior and Judaism

Halakhic texts relating to this article

Torah:
Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13.
Mishneh Torah:
• For men: Issurei Bi'ah 1:14, 21:18.
• For women: Issurei Bi'ah 21:8.
The subject of homosexual behavior and Judaism dates back to the Torah. The book of Vayiqra (Leviticus) is traditionally regarded as classifying sexual intercourse between males as a to'eivah (something abhorred or detested) that can be subject to capital punishment under halakha (Jewish law).



 Jewish marchers at San Francisco Pride 2014
The issue has been a subject of contention within modern Jewish denominations and has led to debate and division. Traditionally, Judaism has understood homosexual intercourse as contrary to Judaism, and this opinion is still maintained by Orthodox Judaism. On the other hand, Reconstructionist Judaism and Reform Judaism do not hold this view and allow homosexual intercourse. Conservative Judaism's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which until December 2006 held the same position as Orthodoxy, recently issued multiple opinions under its philosophy of pluralism, with one opinion continuing to follow the Orthodox position and another opinion substantially liberalizing its view of homosexual sex and relationships while continuing to regard certain sexual acts as prohibited.


Contents  [hide]
1 Homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible
2 Rabbinic Jewish application and interpretation of these verses 2.1 Applicability of Biblical death penalty
2.2 Lesbian sexual activity
2.3 Same-sex marriage in the Midrash and the Talmud
3 Orthodox Jewish views 3.1 2008 Israeli Document of Principles (Hod)
3.2 Statement by Rabbis Schachter, Willig, Rosensweig, and Twersky (2010)
3.3 July 2010 public statement by some leaders
3.4 Ex-gay organizations
3.5 Other viewpoints
4 Conservative and Masorti Judaism
5 Reform Judaism
6 Reconstructionist Judaism
7 Jewish Renewal
8 Humanistic Judaism
9 LGBT-affirmative activities
10 See also
11 Notes
12 Sources
13 Further reading
14 External links

Homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible[edit]
Further information: The Bible and homosexuality
The traditional viewpoint is that the Torah mentions homosexuality twice in the book of Leviticus (JPS):
וְאֶת-זָכָר—לֹא תִשְׁכַּב, מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה: תּוֹעֵבָה, הִוא.

Lev.18:22 "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is detestable."
וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-זָכָר מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה—תּוֹעֵבָה עָשׂוּ, שְׁנֵיהֶם; מוֹת יוּמָתוּ, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם.

Lev.20:13 "And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed a detestable act: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
Deuteronomy 23:17 tells followers:

None of the daughters of Israel shall be a kedeshah, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a kadesh.
This has been interpreted as prohibiting the "sons of Israel" from serving as a homosexual temple prostitute.[citation needed]
The story of Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth is also occasionally interpreted as the story of a lesbian couple,[1][2] while the biblical description of the relationship between David and Jonathan in the Book of Kings is sometimes interpreted as male homosexual love.[3]
Rabbinic Jewish application and interpretation of these verses[edit]
Applicability of Biblical death penalty[edit]
Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for willful violation is the death penalty. However, even in Biblical times, it was very difficult to get a conviction that would lead to this prescribed punishment. The Jewish Oral Law states that capital punishment would only be applicable if two men were caught in the act of anal sex, if there were two witnesses to the act, if the two witnesses warned the men involved that they committed a capital offense, and the two men — or the willing party, in case of rape — subsequently acknowledged the warning but continued to engage in the prohibited act anyway. In fact, there is no account of capital punishment, in regards to this law, in Jewish history.
Rabbinic tradition understands the Torah's system of capital punishment to not be in effect for the past approximately 2,000 years, in the absence of a Sanhedrin and Temple.[4]
Classical rabbinic Jewish sources do not specifically mention that homosexual attraction is inherently sinful. However, someone who has had homosexual intercourse is considered to have violated a prohibition.[citation needed] If he does teshuva (repentance)—i.e., he ceases his forbidden actions, regrets what he has done, apologizes to God, and makes a binding resolution never to repeat those actions, he is seen to be forgiven by God.[5]
Lesbian sexual activity[edit]
Although there is no direct textual prohibition of homosexual acts between women (lesbianism) anywhere in the Torah, homosexual acts[vague] between women are widely viewed as forbidden by most rabbis. It is based on a Drash interpretation of the Biblical verse "Do not follow the ways of Egypt where you once lived, nor of Canaan, where I will be bringing you. Do not follow any of their customs." (Leviticus 18:3).
A midrash, Sifra Aharei Mot 8:8–9, states that this refers to sexual customs, and that one of those customs was the marriage of women to each other, as well as a man to a woman and to her daughter. Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, summarizes the matter as follows:[6]

For women to be mesollelot[vague] with one another is forbidden, as this is the practice of Egypt, which we were warned against: "Like the practice of the land of Egypt ... you shall not do" (Leviticus 18:3). The Sages said [in the midrash of Sifra Aharei Mot 8:8–9], "What did they do? A man married a man, and a woman married a woman, and a woman married two men." Even though this practice is forbidden, one is not lashed [as for a Torah prohibition] on account of it, since there is no specific prohibition against it, and there is no real intercourse. Therefore, [one who does this] is not forbidden to the priesthood because of harlotry, and a woman is not prohibited to her husband by this, since it is not harlotry. But it is appropriate to administer to them lashings of rebellion [i.e., those given for violation of rabbinic prohibitions], since they did something forbidden. And a man should be strict with his wife in this matter, and should prevent women known to do this from coming to her or from her going to them.
Same-sex marriage in the Midrash and the Talmud[edit]
The Babylonian Talmud is one of the few ancient religious texts that makes reference to same-sex marriage:

"'Ula said: Non-Jews [litt. Bnei Noach, the progeny of Noah] accepted upon themselves thirty mitzvot [divinely ordered laws] but they only abide by three of them: the first one is that they do not write marriage documents for male couples, the second one is that they don't sell dead [human] meat by the pound in stores and the third one is that they respect the Torah.'" [7]
Orthodox Jewish views[edit]
While a variety of views regarding homosexuality as an inclination or status exist within the Orthodox Jewish community, Orthodox Judaism generally prohibits homosexual conduct. While there is disagreement about which acts come under core prohibitions, all of Orthodox Judaism puts certain core homosexual acts, including male-male anal sex in the category of yehareg ve'al ya'avor, "die rather than transgress", the small category of Biblically-prohibited acts (also including murder, idolatry, adultery, and incest) which an Orthodox Jew is obligated under the laws of Self-sacrifice under Jewish Law to die rather than do.[citation needed] According to the Talmud, homosexual acts are forbidden between non-Jews as well, and is included among the sexual restrictions of the Noachide laws.[8]
In a speech given in 1986, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, discussed "individuals who express an inclination towards a particular form of physical relationship in which the libidinal gratification is sought with members of one's own gender". He wrote that "society and government must be to offer a helping hand to those who are afflicted with this problem".[9]
Rabbi Dr. Immanuel Jakobovits, in his entry Homosexuality in the Encyclopedia Judaica (Keter Publishing), describes the traditional opinion on homosexuality in this way:

Jewish law [...] rejects the view that homosexuality is to be regarded merely as a disease or as morally neutral.... Jewish law holds that no hedonistic ethic, even if called "love", can justify the morality of homosexuality any more than it can legitimize adultery or incest, however genuinely such acts may be performed out of love and by mutual consent.
Rabbi Norman Lamm (the Chancellor, Rosh Yeshiva ["head of the yeshiva"], and former president of Yeshiva University, a major Modern Orthodox Jewish institution) advocated[10] that some (although not all) homosexuals should be viewed as diseased and in need of compassion and treatment, rather than willful rebels who should be ostracized. He distinguishes between six varieties of homosexuals, including "genuine homosexuals" who have "strong preferential erotic feelings for members of the same sex", "transitory" and "situational" homosexuals who would prefer heterosexual intercourse but are denied it or seek gain in homosexuality, and heterosexuals who are merely curious.
When Steven Greenberg, who received Orthodox rabbinic ordination, publicly announced in 1999 that he was homosexual, there was a significant response from rabbis of all denominations reported in the Jewish newspapers. Rabbi Moshe Tendler, a leading rabbi at Yeshiva University, stated "It is very sad that an individual who attended our yeshiva sunk to the depths of what we consider a depraved society,"

Tendler said that Rabbi Greenberg's announcement is "the exact same as if he said, 'I'm an Orthodox Rabbi and I eat ham sandwiches on Yom Kippur.' What you are is a Reform Rabbi."[11]
Sandi Simcha Dubowski's movie Trembling Before G-d (2001) documented the experiences of several homosexual Modern Orthodox and Haredi Jews. The spokesperson for Agudath Israel of America, Rabbi Avi Shafran, attacked the film with an article "Dissembling Before G-d", maintaining that gay people can be cured through therapy, and that the movie is meant to promote homosexuality:
Unfortunately, though, "Trembling" seems to have other intents as well. While it never baldly advocates the case for broader societal acceptance of homosexuality or for the abandonment of elements of the Jewish religious tradition, those causes are subtly evident in the stark, simplistic picture the film presents of sincere, conflicted and victimized men and women confronted by a largely stern and stubborn cadre of rabbis.That picture is both incomplete and distorted. For starters, the film refuses to even allow for the possibility that men and women with homosexual predilections might—with great effort, to be sure—achieve successful and happy marriages to members of the opposite sex.[12]
Orthodox Israeli rabbi Ron Yosef became in 2009 the first Israeli orthodox Rabbi to come out, by appearing in Uvda ("Fact"), Israel's leading investigative television program, in a episode regarding conversion therapies in Israel.[13] Yosef remains in his position as a pulpit Rabbi.[14] Yosef testified that his Yemenite congregation didn't accept him being a homosexual very easily and it took them a while to accept it. He stated that the younger generation strengthened and supported him, while the older generation had a more difficult experience Yosef received death threats in the year leading up to the 2009 Tel Aviv gay centre shooting.[15]
In 2013, he stated he is in a relationship with a man.[16]
Yosef has stated his approach to the issue of homosexuality in Judaism as follows:

"It is clear to me that lying with another man is forbidden, and our starting point is commitment to halacha and Torah. The goal is not to seek permission. But you need to give us a shoulder and support.".[14]
2008 Israeli Document of Principles (Hod)[edit]
In an open letter distributed to Orthodox community leaders,[17] the Hod organization appealed to the Orthodox community to recognize them as part of the religious society. This was sent to over 100 rabbis in 2008, and eventually was known as the "Document of Principles". In part, the document states:
"Anal intercourse between men (Isur Mishkav Zachar) is what is forbidden in the Torah, and not the homosexual orientation....One can advise a person who is interested in doing so, to consult a certified professional mental health worker, on condition that complete information is provided about the type of treatment, its chances of success and its risks. No treatment should be seen as either ultimate or exclusive.A homosexual man may not be coerced into marriage, since marriage provides no inherent solution to a person struggling with his sexuality...One’s capacity to marry does not only include a readiness to fulfill the commandment of "Be fruitful and multiply" but also the suitability to manage a healthy and moral relationship with one’s spouse.On the condition that he does not publicize his actions, a person who has transgressed the prohibition of homosexual intercourse should not be cast out from the religious community. Homosexual activity (as opposed to the homosexual orientation itself) is prohibited absolutely by the Torah......A homosexual should be acknowledged as a full member of the religious community, be it in making up a minyan (prayer quorum), delivering the Priestly Blessing, being called up for a blessing on the Torah or being recognized as a valid witness – in these and in any other matter he should not be treated differently to any other person....It is of great importance to set up support groups for homosexuals, and such organizations are to be considered charity organizations...An ‘all or nothing’ policy is opposed to the way of Halakha. Every Jewish person should try to keep all the commandments and should do everything he or she can to be as observant of the Torah as possible".
Up to 2013, 163 Orthodox rabbis from Israel and abroad have signed this statement, among them: rabbi Yuval Cherlow, rabbi Binyamin Lau, rabbi Haim Navon, rabbi Daniel Sperber, rabbi Eliezer Melamed, rabbi Shai Piron and rabbi Yehuda Gilad.
Statement by Rabbis Schachter, Willig, Rosensweig, and Twersky (2010)[edit]
In 2010, TorahWeb.org published a brief position statement entitled "Torah View on Homosexuality".[18] It was co-authored by Rav Hershel Schachter, Rav Mordechai Willig, Rav Michael Rosensweig, and Rav Mayer Twersky. These four are all roshei yeshiva (i.e., rabbinic leaders) at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, the largest and most influential Modern Orthodox rabbinic program in America. In part, the statement reads:
... Prohibited homosexual activity includes any non-platonic physical contact; even yichud (seclusion) with someone of the same gender is forbidden for homosexually active individuals. ...... today's galus [exile] seeks to legitimize and mainstream the abominable practice (toeiva) of homosexuality. Frighteningly, we who live here are not only practically affected, but also axiologically and ideationally infected. Not only our behavior but our very Weltanschauung has been compromised and contaminated.... Homosexual behavior is absolutely prohibited and constitutes an abomination. Discreet, unconditionally halachically committed Jews who do not practice homosexuality but feel same sex attraction (ssa) should be sympathetically and wholeheartedly supported. They can be wonderful Jews, fully deserving of our love, respect, and support. They should be encouraged to seek professional guidance. Moreover, in an uninfected Torah society, appropriate sympathy for discreet shomrei Torah u'mitzvos who experience but do not act upon ssa is clearly distinguished from brazen public identification of their yetzer hara [temptation] for forbidden behavior. ...How painful, sad and sobering is the sharp contrast between the clear attitude that should prevail in a pure Torah community and the confusion that exists among well-intentioned individuals within our communities. ... ssa is not viewed as a challenge of kevishas hayetzer (overcoming and taming impulses for forbidden behavior), but rather as a troubling halacha lacking in compassion, rachmanah litzlan [God forbid].... Inevitably, with respect to homosexuality, Talmud Torah [Torah study] will place us at odds with political correctness and the temper of the times. Nevertheless, we must be honest with ourselves, and with Hakadosh Baruch Hu [God], regardless of political correctness, considerations or consequences.
July 2010 public statement by some leaders[edit]
On July 22, 2010, a "Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community" was released.[19] It was written primarily by Nathaniel Helfgot, Aryeh Klapper, and Yitzchak Blau. Signatories include more than a hundred rabbis and laypeople. Some of the statement's more notable supporters are Rabbi Marc Angel, co-founder of The Rabbinic Fellowship; Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, founder of Lincoln Square Synagogue, Efrat, and Ohr Torah Stone Institutions; and Rabbi Avi Weiss, head of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat, and co-founder of The Rabbinic Fellowship.[20]
The statement makes it clear that homosexual activity is still prohibited, saying inter alia that "Halakhah sees heterosexual marriage as the ideal model and sole legitimate outlet for human sexual expression"; "Halakhic Judaism views all male and female same-sex sexual interactions as prohibited"; and "halakhic values proscribe individuals and communities from encouraging practices that grant religious legitimacy to gay marriage and couplehood". However, it emphasizes that homosexuals need to be treated with compassion and respect. Some of the statement's points that diverge from other common Orthodox positions are:
We affirm the religious right of those with a homosexual orientation to reject therapeutic approaches they reasonably see as useless or dangerous.
We believe that the decision as to whether to be open about one's sexual orientation should be left to such individuals, who should consider their own needs and those of the community. We are opposed on ethical and moral grounds to both the “outing” of individuals who want to remain private and to coercing those who desire to be open about their orientation to keep it hidden.
Communities should display sensitivity, acceptance and full embrace of the adopted or biological children of homosexually active Jews in the synagogue and school setting.
Jews who have an exclusively homosexual orientation should, under most circumstances, not be encouraged to marry someone of the other gender.
See also: Mixed-orientation marriage
Ex-gay organizations[edit]
Further information: Ex-gay movement, Atzat Nefesh, JONAH, and Kamoha
Atzat Nefesh is an Orthodox organization based in Israel; it addresses people with a variety of sexual "problems." It operates a hotline and several support groups in Israel, and aims to change people's sexual behavior and sexual orientation.[21]
Kamoha promotes conversion therapy,[22] and offers subsidies to finance it, declaring that some gay men might yet be able to develop opposite sex attraction and live a fulfilling normative heterosexual lifestyle. Yet it states that success is not guaranteed and that these treatments cannot be a sufficient solution for all gay men.
JONAH is a Jewish ex-gay organization that focuses on "prevention, intervention, and healing of the underlying issues causing same-sex attractions."[23] It is a world-wide organization, with the majority of its membership in the United States, Israel, Canada and Europe.[24] It uses a variety of psycho-educational methods, including live support group meetings, E-mail list-serv groups, networking, therapy referrals, experiential weekend programs.[25]
In 2012, four former clients of JONAH sued the organization for fraud, claiming that it sold them therapies that were ineffective and counterproductive.[26] Soon after in that same year, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), a professional association of more than 1,000 Orthodox rabbis around the world, sent an open email to its members that it no longer supported reparative therapy generally, or JONAH specifically.[26]
In 2014 Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso ruled that JONAH and its co-defendants could have to pay three times the cost paid by the participants for therapy they said they needed because of JONAH's conversion therapy.[27]
Other viewpoints[edit]
UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote the foreword to Rabbi Chaim Rapoport's book Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View.[28] In the foreword, Rabbi Sacks has written: "Compassion, sympathy, empathy, understanding - these are essential elements of Judaism. They are what homosexual Jews who care about Judaism need from us today."
Modern Orthodox leader Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein is reported to have said that the intensity of Orthodox community's condemnation of homosexuality goes beyond what its status as a religious transgression warrants and that he feels toward homosexual people "criticism, disapproval, but tempered with an element of sympathy".[29]
In both the United States and in Israel several groups have sprung up in the last few years that seek to support those who identify as both Orthodox and homosexual; support Orthodox parents of LGBT children;[30] and promote understanding of homosexuality within Orthodox communities and among Orthodox rabbis. These include an umbrella organization called Eshel,[31] the Gay and Lesbian Yeshiva Day School Alumni Association,[32] the women's group OrthoDykes,[33] the youth group JQYouth,[34] the American-Israeli group headquartered in Jerusalem Bat Kol[35] and the Israeli group Hod ("Majesty").[36][37] In 2012, Hod held an advertising campaign against conversion therapies and for self-acceptance of the religious homosexual community in Israel.[38] Online blogs and support groups have enabled many to find other Orthodox LGBT people with whom to share the conflict between Orthodox religious and social norms and LGBT self-identification.[39]
Orthodox rabbis Shmuley Boteach and Zev Farber have publicly questioned the opposition of Orthodox groups to government recognition of same-sex civil marriages, arguing that although Judaism as they understand it does not condone homosexuality, governments should not enforce any particular religion's view of marriage, and that conferring civil benefits to committed homosexual couples should be viewed as promoting family values.[40][41] Modern Orthodox Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz declared that the Jewish values of justice, equality, and dignity lead him to support the cause of gay rights and advocate for same-sex civil marriage.[42]
Conservative and Masorti Judaism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Conservative Judaism
As a matter of both Jewish law and institutional policy, Conservative Judaism has wrestled with homosexuality issues since the 1980s.
In Conservative Judaism, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) of the Rabbinical Assembly makes the movement's decisions concerning Jewish law. In 1992, the CJLS action affirmed its traditional prohibition on homosexual conduct, blessing same-sex unions, and ordaining openly gay/lesbian/bisexual clergy. However, these prohibitions grew increasingly controversial within the Conservative movement.
In 2006, the CJLS shifted its position and paved the way for significant changes regarding the Conservative movement's policies toward homosexuality. On December 6, 2006, The CJLS adopted three distinct responsa reflecting very different approaches to the subject. One responsum substantially liberalized Conservative Judaism's approach including lifting most (but not all) classical prohibitions on homosexual conduct and permitted the blessing of homosexual unions and the ordination of openly gay/lesbian/bisexual clergy. Two others completely retained traditional prohibitions. Under the rules of the Conservative movement, the adoption of multiple opinions permits individual Conservative rabbis, congregations, and rabbinical schools to select which opinion to accept, and hence to choose individually whether to maintain a traditional prohibition on homosexual conduct, or to permit openly gay/lesbian/bisexual unions and clergy.
The liberalizing responsum, adopted as a majority opinion by 13 of 25 votes, was authored by Rabbis Elliot N. Dorff, Daniel Nevins, and Avram Reisner. It lifted most restrictions on homosexual conduct and opened the way to the ordination of openly gay/lesbian/bisexual rabbis and cantors and acceptance of homosexual unions, but stopped short of religiously recognizing same-sex marriage. The responsum invoked the Talmudic principle of kavod habriyot, which the authors translated as "human dignity", as authority for this approach. The responsum maintained a prohibition on male-male anal sex, which it described as the sole Biblically prohibited homosexual act. This act remains a yehareg ve'al ya'avor ("die rather than transgress" offense) under the decision.[43]
Two traditionalist responsa were adopted. A responsum by Rabbi Joel Roth,[44] adopted as a majority opinion by 13 votes, reaffirmed a general complete prohibition on homosexual conduct. A second responsum by Rabbi Leonard Levy, adopted as a minority opinion by 6 votes, delineated ways in which to ensure that gays and lesbians would be accorded human dignity and a respected place in Conservative communities and institutions while maintaining the authority of the traditional prohibitions against same sex sexual activity.
The Committee rejected a fourth paper by Gordon Tucker which would have lifted all restrictions on homosexual sexual practices.
The consequences of the decision have been mixed. On the one hand, four members of the Committee, Rabbis Joel Roth, Leonard Levy, Mayer Rabinowitz, and Joseph Prouser, resigned from the CJLS following adoption of the change.[45][46] On the other hand, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles had previously stated that it will immediately begin admitting gay/lesbian/bisexual students as soon as the law committee passes a policy that sanctions such ordination.[47] On March 26, 2007, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York followed suit and began accepting openly gay/lesbian/bisexual candidates for admission for their Rabbinical program.[48]
On June 2012, the American branch of Conservative Judaism formally approved same-sex marriage ceremonies in a 13–0 vote.[49]
Meanwhile, Masorti synagogues in Europe and Israel, which have historically been somewhat more traditional than the American movement, continue to maintain a complete ban on homosexual and bisexual conduct, clergy, and unions. As such, most Conservative rabbis outside the USA are exercising their authority as local rabbinic authorities (mara d'atra) to reject the more liberal responsa. The head of the Israeli Masorti movement's Vaad Halakha (equivalent to the CJLS), Rabbi David Golinkin, wrote the CJLS protesting its reconsideration of the traditional ban on homosexual conduct.[50] The Masorti movements in Argentina, Hungary, and the United Kingdom have indicated that they will not admit or ordain openly gay/lesbian/bisexual rabbinical students.[51] The Masorti Movement's Israeli seminar also rejected a change in its view of the status of homosexual conduct, stating that "Jewish law has traditionally prohibited homosexuality."[52]
Rabbi Bradley Artson, Dean of the Rabbinic School at American Jewish University, claims to have studied every reference he could find to homosexual activity mentioned in ancient Greek and Latin writers. Every citation he found described an encounter between males where one party, the master, physically abused another, the slave. Rabbi Artson could not find a single example where one partner was not subservient to the other. "Homosexual relationships today," Rabbi Artson says, "should not be compared to the ancient world. I know too many homosexual individuals, including close friends and relatives, who are committed to one another in loving long-term monogamous relationships. I know too many same-sex couples that are loving parents raising good descent [sic] ethical children. Who's to say their family relationships are less sanctified in the eyes of God than mine is with my wife and our children?"[53]
Reform Judaism[edit]
The Reform Judaism movement, the largest branch of Judaism in North America, has rejected the traditional view of Jewish Law on homosexuality and bisexuality. As such, they do not prohibit ordination of openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people as rabbis and cantors. They view Levitical laws as sometimes seen to be referring to prostitution, making it a stand against Jews adopting the idolatrous fertility cults and practices of the neighbouring Canaanite nations rather than a blanket condemnation of same-sex intercourse, homosexuality, or bisexuality. Reform authorities consider that, in light of what is seen as current scientific evidence about the nature of homosexuality and bisexuality as inborn sexual orientations, a new interpretation of the law is required.
In 1972 Beth Chayim Chadashim, the world's first explicitly-gay-and-lesbian-centered synagogue recognized by the Reform Jewish community, was established in West Los Angeles, resulting in a slew of non-Orthodox congregations being established along similar lines. Beth Chayim Chadashim now focuses on the entire LGBT community, rather than just gays and lesbians.
In 1977, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), which is the Union for Reform Judaism's principal body, adopted a resolution calling for legislation decriminalizing homosexual acts between consenting adults, and calling for an end to discrimination against gays and lesbians.[54] The resolution called on Reform Jewish organizations to develop programs to implement this stand.[54]
In the late 1980s the primary seminary of the Reform movement, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, changed its admission requirements to allow openly gay and lesbian people to join the student body.
In 1990, the Union for Reform Judaism announced a national policy declaring lesbian and gay Jews to be full and equal members of the religious community. Also in 1990, the CCAR officially endorsed a report of their own Ad Hoc Committee on Homosexuality and the Rabbinate.[54] This position paper urged that "all rabbis, regardless of sexual orientation, be accorded the opportunity to fulfill the sacred vocation that they have chosen."[54] The committee endorsed the view that "all Jews are religiously equal regardless of their sexual orientation."[54]
In 1996 the CCAR passed a resolution approving same-sex civil marriage. However, this same resolution made a distinction between civil marriages and religious marriages; this resolution thus stated:
However we may understand homosexuality, whether as an illness, as a genetically based dysfunction or as a sexual preference and lifestyle—we cannot accommodate the relationship of two homosexuals as a "marriage" within the context of Judaism, for none of the elements of qiddushin (sanctification) normally associated with marriage can be invoked for this relationship.[55]The Central Conference of American Rabbis support the right of gay and lesbian couples to share fully and equally in the rights of civil marriage, andThat the CCAR oppose governmental efforts to ban gay and lesbian marriage.That this is a matter of civil law, and is separate from the question of rabbinic officiation at such marriages.
In 1998, an ad hoc CCAR committee on Human Sexuality issued its majority report (11 to 1, 1 abstention) which stated that the holiness within a Jewish marriage "may be present in committed same gender relationships between two Jews and that these relationships can serve as the foundation of stable Jewish families, thus adding strength to the Jewish community." The report called for the CCAR to support rabbis in officiating at same-sex marriages. Also in 1998, the Responsa Committee of the CCAR issued a lengthy teshuvah (rabbinical opinion)[56] that offered detailed argumentation in support of both sides of the question whether a rabbi may officiate at a commitment ceremony for a same-sex couple.
In March 2000 the CCAR issued a new resolution stating that "We do hereby resolve that the relationship of a Jewish, same gender couple is worthy of affirmation through appropriate Jewish ritual, and further resolve, that we recognize the diversity of opinions within our ranks on this issue. We support the decision of those who choose to officiate at rituals of union for same-sex couples, and we support the decision of those who do not."
Also in 2000, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion established the Institute for Judaism, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity to "educate HUC-JIR students on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues to help them challenge and eliminate homophobia and heterosexism; and to learn tools to be able to transform the communities they encounter into ones that are inclusive and welcoming of LGBT Jews."[57] It is the first and only institute of its kind in the Jewish world.[57]
In 2003, the Union for Reform Judaism retroactively applied its pro-rights policy on gays and lesbians to the bisexual and transgender communities, issuing a resolution titled, "Support for the Inclusion and Acceptance of the Transgender and Bisexual Communities".[58]
Also in 2003, Women of Reform Judaism issued a statement describing their support for human and civil rights and the struggles of the bisexual and transgender communities, and saying, "Women of Reform Judaism accordingly: Calls for civil rights protections from all forms of discrimination against bisexual and transgender individuals; Urges that such legislation allows transgender individuals to be seen under the law as the gender by which they identify; and Calls upon sisterhoods to hold informative programs about the transgender and bisexual communities."[59]
In 2009 Siddur Sha'ar Zahav, the first complete prayer book to address the lives and needs of LGBTQ as well as straight Jews, was published. Publisher: J Levine Judaica & Sha'ar Zahav (2009); ISBN 0-982197-91-8; ISBN 978-0982197-91-2. Sha'ar Zahav is a progressive Reform synagogue in San Francisco.
In 2014, the CCAR joined a lawsuit challenging North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage, which is America's first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage bans.[60][61]
In 2015, Rabbi Denise Eger became the first openly gay president of the CCAR.[62][63]
Also in 2015 the High Holy Days Reform Jewish prayer book Mishkan HaNefesh was released; it is intended as a companion to Mishkan T'filah.[64] Mishkan HaNefesh can be translated as "sanctuary of the soul."[64] It replaces a line from the Reform movement’s earlier prayerbook, "Gates of Repentance," that mentioned the joy of a bride and groom specifically, with the line "rejoicing with couples under the chuppah [wedding canopy]", and adds a third, non-gendered option to the way worshippers are called to the Torah, offering “mibeit,” Hebrew for “from the house of,” in addition to the traditional “son of” or “daughter of.”[64]
Reconstructionist Judaism[edit]
The Reconstructionist movement sees homosexuality and bisexuality as normal expressions of sexuality and welcomes gays, bisexuals, and lesbians into Reconstructionist communities to participate fully in every aspect of community life. Since 1985, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College has admitted openly gay, bisexual, and lesbian candidates to their rabbinical and cantorial programs. In 1993, a movement Commission issued: Homosexuality and Judaism: The Reconstructionist Position.[65] The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) encourages its members to officiate at same-sex marriages/commitment ceremonies, though the RRA does not require its members to officiate at them. In 2007, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association elected as president Rabbi Toba Spitzer, the first openly LGBT person chosen to head a rabbinical association in the United States. In 2013, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association elected as president Rabbi Jason Klein, the first openly gay man chosen to head a national rabbinical association of one of the major Jewish denominations in the United States.[66] Also in 2013, Rabbi Deborah Waxman was elected as the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.[67][68] As the President, she is believed to be the first woman and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first female rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is both a congregational union and a seminary.[67][69]
Jewish Renewal[edit]
Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices; it describes itself as "a worldwide, transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism's prophetic and mystical traditions." [70] The Jewish Renewal movement ordains people of all sexual orientations as rabbis and cantors. In 2005, Eli Cohen became the first openly gay rabbi ordained by the Jewish Renewal Movement, followed by Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein in 2006, who became the two first openly lesbian rabbis ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement. In 2007, Jalda Rebling, born in Amsterdam and now living in Germany, became the first openly lesbian cantor ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement.[71] In 2011, the bisexual rights activist Debra Kolodny was ordained as a rabbi by the Jewish Renewal movement and hired as the rabbi for congregation P'nai Or of Portland.[72][73] The Statement of Principles of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal (and OHALAH and the Rabbinic Pastors Association) states in part, "We welcome and recognize the sanctity of every individual regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We recognize respectful and mutual expressions of adult human sexuality as potentially sacred expressions of love and therefore we strive to welcome a variety of constellations of intimate relationships and family forms including gay, lesbian, and heterosexual relationships as well as people choosing to be single." [74]
Humanistic Judaism[edit]
Humanistic Judaism is a movement in Judaism that offers a nontheistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. In 2004 the Society for Humanistic Judaism issued a resolution supporting "the legal recognition of marriage and divorce between adults of the same sex," and affirming " the value of marriage between any two committed adults with the sense of obligations, responsibilities, and consequences thereof."[75] In 2010 they pledged to speak out against homophobic bullying.[76] The Association of Humanistic Rabbis has also issued a pro-LGBT statement titled "In Support of Diverse Sexualities and Gender Identities." [77] It was adopted in 2003 and issued in 2004.[77]
LGBT-affirmative activities[edit]



 An egalitarian orthodox Pride minyan held in Tel Aviv on the second Shabat of Hanukkah.
Jewish LGBT rights advocates and sympathetic clergy have created various institutions within Jewish life to accommodate gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parishioners. Beth Chayim Chadashim, established in 1972 in West Los Angeles, was the world's first explicitly-gay-and-lesbian-centered synagogue recognized by the Reform Jewish community, resulting in a slew of non-Orthodox congregations being established along similar lines, including Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City, Bet Mishpachah in Washington, D.C. and Congregation Or Chadash in Chicago. Beth Chayim Chadashim now focuses on the entire LGBT community, rather than just gays and lesbians.
LGBT-inclusive services and ceremonies specific to Jewish religious culture have also been created, ranging from LGBT-affirmative haggadot for Passover[78] to so-called "Stonewall Sederim".[79][80]
In October 2012 Rainbow Jews, an oral history project showcasing the lives of Jewish bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender people in the United Kingdom from the 1950s until the present, was launched.[81] It is the United Kingdom's first archive of Jewish bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender history.[82]
The ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives has, among other things, the Twice Blessed Collection, circa 1966-2000; this collection "consists of materials documenting the Jewish lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender experience, circa 1966-2000, collected by the Jewish Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Archives, founded and operated by Johnny Abush." [83]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Judaism portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Portal icon Israel portal
Tel Aviv Pride
Bat Kol Religious lesbian community in Israel
Bet Mishpachah: LGBT welcoming Jewish congregation in Washington, D.C.
Chicks in White Satin: a 1994 American short documentary film about the Jewish same-sex marriage of two lesbians.
Havruta Religious gay community in Israel
Hod
Judaism and sexuality
Keep Not Silent: A documentary about Orthodox Jewish lesbians.
Keshet Rabbis
LGBT clergy in Judaism
LGBT matters and religion
LGBT rights in Israel
List of LGBT Jews
Mixed-orientation marriage: A marriage between partners of differing sexual orientations.
Same-sex marriage and Judaism
Say Amen: A documentary about a gay man coming out to his Orthodox family
Touro University Gay-Straight Alliance: The GLBT student group for the largest Jewish sponsored university in the world.
Transgenderism and religion
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ ''Soliciting Interpretation''. Books.google.com. 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
2.Jump up ^ "Finding Our Past: A Lesbian Interpretation of the Book of Ruth", by Rebecca Alpert, in Reading Ruth: Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story, edited by J. A. Kates and G.T. Reimer (1994).
3.Jump up ^ Horner, Tom (1978-01-01). ''Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times''. 'Westminster John Knox Press'. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
4.Jump up ^ Samuel J. Levine (1997–1998). "Capital Punishment in Jewish Law and its Application to the American Legal System: A Conceptual Overview". St. Mary's Law Journal 29: 1037–1051.
5.Jump up ^ Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance, Chapter 2
6.Jump up ^ "Issurei Bi'ah 21:8–9" (in Hebrew). Retrieved November 26, 2014.
7.Jump up ^ Chullin 92ab
8.Jump up ^ http://www.jonahweb.org/cms/e/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=42[dead link]
9.Jump up ^ "Rights or Ills". Jonah International. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
10.Jump up ^ Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm. "Judaism and the Modern Attitude to Homosexuality | 2002". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
11.Jump up ^ "Rabbi Ordained by Yeshiva University Announces He is Gay". Israel Wire. May 18, 1999.
12.Jump up ^ Avi Shafran. "Dissembling Before G_d". Dissembling Before G-d. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
13.Jump up ^ Yermi Brenner (2009). Gay Rabbi Comes Out of His Orthodox Closet. VJ Movement. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
14.^ Jump up to: a b Nissan Strauchler (February 16, 2010). "Gay with perfect faith". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
15.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (August 2, 2009). "Rabbis condemn anti-gay shooting". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
16.Jump up ^ minute 00:39 in a radio interview with Razi Barkay here [1])
17.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (February 10, 2008). "Religious homosexuals seek acceptance". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
18.Jump up ^ "Torah View on Homosexuality". Torahweb. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
19.Jump up ^ Nati Helfgot (July 28, 2010). "Statement of Principles". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
20.Jump up ^ "RCA: No Female Rabbis". Israel National News. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
21.Jump up ^ "Atzat Nefesh" (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 6, 2006.
22.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (February 25, 2011). "Religious gays offered 'conversion therapy'". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
23.Jump up ^ "JONAH'S Mission Statement". Retrieved April 6, 2007.
24.Jump up ^ "News from JONAH". NARTH Institute.[dead link]
25.Jump up ^ Pathinfo.org Retrieved April 6, 2006[dead link]
26.^ Jump up to: a b Jay Michaelson (2012-08-02). "Orthodox Rabbis Say Gay 'Cure' Therapy Doesn't Work". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
27.Jump up ^ "Hudson judge allows gay conversion therapy lawsuit to continue". The Jersey Journal. June 9, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
28.Jump up ^ Rapoport, Rabbi Chaim (2004). Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View. London; Portland, OR: Vallentine Mitchell. ISBN 0853034524.
29.Jump up ^ Kobi Nahshoni (January 1, 2013). "Top rabbi: Soften attitude towards gays". Ynetnews.
30.Jump up ^ Maayan Jaffe (January 27, 2014). "Orthodox and out of the closet". JNS. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
31.Jump up ^ "Eshel". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
32.Jump up ^ "Frum Gay Jews' Home Page". Glydsa.org. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
33.Jump up ^ Orthodykes.org[dead link]
34.Jump up ^ "JQY". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
35.Jump up ^ Bat-kol.org
36.Jump up ^ HOD.org
37.Jump up ^ Ari Rabinovitch (February 14, 2008). "Orthodox gays in Israel find support in Web site". Reuters. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
38.Jump up ^ Sarah Karlan (March 19, 2013). "Guerilla Campaign Against Gay Conversion Launched In Orthodox Jewish Community". Buzzfeed. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
39.Jump up ^ "For LGBT Orthodox Jews, Growth of Social Media Creates a Safe Space Online". Tablet. June 26, 2013.
40.Jump up ^ Shmuley Boteach (May 14, 2013). "What If Government Recognized Only Civil Unions and Left Marriage to Religion?". Huffington Post.
41.Jump up ^ Zev Farber (May 22, 2013). "Obama's Advocacy of Gay Marriage: An Alternative Orthodox Response – by Rabbi Zev Farber". Morethodoxy.
42.Jump up ^ Shmuly Yanklowitz (December 19, 2013). "5 Reasons Being an Orthodox Rabbi Compelled Me to Support Gay Marriage". The Huffington Post.
43.Jump up ^ Elliott N. Dorff, Daniel Nevins, and Avram Reisner. Homosexuality, Human Dignity, and Halakha. Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006[dead link]
44.Jump up ^ "Joel Roth, Homosexuality Revisited, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-01-23.
45.Jump up ^ Ben Harris (2006-12-06). "Conflicting Conservative opinions expected to open the way for gays". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2006-12-07.[dead link]
46.Jump up ^ Rabbi Joel Roth, "Op-Ed: Law committee in its gay ruling stepped outside halachic framework", JTS News, December 10, 2006[dead link]
47.Jump up ^ Rebecca Spence (December 8, 2006). "Conservative Panel Votes To Permit Gay Rabbis". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
48.Jump up ^ "Chancellor-elect Eisen's Letter to the Community". The Jewish Theological Seminary. March 26, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
49.Jump up ^ Conservative Jews approve gay wedding guidelines[dead link]
50.Jump up ^ Rabbi Joseph Prouser. "The Conservative Movement and Homosexuality: Settled Law in Unsettling Times" (PDF). Retrieved November 26, 2014.
51.Jump up ^ Rebecca Spence (December 15, 2006). "Overseas Seminaries Set To Reject Gay Ordination: Canadian Rabbis Mull Forming Separate Wing of Movement". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
52.Jump up ^ "No gay ordinations in conservative seminar". Ynetnews. March 28, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
53.Jump up ^ Elliot Fein (October 28, 2008). "Religious "No!" to Proposition 8". Jewish Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
54.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "CCAR". Ccarnet.org. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
55.Jump up ^ "Question 18.3.8: Reform's Position On...Homosexuality". Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
56.Jump up ^ CCARnet.org[dead link]
57.^ Jump up to: a b "Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation".
58.Jump up ^ "Support for the Inclusion and Acceptance of the Transgender and Bisexual Communities".
59.Jump up ^ http://www.wrj.org/Advocacy/ResolutionsStatements/Resolutions2003/2003TransgenderandBisexualRights.aspx[dead link]
60.Jump up ^ Mark Price (June 3, 2014). "Rabbis group joins N.C. same-sex marriage suit". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
61.Jump up ^ Michael O'Loughlin (June 6, 2014). "Rabbis Join Marriage Equality Fight". Advocate. Retrieved November 26, 2014.f
62.Jump up ^ Tess Cutler, "Rabbi Denise Eger seeks to open doors wider to all Jews", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, March 4, 2015.
63.Jump up ^ "Reform rabbis install first openly gay president, Denise Eger | Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Jta.org. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
64.^ Jump up to: a b c "‘Gates of Repentance’ replacement advances Reform trends | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California". Jweekly.com. 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
65.Jump up ^ "Becoming a "Kehillah Mekabelet": The Struggles of Transformation" by Roberta Israeloff[dead link]
66.Jump up ^ "Gay man chosen to lead U.S. Reconstructionist rabbis". Haaretz. The Forward. March 12, 2013. Retrieved November 2014.
67.^ Jump up to: a b "Reconstructionists Pick First Woman, Lesbian As Denominational Leader". The Jewish Week. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 10, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
68.Jump up ^ Anne Cohen (October 18, 2013). "Trailblazing Reconstructionist Deborah Waxman Relishes Challenges of Judaism". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
69.Jump up ^ "RRC Announces New President Elect" (PDF) (Press release). Reconstructionst Rabbinical College. October 9, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
70.Jump up ^ "About Jewish Renewal". Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
71.Jump up ^ Axelrod, Toby (1999-11-30). "New Renewal cantor looks ahead". JTA. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
72.Jump up ^ http://www.jewishreview.org/special/Pnai-Or-hires-new-rabbi[dead link]
73.Jump up ^ "Profile: Debra Kolodny". The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Religious Archives Network. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
74.Jump up ^ "Statement of Principles". OHALAH. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
75.Jump up ^ http://www.shj.org/MarriageEquality.htm[dead link]
76.Jump up ^ http://www.shj.org/Homophobic%20Bullying.html[dead link]
77.^ Jump up to: a b "Sexualities & Identities". Association of Humanistic Rabbis. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
78.Jump up ^ "GLBT Passover Haggadah". JQ International.[dead link]
79.Jump up ^ Mark Horn. "The Stonewall Seder". Retrieved November 26, 2014.
80.Jump up ^ Nick Street (April 17, 2008). "An old story finds new life in LGBT haggadah". Jewish Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
81.Jump up ^ "About us". Rainbow Jews.
82.Jump up ^ Hephzibah Anderson (February 12, 2014). "Trove of Jewish LGBT history goes on display in U.K.". Haaretz. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
83.Jump up ^ "Finding aid of the Twice Blessed Collection, circa 1966-2000 Coll2010.003". Online Archives of California. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
Sources[edit]
Alpert, Rebecca, Like Bread on a Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition, Columbia University Press, New York, 1998.
Alpert, Rebecca, Sue Levi Elwell and Shirley Idelson (editors), Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 2001.
Marc Angel, Hillel Goldberg, and Pinchas Stolper, "Homosexuality and the Orthodox Jewish Community" Jewish Action 53:2 p. 54 (1992).
Balka, Christie and Rose, Andy, Twice Blessed: on Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish Boston: Beacon Press, 1989.
J. David Bleich. "Homosexuality" in Judaism and Healing KTAV, 1981
Boyarin, Itzkovitz, Pellegrini, eds. Queer theory and the Jewish question, Columbia Univ Press, 2003
Michael Broyde, "Jews, Public Policy and Civil Rights: A Religious Jewish Perspective" at jlaw.com
Cohen, Uri C. "Bibliography of Contemporary Orthodox Jewish Responses to Homosexuality" ATID, Jerusalem. (PDF also available.)
Dworkin, Sara H. Jewish, Bisexual, Feminist in a Christian Heterosexual World: Oy Vey!
Dag Øistein Endsjø, Sex and Religion. Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths. Reaktion Books 2011.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Igrot Moshe OH 4:115, 1 Adar I, 5736
Gorlin, Rebecca. "The Voice of a Wandering Jewish Bisexual", in Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, Alyson Publications, 1991, edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu
Greenberg, Steven, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition. University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. ISBN 0-299-19090-0
_______. (Under pseudonym Yaakov Levado). Gayness and God, Tikkun magazine, 1993.
Kahn, Yoel H. "Judaism and Homosexuality: The Traditionalist/Progressive Debate" in Homosexuality and Religion, Richard Hasbany, ed. Haworth Press, 1989
Kolodny, Debra and Rosenthal, Gilly, "Hear, I Pray You, This Dream Which I Have Dreamed" and "I Can Love All The Faces of G-d" in Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith, Continuum, 2000, edited by Kolodny, Debra
Moss, Jacob A. and Rivka Ulmer, “Two men under one cloak—the Sages permit it: Homosexual Marriage in Judaism.” Journal of Homosexuality 55 (2008), 71-105.
Jewish Reconstruction Federation & RRA, Homosexuality and Judaism: The Reconstructionist Position, The Reconstructionist Press, 1993
Unterman, Alan. "Judaism and Homosexuality: Some Orthodox Perspectives" in Jewish Explorations of Sexuality, Jonathan Magonet, ed.
Further reading[edit]
Found Tribe: Jewish Coming Out Stories, edited by Lawrence Schimel (May 1, 2004)
A Gay Synagogue in New York by Moshe Shokeid (Nov 1, 2002)
Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View by Rabbi Chaim Rapoport (Apr 1, 2004)
"Hear, I Pray You, This Dream Which I Have Dreamed" by Debra Kolodny and "I Can Love All The Faces of G-d" by Gilly Rosenthal, both in Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith, edited by Debra Kolodny (2000)
"Lesbianism", by Rebecca Alpert, part of Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation by Rebecca Alpert, Sue Levi Elwell and Shirley Idelson (Aug 15, 2001)
Like Bread on the Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition by Rebecca Alpert (Nov 15, 1998)
Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology edited by Evelyn Torton Beck (Dec 1989)
Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish, edited by Christie Balka and Andy Rose (Apr 2, 1991)
"The Voice of a Wandering Jewish Bisexual" by Rebecca Gorlin, in Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, Alyson Publications, 1991, edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu
"Judaism, Sephardic" by Daniel Eisenberg, in Encyclopedia of Homosexuality,
http://www.sexarchive.info/BIB/EOH/index.htm
Research References:
Coyle, Adrian; Rafalin, Deborah (2001). "Jewish gay men's accounts of negotiating cultural, religious, and sexual identity: A qualitative study". Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality (Taylor and Francis) 12 (4): 21–48. doi:10.1300/J056v12n04_02. Pdf.
Etengoff, Chana; Daiute, Colette (February 2014). "Family members’ uses of religion in post–coming-out conflicts with their gay relative". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (PsycNET) 6 (1): 33–43. doi:10.1037/a0035198.
Etengoff, Chana; Daiute, Colette (November 2014). "Online coming-out communications between gay men and their religious family allies: a family of choice and origin perspective". Journal of GLBT Family Studies (Taylor and Francis) 0: 1–27. doi:10.1080/1550428X.2014.964442.
Etengoff, Chana; Daiute, Colette (2015). "Clinicians’ perspective of the relational processes for family and individual development during the mediation of religious and sexual identity disclosure". Journal of Homosexuality (Taylor and Francis) 62 (3): 394–426. doi:10.1080/00918369.2014.977115.
Glassgold, Judith M. (2008). "Bridging the divide integrating lesbian identity and orthodox Judaism". Women & Therapy (Taylor and Francis) 31 (1): 59–73. doi:10.1300/02703140802145227.
Halbertal, T. H., & Koren, I. (2006). Between “being” and “doing”: Conflict and coherence in the identity formation of gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews. In D. P. McAdams, R. Josselson, and A. Lieblich (Eds.), Identity and story: Creating self in narrative (p. 37–61). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
Mark, Naomi (2008). "Identities in conflict: forging an orthodox gay identity". Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health (Taylor and Francis) 12 (3): 179–194. doi:10.1080/19359700802111189.
Schnoor, Randal F. (2006). "Being gay and Jewish: Negotiating intersecting identities". Sociology of Religion (Oxford Journals) 67 (1): 43–60. doi:10.1093/socrel/67.1.43.
External links[edit]


 This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (November 2014)
Orthodox: Rabbi Shalom Spira, on how gay Jews can marry feminine men, and on how lesbian Jews can marry masculine women
Letter to a homosexual baal teshuva, by Rabbi Aharon Feldman
Homosexuality in Orthodox Judaism by Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel
Judaism, Nature and Homosexuality
(Hebrew) "Chapter 48: Yichud zecharim in bathhouses and yeshivot" from Nitei Gavriel: Laws of Yichud
Conservative: Rabbi Danny Nevins, Living Law: A Journal of the CJLS Vote on Homosexuality and Halakhah, 16 Kislev 5767 / December 7, 2006
Homosexuality and Judaism: Synthesis or Impasse? by Rabbi Brad Artson
Reform: Decades-Long Fight for LGBT Equality from ReformJudaism.org
Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School - official documentary website
Non-denominational / unclassifiable: JONAH non-profit organization for educating about the prevention, intervention, and healing of the underlying issues causing same-sex attractions
FAQ on homosexual Jews
Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity
OrthoDykes For Orthodox Jewish lesbians
Publications on LGBT issues at the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner



[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and religion topics


Overview
Homosexuality and religion ·
 Transgenderism and religion
 

Religions


Abrahamic
Bahá'í Faith ·
 Christianity  (Anglican ·
 Baptist ·
 LDS Church ·
 Lutheran ·
 Methodist ·
 Presbyterian ·
 Quaker ·
 Roman Catholic)
   ·
 Judaism ·
 Islam
 

Indian
Buddhism ·
 Hinduism  (Hare Krishna)
   ·
 Sikhism
 

Other
Scientology ·
 Unitarian Universalism ·
 Vodou ·
 Wicca ·
 Zoroastrianism
 


Other
LGBT-affirming religious groups  (Judaism ·
 Christianity)
   ·
 Ordination of LGBT clergy  (Judaism ·
 Christianity)
   ·
 Religious views on same-sex marriage  (Judaism ·
 Christianity)
   ·
 The Bible ·
 Hijra ·
 Two-Spirit ·
 Khanith
 

  


Categories: LGBT topics and Judaism
Jewish marital law
Jewish views on society
Judaism and sexuality
LGBT and religion















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Español
Esperanto
فارسی
Français
Italiano
עברית
Русский
Türkçe
Tiếng Việt
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 14 April 2015, at 18:16.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Judaism


















Page semi-protected

Judaism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the Jewish religion. For consideration of ethnic, historic and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity, see Jews.



Judaica (clockwise from top): Shabbat candlesticks, handwashing cup, Chumash and Tanakh, Torah pointer, shofar and etrog box
Part of a series on
Judaism
Star of David Ten Commandments Menorah

Movements[show]

















Philosophy[show]










Texts[show]



















Law[show]













Holy cities / places[show]
















Important figures[show]



























Religious roles[show]











Culture and education[show]













Ritual objects[show]



















Prayers[show]















Other religions[show]













Related topics[show]









Portal icon Judaism portal

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Judaism (from the Latin: Iudaismus, derived from the Greek Ἰουδαϊσμός, and ultimately from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah";[1][2] in Hebrew: יהדות, Yahadut, the distinctive characteristics of the Judean ethnos)[3] encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people.[4] Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship that God established with the Children of Israel.[5]
Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism, which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah.[6] Historically, this assertion was challenged by various groups such as the Sadducees and Hellenistic Judaism during the Second Temple period; the Karaites and Sabbateans during the early and later medieval period;[7] and among segments of the modern reform movements. Liberal movements in modern times such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic.[8] Today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism), Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between these groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition, and the significance of the State of Israel.[9] Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more "traditional" interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews.[10][11] Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary.[12] Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and rabbis and scholars who interpret them.[13]
Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a structured religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.[14] Of the major world religions, Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions.[15][16] The Hebrews / Israelites were already referred to as "Jews" in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children of Israel".[17] Judaism's texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i Faith.[18][19] Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law.[20]
The Jews are an ethnoreligious group[21] and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2012, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population.[22] About 42% of all Jews reside in Israel and about 42% reside in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe, and other minority groups spread throughout the world in South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.[23]


Contents  [hide]
1 Defining characteristics and principles of faith 1.1 Defining characteristics
1.2 Core tenets
2 Jewish religious texts 2.1 Jewish legal literature
2.2 Jewish philosophy
2.3 Rabbinic hermeneutics
3 Jewish identity 3.1 Origin of the term "Judaism"
3.2 Distinction between Jews as a people and Judaism
3.3 Who is a Jew?
3.4 Jewish demographics
4 Jewish religious movements 4.1 Rabbinic Judaism 4.1.1 Jewish movements in Israel
4.2 Alternative Judaism
5 Jewish observances 5.1 Jewish ethics
5.2 Prayers
5.3 Religious clothing
5.4 Jewish holidays 5.4.1 Shabbat
5.4.2 Three pilgrimage festivals
5.4.3 High Holy Days
5.4.4 Purim
5.4.5 Hanukkah
5.4.6 Other days
5.5 Torah readings
5.6 Synagogues and religious buildings
5.7 Dietary laws: kashrut
5.8 Laws of ritual purity 5.8.1 Family purity
5.9 Life-cycle events
6 Community leadership 6.1 Classical priesthood
6.2 Prayer leaders
6.3 Specialized religious roles
7 History 7.1 Origins
7.2 Antiquity
7.3 Historical Jewish groupings (to 1700)
7.4 Persecutions
7.5 Hasidism
7.6 The Enlightenment and new religious movements
7.7 Spectrum of observance
8 Judaism and other religions 8.1 Christianity and Judaism
8.2 Islam and Judaism
8.3 Syncretic movements incorporating Judaism
9 See also
10 References
11 Bibliography
12 External links

Defining characteristics and principles of faith
Defining characteristics



 Glass platter inscribed with the Hebrew word zokhreinu - remember us


 A 19th-century silver Macedonian Hanukkah menorah
Unlike other ancient Near Eastern gods, the Hebrew God is portrayed as unitary and solitary; consequently, the Hebrew God's principal relationships are not with other gods, but with the world, and more specifically, with the people He created.[24] Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism: the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind.[25] According to the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation.[26] Many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God; that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate God's concern for the world.[27] He also commanded the Jewish people to love one another; that is, Jews are to imitate God's love for people.[28] These commandments are but two of a large corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism.
Thus, although there is an esoteric tradition in Judaism (Kabbalah), Rabbinic scholar Max Kadushin has characterized normative Judaism as "normal mysticism", because it involves everyday personal experiences of God through ways or modes that are common to all Jews.[29] This is played out through the observance of the Halakha and given verbal expression in the Birkat Ha-Mizvot, the short blessings that are spoken every time a positive commandment is to be fulfilled.
The ordinary, familiar, everyday things and occurrences, we have constitute occasions for the experience of God. Such things as one's daily sustenance, the very day itself, are felt as manifestations of God's loving-kindness, calling for the Berakhot. Kedushah, holiness, which is nothing else than the imitation of God, is concerned with daily conduct, with being gracious and merciful, with keeping oneself from defilement by idolatry, adultery, and the shedding of blood. The Birkat Ha-Mitzwot evokes the consciousness of holiness at a rabbinic rite, but the objects employed in the majority of these rites are non-holy and of general character, while the several holy objects are non-theurgic. And not only do ordinary things and occurrences bring with them the experience of God. Everything that happens to a man evokes that experience, evil as well as good, for a Berakah is said also at evil tidings. Hence, although the experience of God is like none other, the occasions for experiencing Him, for having a consciousness of Him, are manifold, even if we consider only those that call for Berakot.[30]
Whereas Jewish philosophers often debate whether God is immanent or transcendent, and whether people have free will or their lives are determined, Halakha is a system through which any Jew acts to bring God into the world.
Ethical monotheism is central in all sacred or normative texts of Judaism. However, monotheism has not always been followed in practice. The Jewish Bible (Tanakh) records and repeatedly condemns the widespread worship of other gods in ancient Israel.[31] In the Greco-Roman era, many different interpretations of monotheism existed in Judaism, including the interpretations that gave rise to Christianity.[32]
Moreover, as a non-creedal religion, some have argued that Judaism does not require one to believe in God. For some, observance of Jewish law is more important than belief in God per se.[33] In modern times, some liberal Jewish movements do not accept the existence of a personified deity active in history.[34][35]
Core tenets
Main article: Jewish principles of faith



13 Principles of Faith:
1.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
2.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.
3.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, has no body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.
4.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.
5.I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, Blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.
6.I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
7.I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both those who preceded him and those who followed him.
8.I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him.
9.I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any other Torah from the Creator, Blessed be His Name.
10.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of human beings and all their thoughts, as it is written, "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who comprehends all their actions" (Psalms 33:15).
11.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.
12.I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming.
13.I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.
—Maimonides
Scholars throughout Jewish history have proposed numerous formulations of Judaism's core tenets, all of which have met with criticism.[36] The most popular formulation is Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith, developed in the 12th century. According to Maimonides, any Jew who rejects even one of these principles would be considered an apostate and a heretic.[37][38] Jewish scholars have held points of view diverging in various ways from Maimonides' principles.[39][40]
In Maimonides' time, his list of tenets was criticized by Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo. Albo and the Raavad argued that Maimonides' principles contained too many items that, while true, were not fundamentals of the faith.
Along these lines, the ancient historian Josephus emphasized practices and observances rather than religious beliefs, associating apostasy with a failure to observe Jewish law and maintaining that the requirements for conversion to Judaism included circumcision and adherence to traditional customs. Maimonides' principles were largely ignored over the next few centuries.[41] Later, two poetic restatements of these principles ("Ani Ma'amin" and "Yigdal") became integrated into many Jewish liturgies,[42] leading to their eventual near-universal acceptance.[43][44]
In modern times, Judaism lacks a centralized authority that would dictate an exact religious dogma.[13][45] Because of this, many different variations on the basic beliefs are considered within the scope of Judaism.[39] Even so, all Jewish religious movements are, to a greater or lesser extent, based on the principles of the Hebrew Bible and various commentaries such as the Talmud and Midrash. Judaism also universally recognizes the Biblical Covenant between God and the Patriarch Abraham as well as the additional aspects of the Covenant revealed to Moses, who is considered Judaism's greatest prophet.[39][46][47][48][49] In the Mishnah, a core text of Rabbinic Judaism, acceptance of the Divine origins of this covenant is considered an essential aspect of Judaism and those who reject the Covenant forfeit their share in the World to Come.[50]
Jewish religious texts
The following is a basic, structured list of the central works of Jewish practice and thought.
Tanakh[51] (Hebrew Bible) and Rabbinic literature Mesorah
Targum
Jewish Biblical exegesis (also see Midrash below)
Works of the Talmudic Era (classic rabbinic literature) Mishnah and commentaries
Tosefta and the minor tractates
Talmud: The Babylonian Talmud and commentaries
Jerusalem Talmud and commentaries

Midrashic literature: Halakhic Midrash
Aggadic Midrash
Halakhic literature Major Codes of Jewish Law and Custom Mishneh Torah and commentaries
Tur and commentaries
Shulchan Aruch and commentaries
Responsa literature
Jewish Thought and Ethics Jewish philosophy
Musar literature and other works of Jewish ethics
Kabbalah
Hasidic works
Siddur and Jewish liturgy
Piyyut (Classical Jewish poetry)
Jewish legal literature
Main article: Halakha
The basis of Jewish law and tradition (halakha) is the Torah (also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses). According to rabbinic tradition there are 613 commandments in the Torah. Some of these laws are directed only to men or to women, some only to the ancient priestly groups, the Kohanim and Leviyim (members of the tribe of Levi), some only to farmers within the Land of Israel. Many laws were only applicable when the Temple in Jerusalem existed, and fewer than 300 of these commandments are still applicable today.[citation needed]
While there have been Jewish groups whose beliefs were claimed to be based on the written text of the Torah alone (e.g., the Sadducees, and the Karaites), most Jews believed in what they call the oral law. These oral traditions were transmitted by the Pharisee sect of ancient Judaism, and were later recorded in written form and expanded upon by the rabbis.
Rabbinic Judaism (which derives from the Pharisees) has always held that the books of the Torah (called the written law) have always been transmitted in parallel with an oral tradition. To justify this viewpoint, Jews point to the text of the Torah, where many words are left undefined, and many procedures mentioned without explanation or instructions; this, they argue, means that the reader is assumed to be familiar with the details from other, i.e., oral, sources. This parallel set of material was originally transmitted orally, and came to be known as "the oral law".
By the time of Rabbi Judah haNasi (200 CE), after the destruction of Jerusalem, much of this material was edited together into the Mishnah. Over the next four centuries this law underwent discussion and debate in both of the world's major Jewish communities (in Israel and Babylonia), and the commentaries on the Mishnah from each of these communities eventually came to be edited together into compilations known as the two Talmuds. These have been expounded by commentaries of various Torah scholars during the ages.
Halakha, the rabbinic Jewish way of life, then, is based on a combined reading of the Torah, and the oral tradition - the Mishnah, the halakhic Midrash, the Talmud and its commentaries. The Halakha has developed slowly, through a precedent-based system. The literature of questions to rabbis, and their considered answers, is referred to as responsa (in Hebrew, Sheelot U-Teshuvot.) Over time, as practices develop, codes of Jewish law are written that are based on the responsa; the most important code, the Shulchan Aruch, largely determines Orthodox religious practice today.
Jewish philosophy
Main article: Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. Major Jewish philosophers include Solomon ibn Gabirol, Saadia Gaon, Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Gersonides. Major changes occurred in response to the Enlightenment (late 18th to early 19th century) leading to the post-Enlightenment Jewish philosophers. Modern Jewish philosophy consists of both Orthodox and non-Orthodox oriented philosophy. Notable among Orthodox Jewish philosophers are Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and Yitzchok Hutner. Well-known non-Orthodox Jewish philosophers include Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Mordecai Kaplan, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Will Herberg, and Emmanuel Lévinas.
Related Topics
Torah databases (electronic versions of the Traditional Jewish Bookshelf)
List of Jewish prayers and blessings
Rabbinic hermeneutics



13 Principles of Hermeneutics:
1.A law that operates under certain conditions will surely be operative in other situations where the same conditions are present in a more acute form
2.A law operating in one situation will also be operative in another situation, if the text characterizes both situations in identical terms.
3.A law that clearly expresses the purpose it was meant to serve will also apply to other situations where the identical purpose may be served.
4.When a general rule is followed by illustrative particulars, only those particulars are to be embraced by it.
5.A law that begins with specifying particular cases, and then proceeds to an all-embracing generalization, is to be applied to particulars cases not specified but logically falling into the same generalization.
6.A law that begins with a generalization as to its intended applications, then continues with the specification of particular cases, and then concludes with a restatement of the generalization, can be applied only to the particular cases specified.
7.The rules about a generalization being followed or preceded by specifying particulars (rules 4 and 5) will not apply if it is apparent that the specification of the particular cases or the statement of the generalization is meant purely for achieving a greater clarity of language.
8.A particular case already covered in a generalization that is nevertheless treated separately suggests that the same particularized treatment be applied to all other cases which are covered in that generalization.
9.A penalty specified for a general category of wrongdoing is not to be automatically applied to a particular case that is withdrawn from the general rule to be specifically prohibited, but without any mention of the penalty.
10.A general prohibition followed by a specified penalty may be followed by a particular case, normally included in the generalization, with a modification in penalty, either toward easing it or making it more severe.
11.A case logically falling into a general law but treated separately remains outside the provisions of the general law except in those instances where it is specifically included in them.
12.Obscurities in Biblical texts may be cleared up from the immediate context or from subsequently occurring passages
13.Contradictions in Biblical passages may be removed through the mediation of other passages.
—R. Ishmael[52]
Orthodox and many other Jews do not believe that the revealed Torah consists solely of its written contents, but of its interpretations as well. The study of Torah (in its widest sense, to include both poetry, narrative, and law, and both the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud) is in Judaism itself a sacred act of central importance. For the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, and for their successors today, the study of Torah was therefore not merely a means to learn the contents of God's revelation, but an end in itself. According to the Talmud,
These are the things for which a person enjoys the dividends in this world while the principal remains for the person to enjoy in the world to come; they are: honoring parents, loving deeds of kindness, and making peace between one person and another. But the study of the Torah is equal to them all. (Talmud Shabbat 127a).
In Judaism, "the study of Torah can be a means of experiencing God".[53] Reflecting on the contribution of the Amoraim and Tanaim to contemporary Judaism, Professor Jacob Neusner observed:
The rabbi's logical and rational inquiry is not mere logic-chopping. It is a most serious and substantive effort to locate in trivialities the fundamental principles of the revealed will of God to guide and sanctify the most specific and concrete actions in the workaday world .... Here is the mystery of Talmudic Judaism: the alien and remote conviction that the intellect is an instrument not of unbelief and desacralization but of sanctification."[54]
To study the Written Torah and the Oral Torah in light of each other is thus also to study how to study the word of God.
In the study of Torah, the sages formulated and followed various logical and hermeneutical principles. According to David Stern, all Rabbinic hermeneutics rest on two basic axioms:
first, the belief in the omnisignificance of Scripture, in the meaningfulness of its every word, letter, even (according to one famous report) scribal flourish; second, the claim of the essential unity of Scripture as the expression of the single divine will.[55]
These two principles make possible a great variety of interpretations. According to the Talmud,
A single verse has several meanings, but no two verses hold the same meaning. It was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: 'Behold, My word is like fire—declares the Lord—and like a hammer that shatters rock' (Jer 23:29). Just as this hammer produces many sparks (when it strikes the rock), so a single verse has several meanings." (Talmud Sanhedrin 34a).
Observant Jews thus view the Torah as dynamic, because it contains within it a host of interpretations[56]
According to Rabbinic tradition, all valid interpretations of the written Torah were revealed to Moses at Sinai in oral form, and handed down from teacher to pupil (The oral revelation is in effect coextensive with the Talmud itself). When different rabbis forwarded conflicting interpretations, they sometimes appealed to hermeneutic principles to legitimize their arguments; some rabbis claim that these principles were themselves revealed by God to Moses at Sinai.[57]
Thus, Hillel called attention to seven commonly used hermeneutical principles in the interpretation of laws (baraita at the beginning of Sifra); R. Ishmael, thirteen (baraita at the beginning of Sifra; this collection is largely an amplification of that of Hillel).[58] Eliezer b. Jose ha-Gelili listed 32, largely used for the exegesis of narrative elements of Torah. All the hermeneutic rules scattered through the Talmudim and Midrashim have been collected by Malbim in Ayyelet ha-Shachar, the introduction to his commentary on the Sifra. Nevertheless, R. Ishmael's 13 principles are perhaps the ones most widely known; they constitute an important, and one of Judaism's earliest, contributions to logic, hermeneutics, and jurisprudence.[59] Judah Hadassi incorporated Ishmael's principles into Karaite Judaism in the 12th century.[60] Today R. Ishmael's 13 principles are incorporated into the Jewish prayer book to be read by observant Jews on a daily basis.[61][62][63][64]
Jewish identity
Origin of the term "Judaism"



 A mezuzah
The term Judaism derives from Iudaismus, a Latinized form of the Ancient Greek Ἰουδαϊσμός or Ioudaïsmos (from the verb ἰουδαΐζειν, "to side with or imitate the [Judeans]"),[65] and it was ultimately inspired by the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah";[66][67] in Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת, Yahadut. The term Ἰουδαϊσμός first appears in the Hellenistic Greek book of 2 Maccabees in the 2nd century BCE. In the context of the age and period it meant "seeking or forming part of a cultural entity"[68] and resembled its antonym hellenismos, a word that signified a people's submission unto Hellenic (Greek) cultural norms. The conflict between iudaismos and hellenismos lay behind the Maccabean revolt and hence the invention of the term iudaismos.[68] Shaye J. D. Cohen writes in his book The Beginnings of Jewishness:
We are tempted, of course, to translate [Ioudaïsmos] as "Judaism," but this translation is too narrow, because in this first ocurence of the term, Ioudaïsmos has not yet be reduced to designation of a religion. It means rather "the aggregate of all those characteristics that makes Judaeans Judaean (or Jews Jewish)." Among these characteristics, to be sure, are practices and beliefs that we would today call "religious," but these practices and beliefs are not the sole content of the term. Thus Ioudaïsmos should be translated not as "Judaism" but as Judaeanness.[69]
The earliest instance in Europe where the term was used to mean "the profession or practice of the Jewish religion; the religious system or polity of the Jews"{cn} is Robert Fabyan's The newe cronycles of Englande and of Fraunce a 1513. "Judaism" as a direct translation of the Latin Iudaismus first occurred in a 1611 English translation of the Apocrypha (Deuterocanon in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity), 2 Macc. ii. 21: "Those that behaved themselues manfully to their honour for Iudaisme."[70]
Distinction between Jews as a people and Judaism
According to Daniel Boyarin, the underlying distinction between religion and ethnicity is foreign to Judaism itself, and is one form of the dualism between spirit and flesh that has its origin in Platonic philosophy and that permeated Hellenistic Judaism.[71] Consequently, in his view, Judaism does not fit easily into conventional Western categories, such as religion, ethnicity, or culture. Boyarin suggests that this in part reflects the fact that much of Judaism's more than 3,000-year history predates the rise of Western culture and occurred outside the West (that is, Europe, particularly medieval and modern Europe). During this time, Jews experienced slavery, anarchic and theocratic self-government, conquest, occupation, and exile. In the Diaspora, they were in contact with, and influenced by, ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenic cultures, as well as modern movements such as the Enlightenment (see Haskalah) and the rise of nationalism, which would bear fruit in the form of a Jewish state in their ancient homeland, the Land of Israel. They also saw an elite population convert to Judaism (the Khazars), only to disappear as the centers of power in the lands once occupied by that elite fell to the people of Rus and then the Mongols. Thus, Boyarin has argued that "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension."[72]
In contrast to this point of view, practices such as Humanistic Judaism reject the religious aspects of Judaism, while retaining certain cultural traditions.
Who is a Jew?
Main article: Who is a Jew?
According to traditional Jewish Law, a Jew is anyone who was either born of a Jewish mother or who converted to Judaism in accordance with Jewish Law. American Reform Judaism and British Liberal Judaism accept the child of one Jewish parent (father or mother) as Jewish if the parents raise the child with a Jewish identity. All mainstream forms of Judaism today are open to sincere converts, although conversion has traditionally been discouraged since the time of the Talmud. The conversion process is evaluated by an authority, and the convert is examined on his or her sincerity and knowledge.[73] Converts are called "ben Abraham" or "bat Abraham", (son or daughter of Abraham). Conversions have on occasion been overturned. In 2008, Israel's highest religious court invalidated the conversion of 40,000 Jews, mostly from Russian immigrant families, even though they had been approved by an Orthodox rabbi.[74]
Traditional Judaism maintains that a Jew, whether by birth or conversion, is a Jew forever. Thus a Jew who claims to be an atheist or converts to another religion is still considered by traditional Judaism to be Jewish. According to some sources, the Reform movement has maintained that a Jew who has converted to another religion is no longer a Jew,[75][76] and the Israeli Government has also taken that stance after Supreme Court cases and statutes.[77] However, the Reform movement has indicated that this is not so cut and dried, and different situations call for consideration and differing actions. For example, Jews who have converted under duress may be permitted to return to Judaism "without any action on their part but their desire to rejoin the Jewish community" and "A proselyte who has become an apostate remains, nevertheless, a Jew". (p. 100-106).[78]
The question of what determines Jewish identity in the State of Israel was given new impetus when, in the 1950s, David Ben-Gurion requested opinions on mihu Yehudi ("who is a Jew") from Jewish religious authorities and intellectuals worldwide in order to settle citizenship questions. This is still not settled, and occasionally resurfaces in Israeli politics.
Jewish demographics
Main article: Jewish population by country
The total number of Jews worldwide is difficult to assess because the definition of "who is a Jew" is problematic; not all Jews identify themselves as Jewish, and some who identify as Jewish are not considered so by other Jews. According to the Jewish Year Book (1901), the global Jewish population in 1900 was around 11 million. The latest available data is from the World Jewish Population Survey of 2002 and the Jewish Year Calendar (2005). In 2002, according to the Jewish Population Survey, there were 13.3 million Jews around the world. The Jewish Year Calendar cites 14.6 million. Jewish population growth is currently near zero percent, with 0.3% growth from 2000 to 2001.
Jewish religious movements
Main article: Jewish religious movements
Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism (or in some Christian traditions, Rabbinism) (Hebrew: "Yahadut Rabanit" – יהדות רבנית) has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Talmud. It is characterised by the belief that the Written Torah (Written Law) cannot be correctly interpreted without reference to the Oral Torah and the voluminous literature specifying what behavior is sanctioned by the Law.
The Jewish Enlightenment of the late 18th century resulted in the division of Ashkenazi (Western) Jewry into religious movements or denominations, especially in North America and Anglophone countries. The main denominations today outside Israel (where the situation is rather different) are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform.
Orthodox Judaism holds that both the Written and Oral Torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and that the laws within it are binding and unchanging. Orthodox Jews generally consider commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch (a condensed codification of halakha that largely favored Sephardic traditions) to be the definitive codification of Jewish law. Orthodoxy places a high importance on Maimonides' 13 principles as a definition of Jewish faith.
Orthodoxy is often divided into Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism. Haredi Judaism is less accommodating to modernity and has less interest in non-Jewish disciplines, and it may be distinguished from Modern Orthodox Judaism in practice by its styles of dress and more stringent practices. Subsets of Haredi Judaism include: Hasidic Judaism, which is rooted in the Kabbalah and distinguished by reliance on a Rebbe or religious teacher; and Sephardic Haredi Judaism, which emerged among Sephardic (Asian and North African) Jews in Israel.
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti outside the United States and Canada, is characterized by a commitment to traditional Jewish laws and customs, including observance of Shabbat and kashrut, a deliberately non-fundamentalist teaching of Jewish principles of faith, a positive attitude toward modern culture, and an acceptance of both traditional rabbinic and modern scholarship when considering Jewish religious texts. Conservative Judaism teaches that Jewish law is not static, but has always developed in response to changing conditions. It holds that the Torah is a divine document written by prophets inspired by God and reflecting his will, but rejects the Orthodox position that it was dictated by God to Moses.[79][80] Conservative Judaism holds that the Oral Law is divine and normative, but holds that both the Written and Oral Law may be interpreted by the rabbis to reflect modern sensibilities and suit modern conditions.
Reform Judaism, called Liberal or Progressive Judaism in many countries, defines Judaism as a religion rather than as a race or culture, rejects most of the ritual and ceremonial laws of the Torah while observing moral laws, and emphasizes the ethical call of the Prophets. Reform Judaism has developed an egalitarian prayer service in the vernacular (along with Hebrew in many cases) and emphasizes personal connection to Jewish tradition.



 A Reform synagogue with mixed seating and equal participation of men and womenReconstructionist Judaism, like Reform Judaism, does not hold that Jewish law, as such, requires observance, but unlike Reform, Reconstructionist thought emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow.
Jewish Renewal is a recent North American movement which focuses on spirituality and social justice, but does not address issues of Jewish law. Men and women participate equally in prayer.
Humanistic Judaism is a small non-theistic movement centered in North America and Israel that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as the sources of Jewish identity.
Jewish movements in Israel
Main article: Religion in Israel
Most Jewish Israelis classify themselves as "secular" (hiloni), "traditional" (masorti), "religious" (dati) or Haredi. The term "secular" is more popular as a self-description among Israeli families of western (European) origin, whose Jewish identity may be a very powerful force in their lives, but who see it as largely independent of traditional religious belief and practice. This portion of the population largely ignores organized religious life, be it of the official Israeli rabbinate (Orthodox) or of the liberal movements common to diaspora Judaism (Reform, Conservative).
The term "traditional" (masorti) is most common as a self-description among Israeli families of "eastern" origin (i.e., the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa). This term, as commonly used, has nothing to do with the official Masorti (Conservative) movement. There is a great deal of ambiguity in the ways "secular" and "traditional" are used in Israel: they often overlap, and they cover an extremely wide range in terms of ideology and religious observance. The term "Orthodox" is not popular in Israeli discourse, although the percentage of Jews who come under that category is far greater than in the diaspora. What would be called "Orthodox" in the diaspora includes what is commonly called dati (religious) or haredi (ultra-Orthodox) in Israel. The former term includes what is called "Religious Zionism" or the "National Religious" community, as well as what has become known over the past decade or so as haredi-leumi (nationalist haredi), or "Hardal", which combines a largely haredi lifestyle with nationalist ideology. (Some people, in Yiddish, also refer to observant Orthodox Jews as frum, as opposed to frei (more liberal Jews)).
Haredi applies to a populace that can be roughly divided into three separate groups along both ethnic and ideological lines: (1) "Lithuanian" (non-hasidic) haredim of Ashkenazic origin; (2) Hasidic haredim of Ashkenazic origin; and (3) Sephardic haredim.
Alternative Judaism
Main article: Alternative Judaism
Karaite Judaism defines itself as the remnants of the non-Rabbinic Jewish sects of the Second Temple period, such as the Sadducees. The Karaites ("Scripturalists") accept only the Hebrew Bible and what they view as the Peshat ("simple" meaning); they do not accept non-biblical writings as authoritative. Some European Karaites do not see themselves as part of the Jewish community at all, although most do.
The Samaritans, a very small community located entirely around Mount Gerizim in the Nablus/Shechem region of the West Bank and in Holon, near Tel Aviv in Israel, regard themselves as the descendants of the Israelites of the Iron Age kingdom of Israel. Their religious practices are based on the literal text of the written Torah (Five Books of Moses), which they view as the only authoritative scripture (with a special regard also for the Samaritan Book of Joshua).
Jewish observances
Jewish ethics
Main article: Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics may be guided by halakhic traditions, by other moral principles, or by central Jewish virtues. Jewish ethical practice is typically understood to be marked by values such as justice, truth, peace, loving-kindness (chesed), compassion, humility, and self-respect. Specific Jewish ethical practices include practices of charity (tzedakah) and refraining from negative speech (lashon hara). Proper ethical practices regarding sexuality and many other issues are subjects of dispute among Jews.
Prayers
Main article: Jewish services



 A Yemenite Jew at morning prayers, wearing a kippah skullcap, prayer shawl and tefillin
Traditionally, Jews recite prayers three times daily, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma'ariv with a fourth prayer, Mussaf added on Shabbat and holidays. At the heart of each service is the Amidah or Shemoneh Esrei. Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Yisrael (or Shema). The Shema is the recitation of a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad—"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!"
Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be recited in solitary prayer, although communal prayer is preferred. Communal prayer requires a quorum of ten adult Jews, called a minyan. In nearly all Orthodox and a few Conservative circles, only male Jews are counted toward a minyan; most Conservative Jews and members of other Jewish denominations count female Jews as well.
In addition to prayer services, observant traditional Jews recite prayers and benedictions throughout the day when performing various acts. Prayers are recited upon waking up in the morning, before eating or drinking different foods, after eating a meal, and so on.
The approach to prayer varies among the Jewish denominations. Differences can include the texts of prayers, the frequency of prayer, the number of prayers recited at various religious events, the use of musical instruments and choral music, and whether prayers are recited in the traditional liturgical languages or the vernacular. In general, Orthodox and Conservative congregations adhere most closely to tradition, and Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues are more likely to incorporate translations and contemporary writings in their services. Also, in most Conservative synagogues, and all Reform and Reconstructionist congregations, women participate in prayer services on an equal basis with men, including roles traditionally filled only by men, such as reading from the Torah. In addition, many Reform temples use musical accompaniment such as organs and mixed choirs.
Religious clothing
Further information: kippah, tzitzit and tefillin
A kippah (Hebrew: כִּפָּה, plural kippot; Yiddish: יאַרמלקע, yarmulke) is a slightly rounded brimless skullcap worn by many Jews while praying, eating, reciting blessings, or studying Jewish religious texts, and at all times by some Jewish men. In Orthodox communities, only men wear kippot; in non-Orthodox communities, some women also wear kippot. Kippot range in size from a small round beanie that covers only the back of the head, to a large, snug cap that covers the whole crown.
Tzitzit (Hebrew: צִיציִת) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tzitzis) are special knotted "fringes" or "tassels" found on the four corners of the tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tallis), or prayer shawl. The tallit is worn by Jewish men and some Jewish women during the prayer service. Customs vary regarding when a Jew begins wearing a tallit. In the Sephardi community, boys wear a tallit from bar mitzvah age. In some Ashkenazi communities it is customary to wear one only after marriage. A tallit katan (small tallit) is a fringed garment worn under the clothing throughout the day. In some Orthodox circles, the fringes are allowed to hang freely outside the clothing.
Tefillin (Hebrew: תְפִלִּין), known in English as phylacteries (from the Greek word φυλακτήριον, meaning safeguard or amulet), are two square leather boxes containing biblical verses, attached to the forehead and wound around the left arm by leather straps. They are worn during weekday morning prayer by observant Jewish men and some Jewish women.[81]
A kittel (Yiddish: קיטל), a white knee-length overgarment, is worn by prayer leaders and some observant traditional Jews on the High Holidays. It is traditional for the head of the household to wear a kittel at the Passover seder in some communities, and some grooms wear one under the wedding canopy. Jewish males are buried in a tallit and sometimes also a kittel which are part of the tachrichim (burial garments).
Jewish holidays
Main article: Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are special days in the Jewish calendar, which celebrate moments in Jewish history, as well as central themes in the relationship between God and the world, such as creation, revelation, and redemption.
Shabbat
Main article: Shabbat



 Two braided Shabbat challahs placed under an embroidered challah cover at the start of the Shabbat meal
Shabbat, the weekly day of rest lasting from shortly before sundown on Friday night to nightfall Saturday night, commemorates God's day of rest after six days of creation.[82] It plays a pivotal role in Jewish practice and is governed by a large corpus of religious law. At sundown on Friday, the woman of the house welcomes the Shabbat by lighting two or more candles and reciting a blessing. The evening meal begins with the Kiddush, a blessing recited aloud over a cup of wine, and the Mohtzi, a blessing recited over the bread. It is customary to have challah, two braided loaves of bread, on the table. During Shabbat Jews are forbidden to engage in any activity that falls under 39 categories of melakhah, translated literally as "work". In fact the activities banned on the Sabbath are not "work" in the usual sense: They include such actions as lighting a fire, writing, using money and carrying in the public domain. The prohibition of lighting a fire has been extended in the modern era to driving a car, which involves burning fuel, and using electricity.
Three pilgrimage festivals
Main article: Shalosh regalim



 Some sukkot in Jerusalem
Jewish holy days (chaggim), celebrate landmark events in Jewish history, such as the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah, and sometimes mark the change of seasons and transitions in the agricultural cycle. The three major festivals, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, are called "regalim" (derived from the Hebrew word "regel", or foot). On the three regalim, it was customary for the Israelites to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the Temple.
Passover (Pesach) is a week-long holiday beginning on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan (the first month in the Hebrew calendar), that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. Outside Israel, Passover is celebrated for eight days. In ancient times, it coincided with the barley harvest. It is the only holiday that centers on home-service, the Seder. Leavened products (chametz) are removed from the house prior to the holiday, and are not consumed throughout the week. Homes are thoroughly cleaned to ensure no bread or bread by-products remain, and a symbolic burning of the last vestiges of chametz is conducted on the morning of the Seder. Matzo is eaten instead of bread.
Shavuot ("Pentecost" or "Feast of Weeks") celebrates the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. Also known as the Festival of Bikurim, or first fruits, it coincided in biblical times with the wheat harvest. Shavuot customs include all-night study marathons known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot, eating dairy foods (cheesecake and blintzes are special favorites), reading the Book of Ruth, decorating homes and synagogues with greenery, and wearing white clothing, symbolizing purity.
Sukkot ("Tabernacles" or "The Festival of Booths") commemorates the Israelites' forty years of wandering through the desert on their way to the Promised Land. It is celebrated through the construction of temporary booths called sukkot (sing. sukkah) that represent the temporary shelters of the Israelites during their wandering. It coincides with the fruit harvest, and marks the end of the agricultural cycle. Jews around the world eat in sukkot for seven days and nights. Sukkot concludes with Shemini Atzeret, where Jews begin to pray for rain and Simchat Torah, "Rejoicing of the Torah", a holiday which marks reaching the end of the Torah reading cycle and beginning all over again. The occasion is celebrated with singing and dancing with the Torah scrolls. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are technically considered to be a separate holiday and not a part of Sukkot.
High Holy Days
Main article: High Holidays



 Jews praying in a synagogue on Yom Kippur, from an 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb
The High Holidays (Yamim Noraim or "Days of Awe") revolve around judgment and forgiveness.
Rosh Hashanah, (also Yom Ha-Zikkaron or "Day of Remembrance", and Yom Teruah, or "Day of the Sounding of the Shofar"). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year (literally, "head of the year"), although it falls on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Tishri. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the 10-day period of atonement leading up to Yom Kippur, during which Jews are commanded to search their souls and make amends for sins committed, intentionally or not, throughout the year. Holiday customs include blowing the shofar, or ram's horn, in the synagogue, eating apples and honey, and saying blessings over a variety of symbolic foods, such as pomegranates.
Yom Kippur, ("Day of Atonement") is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It is a day of communal fasting and praying for forgiveness for one's sins. Observant Jews spend the entire day in the synagogue, sometimes with a short break in the afternoon, reciting prayers from a special holiday prayerbook called a "Machzor". Many non-religious Jews make a point of attending synagogue services and fasting on Yom Kippur. On the eve of Yom Kippur, before candles are lit, a prefast meal, the "seuda mafseket", is eaten. Synagogue services on the eve of Yom Kippur begin with the Kol Nidre prayer. It is customary to wear white on Yom Kippur, especially for Kol Nidre, and leather shoes are not worn. The following day, prayers are held from morning to evening. The final prayer service, called "Ne'ilah", ends with a long blast of the shofar.
Purim
Main article: Purim



 Purim street scene in Jerusalem
Purim (Hebrew: About this sound פורים (help·info) Pûrîm "lots") is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman, who sought to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, mutual gifts of food and drink, charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22). Other customs include drinking wine, eating special pastries called hamantashen, dressing up in masks and costumes, and organizing carnivals and parties.
Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, which occurs in February or March of the Gregorian calendar.
Hanukkah
Main article: Hanukkah
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה‎, "dedication") also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev (Hebrew calendar). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on.
The holiday was called Hanukkah (meaning "dedication") because it marks the re-dedication of the Temple after its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Spiritually, Hanukkah commemorates the "Miracle of the Oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days - which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil.
Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Bible and was never considered a major holiday in Judaism, but it has become much more visible and widely celebrated in modern times, mainly because it falls around the same time as Christmas and has national Jewish overtones that have been emphasized since the establishment of the State of Israel.
Other days
Main articles: Tisha B'Av, Yom Hashoah and Yom Ha'atzmaut
Tisha B'Av (Hebrew: תשעה באב‎ or ט׳ באב, "the Ninth of Av") is a day of mourning and fasting commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, and in later times, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
The modern holidays of Yom Ha-shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust and the achievement of Israel independence, respectively.
Torah readings
Main article: Torah reading
The core of festival and Shabbat prayer services is the public reading of the Torah, along with connected readings from the other books of the Tanakh, called Haftarah. Over the course of a year, the whole Torah is read, with the cycle starting over in the autumn, on Simchat Torah.
Synagogues and religious buildings
Main article: Synagogue



 Interior of the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.
Synagogues are Jewish houses of prayer and study. They usually contain separate rooms for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study, and often an area for community or educational use. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. The Reform movement mostly refer to their synagogues as temples. Some traditional features of a synagogue are:
The ark (called aron ha-kodesh by Ashkenazim and hekhal by Sephardim) where the Torah scrolls are kept (the ark is often closed with an ornate curtain (parochet) outside or inside the ark doors);
The elevated reader's platform (called bimah by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim), where the Torah is read (and services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues);
The eternal light (ner tamid), a continually lit lamp or lantern used as a reminder of the constantly lit menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem
The pulpit, or amud, a lectern facing the Ark where the hazzan or prayer leader stands while praying.
In addition to synagogues, other buildings of significance in Judaism include yeshivas, or institutions of Jewish learning, and mikvahs, which are ritual baths.
Dietary laws: kashrut
Main article: Kashrut
The Jewish dietary laws are known as kashrut. Food prepared in accordance with them is termed kosher, and food that is not kosher is also known as treifah or treif. People who observe these laws are colloquially said to be "keeping kosher".[83]
Many of the laws apply to animal-based foods. For example, in order to be considered kosher, mammals must have split hooves and chew their cud. The pig is arguably the most well-known example of a non-kosher animal.[84] Although it has split hooves, it does not chew its cud.[85] For seafood to be kosher, the animal must have fins and scales. Certain types of seafood, such as shellfish, crustaceans, and eels, are therefore considered non-kosher. Concerning birds, a list of non-kosher species is given in the Torah. The exact translations of many of the species have not survived, and some non-kosher birds' identities are no longer certain. However, traditions exist about the kashrut status of a few birds. For example, both chickens and turkeys are permitted in most communities. Other types of animals, such as amphibians, reptiles, and most insects, are prohibited altogether.[83]
In addition to the requirement that the species be considered kosher, meat and poultry (but not fish) must come from a healthy animal slaughtered in a process known as shechitah. Without the proper slaughtering practices even an otherwise kosher animal will be rendered treif. The slaughtering process is intended to be quick and relatively painless to the animal. Forbidden parts of animals include the blood, some fats, and the area in and around the sciatic nerve.[83]
Jewish law also forbids the consumption of meat and dairy products together. The waiting period between eating meat and eating dairy varies by the order in which they are consumed and by community, and can extend for up to six hours. Based on the Biblical injunction against cooking a kid in its mother's milk, this rule is mostly derived from the Oral Torah, the Talmud and Rabbinic law.[83] Chicken and other kosher birds are considered the same as meat under the laws of kashrut, but the prohibition is Rabbinic, not Biblical.[86]
The use of dishes, serving utensils, and ovens may make food treif that would otherwise be kosher. Utensils that have been used to prepare non-kosher food, or dishes that have held meat and are now used for dairy products, render the food treif under certain conditions.[83]
Furthermore, all Orthodox and some Conservative authorities forbid the consumption of processed grape products made by non-Jews, due to ancient pagan practices of using wine in rituals.[83] Some Conservative authorities permit wine and grape juice made without rabbinic supervision.[87]
The Torah does not give specific reasons for most of the laws of kashrut.[83] However, a number of explanations have been offered, including maintaining ritual purity, teaching impulse control, encouraging obedience to God, improving health, reducing cruelty to animals and preserving the distinctness of the Jewish community.[88] The various categories of dietary laws may have developed for different reasons, and some may exist for multiple reasons. For example, people are forbidden from consuming the blood of birds and mammals because, according to the Torah, this is where animal souls are contained.[89] In contrast, the Torah forbids Israelites from eating non-kosher species because "they are unclean".[90] The Kabbalah describes sparks of holiness that are released by the act of eating kosher foods, but are too tightly bound in non-kosher foods to be released by eating.[91]
Survival concerns supersede all the laws of kashrut, as they do for most halakhot.[92][93]
Laws of ritual purity
Main article: Tumah



 A silver matchbox holder for ritual use on Shabbat with inscription in Hebrew
The Tanakh describes circumstances in which a person who is tahor or ritually pure may become tamei or ritually impure. Some of these circumstances are contact with human corpses or graves, seminal flux, vaginal flux, menstruation, and contact with people who have become impure from any of these.[94][95] In Rabbinic Judaism, Kohanim, members of the hereditary caste that served as priests in the time of the Temple, are mostly restricted from entering grave sites and touching dead bodies.[96] During the Temple period, such priests (Kohanim) were required to eat their bread offering (Terumah) in a state of ritual purity, which laws eventually led to more rigid laws being enacted, such as hand-washing which became a requisite of all Jews before consuming ordinary bread.
Family purity
Main article: Niddah
An important subcategory of the ritual purity laws relates to the segregation of menstruating women. These laws are also known as niddah, literally "separation", or family purity. Vital aspects of halakha for traditionally observant Jews, they are not usually followed by Jews in liberal denominations.[97]
Especially in Orthodox Judaism, the Biblical laws are augmented by Rabbinical injunctions. For example, the Torah mandates that a woman in her normal menstrual period must abstain from sexual intercourse for seven days. A woman whose menstruation is prolonged must continue to abstain for seven more days after bleeding has stopped.[94] The Rabbis conflated ordinary niddah with this extended menstrual period, known in the Torah as zavah, and mandated that a woman may not have sexual intercourse with her husband from the time she begins her menstrual flow until seven days after it ends. In addition, Rabbinical law forbids the husband from touching or sharing a bed with his wife during this period. Afterwards, purification can occur in a ritual bath called a mikveh.[97]
Traditional Ethiopian Jews keep menstruating women in separate huts and, similar to Karaite practice, do not allow menstruating women into their temples because of a temple's special sanctity. Emigration to Israel and the influence of other Jewish denominations have led to Ethiopian Jews adopting more normative Jewish practices.[98][99]
Life-cycle events
Life-cycle events, or rites of passage, occur throughout a Jew's life that serve to strengthen Jewish identity and bind him/her to the entire community.
Brit milah – Welcoming male babies into the covenant through the rite of circumcision on their eighth day of life. The baby boy is also given his Hebrew name in the ceremony. A naming ceremony intended as a parallel ritual for girls, named zeved habat or brit bat, enjoys limited popularity.
Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah – This passage from childhood to adulthood takes place when a female Jew is twelve and a male Jew is thirteen years old among Orthodox and some Conservative congregations. In the Reform movement, both girls and boys have their bat/bar mitzvah at age thirteen. This is often commemorated by having the new adults, male only in the Orthodox tradition, lead the congregation in prayer and publicly read a "portion" of the Torah.
Marriage – Marriage is an extremely important lifecycle event. A wedding takes place under a chuppah, or wedding canopy, which symbolizes a happy house. At the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass with his foot, symbolizing the continuous mourning for the destruction of the Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people.
Death and Mourning – Judaism has a multi-staged mourning practice. The first stage is called the shiva (literally "seven", observed for one week) during which it is traditional to sit at home and be comforted by friends and family, the second is the shloshim (observed for one month) and for those who have lost one of their parents, there is a third stage, avelut yud bet chodesh, which is observed for eleven months.
Community leadership
Classical priesthood



 Jewish students with their teacher in Samarkand, Uzbekistan c. 1910.
The role of the priesthood in Judaism has significantly diminished since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, when priests attended to the Temple and sacrifices. The priesthood is an inherited position, and although priests no longer have any but ceremonial duties, they are still honored in many Jewish communities. Many Orthodox Jewish communities believe that they will be needed again for a future Third Temple and need to remain in readiness for future duty.
Kohen (priest) – patrilineal descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses. In the Temple, the kohanim were charged with performing the sacrifices. Today, a Kohen is the first one called up at the reading of the Torah, performs the Priestly Blessing, as well as complying with other unique laws and ceremonies, including the ceremony of redemption of the first-born.
Levi (Levite) – Patrilineal descendant of Levi the son of Jacob. In the Temple in Jerusalem, the levites sang Psalms, performed construction, maintenance, janitorial, and guard duties, assisted the priests, and sometimes interpreted the law and Temple ritual to the public. Today, a Levite is called up second to the reading of the Torah.
Prayer leaders
From the time of the Mishnah and Talmud to the present, Judaism has required specialists or authorities for the practice of very few rituals or ceremonies. A Jew can fulfill most requirements for prayer by himself. Some activities—reading the Torah and haftarah (a supplementary portion from the Prophets or Writings), the prayer for mourners, the blessings for bridegroom and bride, the complete grace after meals—require a minyan, the presence of ten Jews.
The most common professional clergy in a synagogue are:
Rabbi of a congregation – Jewish scholar who is charged with answering the legal questions of a congregation. This role requires ordination by the congregation's preferred authority (i.e., from a respected Orthodox rabbi or, if the congregation is Conservative or Reform, from academic seminaries). A congregation does not necessarily require a rabbi. Some congregations have a rabbi but also allow members of the congregation to act as shatz or baal kriyah (see below). Hassidic Rebbe – rabbi who is the head of a Hasidic dynasty.
Hazzan (note: the "h" denotes voiceless pharyngeal fricative) (cantor) – a trained vocalist who acts as shatz. Chosen for a good voice, knowledge of traditional tunes, understanding of the meaning of the prayers and sincerity in reciting them. A congregation does not need to have a dedicated hazzan.
Jewish prayer services do involve two specified roles, which are sometimes, but not always, filled by a rabbi and/or hazzan in many congregations. In other congregations these roles are filled on an ad-hoc basis by members of the congregation who lead portions of services on a rotating basis:
Shaliach tzibur or Shatz (leader—literally "agent" or "representative"—of the congregation) leads those assembled in prayer, and sometimes prays on behalf of the community. When a shatz recites a prayer on behalf of the congregation, he is not acting as an intermediary but rather as a facilitator. The entire congregation participates in the recital of such prayers by saying amen at their conclusion; it is with this act that the shatz's prayer becomes the prayer of the congregation. Any adult capable of reciting the prayers clearly may act as shatz. In Orthodox congregations and some Conservative congregations, only men can be prayer leaders, but all Progressive communities now allow women to serve in this function.
The Baal kriyah or baal koreh (master of the reading) reads the weekly Torah portion. The requirements for being the baal kriyah are the same as those for the shatz. These roles are not mutually exclusive. The same person is often qualified to fill more than one role, and often does. Often there are several people capable of filling these roles and different services (or parts of services) will be led by each.
Many congregations, especially larger ones, also rely on a:
Gabbai (sexton) – Calls people up to the Torah, appoints the shatz for each prayer session if there is no standard shatz, and makes certain that the synagogue is kept clean and supplied.
The three preceding positions are usually voluntary and considered an honor. Since the Enlightenment large synagogues have often adopted the practice of hiring rabbis and hazzans to act as shatz and baal kriyah, and this is still typically the case in many Conservative and Reform congregations. However, in most Orthodox synagogues these positions are filled by laypeople on a rotating or ad-hoc basis. Although most congregations hire one or more Rabbis, the use of a professional hazzan is generally declining in American congregations, and the use of professionals for other offices is rarer still.
Specialized religious roles
Dayan (judge) – An ordained rabbi with special legal training who belongs to a beth din (rabbinical court). In Israel, religious courts handle marriage and divorce cases, conversion and financial disputes in the Jewish community.
Mohel (circumciser) – An expert in the laws of circumcision who has received training from a previously qualified mohel and performs the brit milah (circumcision).
Shochet (ritual slaughterer) – In order for meat to be kosher, it must be slaughtered by a shochet who is an expert in the laws of kashrut and has been trained by another shochet.
Sofer (scribe) – Torah scrolls, tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (scrolls put on doorposts), and gittin (bills of divorce) must be written by a sofer who is an expert in Hebrew calligraphy and has undergone rigorous training in the laws of writing sacred texts.
Rosh yeshiva – A Torah scholar who runs a yeshiva.
Mashgiach of a yeshiva – Depending on which yeshiva, might either be the person responsible for ensuring attendance and proper conduct, or even supervise the emotional and spiritual welfare of the students and give lectures on mussar (Jewish ethics).
Mashgiach – Supervises manufacturers of kosher food, importers, caterers and restaurants to ensure that the food is kosher. Must be an expert in the laws of kashrut and trained by a rabbi, if not a rabbi himself.
History
Main article: Jewish history
This section is about the history of Judaism. For the book on Ancient Judaism, see Ancient Judaism (book).
Origins
Main article: Origins of Judaism
Further information: Ancient Semitic religion



 Scenes from the Book of Esther decorate the Dura-Europos synagogue dating from 244 CE
At its core, the Tanakh is an account of the Israelites' relationship with God from their earliest history until the building of the Second Temple (c. 535 BCE). Abraham is hailed as the first Hebrew and the father of the Jewish people. As a reward for his act of faith in one God, he was promised that Isaac, his second son, would inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan). Later, the descendants of Isaac's son Jacob were enslaved in Egypt, and God commanded Moses to lead the Exodus from Egypt. At Mount Sinai they received the Torah—the five books of Moses. These books, together with Nevi'im and Ketuvim are known as Torah Shebikhtav as opposed to the Oral Torah, which refers to the Mishnah and the Talmud. Eventually, God led them to the land of Israel where the tabernacle was planted in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years to rally the nation against attacking enemies. As time went on, the spiritual level of the nation declined to the point that God allowed the Philistines to capture the tabernacle. The people of Israel then told Samuel the prophet that they needed to be governed by a permanent king, and Samuel appointed Saul to be their King. When the people pressured Saul into going against a command conveyed to him by Samuel, God told Samuel to appoint David in his stead.



 The Western Wall in Jerusalem is a remnant of the wall encircling the Second Temple. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism.
Once King David was established, he told the prophet Nathan that he would like to build a permanent temple, and as a reward for his actions, God promised David that he would allow his son, Solomon, to build the First Temple and the throne would never depart from his children.
Rabbinic tradition holds that the details and interpretation of the law, which are called the Oral Torah or oral law, were originally an unwritten tradition based upon what God told Moses on Mount Sinai. However, as the persecutions of the Jews increased and the details were in danger of being forgotten, these oral laws were recorded by Rabbi Judah HaNasi (Judah the Prince) in the Mishnah, redacted circa 200 CE. The Talmud was a compilation of both the Mishnah and the Gemara, rabbinic commentaries redacted over the next three centuries. The Gemara originated in two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Palestine and Babylonia. Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation is called the Jerusalem Talmud. It was compiled sometime during the 4th century in Israel. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled from discussions in the houses of study by the scholars Ravina I, Ravina II, and Rav Ashi by 500 CE, although it continued to be edited later.
Some critical scholars oppose the view that the sacred texts, including the Hebrew Bible, were divinely inspired. Many of these scholars accept the general principles of the documentary hypothesis and suggest that the Torah consists of inconsistent texts edited together in a way that calls attention to divergent accounts.[100][101][102] Many suggest that during the First Temple period, the people of Israel believed that each nation had its own god, but that their god was superior to other gods.[103][104] Some suggest that strict monotheism developed during the Babylonian Exile, perhaps in reaction to Zoroastrian dualism.[105] In this view, it was only by the Hellenic period that most Jews came to believe that their god was the only god, and that the notion of a clearly bounded Jewish nation identical with the Jewish religion formed.[106]
John Day argues that the origins of biblical Yahweh, El, Asherah, and Ba'al, may be rooted in earlier Canaanite religion, which was centered on a pantheon of gods much like the Greek pantheon.[107]
Antiquity
Main articles: Ancient Israel and Judah, Babylonian captivity, Hellenistic Judaism, Hasmonean Kingdom, Iudaea Province and Bar Kokhba revolt
According to the Hebrew Bible, the United Monarchy was established under Saul and continued under King David and Solomon with its capital in Jerusalem. After Solomon's reign the nation split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel (in the north) and the Kingdom of Judah (in the south). The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian ruler Sargon II in the late 8th century BCE with many people from the capital Samaria being taken captive to Media and the Khabur River valley. The Kingdom of Judah continued as an independent state until it was conquered by a Babylonian army in the early 6th century BCE, destroying the First Temple that was at the center of ancient Jewish worship. The Judean elite were exiled to Babylonia and this is regarded as the first Jewish Diaspora. Later many of them returned to their homeland after the subsequent conquest of Babylonia by the Persians seventy years later, a period known as the Babylonian Captivity. A new Second Temple was constructed, and old religious practices were resumed.
During the early years of the Second Temple, the highest religious authority was a council known as the Great Assembly, led by Ezra of the Book of Ezra. Among other accomplishments of the Great Assembly, the last books of the Bible were written at this time and the canon sealed.
Hellenistic Judaism spread to Ptolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BCE. After the Great Revolt (66–73 CE), the Romans destroyed the Temple. Hadrian built a pagan idol on the Temple grounds and prohibited circumcision; these acts of ethnocide provoked the Bar Kokhba revolt 132–136 CE after which the Romans banned the study of the Torah and the celebration of Jewish holidays, and forcibly removed virtually all Jews from Judea. In 200 CE, however, Jews were granted Roman citizenship and Judaism was recognized as a religio licita ("legitimate religion"), until the rise of Gnosticism and Early Christianity in the fourth century.
Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews, Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around the community (represented by a minimum of ten adult men) and the establishment of the authority of rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities (see Jewish diaspora).
Historical Jewish groupings (to 1700)



 The Torah Ark of the Beth Jakov synagogue in Macedonia
Around the 1st century CE there were several small Jewish sects: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Christians. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, these sects vanished. Christianity survived, but by breaking with Judaism and becoming a separate religion; the Pharisees survived but in the form of Rabbinic Judaism (today, known simply as "Judaism"). The Sadducees rejected the divine inspiration of the Prophets and the Writings, relying only on the Torah as divinely inspired. Consequently, a number of other core tenets of the Pharisees' belief system (which became the basis for modern Judaism), were also dismissed by the Sadducees. (The Samaritans practiced a similar religion, which is traditionally considered separate from Judaism.)
Like the Sadducees who relied only on the Torah, some Jews in the 8th and 9th centuries rejected the authority and divine inspiration of the oral law as recorded in the Mishnah (and developed by later rabbis in the two Talmuds), relying instead only upon the Tanakh. These included the Isunians, the Yudganites, the Malikites, and others. They soon developed oral traditions of their own, which differed from the rabbinic traditions, and eventually formed the Karaite sect. Karaites exist in small numbers today, mostly living in Israel. Rabbinical and Karaite Jews each hold that the others are Jews, but that the other faith is erroneous.
Over a long time, Jews formed distinct ethnic groups in several different geographic areas — amongst others, the Ashkenazi Jews (of central and Eastern Europe), the Sephardi Jews (of Spain, Portugal, and North Africa), the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the Yemenite Jews from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Many of these groups have developed differences in their prayers, traditions and accepted canons; however these distinctions are mainly the result of their being formed at some cultural distance from normative (rabbinic) Judaism, rather than based on any doctrinal dispute.
Persecutions
Main articles: Persecution of Jews, Antisemitism and History of antisemitism
Antisemitism arose during the Middle Ages, in the form of persecutions, pogroms, forced conversion, expulsions, social restrictions and ghettoization.
This was different in quality to any repressions of Jews in ancient times. Ancient repression was politically motivated and Jews were treated the same way as any other ethnic group would have been. With the rise of the Churches, attacks on Jews became motivated instead by theological considerations specifically deriving from Christian views about Jews and Judaism.[108] During the Middle Ages, Jewish people under Muslim rule generally experienced tolerance and integration,[109] but there were occasional outbreaks of violence like Almohad's persecutions.[110]
Hasidism
Main article: Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism was founded by Yisroel ben Eliezer (1700–1760), also known as the Ba'al Shem Tov (or Besht). It originated in a time of persecution of the Jewish people, when European Jews had turned inward to Talmud study; many felt that most expressions of Jewish life had become too "academic", and that they no longer had any emphasis on spirituality or joy. His disciples attracted many followers; they themselves established numerous Hasidic sects across Europe. Hasidic Judaism eventually became the way of life for many Jews in Europe. Waves of Jewish immigration in the 1880s carried it to the United States. The movement itself claims to be nothing new, but a refreshment of original Judaism. Or as some have put it: "they merely re-emphasized that which the generations had lost".[111] Nevertheless, early on there was a serious schism between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Jews. European Jews who rejected the Hasidic movement were dubbed by the Hasidim as Misnagdim, (lit. "opponents"). Some of the reasons for the rejection of Hasidic Judaism were the overwhelming exuberance of Hasidic worship, its untraditional ascriptions of infallibility and alleged miracle-working to their leaders, and the concern that it might become a messianic sect. Since then differences between the Hasidim and their opponents have slowly diminished and both groups are now considered part of Haredi Judaism.
The Enlightenment and new religious movements
Main articles: Haskalah and Jewish religious movements
In the late 18th century CE, Europe was swept by a group of intellectual, social and political movements known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment led to reductions in the European laws that prohibited Jews to interact with the wider secular world, thus allowing Jews access to secular education and experience. A parallel Jewish movement, Haskalah or the "Jewish Enlightenment", began, especially in Central Europe and Western Europe, in response to both the Enlightenment and these new freedoms. It placed an emphasis on integration with secular society and a pursuit of non-religious knowledge through reason. With the promise of political emancipation many Jews saw no reason to continue to observe Jewish law and increasing numbers of Jews assimilated into Christian Europe. Modern religious movements of Judaism all formed in reaction to this trend.
In Central Europe, followed by Great Britain and the United States, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism developed, relaxing legal obligations (especially those that limited Jewish relations with non-Jews), emulating Protestant decorum in prayer, and emphasizing the ethical values of Judaism's Prophetic tradition. Modern Orthodox Judaism developed in reaction to Reform Judaism, by leaders who argued that Jews could participate in public life as citizens equal to Christians, while maintaining the observance of Jewish law. Meanwhile, in the United States, wealthy Reform Jews helped European scholars, who were Orthodox in practice but critical (and skeptical) in their study of the Bible and Talmud, to establish a seminary to train rabbis for immigrants from Eastern Europe. These left-wing Orthodox rabbis were joined by right-wing Reform rabbis who felt that Jewish law should not be entirely abandoned, to form the Conservative movement. Orthodox Jews who opposed the Haskalah formed Haredi Orthodox Judaism. After massive movements of Jews following The Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel, these movements have competed for followers from among traditional Jews in or from other countries.
Spectrum of observance



 Judaism is practised in all parts of the world, for example in a synagogue in downtown Mumbai.
Countries such as the United States, Israel, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina and South Africa contain large Jewish populations. Jewish religious practice varies widely through all levels of observance. According to the 2001 edition of the National Jewish Population Survey, in the United States' Jewish community—the world's second largest—4.3 million Jews out of 5.1 million had some sort of connection to the religion. Of that population of connected Jews, 80% participated in some sort of Jewish religious observance, but only 48% belonged to a synagogue, and fewer than 16% attend regularly.[112]
Birth rates for American Jews have dropped from 2.0 to 1.7.[113] (Replacement rate is 2.1.) Intermarriage rates range from 40-50% in the US, and only about a third of children of intermarried couples are raised as Jews. Due to intermarriage and low birth rates, the Jewish population in the US shrank from 5.5 million in 1990 to 5.1 million in 2001. This is indicative of the general population trends among the Jewish community in the Diaspora, but a focus on total population obscures growth trends in some denominations and communities, such as Haredi Judaism. The Baal teshuva movement is a movement of Jews who have "returned" to religion or become more observant.
Judaism and other religions
Christianity and Judaism
Main article: Christianity and Judaism
Christianity was originally a sect of Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions diverged in the first century. The differences between Christianity and Judaism originally centered on whether Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, but eventually became irreconcilable. Major differences between the two faiths include the nature of the Messiah (divine or human), of atonement (through blood alone or through repentance, righteousness and following God's commandments) and sin (original sin or clean slate), the status of God's commandments to Israel (temporary and futile or eternal and of ultimate value), and perhaps most significantly of the nature of God himself (Trinity or Unity). Due to these differences, Judaism traditionally regards Christianity as Shituf, or worship of the God of Israel which is not monotheistic. Christianity has traditionally regarded Judaism as obsolete with the invention of Christianity and Jews as a people replaced by the Church, though a Christian belief in dual-covenant theology emerged as a phenomenon following Christian reflection how their theology influenced the Nazi Holocaust.
Until their emancipation in the late 18th and the 19th century, Jews in Christian lands were subject to humiliating legal restrictions and limitations. They included provisions requiring Jews to wear specific and identifying clothing such as the Jewish hat and the yellow badge, restricting Jews to certain cities and towns or in certain parts of towns (ghettos), and forbidding Jews to enter certain trades (for example selling new clothes in medieval Sweden). Disabilities also included special taxes levied on Jews, exclusion from public life, restraints on the performance of religious ceremonies, and linguistic censorship. Some countries went even further and completely expelled Jews, for example England in 1290 (Jews were readmitted in 1655) and Spain in 1492 (readmitted in 1868). The first Jewish settlers in North America arrived in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1654; they were forbidden to hold public office, open a retail shop, or establish a synagogue. When the colony was seized by the British in 1664 Jewish rights remained unchanged, but by 1671 Asser Levy was the first Jew to serve on a jury in North America.[114] In 1791, Revolutionary France was the first country to abolish disabilities altogether, followed by Prussia in 1848. Emancipation of the Jews in the United Kingdom was achieved in 1858 after an almost 30-year struggle championed by Isaac Lyon Goldsmid[115] with the ability of Jews to sit in parliament with the passing of the Jews Relief Act 1858. The newly united German Empire in 1871 abolished Jewish disabilities in Germany, which were reinstated in the Nuremberg Laws in 1935.
Jewish life in Christian lands was marked by frequent blood libels, expulsions, forced conversions and massacres. An underlying source of prejudice against Jews in Europe was religious. Jews were frequently massacred and exiled from various European countries. The persecution hit its first peak during the Crusades. In the First Crusade (1096) flourishing communities on the Rhine and the Danube were utterly destroyed, a prime example being the Rhineland massacres. In the Second Crusade (1147) the Jews in France were subject to frequent massacres. The Jews were also subjected to attacks by the Shepherds' Crusades of 1251 and 1320. The Crusades were followed by expulsions, including in 1290, the banishing of all English Jews; in 1396, 100,000 Jews were expelled from France; and, in 1421 thousands were expelled from Austria. Many of the expelled Jews fled to Poland.[116] As the Black Death epidemics devastated Europe in the mid-14th century, annihilating more than a half of the population, Jews were taken as scapegoats. Hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed by violence in the Black Death persecutions. Although Pope Clement VI tried to protect them by the July 6, 1348 papal bull and another 1348 bull, several months later, 900 Jews were burnt alive in Strasbourg, where the plague hadn't yet affected the city.[117]
Islam and Judaism
Main article: Islam and Judaism
Both Judaism and Islamic religion arose from the patriarch Abraham, and are therefore considered Abrahamic religions. In both Jewish and Muslim tradition, the Jewish and Arab peoples are descended from the two sons of Abraham—Isaac and Ishmael, respectively. While both religions are monotheistic and share many commonalities, they differ in that Jews do not consider Jesus or Muhammad to be prophets. The religions' adherents have interacted with each other since the 7th century, when Islam originated and spread in the Arabian peninsula. Indeed, the years 712 to 1066 CE under the Ummayad and the Abbasid rulers have been called the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. Non-Muslim monotheists living in these countries, including Jews, were known as dhimmis. Dhimmis were allowed to practice their religion and to administer their internal affairs, but they were subject to certain restrictions that were not imposed on Muslims.[118] For example, they had to pay the jizya, a per capita tax imposed on free adult non-Muslim males,[118] and they were also forbidden to bear arms or testify in court cases involving Muslims.[119] Many of the laws regarding dhimmis were highly symbolic. For example, dhimmis in some countries were required to wear distinctive clothing, a practice not found in either the Qur'an or hadiths but invented in early medieval Baghdad and inconsistently enforced.[120] Jews in Muslim countries were not entirely free from persecution—for example, many were killed, exiled or forcibly converted in the 12th century, in Persia, and by the rulers of the Almohad dynasty in North Africa and Al-Andalus,[121] as well as by the Zaydi imams of Yemen in the 17th century (see: Mawza Exile). At times, Jews were also restricted in their choice of residence—in Morocco, for example, Jews were confined to walled quarters (mellahs) beginning in the 15th century and increasingly since the early 19th century.[122]
In the late 20th century, Jews were expelled from nearly all of the Arab countries.[123][124][125] Most have chosen to live in Israel. Today, antisemitic themes including Holocaust denial have become commonplace in the propaganda of Islamic movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas, in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and even in the newspapers and other publications of Refah Partisi.[126]
Syncretic movements incorporating Judaism
There are some movements that combine elements of Judaism with those of other religions. The most well-known of these is Messianic Judaism, a religious movement, which arose in the 1960s,[127][128][129][130] that incorporates elements of Judaism with the tenets of Christianity.[130][131][132][133][134] The movement states that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and generally that he is part of the Trinity,[135][136] and salvation is only achieved through acceptance of Jesus as one's savior.[137] Some members argue that Messianic Judaism is a sect of Judaism.[138] Jewish organizations of every denomination reject this, stating that Messianic Judaism is a Christian sect, as it harbors identical creeds to that of Pauline Christianity.[139]
Other examples of syncretism include Semitic neopaganism, a loosely organized sect which incorporates pagan or Wiccan beliefs with some Jewish religious practices; Jewish Buddhists, another loosely organized group that incorporates elements of Asian spirituality in their faith; and some Renewal Jews who borrow freely and openly from Buddhism, Sufism, Native American religion, and other faiths.
The Kabbalah Centre, which employs teachers from multiple religions, is a New Age movement that claims to popularize the kabbalah, part of the Jewish esoteric tradition.
See also

Portal icon Judaism portal
Portal icon Religion portal
Book icon Book: Abrahamic religions
Book: Judaism

Main article: Outline of Judaism
Anti-Judaism
Frankism
Jewish views of religious pluralism
Judaism by country
List of converts to Judaism
Sabbateanism
Secular Jewish culture
Criticism of Judaism
United States military chaplain symbols
References
1.Jump up ^ Methods and Categories: Judaism and Gospel
2.Jump up ^ AskOxford: Judaism
3.Jump up ^ Shaye J.D. Cohen 1999 The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties, Berkeley: University of California Press; p. 7
4.Jump up ^ Jacobs, Louis (2007). "Judaism". In Fred Skolnik. Encyclopaedia Judaica 11 (2d ed.). Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. p. 511. ISBN 978-0-02-865928-2. "Judaism, the religion, philosophy, and way of life of the Jews."
5.Jump up ^ "Knowledge Resources: Judaism". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
6.Jump up ^ "What is the oral Torah?". Torah.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
7.Jump up ^ "Karaite Jewish University". Kjuonline.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
8.Jump up ^ "Society for Humanistic Judaism". Shj.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
9.Jump up ^ "Jewish Denominations". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
10.Jump up ^ "Reform Judaism". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
11.Jump up ^ "What is Reform Judaism?". Reformjudaism.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
12.Jump up ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. "Britannica Online Encyclopedia: Bet Din". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
13.^ Jump up to: a b "Judaism 101: Rabbis, Priests and Other Religious Functionaries". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
14.Jump up ^ "History of Judaism until 164 BCE". History of Judaism. BBC.
15.Jump up ^ "Religion & Ethics - Judaism". BBC. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
16.Jump up ^ Religion: Three Religions, One God PBS
17.Jump up ^ Settings of silver: an introduction to Judaism p. 59 by Stephen M. Wylen, Paulist Press, 2000 [1]
18.Jump up ^ Heribert Busse (1998). Islam, Judaism, and Christianity: Theological and Historical Affiliations. Markus Wiener Publishers. pp. 63–112. ISBN 978-1-55876-144-5.
19.Jump up ^ Irving M. Zeitlin (2007). The Historical Muhammad. Polity. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0-7456-3999-4.
20.Jump up ^ Jewish Contributions to Civilization: An Estimate (book)
21.Jump up ^ See, for example, Deborah Dash Moore, American Jewish Identity Politics, University of Michigan Press, 2008, p. 303; Ewa Morawska, Insecure Prosperity: Small-Town Jews in Industrial America, 1890-1940, Princeton University Press, 1999. p. 217; Peter Y. Medding, Values, interests and identity: Jews and politics in a changing world, Volume 11 of Studies in contemporary Jewry, Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 64; Ezra Mendelsohn, People of the city: Jews and the urban challenge, Volume 15 of Studies in contemporary Jewry, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 55; Louis Sandy Maisel, Ira N. Forman, Donald Altschiller, Charles Walker Bassett, Jews in American politics: essays, Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, p. 158; Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword, W. W. Norton & Company, 1997, p. 169.
22.Jump up ^ "Jewish Population". Retrieved 9 September 2013.
23.Jump up ^ World Jewish Population, 2010. Sergio Della Pergola, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
24.Jump up ^ Nahum Sarna 1969 Understanding Genesis. New York: Schocken
25.Jump up ^ Jacob Neusner, ''Defining Judaism'', in Jacob Neusner and Alan Avery-Peck, "The Blackwell companion to Judaism" (Blackwell, 2003), p.3. Books.google.com.au. 2003-02-23. ISBN 978-1-57718-059-3. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
26.Jump up ^ Gen. 17:3-8 Genesis 17: 3-8: Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God;" Gen. 22:17-18 Genesis 22: 17-18: I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
27.Jump up ^ Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me; Deut. 6:5 Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
28.Jump up ^ Lev. 19:18 Leviticus 19:18: "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord"
29.Jump up ^ Kadushin, Max, 1972 The Rabbinic Mind. New York: Bloch Publishing Company. 194
30.Jump up ^ Kadushin, Max, 1972 The Rabbinic Mind. New York: Bloch Publishing Company. 203
31.Jump up ^ The Books of Melachim (Kings) and Book of Yeshaiahu (Isaiah) in the Tanakh contain a few of the many Biblical accounts of Israelite kings and segments of ancient Israel's population worshiping other gods. For example: King Solomon's "wives turned away his heart after other gods...[and he] did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD" (elaborated in 1 Melachim 11:4-10); King Ahab "went and served Baal, and worshiped him...And Ahab made the Asherah [a pagan place of worship]; and Ahab did yet more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him" (1 Melachim 16:31-33); the prophet Isaiah condemns the people who "prepare a table for [the idol] Fortune, and that offer mingled wine in full measure unto [the idol] Destiny" (Yeshaiahu 65:11-12). Translation: JPS (Jewish Publication Society) edition of the Tanakh, from 1917, available at Mechon Mamre.
32.Jump up ^ The Jewish roots of Christological monotheism: papers from the St. Andrews conference on the historical origins of the worship of Jesus. Books.google.com. 1999. ISBN 978-90-04-11361-9. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
33.Jump up ^ Steinberg, Milton 1947 Basic Judaism New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 36
34.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: Movements of Judaism". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
35.Jump up ^ http://www.nola.com/community/st-tammany/index.ssf/2014/01/theology_on_tap_winter_2014_un.html
36.Jump up ^ Rabbi S. of Montpelier, Yad Rama, Y. Alfacher, Rosh Amanah.
37.Jump up ^ "Maimonides' 13 Foundations of Judaism". Mesora. "However if he rejects one of these fundamentals he leaves the nation and is a denier of the fundamentals and is called a heretic, a denier, etc."
38.Jump up ^ Rabbi Mordechai Blumenfeld. "Maimonides, 13 Principles of Faith". Aish HaTorah. "According to the Rambam, their acceptance defines the minimum requirement necessary for one to relate to the Almighty and His Torah as a member of the People of Israel"
39.^ Jump up to: a b c Daniel Septimus. "The Thirteen Principles of Faith". MyJewishLearning.com.
40.Jump up ^ Ronald L. Eisenberg (2004). The JPS guide to Jewish traditions. Jewish Publication Society. p. 509. ISBN 0-8276-0760-1. "The concept of "dogma" is ... not a basic idea in Judaism."
41.Jump up ^ Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought, Menachem Kellner.
42.Jump up ^ "The Thirteen Principles of the Jewish Faith". Hebrew4Christians. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
43.Jump up ^ "What Do Jews Believe?". Mechon Mamre. "The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely accepted list of Jewish beliefs is Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith."
44.Jump up ^ The JPS guide to Jewish traditions, page 510, "The one that eventually secured almost universal acceptance was the Thirteen Principles of faith"
45.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: What Do Jews Believe?". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
46.Jump up ^ "Description of Judaism, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance". Religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
47.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: The Patriarchs and the Origins of Judaism". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
48.Jump up ^ Rietti, Rabbi Jonathan. "How Do You Know the Exodus Really Happened?". Archived from the original on 2004-09-18. The word "emunah" has been translated incorrectly by the King James Bible as merely "belief" or "faith", when in actuality, it means conviction, which is a much more emphatic knowledge of God based on experience.
49.Jump up ^ "Jewish Sacred Texts". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
50.Jump up ^ M. San 10:1. Translation available here [2].
51.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts". Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations in America. April 12, 2006.
52.Jump up ^ The Prayer book: Weekday, Sabbath, and Festival translated and arranged by Ben Zion Bokser. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company. 9-10
53.Jump up ^ Kadushin, Max 1972 The Rabbinic Mind New York: Bloch Publishing. 213
54.Jump up ^ Neusner, Jacob 2003 Invitation to the Talmud Stipf and Son, Oregon xvii-xxii
55.Jump up ^ Stern, David "Midrash and Indeterminacy" in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Autumn, 1988), p. 151.
56.Jump up ^ Neusner, Jacob 2003 Invitation to the Talmud Stipf and Son, Oregon xvii-vix; Steinsaltz, Adin 1976 The Essential Talmud New York: Basic Books. 3-9; Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95; Stern, David "Midrash and Indeterminacy" in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 132-161
57.Jump up ^ Stern, David "Midrash and Indeterminacy" in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Autumn, 1988), p. 147.
58.Jump up ^ Cohen, Abner 1949 Everyman's Talmud New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. xxiv; Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95
59.Jump up ^ Cohen, Abner 1949 Everyman's Talmud New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. xxiv; Steinsaltz, Adin 1976 The Essential Talmud New Yorki: Basic Books. 222; Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95
60.Jump up ^ Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95
61.Jump up ^ סדור רינת ישראל לבני חוײל Jerusalem: 1974, pp. 38-39
62.Jump up ^ Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, 2006 The Koren Sacks Siddur: Hebrew/English Prayer Book: The Authorized Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth London: Harper Collins Publishers pp. 54-55
63.Jump up ^ Nosson Scherman 2003 The Complete Artscroll Siddur Third Edition Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications pp. 49-53
64.Jump up ^ Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, Nissen Mangel, 2003 Siddur Tehillat Hashem Kehot Publication Society. 24-25
65.Jump up ^ ἰουδαΐζειν. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
66.Jump up ^ "Methods and Categories: Judaism and Gospel". Bibleinterp.com. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
67.Jump up ^ AskOxford: Judaism[dead link]
68.^ Jump up to: a b Oskar Skarsaune (2002). In the Shadow of the Temple: Jewish Influences on Early Christianity. InterVarsity Press. pp. 39FF. ISBN 978-0-8308-2670-4. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
69.Jump up ^ Shaye J.D. Cohen 1999 The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties University of California Press. 105-106
70.Jump up ^ The Oxford English Dictionary.
71.Jump up ^ Boyarin, Daniel (October 14, 1994). "Introduction". A radical Jew: Paul and the politics of identity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 13–38. ISBN 0-520-08592-2. LCCN 93036269. Retrieved 2006-06-15. "Paul was motivated by a Hellenistic desire for the One, which among other things produced an ideal of a universal human essence, beyond difference and hierarchy. This universal humanity, however, was predicated (and still is) on the dualism of the flesh and the spirit, such that while the body is particular, marked through practice as Jew or Greek, and through anatomy as male or female, the spirit is universal. Paul did not, however, reject the body—as did, for instance, the gnostics—but rather promoted a system whereby the body had its place, albeit subordinated to the spirit. Paul's anthropological dualism was matched by a hermeneutical dualism as well. Just as the human being is divided into a fleshy and a spiritual component, so also is language itself. It is composed of outer, material signs and inner, spiritual significations. When this is applied to the religious system that Paul inherited, the physical, fleshy signs of the Torah, of historical Judaism, are re-interpreted as symbols of that which Paul takes to be universal requirements and possibilities for humanity."
72.Jump up ^ Boyarin, Daniel (1994). "Answering the Mail". A radical Jew: Paul and the politics of identity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08592-2. "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension with one another."
73.Jump up ^ Weiner, Rebecca (2007). "Who is a Jew?". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
74.Jump up ^ Strains Grow Between Israel and Many Jews in the U.S. New York Times, 6 February 2015
75.Jump up ^ "''Reform's Position On...What is unacceptable practice?''". Faqs.org. 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
76.Jump up ^ Heschel, Susannah (1998) Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-226-32959-3
77.Jump up ^ "Law of Return 5710-1950". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
78.Jump up ^ Jacob, Walter (1987). Contemporary American Reform Responsa. Mars, PA: Publishers Choice Book Mfg. Books.google.com. 1987. ISBN 0-88123-003-0. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
79.Jump up ^ Robert Gordis. "Torah MiSinai:Conservative Views". A Modern Approach to a Living Halachah. Masorti World. Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. "The Torah is an emanation of God... This conception does not mean, for us, that the process of revalation consisted of dictation by God."
80.Jump up ^ "Conservative Judaism". Jewlicious. "We therefore understand this term as a metaphor to mean that the Torah is divine and that it reflects God's will."
81.Jump up ^ "Tefillin", "The Book of Jewish Knowledge", Nathan Ausubel, Crown Publishers, NY, 1964, p.458)
82.Jump up ^ "Shabbat". Judaism 101. April 12, 2006.
83.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Judaism 101: Kashrut". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
84.Jump up ^ Chaya Shuchat. "The Kosher Pig?". "It is also the most quintessentially "treif" of animals, with its name being nearly synonymous with non-kosher ... Although far from alone in the litany of non-kosher animals, the pig seems to stand in a class of its own."
85.Jump up ^ "Tamar Levy, St. Louis, MO – Block Yeshiva High School, Grade 9". OUkosher.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
86.Jump up ^ Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, (87:3)
87.Jump up ^ Elliot Dorff, "On the Use of All Wines" PDF (2.19 MB), YD 123:1.1985, pp. 11–15.
88.Jump up ^ "Kashrut Facts". Religionfacts.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
89.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
90.Jump up ^ Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 11
91.Jump up ^ Rice, Yisrael (2007-06-10). "Judaism and the Art of Eating". Chabad. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
92.Jump up ^ Jewish life in WWII England: "there was a...special dispensation...that allowed Jews serving in the armed services to eat "non-kosher" when no Jewish food was available; that deviation from halacha was allowed 'in order to save a human life including your own.'"
93.Jump up ^ Y. Lichtenshtein M.A. "Weekly Pamphlet #805". Bar-Ilan University, Faculty of Jewish Studies, Rabbinical office. "...certain prohibitions become allowed without a doubt because of lifethreatening circumstances, like for example eating non-kosher food"
94.^ Jump up to: a b Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 15.
95.Jump up ^ Bamidbar (Numbers) 19.
96.Jump up ^ Avi Kehat. "Torah tidbits". Ou.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
97.^ Jump up to: a b "Judaism 101: Kosher Sex". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
98.Jump up ^ "Karaites". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
99.Jump up ^ Wasserfall, Rahel (1999). Women and water: menstruation in Jewish life and law. Brandeis University Press. ISBN 0-87451-960-8.
100.Jump up ^ Yehezkal Kauffman, The Religion of Israel
101.Jump up ^ Robert Alter The Art of Biblical Poetry
102.Jump up ^ E. A. Speiser Genesis (The Anchor Bible)
103.Jump up ^ John Bright A History of Israel
104.Jump up ^ Martin Noth The History of Israel
105.Jump up ^ Ephraim Urbach The Sages
106.Jump up ^ Shaye Cohen The beginnings of Jewishness
107.Jump up ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 68.
108.Jump up ^ Langmuir, Gavin (1993). History, religion, and antisemitism. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07728-8.
109.Jump up ^ Cohen, Mark R. "The Neo-Lachrymose Conception of Jewish-Arab History." Tikkun 6.3 (1991)
110.Jump up ^ Amira K. Bennison and María Ángeles Gallego. "Jewish Trading in Fes On The Eve of the Almohad Conquest." MEAH, sección Hebreo 56 (2007), 33-51
111.Jump up ^ ""The Maggid of Mezritch" Chapter 7 - Opposition Intensifies". Nishmas.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
112.Jump up ^ http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-While-Most-Americans-Believe-in-God-Only-36-pct-A-2003-10.pdf Religious service attendance at least once a month
113.Jump up ^ This is My Beloved, This is My Friend: A Rabbinic Letter on Intimate relations, p. 27, Elliot N. Dorff
114.Jump up ^ "New Amsterdam's Jewish Crusader". Jewish Virtual Library.
115.Jump up ^ "Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, 1st Baronet". Encyclopedia Britannica.
116.Jump up ^ "Why the Jews? – Black Death". Holocaustcenterpgh.net. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
117.Jump up ^ See Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire ("The greatest epidemics in history"), in L'Histoire magazine, n°310, June 2006, p.47 (French)
118.^ Jump up to: a b Lewis (1984), pp.10, 20
119.Jump up ^ Lewis (1984), p. 9, 27
120.Jump up ^ Lewis (1999), p.131
121.Jump up ^ Lewis (1984), pp. 17, 18, 52, 94, 95; Stillman (1979), pp. 27, 77
122.Jump up ^ Lewis (1984), p. 28
123.Jump up ^ "Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries". Middle East Forum. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
124.Jump up ^ Shumsky, Dmitry. (2012-09-12) "Recognize Jews as refugees from Arab countries". Haaretz. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
125.Jump up ^ Meir, Esther. (2012-10-09) "The truth about the expulsion". 'Haaretz. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
126.Jump up ^ Muslim Anti-Semitism by Bernard Lewis (Middle East Quarterly) June 1998
127.Jump up ^ Feher, Shoshanah. Passing over Easter: Constructing the Boundaries of Messianic Judaism, Rowman Altamira, 1998, ISBN 978-0-7619-8953-0, p. 140. "This interest in developing a Jewish ethnic identity may not be surprising when we consider the 1960s, when Messianic Judaism arose."
128.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "In the late 1960s and 1970s, both Jews and Christians in the United States were surprised to see the rise of a vigorous movement of Jewish Christians or Christian Jews."
129.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "The Rise of Messianic Judaism. In the first phase of the movement, during the early and mid-1970s, Jewish converts to Christianity established several congregations at their own initiative. Unlike the previous communities of Jewish Christians, Messianic Jewish congregations were largely independent of control from missionary societies or Christian denominations, even though they still wanted the acceptance of the larger evangelical community."
130.^ Jump up to: a b Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Infobase Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-0-8160-5456-5, p. 373. "Messianic Judaism is a Protestant movement that emerged in the last half of the 20th century among believers who were ethnically Jewish but had adopted an Evangelical Christian faith... By the 1960s, a new effort to create a culturally Jewish Protestant Christianity emerged among individuals who began to call themselves Messianic Jews."
131.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "While Christianity started in the first century of the Common Era as a Jewish group, it quickly separated from Judaism and claimed to replace it; ever since the relationship between the two traditions has often been strained. But in the twentieth century groups of young Jews claimed that they had overcome the historical differences between the two religions and amalgamated Jewish identity and customs with the Christian faith."
132.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 194–195. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "When the term resurfaced in Israel in the 1940s and 1950s, it designated all Jews who accepted Christianity in its Protestant evangelical form. Missionaries such as the Southern Baptist Robert Lindsey noted that for Israeli Jews, the term nozrim, "Christians" in Hebrew, meant, almost automatically, an alien, hostile religion. Because such a term made it nearly impossible to convince Jews that Christianity was their religion, missionaries sought a more neutral term, one that did not arouse negative feelings. They chose Meshichyim, Messianic, to overcome the suspicion and antagonism of the term nozrim. Meshichyim as a term also had the advantage of emphasizing messianism as a major component of the Christian evangelical belief that the missions and communities of Jewish converts to Christianity propagated. It conveyed the sense of a new, innovative religion rather that [sic] an old, unfavorable one. The term was used in reference to those Jews who accepted Jesus as their personal savior, and did not apply to Jews accepting Roman Catholicism who in Israel have called themselves Hebrew Christians. The term Messianic Judaism was adopted in the United States in the early 1970s by those converts to evangelical Christianity who advocated a more assertive attitude on the part of converts towards their Jewish roots and heritage."
133.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, Dan (2000). "Messianic Jewish mission". Messianic Judaism. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-8264-5458-4. OCLC 42719687. Retrieved August 10, 2010. "Evangelism of the Jewish people is thus at the heart of the Messianic movement."
134.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov S. (2000). "Chapter 20: The Rise of Messianic Judaism". Evangelizing the chosen people: missions to the Jews in America, 1880–2000 (GOOGLE BOOKS). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-8078-4880-7. OCLC 43708450. Retrieved August 10, 2010. "Messianic Judaism, although it advocated the idea of an independent movement of Jewish converts, remained the offspring of the missionary movement, and the ties would never be broken. The rise of Messianic Judaism was, in many ways, a logical outcome of the ideology and rhetoric of the movement to evangelize the Jews as well as its early sponsorship of various forms of Hebrew Christian expressions. The missions have promoted the message that Jews who had embraced Christianity were not betraying their heritage or even their faith but were actually fulfilling their true Jewish selves by becoming Christians. The missions also promoted the dispensationalist idea that the Church equals the body of the true Christian believers and that Christians were defined by their acceptance of Jesus as their personal Savior and not by their affiliations with specific denominations and particular liturgies or modes of prayer. Missions had been using Jewish symbols in their buildings and literature and called their centers by Hebrew names such as Emanuel or Beth Sar Shalom. Similarly, the missions' publications featured Jewish religious symbols and practices such as the lighting of a menorah. Although missionaries to the Jews were alarmed when they first confronted the more assertive and independent movement of Messianic Judaism, it was they who were responsible for its conception and indirectly for its birth. The ideology, rhetoric, and symbols they had promoted for generations provided the background for the rise of a new movement that missionaries at first rejected as going too far but later accepted and even embraced."
135.Jump up ^ "What are the Standards of the UMJC?". FAQ. Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations. June 2004. Retrieved 2000-07-03. "1. We believe that there is one G-d, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
 2. We believe in the deity of the L-RD Yeshua, the Messiah, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory." Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
136.Jump up ^ Israel b. Betzalel (2009). "Trinitarianism". JerusalemCouncil.org. Retrieved 2009-07-03. "This then is who Yeshua is: He is not just a man, and as a man, he is not from Adam, but from God. He is the Word of HaShem, the Memra, the Davar, the Righteous One, he didn't become righteous, he is righteous. He is called God's Son, he is the agent of HaShem called HaShem, and he is "HaShem" who we interact with and not die."
137.Jump up ^ "Do I need to be Circumcised?". JerusalemCouncil.org. February 10, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2010. "To convert to the Jewish sect of HaDerech, accepting Yeshua as your King is the first act after one's heart turns toward HaShem and His Torah – as one can not obey a commandment of God if they first do not love God, and we love God by following his Messiah. Without first accepting Yeshua as the King and thus obeying Him, then getting circumcised for the purpose of Jewish conversion only gains you access to the Jewish community. It means nothing when it comes to inheriting a place in the World to Come....Getting circumcised apart from desiring to be obedient to HaShem, and apart from accepting Yeshua as your King, is nothing but a surgical procedure, or worse, could lead to you believe that Jewish identity grants you a portion in the World to Come – at which point, what good is Messiah Yeshua, the Word of HaShem to you? He would have died for nothing!...As a convert from the nations, part of your obligation in keeping the Covenant, if you are a male, is to get circumcised in fulfillment of the commandment regarding circumcision. Circumcision is not an absolute requirement of being a Covenant member (that is, being made righteous before HaShem, and thus obtaining eternal life), but it is a requirement of obedience to God's commandments, because circumcision is commanded for those who are of the seed of Abraham, whether born into the family, adopted, or converted....If after reading all of this you understand what circumcision is, and that is an act of obedience, rather than an act of gaining favor before HaShem for the purpose of receiving eternal life, then if you are male believer in Yeshua the Messiah for the redemption from death, the consequence of your sin of rebellion against Him, then pursue circumcision, and thus conversion into Judaism, as an act of obedience to the Messiah."
138.Jump up ^ "Jewish Conversion - Giyur". JerusalemCouncil.org. JerusalemCouncil.org. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05. "We recognize the desire of people from the nations to convert to Judaism, through HaDerech (The Way)(Messianic Judaism), a sect of Judaism."
139.Jump up ^ OrthodoxSimmons, Shraga. "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus". Aish HaTorah. Retrieved July 28, 2010. "Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:
 #Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies. #Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah. #Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations. #Jewish belief is based on national revelation."ConservativeWaxman, Jonathan (2006). "Messianic Jews Are Not Jews". United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-14. "Hebrew Christian, Jewish Christian, Jew for Jesus, Messianic Jew, Fulfilled Jew. The name may have changed over the course of time, but all of the names reflect the same phenomenon: one who asserts that s/he is straddling the theological fence between Christianity and Judaism, but in truth is firmly on the Christian side....we must affirm as did the Israeli Supreme Court in the well-known Brother Daniel case that to adopt Christianity is to have crossed the line out of the Jewish community."Reform"Missionary Impossible". Hebrew Union College. August 9, 1999. Retrieved 2007-02-14. "Missionary Impossible, an imaginative video and curriculum guide for teachers, educators, and rabbis to teach Jewish youth how to recognize and respond to "Jews-for-Jesus," "Messianic Jews," and other Christian proselytizers, has been produced by six rabbinic students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Cincinnati School. The students created the video as a tool for teaching why Jewish college and high school youth and Jews in intermarried couples are primary targets of Christian missionaries."Reconstructionist/Renewal"FAQ's About Jewish Renewal". Aleph.org. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20. "What is ALEPH's position on so called messianic Judaism? ALEPH has a policy of respect for other spiritual traditions, but objects to deceptive practices and will not collaborate with denominations which actively target Jews for recruitment. Our position on so-called "Messianic Judaism" is that it is Christianity and its proponents would be more honest to call it that."
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "google9" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Bibliography
Marc Lee Raphael, "Judaism in America" (Columbia University Press, 2003)
Avery-Peck, Alan, and Neusner, Jacob, (eds), "The Blackwell reader in Judaism" (Blackwell, 2001)
Cohn-Sherbok, Dan, "Judaism: history, belief, and practice" (Routledge, 2003)
Avery-Peck, Alan, and Neusner, Jacob, (eds), "The Blackwell Companion to Judaism (Blackwell, 2003)
Boyarin, Daniel 1994 A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity Berkeley: University of California Press
Ancient Judaism, Max Weber, Free Press, 1967, ISBN 0-02-934130-2
Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition and Practice Wayne Dosick.
Conservative Judaism: The New Century, Neil Gillman, Behrman House.
American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective Jeffrey S. Gurock, 1996, Ktav.
Philosophies of Judaism Julius Guttmann, trans. by David Silverman, JPS. 1964
Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts Ed. Barry W. Holtz, Summit Books
A History of the Jews Paul Johnson, HarperCollins, 1988
A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America, Jack Wertheimer. Brandeis Univ. Press, 1997.
Encyclopaedia Judaica, Keter Publishing, CD-ROM edition, 1997
The American Jewish Identity Survey, article by Egon Mayer, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar; a sub-set of The American Religious Identity Survey, City University of New York Graduate Center. An article on this survey is printed in The New York Jewish Week, November 2, 2001.
Lewis, Bernard. (1984). The Jews of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
Lewis, Bernard. (1999). Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice. W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-31839-7
Stillman, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0
Day, John. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Chippenham: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
Dever, William G. Did God Have a Wife?. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005.
Walsh, J.P.M. The Mighty From Their Thrones. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1987.
Finkelstein, Israel (1996). Ethnicity and Origin of the Iron I Settlers in the Highlands of Canaan: Can the Real Israel Please Stand Up? The Biblical Archaeologist, 59(4).
Jews in Islamic countries:
A. Khanbaghi. The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran (IB Tauris 2006).
External links

Find more about
Judaism
 at Wikipedia's sister projects

Search Wiktionary Definitions from Wiktionary
Search Wikinews News stories from Wikinews
Search Wikiquote Quotations from Wikiquote
Search Wikisource Source texts from Wikisource
Search Commons Media from Commons
Search Wikibooks Textbooks from Wikibooks
Search Wikiversity Learning resources from Wikiversity
GeneralJudaism 101, an extensive FAQ written by a librarian.
Judaism article from the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
Shamash's Judaism resource page
Orthodox/HarediOrthodox Judaism - The Orthodox Union: Official website
Chabad-Lubavitch: Official website
Rohr Jewish Learning Institute: Official website
The Various Types of Orthodox Judaism
Aish HaTorah
Ohr Somayach
Traditional/ConservadoxUnion for Traditional Judaism
ConservativeThe United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism: Official website
Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel
United Synagogue Youth
Reform/ProgressiveThe Union for Reform Judaism (USA)
Reform Judaism (UK): Official website
Liberal Judaism (UK): Official website
World Union for Progressive Judaism (Israel): Official website
ReconstructionistJewish Reconstructionist Federation: Official website
RenewalALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal: Official website
OHALAH Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal: Official website
HumanisticSociety for Humanistic Judaism: Official website
KaraiteWorld Movement for Karaite Judaism
Jewish religious literature and textsComplete Tanakh (in Hebrew, with vowels).
English Tanakh from the 1917 Jewish Publication Society version.
The Judaica Press Complete Tanach with Rashi in English
Torah.org. (also known as Project Genesis) Contains Torah commentaries and studies of Tanakh, along with Jewish ethics, philosophy, holidays and other classes.
The complete formatted Talmud online. Audio files of lectures for each page from an Orthodox viewpoint are provided in French, English, Yiddish and Hebrew. Reload the page for an image of a page of the Talmud.
See also Torah database for links to more Judaism e-texts.
Wikimedia Torah study projects
 Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Pentateuch

Text study projects at Wikisource. In many instances, the Hebrew versions of these projects are more fully developed than the English.
Mikraot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible) in Hebrew (sample) and English (sample).
Cantillation at the "Vayavinu Bamikra" Project in Hebrew (lists nearly 200 recordings) and English.
Mishnah in Hebrew (sample) and English (sample).
Shulchan Aruch in Hebrew and English (Hebrew text with English translation).


[show] 
Links to related articles
































































































































































































































































































































































































Category
Portal
WikiProject






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































  


Categories: Judaism
Monotheistic religions
















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

View source

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Acèh
Afrikaans
Alemannisch
አማርኛ
العربية
Aragonés
ܐܪܡܝܐ
Arpetan
Asturianu
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Bahasa Banjar
Bân-lâm-gú
Башҡортса
Беларуская
Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎
Български
Boarisch
བོད་ཡིག
Bosanski
Brezhoneg
Буряад
Català
Чӑвашла
Cebuano
Čeština
Corsu
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deitsch
Deutsch
ދިވެހިބަސް
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Estremeñu
Euskara
فارسی
Fiji Hindi
Føroyskt
Français
Frysk
Furlan
Gaeilge
Gaelg
Gàidhlig
Galego
ગુજરાતી
客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî
한국어
Հայերեն
हिन्दी
Hrvatski
Ido
Igbo
Ilokano
Bahasa Indonesia
Interlingua
Interlingue
Ирон
Íslenska
Italiano
עברית
Basa Jawa
Kalaallisut
ಕನ್ನಡ
Къарачай-малкъар
ქართული
Қазақша
Kernowek
Kiswahili
Kreyòl ayisyen
Kurdî
Кыргызча
Ladino
Лакку
Лезги
ລາວ
Latina
Latviešu
Lëtzebuergesch
Lietuvių
Ligure
Limburgs
Lingála
Magyar
Македонски
Malagasy
മലയാളം
मराठी
مصرى
مازِرونی
Bahasa Melayu
Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄
Mirandés
Монгол
မြန်မာဘာသာ
Nāhuatl
Nederlands
Nedersaksies
नेपाली
नेपाल भाषा
日本語
Napulitano
Norfuk / Pitkern
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Nouormand
Occitan
Oromoo
Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
پنجابی
Papiamentu
پښتو
Piemontèis
Tok Pisin
Plattdüütsch
Polski
Português
Qırımtatarca
Ripoarisch
Română
Rumantsch
Runa Simi
Русиньскый
Русский
Саха тыла
Scots
Seeltersk
Sesotho sa Leboa
Shqip
Sicilianu
සිංහල
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Ślůnski
Soomaaliga
کوردی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
தமிழ்
Taqbaylit
Татарча/tatarça
తెలుగు
ไทย
Тоҷикӣ
Türkçe
Türkmençe
Українська
اردو
ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche
Tiếng Việt
Võro
Walon
文言
Winaray
吴语
ייִדיש
粵語
Zazaki
Žemaitėška
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 27 April 2015, at 01:21.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism













Page semi-protected

Judaism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the Jewish religion. For consideration of ethnic, historic and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity, see Jews.



Judaica (clockwise from top): Shabbat candlesticks, handwashing cup, Chumash and Tanakh, Torah pointer, shofar and etrog box
Part of a series on
Judaism
Star of David Ten Commandments Menorah

Movements[show]

















Philosophy[show]










Texts[show]



















Law[show]













Holy cities / places[show]
















Important figures[show]



























Religious roles[show]











Culture and education[show]













Ritual objects[show]



















Prayers[show]















Other religions[show]













Related topics[show]









Portal icon Judaism portal

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Judaism (from the Latin: Iudaismus, derived from the Greek Ἰουδαϊσμός, and ultimately from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah";[1][2] in Hebrew: יהדות, Yahadut, the distinctive characteristics of the Judean ethnos)[3] encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people.[4] Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship that God established with the Children of Israel.[5]
Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism, which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah.[6] Historically, this assertion was challenged by various groups such as the Sadducees and Hellenistic Judaism during the Second Temple period; the Karaites and Sabbateans during the early and later medieval period;[7] and among segments of the modern reform movements. Liberal movements in modern times such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic.[8] Today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism), Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between these groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition, and the significance of the State of Israel.[9] Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more "traditional" interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews.[10][11] Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary.[12] Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and rabbis and scholars who interpret them.[13]
Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a structured religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.[14] Of the major world religions, Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions.[15][16] The Hebrews / Israelites were already referred to as "Jews" in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children of Israel".[17] Judaism's texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i Faith.[18][19] Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law.[20]
The Jews are an ethnoreligious group[21] and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2012, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population.[22] About 42% of all Jews reside in Israel and about 42% reside in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe, and other minority groups spread throughout the world in South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.[23]


Contents  [hide]
1 Defining characteristics and principles of faith 1.1 Defining characteristics
1.2 Core tenets
2 Jewish religious texts 2.1 Jewish legal literature
2.2 Jewish philosophy
2.3 Rabbinic hermeneutics
3 Jewish identity 3.1 Origin of the term "Judaism"
3.2 Distinction between Jews as a people and Judaism
3.3 Who is a Jew?
3.4 Jewish demographics
4 Jewish religious movements 4.1 Rabbinic Judaism 4.1.1 Jewish movements in Israel
4.2 Alternative Judaism
5 Jewish observances 5.1 Jewish ethics
5.2 Prayers
5.3 Religious clothing
5.4 Jewish holidays 5.4.1 Shabbat
5.4.2 Three pilgrimage festivals
5.4.3 High Holy Days
5.4.4 Purim
5.4.5 Hanukkah
5.4.6 Other days
5.5 Torah readings
5.6 Synagogues and religious buildings
5.7 Dietary laws: kashrut
5.8 Laws of ritual purity 5.8.1 Family purity
5.9 Life-cycle events
6 Community leadership 6.1 Classical priesthood
6.2 Prayer leaders
6.3 Specialized religious roles
7 History 7.1 Origins
7.2 Antiquity
7.3 Historical Jewish groupings (to 1700)
7.4 Persecutions
7.5 Hasidism
7.6 The Enlightenment and new religious movements
7.7 Spectrum of observance
8 Judaism and other religions 8.1 Christianity and Judaism
8.2 Islam and Judaism
8.3 Syncretic movements incorporating Judaism
9 See also
10 References
11 Bibliography
12 External links

Defining characteristics and principles of faith
Defining characteristics



 Glass platter inscribed with the Hebrew word zokhreinu - remember us


 A 19th-century silver Macedonian Hanukkah menorah
Unlike other ancient Near Eastern gods, the Hebrew God is portrayed as unitary and solitary; consequently, the Hebrew God's principal relationships are not with other gods, but with the world, and more specifically, with the people He created.[24] Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism: the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind.[25] According to the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation.[26] Many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God; that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate God's concern for the world.[27] He also commanded the Jewish people to love one another; that is, Jews are to imitate God's love for people.[28] These commandments are but two of a large corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism.
Thus, although there is an esoteric tradition in Judaism (Kabbalah), Rabbinic scholar Max Kadushin has characterized normative Judaism as "normal mysticism", because it involves everyday personal experiences of God through ways or modes that are common to all Jews.[29] This is played out through the observance of the Halakha and given verbal expression in the Birkat Ha-Mizvot, the short blessings that are spoken every time a positive commandment is to be fulfilled.
The ordinary, familiar, everyday things and occurrences, we have constitute occasions for the experience of God. Such things as one's daily sustenance, the very day itself, are felt as manifestations of God's loving-kindness, calling for the Berakhot. Kedushah, holiness, which is nothing else than the imitation of God, is concerned with daily conduct, with being gracious and merciful, with keeping oneself from defilement by idolatry, adultery, and the shedding of blood. The Birkat Ha-Mitzwot evokes the consciousness of holiness at a rabbinic rite, but the objects employed in the majority of these rites are non-holy and of general character, while the several holy objects are non-theurgic. And not only do ordinary things and occurrences bring with them the experience of God. Everything that happens to a man evokes that experience, evil as well as good, for a Berakah is said also at evil tidings. Hence, although the experience of God is like none other, the occasions for experiencing Him, for having a consciousness of Him, are manifold, even if we consider only those that call for Berakot.[30]
Whereas Jewish philosophers often debate whether God is immanent or transcendent, and whether people have free will or their lives are determined, Halakha is a system through which any Jew acts to bring God into the world.
Ethical monotheism is central in all sacred or normative texts of Judaism. However, monotheism has not always been followed in practice. The Jewish Bible (Tanakh) records and repeatedly condemns the widespread worship of other gods in ancient Israel.[31] In the Greco-Roman era, many different interpretations of monotheism existed in Judaism, including the interpretations that gave rise to Christianity.[32]
Moreover, as a non-creedal religion, some have argued that Judaism does not require one to believe in God. For some, observance of Jewish law is more important than belief in God per se.[33] In modern times, some liberal Jewish movements do not accept the existence of a personified deity active in history.[34][35]
Core tenets
Main article: Jewish principles of faith



13 Principles of Faith:
1.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
2.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.
3.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, has no body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.
4.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.
5.I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, Blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.
6.I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
7.I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both those who preceded him and those who followed him.
8.I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him.
9.I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any other Torah from the Creator, Blessed be His Name.
10.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of human beings and all their thoughts, as it is written, "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who comprehends all their actions" (Psalms 33:15).
11.I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.
12.I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming.
13.I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.
—Maimonides
Scholars throughout Jewish history have proposed numerous formulations of Judaism's core tenets, all of which have met with criticism.[36] The most popular formulation is Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith, developed in the 12th century. According to Maimonides, any Jew who rejects even one of these principles would be considered an apostate and a heretic.[37][38] Jewish scholars have held points of view diverging in various ways from Maimonides' principles.[39][40]
In Maimonides' time, his list of tenets was criticized by Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo. Albo and the Raavad argued that Maimonides' principles contained too many items that, while true, were not fundamentals of the faith.
Along these lines, the ancient historian Josephus emphasized practices and observances rather than religious beliefs, associating apostasy with a failure to observe Jewish law and maintaining that the requirements for conversion to Judaism included circumcision and adherence to traditional customs. Maimonides' principles were largely ignored over the next few centuries.[41] Later, two poetic restatements of these principles ("Ani Ma'amin" and "Yigdal") became integrated into many Jewish liturgies,[42] leading to their eventual near-universal acceptance.[43][44]
In modern times, Judaism lacks a centralized authority that would dictate an exact religious dogma.[13][45] Because of this, many different variations on the basic beliefs are considered within the scope of Judaism.[39] Even so, all Jewish religious movements are, to a greater or lesser extent, based on the principles of the Hebrew Bible and various commentaries such as the Talmud and Midrash. Judaism also universally recognizes the Biblical Covenant between God and the Patriarch Abraham as well as the additional aspects of the Covenant revealed to Moses, who is considered Judaism's greatest prophet.[39][46][47][48][49] In the Mishnah, a core text of Rabbinic Judaism, acceptance of the Divine origins of this covenant is considered an essential aspect of Judaism and those who reject the Covenant forfeit their share in the World to Come.[50]
Jewish religious texts
The following is a basic, structured list of the central works of Jewish practice and thought.
Tanakh[51] (Hebrew Bible) and Rabbinic literature Mesorah
Targum
Jewish Biblical exegesis (also see Midrash below)
Works of the Talmudic Era (classic rabbinic literature) Mishnah and commentaries
Tosefta and the minor tractates
Talmud: The Babylonian Talmud and commentaries
Jerusalem Talmud and commentaries

Midrashic literature: Halakhic Midrash
Aggadic Midrash
Halakhic literature Major Codes of Jewish Law and Custom Mishneh Torah and commentaries
Tur and commentaries
Shulchan Aruch and commentaries
Responsa literature
Jewish Thought and Ethics Jewish philosophy
Musar literature and other works of Jewish ethics
Kabbalah
Hasidic works
Siddur and Jewish liturgy
Piyyut (Classical Jewish poetry)
Jewish legal literature
Main article: Halakha
The basis of Jewish law and tradition (halakha) is the Torah (also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses). According to rabbinic tradition there are 613 commandments in the Torah. Some of these laws are directed only to men or to women, some only to the ancient priestly groups, the Kohanim and Leviyim (members of the tribe of Levi), some only to farmers within the Land of Israel. Many laws were only applicable when the Temple in Jerusalem existed, and fewer than 300 of these commandments are still applicable today.[citation needed]
While there have been Jewish groups whose beliefs were claimed to be based on the written text of the Torah alone (e.g., the Sadducees, and the Karaites), most Jews believed in what they call the oral law. These oral traditions were transmitted by the Pharisee sect of ancient Judaism, and were later recorded in written form and expanded upon by the rabbis.
Rabbinic Judaism (which derives from the Pharisees) has always held that the books of the Torah (called the written law) have always been transmitted in parallel with an oral tradition. To justify this viewpoint, Jews point to the text of the Torah, where many words are left undefined, and many procedures mentioned without explanation or instructions; this, they argue, means that the reader is assumed to be familiar with the details from other, i.e., oral, sources. This parallel set of material was originally transmitted orally, and came to be known as "the oral law".
By the time of Rabbi Judah haNasi (200 CE), after the destruction of Jerusalem, much of this material was edited together into the Mishnah. Over the next four centuries this law underwent discussion and debate in both of the world's major Jewish communities (in Israel and Babylonia), and the commentaries on the Mishnah from each of these communities eventually came to be edited together into compilations known as the two Talmuds. These have been expounded by commentaries of various Torah scholars during the ages.
Halakha, the rabbinic Jewish way of life, then, is based on a combined reading of the Torah, and the oral tradition - the Mishnah, the halakhic Midrash, the Talmud and its commentaries. The Halakha has developed slowly, through a precedent-based system. The literature of questions to rabbis, and their considered answers, is referred to as responsa (in Hebrew, Sheelot U-Teshuvot.) Over time, as practices develop, codes of Jewish law are written that are based on the responsa; the most important code, the Shulchan Aruch, largely determines Orthodox religious practice today.
Jewish philosophy
Main article: Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. Major Jewish philosophers include Solomon ibn Gabirol, Saadia Gaon, Judah Halevi, Maimonides, and Gersonides. Major changes occurred in response to the Enlightenment (late 18th to early 19th century) leading to the post-Enlightenment Jewish philosophers. Modern Jewish philosophy consists of both Orthodox and non-Orthodox oriented philosophy. Notable among Orthodox Jewish philosophers are Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and Yitzchok Hutner. Well-known non-Orthodox Jewish philosophers include Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Mordecai Kaplan, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Will Herberg, and Emmanuel Lévinas.
Related Topics
Torah databases (electronic versions of the Traditional Jewish Bookshelf)
List of Jewish prayers and blessings
Rabbinic hermeneutics



13 Principles of Hermeneutics:
1.A law that operates under certain conditions will surely be operative in other situations where the same conditions are present in a more acute form
2.A law operating in one situation will also be operative in another situation, if the text characterizes both situations in identical terms.
3.A law that clearly expresses the purpose it was meant to serve will also apply to other situations where the identical purpose may be served.
4.When a general rule is followed by illustrative particulars, only those particulars are to be embraced by it.
5.A law that begins with specifying particular cases, and then proceeds to an all-embracing generalization, is to be applied to particulars cases not specified but logically falling into the same generalization.
6.A law that begins with a generalization as to its intended applications, then continues with the specification of particular cases, and then concludes with a restatement of the generalization, can be applied only to the particular cases specified.
7.The rules about a generalization being followed or preceded by specifying particulars (rules 4 and 5) will not apply if it is apparent that the specification of the particular cases or the statement of the generalization is meant purely for achieving a greater clarity of language.
8.A particular case already covered in a generalization that is nevertheless treated separately suggests that the same particularized treatment be applied to all other cases which are covered in that generalization.
9.A penalty specified for a general category of wrongdoing is not to be automatically applied to a particular case that is withdrawn from the general rule to be specifically prohibited, but without any mention of the penalty.
10.A general prohibition followed by a specified penalty may be followed by a particular case, normally included in the generalization, with a modification in penalty, either toward easing it or making it more severe.
11.A case logically falling into a general law but treated separately remains outside the provisions of the general law except in those instances where it is specifically included in them.
12.Obscurities in Biblical texts may be cleared up from the immediate context or from subsequently occurring passages
13.Contradictions in Biblical passages may be removed through the mediation of other passages.
—R. Ishmael[52]
Orthodox and many other Jews do not believe that the revealed Torah consists solely of its written contents, but of its interpretations as well. The study of Torah (in its widest sense, to include both poetry, narrative, and law, and both the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud) is in Judaism itself a sacred act of central importance. For the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, and for their successors today, the study of Torah was therefore not merely a means to learn the contents of God's revelation, but an end in itself. According to the Talmud,
These are the things for which a person enjoys the dividends in this world while the principal remains for the person to enjoy in the world to come; they are: honoring parents, loving deeds of kindness, and making peace between one person and another. But the study of the Torah is equal to them all. (Talmud Shabbat 127a).
In Judaism, "the study of Torah can be a means of experiencing God".[53] Reflecting on the contribution of the Amoraim and Tanaim to contemporary Judaism, Professor Jacob Neusner observed:
The rabbi's logical and rational inquiry is not mere logic-chopping. It is a most serious and substantive effort to locate in trivialities the fundamental principles of the revealed will of God to guide and sanctify the most specific and concrete actions in the workaday world .... Here is the mystery of Talmudic Judaism: the alien and remote conviction that the intellect is an instrument not of unbelief and desacralization but of sanctification."[54]
To study the Written Torah and the Oral Torah in light of each other is thus also to study how to study the word of God.
In the study of Torah, the sages formulated and followed various logical and hermeneutical principles. According to David Stern, all Rabbinic hermeneutics rest on two basic axioms:
first, the belief in the omnisignificance of Scripture, in the meaningfulness of its every word, letter, even (according to one famous report) scribal flourish; second, the claim of the essential unity of Scripture as the expression of the single divine will.[55]
These two principles make possible a great variety of interpretations. According to the Talmud,
A single verse has several meanings, but no two verses hold the same meaning. It was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: 'Behold, My word is like fire—declares the Lord—and like a hammer that shatters rock' (Jer 23:29). Just as this hammer produces many sparks (when it strikes the rock), so a single verse has several meanings." (Talmud Sanhedrin 34a).
Observant Jews thus view the Torah as dynamic, because it contains within it a host of interpretations[56]
According to Rabbinic tradition, all valid interpretations of the written Torah were revealed to Moses at Sinai in oral form, and handed down from teacher to pupil (The oral revelation is in effect coextensive with the Talmud itself). When different rabbis forwarded conflicting interpretations, they sometimes appealed to hermeneutic principles to legitimize their arguments; some rabbis claim that these principles were themselves revealed by God to Moses at Sinai.[57]
Thus, Hillel called attention to seven commonly used hermeneutical principles in the interpretation of laws (baraita at the beginning of Sifra); R. Ishmael, thirteen (baraita at the beginning of Sifra; this collection is largely an amplification of that of Hillel).[58] Eliezer b. Jose ha-Gelili listed 32, largely used for the exegesis of narrative elements of Torah. All the hermeneutic rules scattered through the Talmudim and Midrashim have been collected by Malbim in Ayyelet ha-Shachar, the introduction to his commentary on the Sifra. Nevertheless, R. Ishmael's 13 principles are perhaps the ones most widely known; they constitute an important, and one of Judaism's earliest, contributions to logic, hermeneutics, and jurisprudence.[59] Judah Hadassi incorporated Ishmael's principles into Karaite Judaism in the 12th century.[60] Today R. Ishmael's 13 principles are incorporated into the Jewish prayer book to be read by observant Jews on a daily basis.[61][62][63][64]
Jewish identity
Origin of the term "Judaism"



 A mezuzah
The term Judaism derives from Iudaismus, a Latinized form of the Ancient Greek Ἰουδαϊσμός or Ioudaïsmos (from the verb ἰουδαΐζειν, "to side with or imitate the [Judeans]"),[65] and it was ultimately inspired by the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah";[66][67] in Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת, Yahadut. The term Ἰουδαϊσμός first appears in the Hellenistic Greek book of 2 Maccabees in the 2nd century BCE. In the context of the age and period it meant "seeking or forming part of a cultural entity"[68] and resembled its antonym hellenismos, a word that signified a people's submission unto Hellenic (Greek) cultural norms. The conflict between iudaismos and hellenismos lay behind the Maccabean revolt and hence the invention of the term iudaismos.[68] Shaye J. D. Cohen writes in his book The Beginnings of Jewishness:
We are tempted, of course, to translate [Ioudaïsmos] as "Judaism," but this translation is too narrow, because in this first ocurence of the term, Ioudaïsmos has not yet be reduced to designation of a religion. It means rather "the aggregate of all those characteristics that makes Judaeans Judaean (or Jews Jewish)." Among these characteristics, to be sure, are practices and beliefs that we would today call "religious," but these practices and beliefs are not the sole content of the term. Thus Ioudaïsmos should be translated not as "Judaism" but as Judaeanness.[69]
The earliest instance in Europe where the term was used to mean "the profession or practice of the Jewish religion; the religious system or polity of the Jews"{cn} is Robert Fabyan's The newe cronycles of Englande and of Fraunce a 1513. "Judaism" as a direct translation of the Latin Iudaismus first occurred in a 1611 English translation of the Apocrypha (Deuterocanon in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity), 2 Macc. ii. 21: "Those that behaved themselues manfully to their honour for Iudaisme."[70]
Distinction between Jews as a people and Judaism
According to Daniel Boyarin, the underlying distinction between religion and ethnicity is foreign to Judaism itself, and is one form of the dualism between spirit and flesh that has its origin in Platonic philosophy and that permeated Hellenistic Judaism.[71] Consequently, in his view, Judaism does not fit easily into conventional Western categories, such as religion, ethnicity, or culture. Boyarin suggests that this in part reflects the fact that much of Judaism's more than 3,000-year history predates the rise of Western culture and occurred outside the West (that is, Europe, particularly medieval and modern Europe). During this time, Jews experienced slavery, anarchic and theocratic self-government, conquest, occupation, and exile. In the Diaspora, they were in contact with, and influenced by, ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenic cultures, as well as modern movements such as the Enlightenment (see Haskalah) and the rise of nationalism, which would bear fruit in the form of a Jewish state in their ancient homeland, the Land of Israel. They also saw an elite population convert to Judaism (the Khazars), only to disappear as the centers of power in the lands once occupied by that elite fell to the people of Rus and then the Mongols. Thus, Boyarin has argued that "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension."[72]
In contrast to this point of view, practices such as Humanistic Judaism reject the religious aspects of Judaism, while retaining certain cultural traditions.
Who is a Jew?
Main article: Who is a Jew?
According to traditional Jewish Law, a Jew is anyone who was either born of a Jewish mother or who converted to Judaism in accordance with Jewish Law. American Reform Judaism and British Liberal Judaism accept the child of one Jewish parent (father or mother) as Jewish if the parents raise the child with a Jewish identity. All mainstream forms of Judaism today are open to sincere converts, although conversion has traditionally been discouraged since the time of the Talmud. The conversion process is evaluated by an authority, and the convert is examined on his or her sincerity and knowledge.[73] Converts are called "ben Abraham" or "bat Abraham", (son or daughter of Abraham). Conversions have on occasion been overturned. In 2008, Israel's highest religious court invalidated the conversion of 40,000 Jews, mostly from Russian immigrant families, even though they had been approved by an Orthodox rabbi.[74]
Traditional Judaism maintains that a Jew, whether by birth or conversion, is a Jew forever. Thus a Jew who claims to be an atheist or converts to another religion is still considered by traditional Judaism to be Jewish. According to some sources, the Reform movement has maintained that a Jew who has converted to another religion is no longer a Jew,[75][76] and the Israeli Government has also taken that stance after Supreme Court cases and statutes.[77] However, the Reform movement has indicated that this is not so cut and dried, and different situations call for consideration and differing actions. For example, Jews who have converted under duress may be permitted to return to Judaism "without any action on their part but their desire to rejoin the Jewish community" and "A proselyte who has become an apostate remains, nevertheless, a Jew". (p. 100-106).[78]
The question of what determines Jewish identity in the State of Israel was given new impetus when, in the 1950s, David Ben-Gurion requested opinions on mihu Yehudi ("who is a Jew") from Jewish religious authorities and intellectuals worldwide in order to settle citizenship questions. This is still not settled, and occasionally resurfaces in Israeli politics.
Jewish demographics
Main article: Jewish population by country
The total number of Jews worldwide is difficult to assess because the definition of "who is a Jew" is problematic; not all Jews identify themselves as Jewish, and some who identify as Jewish are not considered so by other Jews. According to the Jewish Year Book (1901), the global Jewish population in 1900 was around 11 million. The latest available data is from the World Jewish Population Survey of 2002 and the Jewish Year Calendar (2005). In 2002, according to the Jewish Population Survey, there were 13.3 million Jews around the world. The Jewish Year Calendar cites 14.6 million. Jewish population growth is currently near zero percent, with 0.3% growth from 2000 to 2001.
Jewish religious movements
Main article: Jewish religious movements
Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism (or in some Christian traditions, Rabbinism) (Hebrew: "Yahadut Rabanit" – יהדות רבנית) has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Talmud. It is characterised by the belief that the Written Torah (Written Law) cannot be correctly interpreted without reference to the Oral Torah and the voluminous literature specifying what behavior is sanctioned by the Law.
The Jewish Enlightenment of the late 18th century resulted in the division of Ashkenazi (Western) Jewry into religious movements or denominations, especially in North America and Anglophone countries. The main denominations today outside Israel (where the situation is rather different) are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform.
Orthodox Judaism holds that both the Written and Oral Torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and that the laws within it are binding and unchanging. Orthodox Jews generally consider commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch (a condensed codification of halakha that largely favored Sephardic traditions) to be the definitive codification of Jewish law. Orthodoxy places a high importance on Maimonides' 13 principles as a definition of Jewish faith.
Orthodoxy is often divided into Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism. Haredi Judaism is less accommodating to modernity and has less interest in non-Jewish disciplines, and it may be distinguished from Modern Orthodox Judaism in practice by its styles of dress and more stringent practices. Subsets of Haredi Judaism include: Hasidic Judaism, which is rooted in the Kabbalah and distinguished by reliance on a Rebbe or religious teacher; and Sephardic Haredi Judaism, which emerged among Sephardic (Asian and North African) Jews in Israel.
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti outside the United States and Canada, is characterized by a commitment to traditional Jewish laws and customs, including observance of Shabbat and kashrut, a deliberately non-fundamentalist teaching of Jewish principles of faith, a positive attitude toward modern culture, and an acceptance of both traditional rabbinic and modern scholarship when considering Jewish religious texts. Conservative Judaism teaches that Jewish law is not static, but has always developed in response to changing conditions. It holds that the Torah is a divine document written by prophets inspired by God and reflecting his will, but rejects the Orthodox position that it was dictated by God to Moses.[79][80] Conservative Judaism holds that the Oral Law is divine and normative, but holds that both the Written and Oral Law may be interpreted by the rabbis to reflect modern sensibilities and suit modern conditions.
Reform Judaism, called Liberal or Progressive Judaism in many countries, defines Judaism as a religion rather than as a race or culture, rejects most of the ritual and ceremonial laws of the Torah while observing moral laws, and emphasizes the ethical call of the Prophets. Reform Judaism has developed an egalitarian prayer service in the vernacular (along with Hebrew in many cases) and emphasizes personal connection to Jewish tradition.



 A Reform synagogue with mixed seating and equal participation of men and womenReconstructionist Judaism, like Reform Judaism, does not hold that Jewish law, as such, requires observance, but unlike Reform, Reconstructionist thought emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow.
Jewish Renewal is a recent North American movement which focuses on spirituality and social justice, but does not address issues of Jewish law. Men and women participate equally in prayer.
Humanistic Judaism is a small non-theistic movement centered in North America and Israel that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as the sources of Jewish identity.
Jewish movements in Israel
Main article: Religion in Israel
Most Jewish Israelis classify themselves as "secular" (hiloni), "traditional" (masorti), "religious" (dati) or Haredi. The term "secular" is more popular as a self-description among Israeli families of western (European) origin, whose Jewish identity may be a very powerful force in their lives, but who see it as largely independent of traditional religious belief and practice. This portion of the population largely ignores organized religious life, be it of the official Israeli rabbinate (Orthodox) or of the liberal movements common to diaspora Judaism (Reform, Conservative).
The term "traditional" (masorti) is most common as a self-description among Israeli families of "eastern" origin (i.e., the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa). This term, as commonly used, has nothing to do with the official Masorti (Conservative) movement. There is a great deal of ambiguity in the ways "secular" and "traditional" are used in Israel: they often overlap, and they cover an extremely wide range in terms of ideology and religious observance. The term "Orthodox" is not popular in Israeli discourse, although the percentage of Jews who come under that category is far greater than in the diaspora. What would be called "Orthodox" in the diaspora includes what is commonly called dati (religious) or haredi (ultra-Orthodox) in Israel. The former term includes what is called "Religious Zionism" or the "National Religious" community, as well as what has become known over the past decade or so as haredi-leumi (nationalist haredi), or "Hardal", which combines a largely haredi lifestyle with nationalist ideology. (Some people, in Yiddish, also refer to observant Orthodox Jews as frum, as opposed to frei (more liberal Jews)).
Haredi applies to a populace that can be roughly divided into three separate groups along both ethnic and ideological lines: (1) "Lithuanian" (non-hasidic) haredim of Ashkenazic origin; (2) Hasidic haredim of Ashkenazic origin; and (3) Sephardic haredim.
Alternative Judaism
Main article: Alternative Judaism
Karaite Judaism defines itself as the remnants of the non-Rabbinic Jewish sects of the Second Temple period, such as the Sadducees. The Karaites ("Scripturalists") accept only the Hebrew Bible and what they view as the Peshat ("simple" meaning); they do not accept non-biblical writings as authoritative. Some European Karaites do not see themselves as part of the Jewish community at all, although most do.
The Samaritans, a very small community located entirely around Mount Gerizim in the Nablus/Shechem region of the West Bank and in Holon, near Tel Aviv in Israel, regard themselves as the descendants of the Israelites of the Iron Age kingdom of Israel. Their religious practices are based on the literal text of the written Torah (Five Books of Moses), which they view as the only authoritative scripture (with a special regard also for the Samaritan Book of Joshua).
Jewish observances
Jewish ethics
Main article: Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics may be guided by halakhic traditions, by other moral principles, or by central Jewish virtues. Jewish ethical practice is typically understood to be marked by values such as justice, truth, peace, loving-kindness (chesed), compassion, humility, and self-respect. Specific Jewish ethical practices include practices of charity (tzedakah) and refraining from negative speech (lashon hara). Proper ethical practices regarding sexuality and many other issues are subjects of dispute among Jews.
Prayers
Main article: Jewish services



 A Yemenite Jew at morning prayers, wearing a kippah skullcap, prayer shawl and tefillin
Traditionally, Jews recite prayers three times daily, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma'ariv with a fourth prayer, Mussaf added on Shabbat and holidays. At the heart of each service is the Amidah or Shemoneh Esrei. Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Yisrael (or Shema). The Shema is the recitation of a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad—"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!"
Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be recited in solitary prayer, although communal prayer is preferred. Communal prayer requires a quorum of ten adult Jews, called a minyan. In nearly all Orthodox and a few Conservative circles, only male Jews are counted toward a minyan; most Conservative Jews and members of other Jewish denominations count female Jews as well.
In addition to prayer services, observant traditional Jews recite prayers and benedictions throughout the day when performing various acts. Prayers are recited upon waking up in the morning, before eating or drinking different foods, after eating a meal, and so on.
The approach to prayer varies among the Jewish denominations. Differences can include the texts of prayers, the frequency of prayer, the number of prayers recited at various religious events, the use of musical instruments and choral music, and whether prayers are recited in the traditional liturgical languages or the vernacular. In general, Orthodox and Conservative congregations adhere most closely to tradition, and Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues are more likely to incorporate translations and contemporary writings in their services. Also, in most Conservative synagogues, and all Reform and Reconstructionist congregations, women participate in prayer services on an equal basis with men, including roles traditionally filled only by men, such as reading from the Torah. In addition, many Reform temples use musical accompaniment such as organs and mixed choirs.
Religious clothing
Further information: kippah, tzitzit and tefillin
A kippah (Hebrew: כִּפָּה, plural kippot; Yiddish: יאַרמלקע, yarmulke) is a slightly rounded brimless skullcap worn by many Jews while praying, eating, reciting blessings, or studying Jewish religious texts, and at all times by some Jewish men. In Orthodox communities, only men wear kippot; in non-Orthodox communities, some women also wear kippot. Kippot range in size from a small round beanie that covers only the back of the head, to a large, snug cap that covers the whole crown.
Tzitzit (Hebrew: צִיציִת) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tzitzis) are special knotted "fringes" or "tassels" found on the four corners of the tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tallis), or prayer shawl. The tallit is worn by Jewish men and some Jewish women during the prayer service. Customs vary regarding when a Jew begins wearing a tallit. In the Sephardi community, boys wear a tallit from bar mitzvah age. In some Ashkenazi communities it is customary to wear one only after marriage. A tallit katan (small tallit) is a fringed garment worn under the clothing throughout the day. In some Orthodox circles, the fringes are allowed to hang freely outside the clothing.
Tefillin (Hebrew: תְפִלִּין), known in English as phylacteries (from the Greek word φυλακτήριον, meaning safeguard or amulet), are two square leather boxes containing biblical verses, attached to the forehead and wound around the left arm by leather straps. They are worn during weekday morning prayer by observant Jewish men and some Jewish women.[81]
A kittel (Yiddish: קיטל), a white knee-length overgarment, is worn by prayer leaders and some observant traditional Jews on the High Holidays. It is traditional for the head of the household to wear a kittel at the Passover seder in some communities, and some grooms wear one under the wedding canopy. Jewish males are buried in a tallit and sometimes also a kittel which are part of the tachrichim (burial garments).
Jewish holidays
Main article: Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are special days in the Jewish calendar, which celebrate moments in Jewish history, as well as central themes in the relationship between God and the world, such as creation, revelation, and redemption.
Shabbat
Main article: Shabbat



 Two braided Shabbat challahs placed under an embroidered challah cover at the start of the Shabbat meal
Shabbat, the weekly day of rest lasting from shortly before sundown on Friday night to nightfall Saturday night, commemorates God's day of rest after six days of creation.[82] It plays a pivotal role in Jewish practice and is governed by a large corpus of religious law. At sundown on Friday, the woman of the house welcomes the Shabbat by lighting two or more candles and reciting a blessing. The evening meal begins with the Kiddush, a blessing recited aloud over a cup of wine, and the Mohtzi, a blessing recited over the bread. It is customary to have challah, two braided loaves of bread, on the table. During Shabbat Jews are forbidden to engage in any activity that falls under 39 categories of melakhah, translated literally as "work". In fact the activities banned on the Sabbath are not "work" in the usual sense: They include such actions as lighting a fire, writing, using money and carrying in the public domain. The prohibition of lighting a fire has been extended in the modern era to driving a car, which involves burning fuel, and using electricity.
Three pilgrimage festivals
Main article: Shalosh regalim



 Some sukkot in Jerusalem
Jewish holy days (chaggim), celebrate landmark events in Jewish history, such as the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah, and sometimes mark the change of seasons and transitions in the agricultural cycle. The three major festivals, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, are called "regalim" (derived from the Hebrew word "regel", or foot). On the three regalim, it was customary for the Israelites to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the Temple.
Passover (Pesach) is a week-long holiday beginning on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan (the first month in the Hebrew calendar), that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. Outside Israel, Passover is celebrated for eight days. In ancient times, it coincided with the barley harvest. It is the only holiday that centers on home-service, the Seder. Leavened products (chametz) are removed from the house prior to the holiday, and are not consumed throughout the week. Homes are thoroughly cleaned to ensure no bread or bread by-products remain, and a symbolic burning of the last vestiges of chametz is conducted on the morning of the Seder. Matzo is eaten instead of bread.
Shavuot ("Pentecost" or "Feast of Weeks") celebrates the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. Also known as the Festival of Bikurim, or first fruits, it coincided in biblical times with the wheat harvest. Shavuot customs include all-night study marathons known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot, eating dairy foods (cheesecake and blintzes are special favorites), reading the Book of Ruth, decorating homes and synagogues with greenery, and wearing white clothing, symbolizing purity.
Sukkot ("Tabernacles" or "The Festival of Booths") commemorates the Israelites' forty years of wandering through the desert on their way to the Promised Land. It is celebrated through the construction of temporary booths called sukkot (sing. sukkah) that represent the temporary shelters of the Israelites during their wandering. It coincides with the fruit harvest, and marks the end of the agricultural cycle. Jews around the world eat in sukkot for seven days and nights. Sukkot concludes with Shemini Atzeret, where Jews begin to pray for rain and Simchat Torah, "Rejoicing of the Torah", a holiday which marks reaching the end of the Torah reading cycle and beginning all over again. The occasion is celebrated with singing and dancing with the Torah scrolls. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are technically considered to be a separate holiday and not a part of Sukkot.
High Holy Days
Main article: High Holidays



 Jews praying in a synagogue on Yom Kippur, from an 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb
The High Holidays (Yamim Noraim or "Days of Awe") revolve around judgment and forgiveness.
Rosh Hashanah, (also Yom Ha-Zikkaron or "Day of Remembrance", and Yom Teruah, or "Day of the Sounding of the Shofar"). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year (literally, "head of the year"), although it falls on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Tishri. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the 10-day period of atonement leading up to Yom Kippur, during which Jews are commanded to search their souls and make amends for sins committed, intentionally or not, throughout the year. Holiday customs include blowing the shofar, or ram's horn, in the synagogue, eating apples and honey, and saying blessings over a variety of symbolic foods, such as pomegranates.
Yom Kippur, ("Day of Atonement") is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It is a day of communal fasting and praying for forgiveness for one's sins. Observant Jews spend the entire day in the synagogue, sometimes with a short break in the afternoon, reciting prayers from a special holiday prayerbook called a "Machzor". Many non-religious Jews make a point of attending synagogue services and fasting on Yom Kippur. On the eve of Yom Kippur, before candles are lit, a prefast meal, the "seuda mafseket", is eaten. Synagogue services on the eve of Yom Kippur begin with the Kol Nidre prayer. It is customary to wear white on Yom Kippur, especially for Kol Nidre, and leather shoes are not worn. The following day, prayers are held from morning to evening. The final prayer service, called "Ne'ilah", ends with a long blast of the shofar.
Purim
Main article: Purim



 Purim street scene in Jerusalem
Purim (Hebrew: About this sound פורים (help·info) Pûrîm "lots") is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman, who sought to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, mutual gifts of food and drink, charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22). Other customs include drinking wine, eating special pastries called hamantashen, dressing up in masks and costumes, and organizing carnivals and parties.
Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, which occurs in February or March of the Gregorian calendar.
Hanukkah
Main article: Hanukkah
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה‎, "dedication") also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev (Hebrew calendar). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on.
The holiday was called Hanukkah (meaning "dedication") because it marks the re-dedication of the Temple after its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Spiritually, Hanukkah commemorates the "Miracle of the Oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days - which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil.
Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Bible and was never considered a major holiday in Judaism, but it has become much more visible and widely celebrated in modern times, mainly because it falls around the same time as Christmas and has national Jewish overtones that have been emphasized since the establishment of the State of Israel.
Other days
Main articles: Tisha B'Av, Yom Hashoah and Yom Ha'atzmaut
Tisha B'Av (Hebrew: תשעה באב‎ or ט׳ באב, "the Ninth of Av") is a day of mourning and fasting commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, and in later times, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
The modern holidays of Yom Ha-shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust and the achievement of Israel independence, respectively.
Torah readings
Main article: Torah reading
The core of festival and Shabbat prayer services is the public reading of the Torah, along with connected readings from the other books of the Tanakh, called Haftarah. Over the course of a year, the whole Torah is read, with the cycle starting over in the autumn, on Simchat Torah.
Synagogues and religious buildings
Main article: Synagogue



 Interior of the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.
Synagogues are Jewish houses of prayer and study. They usually contain separate rooms for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study, and often an area for community or educational use. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. The Reform movement mostly refer to their synagogues as temples. Some traditional features of a synagogue are:
The ark (called aron ha-kodesh by Ashkenazim and hekhal by Sephardim) where the Torah scrolls are kept (the ark is often closed with an ornate curtain (parochet) outside or inside the ark doors);
The elevated reader's platform (called bimah by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim), where the Torah is read (and services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues);
The eternal light (ner tamid), a continually lit lamp or lantern used as a reminder of the constantly lit menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem
The pulpit, or amud, a lectern facing the Ark where the hazzan or prayer leader stands while praying.
In addition to synagogues, other buildings of significance in Judaism include yeshivas, or institutions of Jewish learning, and mikvahs, which are ritual baths.
Dietary laws: kashrut
Main article: Kashrut
The Jewish dietary laws are known as kashrut. Food prepared in accordance with them is termed kosher, and food that is not kosher is also known as treifah or treif. People who observe these laws are colloquially said to be "keeping kosher".[83]
Many of the laws apply to animal-based foods. For example, in order to be considered kosher, mammals must have split hooves and chew their cud. The pig is arguably the most well-known example of a non-kosher animal.[84] Although it has split hooves, it does not chew its cud.[85] For seafood to be kosher, the animal must have fins and scales. Certain types of seafood, such as shellfish, crustaceans, and eels, are therefore considered non-kosher. Concerning birds, a list of non-kosher species is given in the Torah. The exact translations of many of the species have not survived, and some non-kosher birds' identities are no longer certain. However, traditions exist about the kashrut status of a few birds. For example, both chickens and turkeys are permitted in most communities. Other types of animals, such as amphibians, reptiles, and most insects, are prohibited altogether.[83]
In addition to the requirement that the species be considered kosher, meat and poultry (but not fish) must come from a healthy animal slaughtered in a process known as shechitah. Without the proper slaughtering practices even an otherwise kosher animal will be rendered treif. The slaughtering process is intended to be quick and relatively painless to the animal. Forbidden parts of animals include the blood, some fats, and the area in and around the sciatic nerve.[83]
Jewish law also forbids the consumption of meat and dairy products together. The waiting period between eating meat and eating dairy varies by the order in which they are consumed and by community, and can extend for up to six hours. Based on the Biblical injunction against cooking a kid in its mother's milk, this rule is mostly derived from the Oral Torah, the Talmud and Rabbinic law.[83] Chicken and other kosher birds are considered the same as meat under the laws of kashrut, but the prohibition is Rabbinic, not Biblical.[86]
The use of dishes, serving utensils, and ovens may make food treif that would otherwise be kosher. Utensils that have been used to prepare non-kosher food, or dishes that have held meat and are now used for dairy products, render the food treif under certain conditions.[83]
Furthermore, all Orthodox and some Conservative authorities forbid the consumption of processed grape products made by non-Jews, due to ancient pagan practices of using wine in rituals.[83] Some Conservative authorities permit wine and grape juice made without rabbinic supervision.[87]
The Torah does not give specific reasons for most of the laws of kashrut.[83] However, a number of explanations have been offered, including maintaining ritual purity, teaching impulse control, encouraging obedience to God, improving health, reducing cruelty to animals and preserving the distinctness of the Jewish community.[88] The various categories of dietary laws may have developed for different reasons, and some may exist for multiple reasons. For example, people are forbidden from consuming the blood of birds and mammals because, according to the Torah, this is where animal souls are contained.[89] In contrast, the Torah forbids Israelites from eating non-kosher species because "they are unclean".[90] The Kabbalah describes sparks of holiness that are released by the act of eating kosher foods, but are too tightly bound in non-kosher foods to be released by eating.[91]
Survival concerns supersede all the laws of kashrut, as they do for most halakhot.[92][93]
Laws of ritual purity
Main article: Tumah



 A silver matchbox holder for ritual use on Shabbat with inscription in Hebrew
The Tanakh describes circumstances in which a person who is tahor or ritually pure may become tamei or ritually impure. Some of these circumstances are contact with human corpses or graves, seminal flux, vaginal flux, menstruation, and contact with people who have become impure from any of these.[94][95] In Rabbinic Judaism, Kohanim, members of the hereditary caste that served as priests in the time of the Temple, are mostly restricted from entering grave sites and touching dead bodies.[96] During the Temple period, such priests (Kohanim) were required to eat their bread offering (Terumah) in a state of ritual purity, which laws eventually led to more rigid laws being enacted, such as hand-washing which became a requisite of all Jews before consuming ordinary bread.
Family purity
Main article: Niddah
An important subcategory of the ritual purity laws relates to the segregation of menstruating women. These laws are also known as niddah, literally "separation", or family purity. Vital aspects of halakha for traditionally observant Jews, they are not usually followed by Jews in liberal denominations.[97]
Especially in Orthodox Judaism, the Biblical laws are augmented by Rabbinical injunctions. For example, the Torah mandates that a woman in her normal menstrual period must abstain from sexual intercourse for seven days. A woman whose menstruation is prolonged must continue to abstain for seven more days after bleeding has stopped.[94] The Rabbis conflated ordinary niddah with this extended menstrual period, known in the Torah as zavah, and mandated that a woman may not have sexual intercourse with her husband from the time she begins her menstrual flow until seven days after it ends. In addition, Rabbinical law forbids the husband from touching or sharing a bed with his wife during this period. Afterwards, purification can occur in a ritual bath called a mikveh.[97]
Traditional Ethiopian Jews keep menstruating women in separate huts and, similar to Karaite practice, do not allow menstruating women into their temples because of a temple's special sanctity. Emigration to Israel and the influence of other Jewish denominations have led to Ethiopian Jews adopting more normative Jewish practices.[98][99]
Life-cycle events
Life-cycle events, or rites of passage, occur throughout a Jew's life that serve to strengthen Jewish identity and bind him/her to the entire community.
Brit milah – Welcoming male babies into the covenant through the rite of circumcision on their eighth day of life. The baby boy is also given his Hebrew name in the ceremony. A naming ceremony intended as a parallel ritual for girls, named zeved habat or brit bat, enjoys limited popularity.
Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah – This passage from childhood to adulthood takes place when a female Jew is twelve and a male Jew is thirteen years old among Orthodox and some Conservative congregations. In the Reform movement, both girls and boys have their bat/bar mitzvah at age thirteen. This is often commemorated by having the new adults, male only in the Orthodox tradition, lead the congregation in prayer and publicly read a "portion" of the Torah.
Marriage – Marriage is an extremely important lifecycle event. A wedding takes place under a chuppah, or wedding canopy, which symbolizes a happy house. At the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass with his foot, symbolizing the continuous mourning for the destruction of the Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people.
Death and Mourning – Judaism has a multi-staged mourning practice. The first stage is called the shiva (literally "seven", observed for one week) during which it is traditional to sit at home and be comforted by friends and family, the second is the shloshim (observed for one month) and for those who have lost one of their parents, there is a third stage, avelut yud bet chodesh, which is observed for eleven months.
Community leadership
Classical priesthood



 Jewish students with their teacher in Samarkand, Uzbekistan c. 1910.
The role of the priesthood in Judaism has significantly diminished since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, when priests attended to the Temple and sacrifices. The priesthood is an inherited position, and although priests no longer have any but ceremonial duties, they are still honored in many Jewish communities. Many Orthodox Jewish communities believe that they will be needed again for a future Third Temple and need to remain in readiness for future duty.
Kohen (priest) – patrilineal descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses. In the Temple, the kohanim were charged with performing the sacrifices. Today, a Kohen is the first one called up at the reading of the Torah, performs the Priestly Blessing, as well as complying with other unique laws and ceremonies, including the ceremony of redemption of the first-born.
Levi (Levite) – Patrilineal descendant of Levi the son of Jacob. In the Temple in Jerusalem, the levites sang Psalms, performed construction, maintenance, janitorial, and guard duties, assisted the priests, and sometimes interpreted the law and Temple ritual to the public. Today, a Levite is called up second to the reading of the Torah.
Prayer leaders
From the time of the Mishnah and Talmud to the present, Judaism has required specialists or authorities for the practice of very few rituals or ceremonies. A Jew can fulfill most requirements for prayer by himself. Some activities—reading the Torah and haftarah (a supplementary portion from the Prophets or Writings), the prayer for mourners, the blessings for bridegroom and bride, the complete grace after meals—require a minyan, the presence of ten Jews.
The most common professional clergy in a synagogue are:
Rabbi of a congregation – Jewish scholar who is charged with answering the legal questions of a congregation. This role requires ordination by the congregation's preferred authority (i.e., from a respected Orthodox rabbi or, if the congregation is Conservative or Reform, from academic seminaries). A congregation does not necessarily require a rabbi. Some congregations have a rabbi but also allow members of the congregation to act as shatz or baal kriyah (see below). Hassidic Rebbe – rabbi who is the head of a Hasidic dynasty.
Hazzan (note: the "h" denotes voiceless pharyngeal fricative) (cantor) – a trained vocalist who acts as shatz. Chosen for a good voice, knowledge of traditional tunes, understanding of the meaning of the prayers and sincerity in reciting them. A congregation does not need to have a dedicated hazzan.
Jewish prayer services do involve two specified roles, which are sometimes, but not always, filled by a rabbi and/or hazzan in many congregations. In other congregations these roles are filled on an ad-hoc basis by members of the congregation who lead portions of services on a rotating basis:
Shaliach tzibur or Shatz (leader—literally "agent" or "representative"—of the congregation) leads those assembled in prayer, and sometimes prays on behalf of the community. When a shatz recites a prayer on behalf of the congregation, he is not acting as an intermediary but rather as a facilitator. The entire congregation participates in the recital of such prayers by saying amen at their conclusion; it is with this act that the shatz's prayer becomes the prayer of the congregation. Any adult capable of reciting the prayers clearly may act as shatz. In Orthodox congregations and some Conservative congregations, only men can be prayer leaders, but all Progressive communities now allow women to serve in this function.
The Baal kriyah or baal koreh (master of the reading) reads the weekly Torah portion. The requirements for being the baal kriyah are the same as those for the shatz. These roles are not mutually exclusive. The same person is often qualified to fill more than one role, and often does. Often there are several people capable of filling these roles and different services (or parts of services) will be led by each.
Many congregations, especially larger ones, also rely on a:
Gabbai (sexton) – Calls people up to the Torah, appoints the shatz for each prayer session if there is no standard shatz, and makes certain that the synagogue is kept clean and supplied.
The three preceding positions are usually voluntary and considered an honor. Since the Enlightenment large synagogues have often adopted the practice of hiring rabbis and hazzans to act as shatz and baal kriyah, and this is still typically the case in many Conservative and Reform congregations. However, in most Orthodox synagogues these positions are filled by laypeople on a rotating or ad-hoc basis. Although most congregations hire one or more Rabbis, the use of a professional hazzan is generally declining in American congregations, and the use of professionals for other offices is rarer still.
Specialized religious roles
Dayan (judge) – An ordained rabbi with special legal training who belongs to a beth din (rabbinical court). In Israel, religious courts handle marriage and divorce cases, conversion and financial disputes in the Jewish community.
Mohel (circumciser) – An expert in the laws of circumcision who has received training from a previously qualified mohel and performs the brit milah (circumcision).
Shochet (ritual slaughterer) – In order for meat to be kosher, it must be slaughtered by a shochet who is an expert in the laws of kashrut and has been trained by another shochet.
Sofer (scribe) – Torah scrolls, tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (scrolls put on doorposts), and gittin (bills of divorce) must be written by a sofer who is an expert in Hebrew calligraphy and has undergone rigorous training in the laws of writing sacred texts.
Rosh yeshiva – A Torah scholar who runs a yeshiva.
Mashgiach of a yeshiva – Depending on which yeshiva, might either be the person responsible for ensuring attendance and proper conduct, or even supervise the emotional and spiritual welfare of the students and give lectures on mussar (Jewish ethics).
Mashgiach – Supervises manufacturers of kosher food, importers, caterers and restaurants to ensure that the food is kosher. Must be an expert in the laws of kashrut and trained by a rabbi, if not a rabbi himself.
History
Main article: Jewish history
This section is about the history of Judaism. For the book on Ancient Judaism, see Ancient Judaism (book).
Origins
Main article: Origins of Judaism
Further information: Ancient Semitic religion



 Scenes from the Book of Esther decorate the Dura-Europos synagogue dating from 244 CE
At its core, the Tanakh is an account of the Israelites' relationship with God from their earliest history until the building of the Second Temple (c. 535 BCE). Abraham is hailed as the first Hebrew and the father of the Jewish people. As a reward for his act of faith in one God, he was promised that Isaac, his second son, would inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan). Later, the descendants of Isaac's son Jacob were enslaved in Egypt, and God commanded Moses to lead the Exodus from Egypt. At Mount Sinai they received the Torah—the five books of Moses. These books, together with Nevi'im and Ketuvim are known as Torah Shebikhtav as opposed to the Oral Torah, which refers to the Mishnah and the Talmud. Eventually, God led them to the land of Israel where the tabernacle was planted in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years to rally the nation against attacking enemies. As time went on, the spiritual level of the nation declined to the point that God allowed the Philistines to capture the tabernacle. The people of Israel then told Samuel the prophet that they needed to be governed by a permanent king, and Samuel appointed Saul to be their King. When the people pressured Saul into going against a command conveyed to him by Samuel, God told Samuel to appoint David in his stead.



 The Western Wall in Jerusalem is a remnant of the wall encircling the Second Temple. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism.
Once King David was established, he told the prophet Nathan that he would like to build a permanent temple, and as a reward for his actions, God promised David that he would allow his son, Solomon, to build the First Temple and the throne would never depart from his children.
Rabbinic tradition holds that the details and interpretation of the law, which are called the Oral Torah or oral law, were originally an unwritten tradition based upon what God told Moses on Mount Sinai. However, as the persecutions of the Jews increased and the details were in danger of being forgotten, these oral laws were recorded by Rabbi Judah HaNasi (Judah the Prince) in the Mishnah, redacted circa 200 CE. The Talmud was a compilation of both the Mishnah and the Gemara, rabbinic commentaries redacted over the next three centuries. The Gemara originated in two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Palestine and Babylonia. Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation is called the Jerusalem Talmud. It was compiled sometime during the 4th century in Israel. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled from discussions in the houses of study by the scholars Ravina I, Ravina II, and Rav Ashi by 500 CE, although it continued to be edited later.
Some critical scholars oppose the view that the sacred texts, including the Hebrew Bible, were divinely inspired. Many of these scholars accept the general principles of the documentary hypothesis and suggest that the Torah consists of inconsistent texts edited together in a way that calls attention to divergent accounts.[100][101][102] Many suggest that during the First Temple period, the people of Israel believed that each nation had its own god, but that their god was superior to other gods.[103][104] Some suggest that strict monotheism developed during the Babylonian Exile, perhaps in reaction to Zoroastrian dualism.[105] In this view, it was only by the Hellenic period that most Jews came to believe that their god was the only god, and that the notion of a clearly bounded Jewish nation identical with the Jewish religion formed.[106]
John Day argues that the origins of biblical Yahweh, El, Asherah, and Ba'al, may be rooted in earlier Canaanite religion, which was centered on a pantheon of gods much like the Greek pantheon.[107]
Antiquity
Main articles: Ancient Israel and Judah, Babylonian captivity, Hellenistic Judaism, Hasmonean Kingdom, Iudaea Province and Bar Kokhba revolt
According to the Hebrew Bible, the United Monarchy was established under Saul and continued under King David and Solomon with its capital in Jerusalem. After Solomon's reign the nation split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel (in the north) and the Kingdom of Judah (in the south). The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian ruler Sargon II in the late 8th century BCE with many people from the capital Samaria being taken captive to Media and the Khabur River valley. The Kingdom of Judah continued as an independent state until it was conquered by a Babylonian army in the early 6th century BCE, destroying the First Temple that was at the center of ancient Jewish worship. The Judean elite were exiled to Babylonia and this is regarded as the first Jewish Diaspora. Later many of them returned to their homeland after the subsequent conquest of Babylonia by the Persians seventy years later, a period known as the Babylonian Captivity. A new Second Temple was constructed, and old religious practices were resumed.
During the early years of the Second Temple, the highest religious authority was a council known as the Great Assembly, led by Ezra of the Book of Ezra. Among other accomplishments of the Great Assembly, the last books of the Bible were written at this time and the canon sealed.
Hellenistic Judaism spread to Ptolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BCE. After the Great Revolt (66–73 CE), the Romans destroyed the Temple. Hadrian built a pagan idol on the Temple grounds and prohibited circumcision; these acts of ethnocide provoked the Bar Kokhba revolt 132–136 CE after which the Romans banned the study of the Torah and the celebration of Jewish holidays, and forcibly removed virtually all Jews from Judea. In 200 CE, however, Jews were granted Roman citizenship and Judaism was recognized as a religio licita ("legitimate religion"), until the rise of Gnosticism and Early Christianity in the fourth century.
Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews, Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around the community (represented by a minimum of ten adult men) and the establishment of the authority of rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities (see Jewish diaspora).
Historical Jewish groupings (to 1700)



 The Torah Ark of the Beth Jakov synagogue in Macedonia
Around the 1st century CE there were several small Jewish sects: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Christians. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, these sects vanished. Christianity survived, but by breaking with Judaism and becoming a separate religion; the Pharisees survived but in the form of Rabbinic Judaism (today, known simply as "Judaism"). The Sadducees rejected the divine inspiration of the Prophets and the Writings, relying only on the Torah as divinely inspired. Consequently, a number of other core tenets of the Pharisees' belief system (which became the basis for modern Judaism), were also dismissed by the Sadducees. (The Samaritans practiced a similar religion, which is traditionally considered separate from Judaism.)
Like the Sadducees who relied only on the Torah, some Jews in the 8th and 9th centuries rejected the authority and divine inspiration of the oral law as recorded in the Mishnah (and developed by later rabbis in the two Talmuds), relying instead only upon the Tanakh. These included the Isunians, the Yudganites, the Malikites, and others. They soon developed oral traditions of their own, which differed from the rabbinic traditions, and eventually formed the Karaite sect. Karaites exist in small numbers today, mostly living in Israel. Rabbinical and Karaite Jews each hold that the others are Jews, but that the other faith is erroneous.
Over a long time, Jews formed distinct ethnic groups in several different geographic areas — amongst others, the Ashkenazi Jews (of central and Eastern Europe), the Sephardi Jews (of Spain, Portugal, and North Africa), the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the Yemenite Jews from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Many of these groups have developed differences in their prayers, traditions and accepted canons; however these distinctions are mainly the result of their being formed at some cultural distance from normative (rabbinic) Judaism, rather than based on any doctrinal dispute.
Persecutions
Main articles: Persecution of Jews, Antisemitism and History of antisemitism
Antisemitism arose during the Middle Ages, in the form of persecutions, pogroms, forced conversion, expulsions, social restrictions and ghettoization.
This was different in quality to any repressions of Jews in ancient times. Ancient repression was politically motivated and Jews were treated the same way as any other ethnic group would have been. With the rise of the Churches, attacks on Jews became motivated instead by theological considerations specifically deriving from Christian views about Jews and Judaism.[108] During the Middle Ages, Jewish people under Muslim rule generally experienced tolerance and integration,[109] but there were occasional outbreaks of violence like Almohad's persecutions.[110]
Hasidism
Main article: Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism was founded by Yisroel ben Eliezer (1700–1760), also known as the Ba'al Shem Tov (or Besht). It originated in a time of persecution of the Jewish people, when European Jews had turned inward to Talmud study; many felt that most expressions of Jewish life had become too "academic", and that they no longer had any emphasis on spirituality or joy. His disciples attracted many followers; they themselves established numerous Hasidic sects across Europe. Hasidic Judaism eventually became the way of life for many Jews in Europe. Waves of Jewish immigration in the 1880s carried it to the United States. The movement itself claims to be nothing new, but a refreshment of original Judaism. Or as some have put it: "they merely re-emphasized that which the generations had lost".[111] Nevertheless, early on there was a serious schism between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Jews. European Jews who rejected the Hasidic movement were dubbed by the Hasidim as Misnagdim, (lit. "opponents"). Some of the reasons for the rejection of Hasidic Judaism were the overwhelming exuberance of Hasidic worship, its untraditional ascriptions of infallibility and alleged miracle-working to their leaders, and the concern that it might become a messianic sect. Since then differences between the Hasidim and their opponents have slowly diminished and both groups are now considered part of Haredi Judaism.
The Enlightenment and new religious movements
Main articles: Haskalah and Jewish religious movements
In the late 18th century CE, Europe was swept by a group of intellectual, social and political movements known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment led to reductions in the European laws that prohibited Jews to interact with the wider secular world, thus allowing Jews access to secular education and experience. A parallel Jewish movement, Haskalah or the "Jewish Enlightenment", began, especially in Central Europe and Western Europe, in response to both the Enlightenment and these new freedoms. It placed an emphasis on integration with secular society and a pursuit of non-religious knowledge through reason. With the promise of political emancipation many Jews saw no reason to continue to observe Jewish law and increasing numbers of Jews assimilated into Christian Europe. Modern religious movements of Judaism all formed in reaction to this trend.
In Central Europe, followed by Great Britain and the United States, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism developed, relaxing legal obligations (especially those that limited Jewish relations with non-Jews), emulating Protestant decorum in prayer, and emphasizing the ethical values of Judaism's Prophetic tradition. Modern Orthodox Judaism developed in reaction to Reform Judaism, by leaders who argued that Jews could participate in public life as citizens equal to Christians, while maintaining the observance of Jewish law. Meanwhile, in the United States, wealthy Reform Jews helped European scholars, who were Orthodox in practice but critical (and skeptical) in their study of the Bible and Talmud, to establish a seminary to train rabbis for immigrants from Eastern Europe. These left-wing Orthodox rabbis were joined by right-wing Reform rabbis who felt that Jewish law should not be entirely abandoned, to form the Conservative movement. Orthodox Jews who opposed the Haskalah formed Haredi Orthodox Judaism. After massive movements of Jews following The Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel, these movements have competed for followers from among traditional Jews in or from other countries.
Spectrum of observance



 Judaism is practised in all parts of the world, for example in a synagogue in downtown Mumbai.
Countries such as the United States, Israel, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina and South Africa contain large Jewish populations. Jewish religious practice varies widely through all levels of observance. According to the 2001 edition of the National Jewish Population Survey, in the United States' Jewish community—the world's second largest—4.3 million Jews out of 5.1 million had some sort of connection to the religion. Of that population of connected Jews, 80% participated in some sort of Jewish religious observance, but only 48% belonged to a synagogue, and fewer than 16% attend regularly.[112]
Birth rates for American Jews have dropped from 2.0 to 1.7.[113] (Replacement rate is 2.1.) Intermarriage rates range from 40-50% in the US, and only about a third of children of intermarried couples are raised as Jews. Due to intermarriage and low birth rates, the Jewish population in the US shrank from 5.5 million in 1990 to 5.1 million in 2001. This is indicative of the general population trends among the Jewish community in the Diaspora, but a focus on total population obscures growth trends in some denominations and communities, such as Haredi Judaism. The Baal teshuva movement is a movement of Jews who have "returned" to religion or become more observant.
Judaism and other religions
Christianity and Judaism
Main article: Christianity and Judaism
Christianity was originally a sect of Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions diverged in the first century. The differences between Christianity and Judaism originally centered on whether Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, but eventually became irreconcilable. Major differences between the two faiths include the nature of the Messiah (divine or human), of atonement (through blood alone or through repentance, righteousness and following God's commandments) and sin (original sin or clean slate), the status of God's commandments to Israel (temporary and futile or eternal and of ultimate value), and perhaps most significantly of the nature of God himself (Trinity or Unity). Due to these differences, Judaism traditionally regards Christianity as Shituf, or worship of the God of Israel which is not monotheistic. Christianity has traditionally regarded Judaism as obsolete with the invention of Christianity and Jews as a people replaced by the Church, though a Christian belief in dual-covenant theology emerged as a phenomenon following Christian reflection how their theology influenced the Nazi Holocaust.
Until their emancipation in the late 18th and the 19th century, Jews in Christian lands were subject to humiliating legal restrictions and limitations. They included provisions requiring Jews to wear specific and identifying clothing such as the Jewish hat and the yellow badge, restricting Jews to certain cities and towns or in certain parts of towns (ghettos), and forbidding Jews to enter certain trades (for example selling new clothes in medieval Sweden). Disabilities also included special taxes levied on Jews, exclusion from public life, restraints on the performance of religious ceremonies, and linguistic censorship. Some countries went even further and completely expelled Jews, for example England in 1290 (Jews were readmitted in 1655) and Spain in 1492 (readmitted in 1868). The first Jewish settlers in North America arrived in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1654; they were forbidden to hold public office, open a retail shop, or establish a synagogue. When the colony was seized by the British in 1664 Jewish rights remained unchanged, but by 1671 Asser Levy was the first Jew to serve on a jury in North America.[114] In 1791, Revolutionary France was the first country to abolish disabilities altogether, followed by Prussia in 1848. Emancipation of the Jews in the United Kingdom was achieved in 1858 after an almost 30-year struggle championed by Isaac Lyon Goldsmid[115] with the ability of Jews to sit in parliament with the passing of the Jews Relief Act 1858. The newly united German Empire in 1871 abolished Jewish disabilities in Germany, which were reinstated in the Nuremberg Laws in 1935.
Jewish life in Christian lands was marked by frequent blood libels, expulsions, forced conversions and massacres. An underlying source of prejudice against Jews in Europe was religious. Jews were frequently massacred and exiled from various European countries. The persecution hit its first peak during the Crusades. In the First Crusade (1096) flourishing communities on the Rhine and the Danube were utterly destroyed, a prime example being the Rhineland massacres. In the Second Crusade (1147) the Jews in France were subject to frequent massacres. The Jews were also subjected to attacks by the Shepherds' Crusades of 1251 and 1320. The Crusades were followed by expulsions, including in 1290, the banishing of all English Jews; in 1396, 100,000 Jews were expelled from France; and, in 1421 thousands were expelled from Austria. Many of the expelled Jews fled to Poland.[116] As the Black Death epidemics devastated Europe in the mid-14th century, annihilating more than a half of the population, Jews were taken as scapegoats. Hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed by violence in the Black Death persecutions. Although Pope Clement VI tried to protect them by the July 6, 1348 papal bull and another 1348 bull, several months later, 900 Jews were burnt alive in Strasbourg, where the plague hadn't yet affected the city.[117]
Islam and Judaism
Main article: Islam and Judaism
Both Judaism and Islamic religion arose from the patriarch Abraham, and are therefore considered Abrahamic religions. In both Jewish and Muslim tradition, the Jewish and Arab peoples are descended from the two sons of Abraham—Isaac and Ishmael, respectively. While both religions are monotheistic and share many commonalities, they differ in that Jews do not consider Jesus or Muhammad to be prophets. The religions' adherents have interacted with each other since the 7th century, when Islam originated and spread in the Arabian peninsula. Indeed, the years 712 to 1066 CE under the Ummayad and the Abbasid rulers have been called the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. Non-Muslim monotheists living in these countries, including Jews, were known as dhimmis. Dhimmis were allowed to practice their religion and to administer their internal affairs, but they were subject to certain restrictions that were not imposed on Muslims.[118] For example, they had to pay the jizya, a per capita tax imposed on free adult non-Muslim males,[118] and they were also forbidden to bear arms or testify in court cases involving Muslims.[119] Many of the laws regarding dhimmis were highly symbolic. For example, dhimmis in some countries were required to wear distinctive clothing, a practice not found in either the Qur'an or hadiths but invented in early medieval Baghdad and inconsistently enforced.[120] Jews in Muslim countries were not entirely free from persecution—for example, many were killed, exiled or forcibly converted in the 12th century, in Persia, and by the rulers of the Almohad dynasty in North Africa and Al-Andalus,[121] as well as by the Zaydi imams of Yemen in the 17th century (see: Mawza Exile). At times, Jews were also restricted in their choice of residence—in Morocco, for example, Jews were confined to walled quarters (mellahs) beginning in the 15th century and increasingly since the early 19th century.[122]
In the late 20th century, Jews were expelled from nearly all of the Arab countries.[123][124][125] Most have chosen to live in Israel. Today, antisemitic themes including Holocaust denial have become commonplace in the propaganda of Islamic movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas, in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and even in the newspapers and other publications of Refah Partisi.[126]
Syncretic movements incorporating Judaism
There are some movements that combine elements of Judaism with those of other religions. The most well-known of these is Messianic Judaism, a religious movement, which arose in the 1960s,[127][128][129][130] that incorporates elements of Judaism with the tenets of Christianity.[130][131][132][133][134] The movement states that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and generally that he is part of the Trinity,[135][136] and salvation is only achieved through acceptance of Jesus as one's savior.[137] Some members argue that Messianic Judaism is a sect of Judaism.[138] Jewish organizations of every denomination reject this, stating that Messianic Judaism is a Christian sect, as it harbors identical creeds to that of Pauline Christianity.[139]
Other examples of syncretism include Semitic neopaganism, a loosely organized sect which incorporates pagan or Wiccan beliefs with some Jewish religious practices; Jewish Buddhists, another loosely organized group that incorporates elements of Asian spirituality in their faith; and some Renewal Jews who borrow freely and openly from Buddhism, Sufism, Native American religion, and other faiths.
The Kabbalah Centre, which employs teachers from multiple religions, is a New Age movement that claims to popularize the kabbalah, part of the Jewish esoteric tradition.
See also

Portal icon Judaism portal
Portal icon Religion portal
Book icon Book: Abrahamic religions
Book: Judaism

Main article: Outline of Judaism
Anti-Judaism
Frankism
Jewish views of religious pluralism
Judaism by country
List of converts to Judaism
Sabbateanism
Secular Jewish culture
Criticism of Judaism
United States military chaplain symbols
References
1.Jump up ^ Methods and Categories: Judaism and Gospel
2.Jump up ^ AskOxford: Judaism
3.Jump up ^ Shaye J.D. Cohen 1999 The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties, Berkeley: University of California Press; p. 7
4.Jump up ^ Jacobs, Louis (2007). "Judaism". In Fred Skolnik. Encyclopaedia Judaica 11 (2d ed.). Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. p. 511. ISBN 978-0-02-865928-2. "Judaism, the religion, philosophy, and way of life of the Jews."
5.Jump up ^ "Knowledge Resources: Judaism". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
6.Jump up ^ "What is the oral Torah?". Torah.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
7.Jump up ^ "Karaite Jewish University". Kjuonline.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
8.Jump up ^ "Society for Humanistic Judaism". Shj.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
9.Jump up ^ "Jewish Denominations". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
10.Jump up ^ "Reform Judaism". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
11.Jump up ^ "What is Reform Judaism?". Reformjudaism.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
12.Jump up ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. "Britannica Online Encyclopedia: Bet Din". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
13.^ Jump up to: a b "Judaism 101: Rabbis, Priests and Other Religious Functionaries". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
14.Jump up ^ "History of Judaism until 164 BCE". History of Judaism. BBC.
15.Jump up ^ "Religion & Ethics - Judaism". BBC. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
16.Jump up ^ Religion: Three Religions, One God PBS
17.Jump up ^ Settings of silver: an introduction to Judaism p. 59 by Stephen M. Wylen, Paulist Press, 2000 [1]
18.Jump up ^ Heribert Busse (1998). Islam, Judaism, and Christianity: Theological and Historical Affiliations. Markus Wiener Publishers. pp. 63–112. ISBN 978-1-55876-144-5.
19.Jump up ^ Irving M. Zeitlin (2007). The Historical Muhammad. Polity. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0-7456-3999-4.
20.Jump up ^ Jewish Contributions to Civilization: An Estimate (book)
21.Jump up ^ See, for example, Deborah Dash Moore, American Jewish Identity Politics, University of Michigan Press, 2008, p. 303; Ewa Morawska, Insecure Prosperity: Small-Town Jews in Industrial America, 1890-1940, Princeton University Press, 1999. p. 217; Peter Y. Medding, Values, interests and identity: Jews and politics in a changing world, Volume 11 of Studies in contemporary Jewry, Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 64; Ezra Mendelsohn, People of the city: Jews and the urban challenge, Volume 15 of Studies in contemporary Jewry, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 55; Louis Sandy Maisel, Ira N. Forman, Donald Altschiller, Charles Walker Bassett, Jews in American politics: essays, Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, p. 158; Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword, W. W. Norton & Company, 1997, p. 169.
22.Jump up ^ "Jewish Population". Retrieved 9 September 2013.
23.Jump up ^ World Jewish Population, 2010. Sergio Della Pergola, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
24.Jump up ^ Nahum Sarna 1969 Understanding Genesis. New York: Schocken
25.Jump up ^ Jacob Neusner, ''Defining Judaism'', in Jacob Neusner and Alan Avery-Peck, "The Blackwell companion to Judaism" (Blackwell, 2003), p.3. Books.google.com.au. 2003-02-23. ISBN 978-1-57718-059-3. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
26.Jump up ^ Gen. 17:3-8 Genesis 17: 3-8: Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God;" Gen. 22:17-18 Genesis 22: 17-18: I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
27.Jump up ^ Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me; Deut. 6:5 Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
28.Jump up ^ Lev. 19:18 Leviticus 19:18: "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord"
29.Jump up ^ Kadushin, Max, 1972 The Rabbinic Mind. New York: Bloch Publishing Company. 194
30.Jump up ^ Kadushin, Max, 1972 The Rabbinic Mind. New York: Bloch Publishing Company. 203
31.Jump up ^ The Books of Melachim (Kings) and Book of Yeshaiahu (Isaiah) in the Tanakh contain a few of the many Biblical accounts of Israelite kings and segments of ancient Israel's population worshiping other gods. For example: King Solomon's "wives turned away his heart after other gods...[and he] did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD" (elaborated in 1 Melachim 11:4-10); King Ahab "went and served Baal, and worshiped him...And Ahab made the Asherah [a pagan place of worship]; and Ahab did yet more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him" (1 Melachim 16:31-33); the prophet Isaiah condemns the people who "prepare a table for [the idol] Fortune, and that offer mingled wine in full measure unto [the idol] Destiny" (Yeshaiahu 65:11-12). Translation: JPS (Jewish Publication Society) edition of the Tanakh, from 1917, available at Mechon Mamre.
32.Jump up ^ The Jewish roots of Christological monotheism: papers from the St. Andrews conference on the historical origins of the worship of Jesus. Books.google.com. 1999. ISBN 978-90-04-11361-9. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
33.Jump up ^ Steinberg, Milton 1947 Basic Judaism New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 36
34.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: Movements of Judaism". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
35.Jump up ^ http://www.nola.com/community/st-tammany/index.ssf/2014/01/theology_on_tap_winter_2014_un.html
36.Jump up ^ Rabbi S. of Montpelier, Yad Rama, Y. Alfacher, Rosh Amanah.
37.Jump up ^ "Maimonides' 13 Foundations of Judaism". Mesora. "However if he rejects one of these fundamentals he leaves the nation and is a denier of the fundamentals and is called a heretic, a denier, etc."
38.Jump up ^ Rabbi Mordechai Blumenfeld. "Maimonides, 13 Principles of Faith". Aish HaTorah. "According to the Rambam, their acceptance defines the minimum requirement necessary for one to relate to the Almighty and His Torah as a member of the People of Israel"
39.^ Jump up to: a b c Daniel Septimus. "The Thirteen Principles of Faith". MyJewishLearning.com.
40.Jump up ^ Ronald L. Eisenberg (2004). The JPS guide to Jewish traditions. Jewish Publication Society. p. 509. ISBN 0-8276-0760-1. "The concept of "dogma" is ... not a basic idea in Judaism."
41.Jump up ^ Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought, Menachem Kellner.
42.Jump up ^ "The Thirteen Principles of the Jewish Faith". Hebrew4Christians. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
43.Jump up ^ "What Do Jews Believe?". Mechon Mamre. "The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely accepted list of Jewish beliefs is Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith."
44.Jump up ^ The JPS guide to Jewish traditions, page 510, "The one that eventually secured almost universal acceptance was the Thirteen Principles of faith"
45.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: What Do Jews Believe?". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
46.Jump up ^ "Description of Judaism, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance". Religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
47.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: The Patriarchs and the Origins of Judaism". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
48.Jump up ^ Rietti, Rabbi Jonathan. "How Do You Know the Exodus Really Happened?". Archived from the original on 2004-09-18. The word "emunah" has been translated incorrectly by the King James Bible as merely "belief" or "faith", when in actuality, it means conviction, which is a much more emphatic knowledge of God based on experience.
49.Jump up ^ "Jewish Sacred Texts". ReligionFacts. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
50.Jump up ^ M. San 10:1. Translation available here [2].
51.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts". Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations in America. April 12, 2006.
52.Jump up ^ The Prayer book: Weekday, Sabbath, and Festival translated and arranged by Ben Zion Bokser. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company. 9-10
53.Jump up ^ Kadushin, Max 1972 The Rabbinic Mind New York: Bloch Publishing. 213
54.Jump up ^ Neusner, Jacob 2003 Invitation to the Talmud Stipf and Son, Oregon xvii-xxii
55.Jump up ^ Stern, David "Midrash and Indeterminacy" in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Autumn, 1988), p. 151.
56.Jump up ^ Neusner, Jacob 2003 Invitation to the Talmud Stipf and Son, Oregon xvii-vix; Steinsaltz, Adin 1976 The Essential Talmud New York: Basic Books. 3-9; Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95; Stern, David "Midrash and Indeterminacy" in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 132-161
57.Jump up ^ Stern, David "Midrash and Indeterminacy" in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Autumn, 1988), p. 147.
58.Jump up ^ Cohen, Abner 1949 Everyman's Talmud New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. xxiv; Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95
59.Jump up ^ Cohen, Abner 1949 Everyman's Talmud New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. xxiv; Steinsaltz, Adin 1976 The Essential Talmud New Yorki: Basic Books. 222; Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95
60.Jump up ^ Strack, Hermann 1980 Introduction to the Midrash and Talmud New York: Atheneum. 95
61.Jump up ^ סדור רינת ישראל לבני חוײל Jerusalem: 1974, pp. 38-39
62.Jump up ^ Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, 2006 The Koren Sacks Siddur: Hebrew/English Prayer Book: The Authorized Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth London: Harper Collins Publishers pp. 54-55
63.Jump up ^ Nosson Scherman 2003 The Complete Artscroll Siddur Third Edition Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications pp. 49-53
64.Jump up ^ Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, Nissen Mangel, 2003 Siddur Tehillat Hashem Kehot Publication Society. 24-25
65.Jump up ^ ἰουδαΐζειν. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
66.Jump up ^ "Methods and Categories: Judaism and Gospel". Bibleinterp.com. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
67.Jump up ^ AskOxford: Judaism[dead link]
68.^ Jump up to: a b Oskar Skarsaune (2002). In the Shadow of the Temple: Jewish Influences on Early Christianity. InterVarsity Press. pp. 39FF. ISBN 978-0-8308-2670-4. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
69.Jump up ^ Shaye J.D. Cohen 1999 The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties University of California Press. 105-106
70.Jump up ^ The Oxford English Dictionary.
71.Jump up ^ Boyarin, Daniel (October 14, 1994). "Introduction". A radical Jew: Paul and the politics of identity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 13–38. ISBN 0-520-08592-2. LCCN 93036269. Retrieved 2006-06-15. "Paul was motivated by a Hellenistic desire for the One, which among other things produced an ideal of a universal human essence, beyond difference and hierarchy. This universal humanity, however, was predicated (and still is) on the dualism of the flesh and the spirit, such that while the body is particular, marked through practice as Jew or Greek, and through anatomy as male or female, the spirit is universal. Paul did not, however, reject the body—as did, for instance, the gnostics—but rather promoted a system whereby the body had its place, albeit subordinated to the spirit. Paul's anthropological dualism was matched by a hermeneutical dualism as well. Just as the human being is divided into a fleshy and a spiritual component, so also is language itself. It is composed of outer, material signs and inner, spiritual significations. When this is applied to the religious system that Paul inherited, the physical, fleshy signs of the Torah, of historical Judaism, are re-interpreted as symbols of that which Paul takes to be universal requirements and possibilities for humanity."
72.Jump up ^ Boyarin, Daniel (1994). "Answering the Mail". A radical Jew: Paul and the politics of identity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08592-2. "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension with one another."
73.Jump up ^ Weiner, Rebecca (2007). "Who is a Jew?". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
74.Jump up ^ Strains Grow Between Israel and Many Jews in the U.S. New York Times, 6 February 2015
75.Jump up ^ "''Reform's Position On...What is unacceptable practice?''". Faqs.org. 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
76.Jump up ^ Heschel, Susannah (1998) Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-226-32959-3
77.Jump up ^ "Law of Return 5710-1950". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
78.Jump up ^ Jacob, Walter (1987). Contemporary American Reform Responsa. Mars, PA: Publishers Choice Book Mfg. Books.google.com. 1987. ISBN 0-88123-003-0. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
79.Jump up ^ Robert Gordis. "Torah MiSinai:Conservative Views". A Modern Approach to a Living Halachah. Masorti World. Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. "The Torah is an emanation of God... This conception does not mean, for us, that the process of revalation consisted of dictation by God."
80.Jump up ^ "Conservative Judaism". Jewlicious. "We therefore understand this term as a metaphor to mean that the Torah is divine and that it reflects God's will."
81.Jump up ^ "Tefillin", "The Book of Jewish Knowledge", Nathan Ausubel, Crown Publishers, NY, 1964, p.458)
82.Jump up ^ "Shabbat". Judaism 101. April 12, 2006.
83.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Judaism 101: Kashrut". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
84.Jump up ^ Chaya Shuchat. "The Kosher Pig?". "It is also the most quintessentially "treif" of animals, with its name being nearly synonymous with non-kosher ... Although far from alone in the litany of non-kosher animals, the pig seems to stand in a class of its own."
85.Jump up ^ "Tamar Levy, St. Louis, MO – Block Yeshiva High School, Grade 9". OUkosher.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
86.Jump up ^ Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, (87:3)
87.Jump up ^ Elliot Dorff, "On the Use of All Wines" PDF (2.19 MB), YD 123:1.1985, pp. 11–15.
88.Jump up ^ "Kashrut Facts". Religionfacts.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
89.Jump up ^ "Judaism 101: Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
90.Jump up ^ Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 11
91.Jump up ^ Rice, Yisrael (2007-06-10). "Judaism and the Art of Eating". Chabad. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
92.Jump up ^ Jewish life in WWII England: "there was a...special dispensation...that allowed Jews serving in the armed services to eat "non-kosher" when no Jewish food was available; that deviation from halacha was allowed 'in order to save a human life including your own.'"
93.Jump up ^ Y. Lichtenshtein M.A. "Weekly Pamphlet #805". Bar-Ilan University, Faculty of Jewish Studies, Rabbinical office. "...certain prohibitions become allowed without a doubt because of lifethreatening circumstances, like for example eating non-kosher food"
94.^ Jump up to: a b Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 15.
95.Jump up ^ Bamidbar (Numbers) 19.
96.Jump up ^ Avi Kehat. "Torah tidbits". Ou.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
97.^ Jump up to: a b "Judaism 101: Kosher Sex". Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
98.Jump up ^ "Karaites". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
99.Jump up ^ Wasserfall, Rahel (1999). Women and water: menstruation in Jewish life and law. Brandeis University Press. ISBN 0-87451-960-8.
100.Jump up ^ Yehezkal Kauffman, The Religion of Israel
101.Jump up ^ Robert Alter The Art of Biblical Poetry
102.Jump up ^ E. A. Speiser Genesis (The Anchor Bible)
103.Jump up ^ John Bright A History of Israel
104.Jump up ^ Martin Noth The History of Israel
105.Jump up ^ Ephraim Urbach The Sages
106.Jump up ^ Shaye Cohen The beginnings of Jewishness
107.Jump up ^ John Day Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, page 68.
108.Jump up ^ Langmuir, Gavin (1993). History, religion, and antisemitism. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07728-8.
109.Jump up ^ Cohen, Mark R. "The Neo-Lachrymose Conception of Jewish-Arab History." Tikkun 6.3 (1991)
110.Jump up ^ Amira K. Bennison and María Ángeles Gallego. "Jewish Trading in Fes On The Eve of the Almohad Conquest." MEAH, sección Hebreo 56 (2007), 33-51
111.Jump up ^ ""The Maggid of Mezritch" Chapter 7 - Opposition Intensifies". Nishmas.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
112.Jump up ^ http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-While-Most-Americans-Believe-in-God-Only-36-pct-A-2003-10.pdf Religious service attendance at least once a month
113.Jump up ^ This is My Beloved, This is My Friend: A Rabbinic Letter on Intimate relations, p. 27, Elliot N. Dorff
114.Jump up ^ "New Amsterdam's Jewish Crusader". Jewish Virtual Library.
115.Jump up ^ "Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, 1st Baronet". Encyclopedia Britannica.
116.Jump up ^ "Why the Jews? – Black Death". Holocaustcenterpgh.net. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
117.Jump up ^ See Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire ("The greatest epidemics in history"), in L'Histoire magazine, n°310, June 2006, p.47 (French)
118.^ Jump up to: a b Lewis (1984), pp.10, 20
119.Jump up ^ Lewis (1984), p. 9, 27
120.Jump up ^ Lewis (1999), p.131
121.Jump up ^ Lewis (1984), pp. 17, 18, 52, 94, 95; Stillman (1979), pp. 27, 77
122.Jump up ^ Lewis (1984), p. 28
123.Jump up ^ "Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries". Middle East Forum. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
124.Jump up ^ Shumsky, Dmitry. (2012-09-12) "Recognize Jews as refugees from Arab countries". Haaretz. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
125.Jump up ^ Meir, Esther. (2012-10-09) "The truth about the expulsion". 'Haaretz. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
126.Jump up ^ Muslim Anti-Semitism by Bernard Lewis (Middle East Quarterly) June 1998
127.Jump up ^ Feher, Shoshanah. Passing over Easter: Constructing the Boundaries of Messianic Judaism, Rowman Altamira, 1998, ISBN 978-0-7619-8953-0, p. 140. "This interest in developing a Jewish ethnic identity may not be surprising when we consider the 1960s, when Messianic Judaism arose."
128.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "In the late 1960s and 1970s, both Jews and Christians in the United States were surprised to see the rise of a vigorous movement of Jewish Christians or Christian Jews."
129.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "The Rise of Messianic Judaism. In the first phase of the movement, during the early and mid-1970s, Jewish converts to Christianity established several congregations at their own initiative. Unlike the previous communities of Jewish Christians, Messianic Jewish congregations were largely independent of control from missionary societies or Christian denominations, even though they still wanted the acceptance of the larger evangelical community."
130.^ Jump up to: a b Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Infobase Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-0-8160-5456-5, p. 373. "Messianic Judaism is a Protestant movement that emerged in the last half of the 20th century among believers who were ethnically Jewish but had adopted an Evangelical Christian faith... By the 1960s, a new effort to create a culturally Jewish Protestant Christianity emerged among individuals who began to call themselves Messianic Jews."
131.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "While Christianity started in the first century of the Common Era as a Jewish group, it quickly separated from Judaism and claimed to replace it; ever since the relationship between the two traditions has often been strained. But in the twentieth century groups of young Jews claimed that they had overcome the historical differences between the two religions and amalgamated Jewish identity and customs with the Christian faith."
132.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2006). "Judaism and Christianity Unite! The Unique Culture of Messianic Judaism". In Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael. Jewish and Christian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 194–195. ISBN 978-0-275-98714-5. LCCN 2006022954. OCLC 315689134. "When the term resurfaced in Israel in the 1940s and 1950s, it designated all Jews who accepted Christianity in its Protestant evangelical form. Missionaries such as the Southern Baptist Robert Lindsey noted that for Israeli Jews, the term nozrim, "Christians" in Hebrew, meant, almost automatically, an alien, hostile religion. Because such a term made it nearly impossible to convince Jews that Christianity was their religion, missionaries sought a more neutral term, one that did not arouse negative feelings. They chose Meshichyim, Messianic, to overcome the suspicion and antagonism of the term nozrim. Meshichyim as a term also had the advantage of emphasizing messianism as a major component of the Christian evangelical belief that the missions and communities of Jewish converts to Christianity propagated. It conveyed the sense of a new, innovative religion rather that [sic] an old, unfavorable one. The term was used in reference to those Jews who accepted Jesus as their personal savior, and did not apply to Jews accepting Roman Catholicism who in Israel have called themselves Hebrew Christians. The term Messianic Judaism was adopted in the United States in the early 1970s by those converts to evangelical Christianity who advocated a more assertive attitude on the part of converts towards their Jewish roots and heritage."
133.Jump up ^ Cohn-Sherbok, Dan (2000). "Messianic Jewish mission". Messianic Judaism. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-8264-5458-4. OCLC 42719687. Retrieved August 10, 2010. "Evangelism of the Jewish people is thus at the heart of the Messianic movement."
134.Jump up ^ Ariel, Yaakov S. (2000). "Chapter 20: The Rise of Messianic Judaism". Evangelizing the chosen people: missions to the Jews in America, 1880–2000 (GOOGLE BOOKS). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-8078-4880-7. OCLC 43708450. Retrieved August 10, 2010. "Messianic Judaism, although it advocated the idea of an independent movement of Jewish converts, remained the offspring of the missionary movement, and the ties would never be broken. The rise of Messianic Judaism was, in many ways, a logical outcome of the ideology and rhetoric of the movement to evangelize the Jews as well as its early sponsorship of various forms of Hebrew Christian expressions. The missions have promoted the message that Jews who had embraced Christianity were not betraying their heritage or even their faith but were actually fulfilling their true Jewish selves by becoming Christians. The missions also promoted the dispensationalist idea that the Church equals the body of the true Christian believers and that Christians were defined by their acceptance of Jesus as their personal Savior and not by their affiliations with specific denominations and particular liturgies or modes of prayer. Missions had been using Jewish symbols in their buildings and literature and called their centers by Hebrew names such as Emanuel or Beth Sar Shalom. Similarly, the missions' publications featured Jewish religious symbols and practices such as the lighting of a menorah. Although missionaries to the Jews were alarmed when they first confronted the more assertive and independent movement of Messianic Judaism, it was they who were responsible for its conception and indirectly for its birth. The ideology, rhetoric, and symbols they had promoted for generations provided the background for the rise of a new movement that missionaries at first rejected as going too far but later accepted and even embraced."
135.Jump up ^ "What are the Standards of the UMJC?". FAQ. Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations. June 2004. Retrieved 2000-07-03. "1. We believe that there is one G-d, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
 2. We believe in the deity of the L-RD Yeshua, the Messiah, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory." Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
136.Jump up ^ Israel b. Betzalel (2009). "Trinitarianism". JerusalemCouncil.org. Retrieved 2009-07-03. "This then is who Yeshua is: He is not just a man, and as a man, he is not from Adam, but from God. He is the Word of HaShem, the Memra, the Davar, the Righteous One, he didn't become righteous, he is righteous. He is called God's Son, he is the agent of HaShem called HaShem, and he is "HaShem" who we interact with and not die."
137.Jump up ^ "Do I need to be Circumcised?". JerusalemCouncil.org. February 10, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2010. "To convert to the Jewish sect of HaDerech, accepting Yeshua as your King is the first act after one's heart turns toward HaShem and His Torah – as one can not obey a commandment of God if they first do not love God, and we love God by following his Messiah. Without first accepting Yeshua as the King and thus obeying Him, then getting circumcised for the purpose of Jewish conversion only gains you access to the Jewish community. It means nothing when it comes to inheriting a place in the World to Come....Getting circumcised apart from desiring to be obedient to HaShem, and apart from accepting Yeshua as your King, is nothing but a surgical procedure, or worse, could lead to you believe that Jewish identity grants you a portion in the World to Come – at which point, what good is Messiah Yeshua, the Word of HaShem to you? He would have died for nothing!...As a convert from the nations, part of your obligation in keeping the Covenant, if you are a male, is to get circumcised in fulfillment of the commandment regarding circumcision. Circumcision is not an absolute requirement of being a Covenant member (that is, being made righteous before HaShem, and thus obtaining eternal life), but it is a requirement of obedience to God's commandments, because circumcision is commanded for those who are of the seed of Abraham, whether born into the family, adopted, or converted....If after reading all of this you understand what circumcision is, and that is an act of obedience, rather than an act of gaining favor before HaShem for the purpose of receiving eternal life, then if you are male believer in Yeshua the Messiah for the redemption from death, the consequence of your sin of rebellion against Him, then pursue circumcision, and thus conversion into Judaism, as an act of obedience to the Messiah."
138.Jump up ^ "Jewish Conversion - Giyur". JerusalemCouncil.org. JerusalemCouncil.org. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05. "We recognize the desire of people from the nations to convert to Judaism, through HaDerech (The Way)(Messianic Judaism), a sect of Judaism."
139.Jump up ^ OrthodoxSimmons, Shraga. "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus". Aish HaTorah. Retrieved July 28, 2010. "Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:
 #Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies. #Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah. #Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations. #Jewish belief is based on national revelation."ConservativeWaxman, Jonathan (2006). "Messianic Jews Are Not Jews". United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-14. "Hebrew Christian, Jewish Christian, Jew for Jesus, Messianic Jew, Fulfilled Jew. The name may have changed over the course of time, but all of the names reflect the same phenomenon: one who asserts that s/he is straddling the theological fence between Christianity and Judaism, but in truth is firmly on the Christian side....we must affirm as did the Israeli Supreme Court in the well-known Brother Daniel case that to adopt Christianity is to have crossed the line out of the Jewish community."Reform"Missionary Impossible". Hebrew Union College. August 9, 1999. Retrieved 2007-02-14. "Missionary Impossible, an imaginative video and curriculum guide for teachers, educators, and rabbis to teach Jewish youth how to recognize and respond to "Jews-for-Jesus," "Messianic Jews," and other Christian proselytizers, has been produced by six rabbinic students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Cincinnati School. The students created the video as a tool for teaching why Jewish college and high school youth and Jews in intermarried couples are primary targets of Christian missionaries."Reconstructionist/Renewal"FAQ's About Jewish Renewal". Aleph.org. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20. "What is ALEPH's position on so called messianic Judaism? ALEPH has a policy of respect for other spiritual traditions, but objects to deceptive practices and will not collaborate with denominations which actively target Jews for recruitment. Our position on so-called "Messianic Judaism" is that it is Christianity and its proponents would be more honest to call it that."
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "google9" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Bibliography
Marc Lee Raphael, "Judaism in America" (Columbia University Press, 2003)
Avery-Peck, Alan, and Neusner, Jacob, (eds), "The Blackwell reader in Judaism" (Blackwell, 2001)
Cohn-Sherbok, Dan, "Judaism: history, belief, and practice" (Routledge, 2003)
Avery-Peck, Alan, and Neusner, Jacob, (eds), "The Blackwell Companion to Judaism (Blackwell, 2003)
Boyarin, Daniel 1994 A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity Berkeley: University of California Press
Ancient Judaism, Max Weber, Free Press, 1967, ISBN 0-02-934130-2
Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition and Practice Wayne Dosick.
Conservative Judaism: The New Century, Neil Gillman, Behrman House.
American Jewish Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective Jeffrey S. Gurock, 1996, Ktav.
Philosophies of Judaism Julius Guttmann, trans. by David Silverman, JPS. 1964
Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts Ed. Barry W. Holtz, Summit Books
A History of the Jews Paul Johnson, HarperCollins, 1988
A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America, Jack Wertheimer. Brandeis Univ. Press, 1997.
Encyclopaedia Judaica, Keter Publishing, CD-ROM edition, 1997
The American Jewish Identity Survey, article by Egon Mayer, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar; a sub-set of The American Religious Identity Survey, City University of New York Graduate Center. An article on this survey is printed in The New York Jewish Week, November 2, 2001.
Lewis, Bernard. (1984). The Jews of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
Lewis, Bernard. (1999). Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice. W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-31839-7
Stillman, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0
Day, John. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Chippenham: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
Dever, William G. Did God Have a Wife?. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005.
Walsh, J.P.M. The Mighty From Their Thrones. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1987.
Finkelstein, Israel (1996). Ethnicity and Origin of the Iron I Settlers in the Highlands of Canaan: Can the Real Israel Please Stand Up? The Biblical Archaeologist, 59(4).
Jews in Islamic countries:
A. Khanbaghi. The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran (IB Tauris 2006).
External links

Find more about
Judaism
 at Wikipedia's sister projects

Search Wiktionary Definitions from Wiktionary
Search Wikinews News stories from Wikinews
Search Wikiquote Quotations from Wikiquote
Search Wikisource Source texts from Wikisource
Search Commons Media from Commons
Search Wikibooks Textbooks from Wikibooks
Search Wikiversity Learning resources from Wikiversity
GeneralJudaism 101, an extensive FAQ written by a librarian.
Judaism article from the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
Shamash's Judaism resource page
Orthodox/HarediOrthodox Judaism - The Orthodox Union: Official website
Chabad-Lubavitch: Official website
Rohr Jewish Learning Institute: Official website
The Various Types of Orthodox Judaism
Aish HaTorah
Ohr Somayach
Traditional/ConservadoxUnion for Traditional Judaism
ConservativeThe United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism: Official website
Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel
United Synagogue Youth
Reform/ProgressiveThe Union for Reform Judaism (USA)
Reform Judaism (UK): Official website
Liberal Judaism (UK): Official website
World Union for Progressive Judaism (Israel): Official website
ReconstructionistJewish Reconstructionist Federation: Official website
RenewalALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal: Official website
OHALAH Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal: Official website
HumanisticSociety for Humanistic Judaism: Official website
KaraiteWorld Movement for Karaite Judaism
Jewish religious literature and textsComplete Tanakh (in Hebrew, with vowels).
English Tanakh from the 1917 Jewish Publication Society version.
The Judaica Press Complete Tanach with Rashi in English
Torah.org. (also known as Project Genesis) Contains Torah commentaries and studies of Tanakh, along with Jewish ethics, philosophy, holidays and other classes.
The complete formatted Talmud online. Audio files of lectures for each page from an Orthodox viewpoint are provided in French, English, Yiddish and Hebrew. Reload the page for an image of a page of the Talmud.
See also Torah database for links to more Judaism e-texts.
Wikimedia Torah study projects
 Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Pentateuch

Text study projects at Wikisource. In many instances, the Hebrew versions of these projects are more fully developed than the English.
Mikraot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible) in Hebrew (sample) and English (sample).
Cantillation at the "Vayavinu Bamikra" Project in Hebrew (lists nearly 200 recordings) and English.
Mishnah in Hebrew (sample) and English (sample).
Shulchan Aruch in Hebrew and English (Hebrew text with English translation).


[show] 
Links to related articles
































































































































































































































































































































































































Category
Portal
WikiProject






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































  


Categories: Judaism
Monotheistic religions
















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

View source

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Acèh
Afrikaans
Alemannisch
አማርኛ
العربية
Aragonés
ܐܪܡܝܐ
Arpetan
Asturianu
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Bahasa Banjar
Bân-lâm-gú
Башҡортса
Беларуская
Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎
Български
Boarisch
བོད་ཡིག
Bosanski
Brezhoneg
Буряад
Català
Чӑвашла
Cebuano
Čeština
Corsu
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deitsch
Deutsch
ދިވެހިބަސް
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Estremeñu
Euskara
فارسی
Fiji Hindi
Føroyskt
Français
Frysk
Furlan
Gaeilge
Gaelg
Gàidhlig
Galego
ગુજરાતી
客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî
한국어
Հայերեն
हिन्दी
Hrvatski
Ido
Igbo
Ilokano
Bahasa Indonesia
Interlingua
Interlingue
Ирон
Íslenska
Italiano
עברית
Basa Jawa
Kalaallisut
ಕನ್ನಡ
Къарачай-малкъар
ქართული
Қазақша
Kernowek
Kiswahili
Kreyòl ayisyen
Kurdî
Кыргызча
Ladino
Лакку
Лезги
ລາວ
Latina
Latviešu
Lëtzebuergesch
Lietuvių
Ligure
Limburgs
Lingála
Magyar
Македонски
Malagasy
മലയാളം
मराठी
مصرى
مازِرونی
Bahasa Melayu
Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄
Mirandés
Монгол
မြန်မာဘာသာ
Nāhuatl
Nederlands
Nedersaksies
नेपाली
नेपाल भाषा
日本語
Napulitano
Norfuk / Pitkern
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Nouormand
Occitan
Oromoo
Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
پنجابی
Papiamentu
پښتو
Piemontèis
Tok Pisin
Plattdüütsch
Polski
Português
Qırımtatarca
Ripoarisch
Română
Rumantsch
Runa Simi
Русиньскый
Русский
Саха тыла
Scots
Seeltersk
Sesotho sa Leboa
Shqip
Sicilianu
සිංහල
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Ślůnski
Soomaaliga
کوردی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
தமிழ்
Taqbaylit
Татарча/tatarça
తెలుగు
ไทย
Тоҷикӣ
Türkçe
Türkmençe
Українська
اردو
ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche
Tiếng Việt
Võro
Walon
文言
Winaray
吴语
ייִדיש
粵語
Zazaki
Žemaitėška
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 27 April 2015, at 01:21.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism



















Jewish views on sin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Judaism regards the violation of any of the 613 commandments as a sin. Judaism teaches that to sin is a part of life, since there is no perfect man and everyone has an inclination to do evil "from his youth".[1][2] Sin has many classifications and degrees. Some sins are punishable with death by the court, others with death by heaven, others with lashes, and others without such punishment, but no sins committed with willful intentions go without consequence. Sins committed out of lack of knowledge are not considered sins, since a sin can't be a sin if the one who did it didn't know it was wrong. Unintentional sins considered less severe sins.[3][4]
Sins between people are considered much more severe in Judaism than sins between man and God. Yom Kippur, the main day of repentance in Judaism can atones for sins between man and God, but not for sins between man and his fellow, that is until he has appeased his friend.[5][6] Eleazar ben Azariah derived [this from the verse]: "From all your sins before God you shall be cleansed" (Book of Leviticus,16:30) – for sins between man and God Yom Kippur atones, but for sins between man and his fellow Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow.[7][8][9]
When the Temple yet stood in Jerusalem, people would offer Karbanot (sacrifices) for their misdeeds. The atoning aspect of karbanot is carefully circumscribed. For the most part, karbanot only expiate unintentional sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin or by error. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, karbanot cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, karbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents of his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.[3][4]
Sins committed willfully cannot be repented of and have a consequence. The completely righteous (means a man who did nothing wrong in his life) enjoy in this life and in the life after. The not completely righteous or completely wicked) suffer for their sins in this world in order to atone for their sins through the humiliation, poverty, and suffering that God sends them. If the repentance is not complete in this world, the suffering will continue in the life after (hell). After the repentance is complete they join the righteous. The completely wicked (a man who did nothing good in his life) cannot correct their sins in this world or in the other, and hence do not suffer for them here, but in gehinom (hell). The very evil do not repent even at the gates of hell. Such people prosper in this world to receive their reward for any good deed, but cannot be cleansed by and hence cannot leave gehinom, because they don't or can't repent. This world can therefore seem unjust where the righteous suffer, while the wicked prosper. Many great thinkers have contemplated this, but God's justice is long, precise and just.[4][10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Hebrew Bible 1.1 Terminology
2 In rabbinical literature
3 Transgression
4 States
5 Role of orthopraxy
6 Sins between man and his fellow
7 Many small sins vs. One big sin
8 Selflessness vs. selfishness
9 Value of repentance 9.1 True repentance
9.2 Atonement in the Temple period
9.3 Liturgical norms
10 See also
11 References

Hebrew Bible[edit]
The first mention of sin as a noun is a zoomorphism, with sin (hattath) crouching at Cain's door. The first as a verb is Abimelech being prevented from sinning (khata) against God in a dream. In fact the whole Tanakh is full of references to sins committed by leading people. This is to teach us that no one is perfect, everyone standing in trials/tests, and the thing is to try your best to learn from their mistakes.
People do have the ability to master this inclination (Genesis 4:7) and choose good over evil (conscience)(Psalm 37:27).[11] Judaism uses the term "sin" to include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse in morality. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia: "Man is responsible for sin because he is endowed with free will ("behirah"); yet he is by nature frail, and the tendency of the mind is to evil: "For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen. viii. 21; Yoma 20a; Sanh. 105a). Therefore God in His mercy allowed people to repent and be forgiven."[12] Judaism holds that all people sin at various points in their lives, and hold that God tempers justice with mercy.
Terminology[edit]
Hebrew has several other words for sin beyond hata, each with its own specific meaning. The word pesha, or "trespass", means a sin done out of rebelliousness. The word aveira means "transgression". And the word avone, or "iniquity", means a sin done out of moral failing. The word most commonly translated simply as "sin", hata, literally means "to go astray." Just as Jewish law, halakha provides the proper "way" (or path) to live, sin involves straying from that path.
Judaism teaches that humans are born with free will, and morally neutral, with both a yetzer hatov, (literally, "the good inclination", in some views, a tendency towards goodness, in others, a tendency towards having a productive life and a tendency to be concerned with others) and a yetzer hara, (literally "the evil inclination", in some views, a tendency towards evil, and in others, a tendency towards base or animal behavior and a tendency to be selfish). The yetzer hara in some forms of Judaism means that Satan is merely an idiom or parable, rather than the fallen angel of traditional Christianity.
In rabbinical literature[edit]
Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno suggests that the verse about a leader begins with the term "when," which implies that committing a sin is inevitable because powerful and wealthy people—the leaders—are also likely to sin. This Torah verse concludes with the words "realizes his guilt" (Leviticus 4:22) because it is essential that powerful people acknowledge and feel remorse for their sin, lest they sin again.
Transgression[edit]
The generic Hebrew word for any kind of sin is avera (literally: transgression). Based on verses in the Hebrew Bible, Judaism describes three levels of sin. There are three categories of a person who commits an avera. The first one is someone who does an avera intentionally, or "B'mezid." This is the most serious category. The second is one who did an avera by accident. This is called "B'shogeg," and while the person is still responsible for their action it is considered less serious. The third category is someone who is a "Tinok Shenishba", which is a person who was raised in an environment that was assimilated or non-Jewish, and is not aware of the proper Jewish laws, or halacha. This person is not held accountable for his or her actions.
Pesha (deliberate sin; in modern Hebrew: crime) or Mered (lit.: rebellion) - An intentional sin; an action committed in deliberate defiance of God; (Strong's Concordance :H6588 (פשע pesha', peh'shah). According to Strong it comes from the root (:H6586); rebellion, transgression, trespass.
Avon (lit.: iniquity) - This is a sin of lust or uncontrollable emotion. It is a sin done knowingly, but not done to defy God; (Strong's Concordance :H5771 (avon, aw-vone). According to Strong it comes from the root (:H5753); meaning perversity, moral evil:--fault, iniquity, mischief.
Cheit - This is an unintentional sin, crime or fault. (Strong's Concordance :H2399 (חַטָּא chate). According to Strong it comes from the root khaw-taw (:H2398, H2403) meaning "to miss, to err from the mark (speaking of an archer), to sin, to stumble."
States[edit]
Judaism holds that no human being is perfect, and all people have sinned many times. The Talmud says: "Everyone is responsible to be as great as Moses", But then the Torah tells us in Deuteronomy 34:10 that "No one will ever be as great as Moses". This is to clarify that Moses fulfilled his own personal potential, so too we are expected to fulfill ours. Each person is born with a unique set of talents and tools. Some are rich, others are poor. Some are tall and some are short. One person can sing, another can write, etc. But these qualities are not what determine your greatness. Rather, it's how you deal with your particular circumstances. That's why Judaism says: It's not important where you are on the ladder, but how many rungs you've climbed. The crucial concept is the effort.[13]
The story is told of Zusha, the great Chassidic master, who lay crying on his deathbed. His students asked him, "Rebbe, why are you so sad? After all the mitzvahs and good deeds you have done, you will surely get a great reward in heaven!". "I'm afraid!" said Zusha. "Because when I get to heaven, I know God's not going to ask me 'Why weren't you more like Moses?' or 'Why weren't you more like King David?' But I'm afraid that God will ask 'Zusha, why weren't you more like Zusha?' And then what will I say?!" [13]
Joseph Hertz said that sin is not an evil power whose chains the children of flesh must helplessly drag towards a weary tomb. We can always shake off its yoke; and what is more, we need never assume its yoke. An ancient fable tells us of distant oceans with mountainous rocks of magnet of such terrific power that wreck and ruin befell any ship venturing near them. Instantly the iron nails would fly out of the ship, bolts and fastenings would be torn away by that magnetic force the vessel would become nothing more than so many planks of wood, and all on board fall a prey to the hungry waters. Sins there are that, likewise, unhinge all our stays of character, rob us of the restraints of past habits and education, and leave us helpless playthings on the billows of temptation and passion. Yet a man is the pilot of his life’s barque, and can at all times steer it so as never to come near those mountains of destruction, darkness, and death.[14]
Based on the views of Rabbeinu Tam in the Babylonian Talmud (tractate Rosh HaShanah 17b), God is said to have Thirteen Attributes of Mercy:
1.God is merciful before someone sins, even though God knows that a person is capable of sin.
2.God is merciful to a sinner even after the person has sinned.
3.God represents the power to be merciful even in areas that a human would not expect or deserve.
4.God is compassionate, and eases the punishment of the guilty.
5.God is gracious even to those who are not deserving.
6.God is slow to anger.
7.God is abundant in kindness.
8.God is the God of truth, thus we can count on God's promises to forgive repentant sinners.
9.God guarantees kindness to future generations, as the deeds of the righteous patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) have benefits to all their descendants.
10.God forgives intentional sins if the sinner repents.
11.God forgives a deliberate angering of Him if the sinner repents.
12.God forgives sins that are committed in error.
13.God wipes away the sins from those who repent.
As Jews are commanded in imitatio Dei, emulating God, rabbis take these attributes into account in deciding Jewish law and its contemporary application.
Role of orthopraxy[edit]
Jews recognize two kinds of sin, offenses against other people, and offenses against God. Offenses against God may be understood as violation of a contract (the covenant between God and the Children of Israel). Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews have believed that right action (as opposed to right belief) is the way for a person to atone for one's sins. Midrash Avot de Rabbi Natan states the following:
One time, when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was walking in Jerusalem with Rabbi Yehosua, they arrived at where the Temple now stood in ruins. "Woe to us" cried Rabbi Yehosua, "for this house where atonement was made for Israel's sins now lies in ruins!" Answered Rabban Yochanan, "We have another, equally important source of atonement, the practice of gemilut hasadim ("loving kindness"), as it is stated "I desire loving kindness and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6).
In Judaism all human beings are believed to have free will and can choose the path in life that they will take. It does not teach that choosing good is impossible - only at times more difficult. There is almost always a "way back" if a person wills it. (Although texts mention certain categories for whom the way back will be exceedingly hard, such as the slanderer, the habitual gossip, and the malicious person)
Sins between man and his fellow[edit]
Main article: Sins between man and his fellow(Judaism)
Sins between people are considered much more severe in Judaism then sins between man and God. Yom Kippur, the main day of repent in Judaism can atones for Sins between man and God, but not for Sins between man and his fellow, that is until he has appeased his friend.(Mishnah, Yoma,8:9).[6] Eleazar ben Azariah derived [this from the verse]: "From all your sins before God you shall be cleansed" (Book of Leviticus,16:30) – for sins between man and God Yom Kippur atones, but for sins between man and his fellow Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow.[7][8][9]
The Gemara (87a) continues: "R. Yitzchak said: Whoever aggravates his fellow even through words is required to placate him… R. Yosi bar Chanina said: Whoever beseeches forgiveness from his friend should not beseech him more than three times. And if he died, [the offender] brings ten people and must stand them by his grave and he says, "I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and so-and-so whom I wounded.""
Many small sins vs. One big sin[edit]
Two Jews came to a Chassidic Rabbi to ask advice about sins they had committed. One had committed a great sin for which he was sure God would never forgive him; the other was less worried, because he had never been guilty of anything so grave, but only of the normal collection of lesser sins. The Rabbi told them to go out to a field and select stones corresponding to the size and number of their sins, and later to return to the field and scatter the stones. This done, they came back to the Rabbi. “Now go to the field once more,” he told them both, “pick up the stones you scattered, and bring them to me.”[15]
He who had committed the one big sin knew at once which was his stone, and brought it to the Rabbi. The other, however, had scattered so many little stones that he could not be certain of identifying them again. He had a most difficult time in finding his stones and bringing them to the Rabbi. The Rabbi then told them: “Your deeds are like your stones. You who brought one large stone, committed a grave sin. But you were conscious of what you had done, and with a determined effort at repentance you could be forgiven by God. But you, whose sins were many and small, like those of most human beings, have found how hard it is to catch up with one’s minor lapses. And no repentance of yours can possibly be effective until you realise that small things matter.”[15]
Selflessness vs. selfishness[edit]
See also: Golden mean (Judaism)
The rabbis recognize a positive value to the yetzer hara: one tradition identifies it with the observation on the last day of creation that God's accomplishment was "very good" (God's work on the preceding days was just described as "good") and explain that without the yetzer ha'ra there would be no marriage, children, commerce or other fruits of human labor; the implication is that yetzer ha'tov and yetzer ha'ra are best understood not as moral categories of good and evil but as selfless versus selfish orientations, either of which used rightly can serve God's will.
Or as Hillel the Elder famously summarized the Jewish philosophy:
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?And when I am for myself, what am 'I'?And if not now, [then] when?"
Another explanation is, without the existence of the yetzer ha'ra, there would be no merit earned in following God's commandments; choice is only meaningful if there has indeed been a choice made. So whereas creation was "good" before, it became "very good" when the evil inclination was added, for then it became possible to truly say that man could make a true choice to obey God's "mitzvot" (commandments). This is because Judaism views the following of God's ways as a desirable end in and of itself rather than a means to an end.
Value of repentance[edit]
See also: Repentance in Judaism
The Babylonian Talmud teaches that "Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Eleazar both explain that as long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel, but now, one's table atones [when the poor are invited as guests]." (Tractate Berachot, 55a.)
Repentance in itself is also a means of atonement (See Ezekiel 33:11, 33:19, Jeremiah 36:3, etc.) The Hebrew word for repentance is teshuvah which literally means to "return (to God)." The prophet Hosea (14:3) said, "Take with you words, and return to God."
Judaism teaches that our personal relationship with God allows us to turn directly to Him at any time, as Malachi 3:7 says, "Return to Me and I shall return to you," and Ezekiel 18:27, "When the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive." Additionally, God is extremely compassionate and forgiving as is indicated in Daniel 9:18, "We do not present our supplications before You because of our righteousness, but because of Your abundant mercy."
The traditional liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah (charitable actions) are ways to repent for sin. In Judaism, sins committed against people (rather than against God or in the heart) must first be corrected and put right to the best of a person's ability; a sin which has not also been put right as best as possible cannot truly be said to be repented.
True repentance[edit]
To a man who says “I will sin and repent, I will sin and repent,” the Day of Atonement brings no forgiveness. For sins against God the Day of Atonement brings forgiveness; for sins against one’s fellowman, the Day of Atonement brings no forgiveness till he has become reconciled with the fellowman he wronged (Mishnah Yoma 8:9).[15]
According to Maimonides in order to achieve true repentance the sinner must abandon his sin and remove it from his thoughts and resolve in his heart never to repeat it, as it is said, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the man of iniquity his thoughts” (Isaiah 55:7). Likewise must he regret the past, as it is said: “Surely after I turned I repented” (Jer. 31:18). He must also call Him who knows all secrets to witness that he will never return to this sin again.[15]
Atonement in the Temple period[edit]
See also: Repentance in Judaism and Korban
Atonement for sins is discussed in the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. Rituals for atonement occurred in the Temple in Jerusalem, and were performed by the Kohanim, the Israelite priests. These services included song, prayer, offerings and animal sacrifices known as the korbanot. The rites for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are prescribed in the book of Leviticus chapter 15. The ritual of the scapegoat, sent into the wilderness to be claimed by Azazel, was one of these observances (Lev. 16:20-22).
Liturgical norms[edit]
The liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah (the dutiful giving of charity) atone for sin. But prayer cannot atone for wrongs done, without an honest sincere attempt to rectify any wrong done to the best of one's ability, and the sincere intention to avoid repetition. Atonement to Jews means to repent and set aside, and the word "T'shuvah" used for atonement actually means "to return". Judaism is optimistic in that it always sees a way that a determined person may return to what is good, and that God waits for that day too.
A number of animal sacrifices were prescribed in the Torah (five books of Moses) to make atonement: a sin-offering for sins, and a guilt offering for religious trespasses. The significance of animal sacrifice is not expanded on at length in the Torah, though Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17 suggest that blood and vitality were linked. Conservative Jews and Christians argue at the present era that the Jews never believed that the aim of all sacrifice is to pay the debt for sins - only the sin offering and the guilt offering had this purpose; modern scholars of early Jewish history, however, often disagree and argue that this division came later.
Later Biblical prophets occasionally make statements to the effect that the hearts of the people were more important than their sacrifices - "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (I Samuel 15:22); "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6); "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17) (see also Isaiah 1:11, Psalm 40:6-8).
Although the animal sacrifices were prescribed for atonement, there is no place where the Hebrew Bible says that animal sacrifice is the only means of atonement. Hebrew Bible teaches that it is possible to return to God through repentance and prayer alone. For example, in the books of Jonah and Esther, both Jews and gentiles repented, prayed to God and were forgiven for their sins, without having offered any sacrifices.[11] Additionally, in modern times, most Jews do not even consider animal sacrifices.
On the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur - also known as the Day of Atonement-, and the ten-day period between these holidays, repentance of sins committed is based on specialized prayers and hymns, while some Jews continue the ancient methods of sacrifice. An example of a common method of "sacrificing" for the sake of repentance is simply to drop bread into a body of water, to signify the passing of sins and the hope for one to be written into the Book of Life by God once again. This is especially emphasized on what is arguably the holiest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur.
See also[edit]
Golden mean (Judaism)
Jewish principles of faith#Reward and punishment
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Genesis:8:21 HE
2.Jump up ^ http://www.torah.org/learning/mlife/ch1law1.html
3.^ Jump up to: a b https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/qorbanot.html
4.^ Jump up to: a b c http://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/texts/scriptural-studies/leviticus-1711/
5.Jump up ^ Mishnah, Yoma,8:9
6.^ Jump up to: a b http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=9670&st=&pgnum=310
7.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0316.htm#30
8.^ Jump up to: a b Simon and Schuster, 1986, Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism, New York: Touchstone book.
9.^ Jump up to: a b http://thetorah.com/historical-uniqueness-and-centrality-of-yom-kippur/
10.Jump up ^ https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16693.html
11.^ Jump up to: a b English Handbook of Jews for Judaism
12.Jump up ^ JewishEncyclopedia.com - SIN:
13.^ Jump up to: a b As Great as Moses
14.Jump up ^ http://www.oztorah.com/2013/09/penitence-prayer-charity-an-anthology-for-rosh-hashanah-yom-kippur/
15.^ Jump up to: a b c d Rabbi Raymond Apple originally appeared in booklet form as Penitence, Prayer & Charity: An anthology for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, published by the Publications Committee of the United Synagogue, London, 1970
  


Categories: Jewish belief and doctrine
Sin


Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Italiano
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 March 2015, at 03:44.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_views_on_sin
















Jewish views on sin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Judaism regards the violation of any of the 613 commandments as a sin. Judaism teaches that to sin is a part of life, since there is no perfect man and everyone has an inclination to do evil "from his youth".[1][2] Sin has many classifications and degrees. Some sins are punishable with death by the court, others with death by heaven, others with lashes, and others without such punishment, but no sins committed with willful intentions go without consequence. Sins committed out of lack of knowledge are not considered sins, since a sin can't be a sin if the one who did it didn't know it was wrong. Unintentional sins considered less severe sins.[3][4]
Sins between people are considered much more severe in Judaism than sins between man and God. Yom Kippur, the main day of repentance in Judaism can atones for sins between man and God, but not for sins between man and his fellow, that is until he has appeased his friend.[5][6] Eleazar ben Azariah derived [this from the verse]: "From all your sins before God you shall be cleansed" (Book of Leviticus,16:30) – for sins between man and God Yom Kippur atones, but for sins between man and his fellow Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow.[7][8][9]
When the Temple yet stood in Jerusalem, people would offer Karbanot (sacrifices) for their misdeeds. The atoning aspect of karbanot is carefully circumscribed. For the most part, karbanot only expiate unintentional sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin or by error. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, karbanot cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, karbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents of his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.[3][4]
Sins committed willfully cannot be repented of and have a consequence. The completely righteous (means a man who did nothing wrong in his life) enjoy in this life and in the life after. The not completely righteous or completely wicked) suffer for their sins in this world in order to atone for their sins through the humiliation, poverty, and suffering that God sends them. If the repentance is not complete in this world, the suffering will continue in the life after (hell). After the repentance is complete they join the righteous. The completely wicked (a man who did nothing good in his life) cannot correct their sins in this world or in the other, and hence do not suffer for them here, but in gehinom (hell). The very evil do not repent even at the gates of hell. Such people prosper in this world to receive their reward for any good deed, but cannot be cleansed by and hence cannot leave gehinom, because they don't or can't repent. This world can therefore seem unjust where the righteous suffer, while the wicked prosper. Many great thinkers have contemplated this, but God's justice is long, precise and just.[4][10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Hebrew Bible 1.1 Terminology
2 In rabbinical literature
3 Transgression
4 States
5 Role of orthopraxy
6 Sins between man and his fellow
7 Many small sins vs. One big sin
8 Selflessness vs. selfishness
9 Value of repentance 9.1 True repentance
9.2 Atonement in the Temple period
9.3 Liturgical norms
10 See also
11 References

Hebrew Bible[edit]
The first mention of sin as a noun is a zoomorphism, with sin (hattath) crouching at Cain's door. The first as a verb is Abimelech being prevented from sinning (khata) against God in a dream. In fact the whole Tanakh is full of references to sins committed by leading people. This is to teach us that no one is perfect, everyone standing in trials/tests, and the thing is to try your best to learn from their mistakes.
People do have the ability to master this inclination (Genesis 4:7) and choose good over evil (conscience)(Psalm 37:27).[11] Judaism uses the term "sin" to include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse in morality. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia: "Man is responsible for sin because he is endowed with free will ("behirah"); yet he is by nature frail, and the tendency of the mind is to evil: "For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen. viii. 21; Yoma 20a; Sanh. 105a). Therefore God in His mercy allowed people to repent and be forgiven."[12] Judaism holds that all people sin at various points in their lives, and hold that God tempers justice with mercy.
Terminology[edit]
Hebrew has several other words for sin beyond hata, each with its own specific meaning. The word pesha, or "trespass", means a sin done out of rebelliousness. The word aveira means "transgression". And the word avone, or "iniquity", means a sin done out of moral failing. The word most commonly translated simply as "sin", hata, literally means "to go astray." Just as Jewish law, halakha provides the proper "way" (or path) to live, sin involves straying from that path.
Judaism teaches that humans are born with free will, and morally neutral, with both a yetzer hatov, (literally, "the good inclination", in some views, a tendency towards goodness, in others, a tendency towards having a productive life and a tendency to be concerned with others) and a yetzer hara, (literally "the evil inclination", in some views, a tendency towards evil, and in others, a tendency towards base or animal behavior and a tendency to be selfish). The yetzer hara in some forms of Judaism means that Satan is merely an idiom or parable, rather than the fallen angel of traditional Christianity.
In rabbinical literature[edit]
Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno suggests that the verse about a leader begins with the term "when," which implies that committing a sin is inevitable because powerful and wealthy people—the leaders—are also likely to sin. This Torah verse concludes with the words "realizes his guilt" (Leviticus 4:22) because it is essential that powerful people acknowledge and feel remorse for their sin, lest they sin again.
Transgression[edit]
The generic Hebrew word for any kind of sin is avera (literally: transgression). Based on verses in the Hebrew Bible, Judaism describes three levels of sin. There are three categories of a person who commits an avera. The first one is someone who does an avera intentionally, or "B'mezid." This is the most serious category. The second is one who did an avera by accident. This is called "B'shogeg," and while the person is still responsible for their action it is considered less serious. The third category is someone who is a "Tinok Shenishba", which is a person who was raised in an environment that was assimilated or non-Jewish, and is not aware of the proper Jewish laws, or halacha. This person is not held accountable for his or her actions.
Pesha (deliberate sin; in modern Hebrew: crime) or Mered (lit.: rebellion) - An intentional sin; an action committed in deliberate defiance of God; (Strong's Concordance :H6588 (פשע pesha', peh'shah). According to Strong it comes from the root (:H6586); rebellion, transgression, trespass.
Avon (lit.: iniquity) - This is a sin of lust or uncontrollable emotion. It is a sin done knowingly, but not done to defy God; (Strong's Concordance :H5771 (avon, aw-vone). According to Strong it comes from the root (:H5753); meaning perversity, moral evil:--fault, iniquity, mischief.
Cheit - This is an unintentional sin, crime or fault. (Strong's Concordance :H2399 (חַטָּא chate). According to Strong it comes from the root khaw-taw (:H2398, H2403) meaning "to miss, to err from the mark (speaking of an archer), to sin, to stumble."
States[edit]
Judaism holds that no human being is perfect, and all people have sinned many times. The Talmud says: "Everyone is responsible to be as great as Moses", But then the Torah tells us in Deuteronomy 34:10 that "No one will ever be as great as Moses". This is to clarify that Moses fulfilled his own personal potential, so too we are expected to fulfill ours. Each person is born with a unique set of talents and tools. Some are rich, others are poor. Some are tall and some are short. One person can sing, another can write, etc. But these qualities are not what determine your greatness. Rather, it's how you deal with your particular circumstances. That's why Judaism says: It's not important where you are on the ladder, but how many rungs you've climbed. The crucial concept is the effort.[13]
The story is told of Zusha, the great Chassidic master, who lay crying on his deathbed. His students asked him, "Rebbe, why are you so sad? After all the mitzvahs and good deeds you have done, you will surely get a great reward in heaven!". "I'm afraid!" said Zusha. "Because when I get to heaven, I know God's not going to ask me 'Why weren't you more like Moses?' or 'Why weren't you more like King David?' But I'm afraid that God will ask 'Zusha, why weren't you more like Zusha?' And then what will I say?!" [13]
Joseph Hertz said that sin is not an evil power whose chains the children of flesh must helplessly drag towards a weary tomb. We can always shake off its yoke; and what is more, we need never assume its yoke. An ancient fable tells us of distant oceans with mountainous rocks of magnet of such terrific power that wreck and ruin befell any ship venturing near them. Instantly the iron nails would fly out of the ship, bolts and fastenings would be torn away by that magnetic force the vessel would become nothing more than so many planks of wood, and all on board fall a prey to the hungry waters. Sins there are that, likewise, unhinge all our stays of character, rob us of the restraints of past habits and education, and leave us helpless playthings on the billows of temptation and passion. Yet a man is the pilot of his life’s barque, and can at all times steer it so as never to come near those mountains of destruction, darkness, and death.[14]
Based on the views of Rabbeinu Tam in the Babylonian Talmud (tractate Rosh HaShanah 17b), God is said to have Thirteen Attributes of Mercy:
1.God is merciful before someone sins, even though God knows that a person is capable of sin.
2.God is merciful to a sinner even after the person has sinned.
3.God represents the power to be merciful even in areas that a human would not expect or deserve.
4.God is compassionate, and eases the punishment of the guilty.
5.God is gracious even to those who are not deserving.
6.God is slow to anger.
7.God is abundant in kindness.
8.God is the God of truth, thus we can count on God's promises to forgive repentant sinners.
9.God guarantees kindness to future generations, as the deeds of the righteous patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) have benefits to all their descendants.
10.God forgives intentional sins if the sinner repents.
11.God forgives a deliberate angering of Him if the sinner repents.
12.God forgives sins that are committed in error.
13.God wipes away the sins from those who repent.
As Jews are commanded in imitatio Dei, emulating God, rabbis take these attributes into account in deciding Jewish law and its contemporary application.
Role of orthopraxy[edit]
Jews recognize two kinds of sin, offenses against other people, and offenses against God. Offenses against God may be understood as violation of a contract (the covenant between God and the Children of Israel). Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews have believed that right action (as opposed to right belief) is the way for a person to atone for one's sins. Midrash Avot de Rabbi Natan states the following:
One time, when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was walking in Jerusalem with Rabbi Yehosua, they arrived at where the Temple now stood in ruins. "Woe to us" cried Rabbi Yehosua, "for this house where atonement was made for Israel's sins now lies in ruins!" Answered Rabban Yochanan, "We have another, equally important source of atonement, the practice of gemilut hasadim ("loving kindness"), as it is stated "I desire loving kindness and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6).
In Judaism all human beings are believed to have free will and can choose the path in life that they will take. It does not teach that choosing good is impossible - only at times more difficult. There is almost always a "way back" if a person wills it. (Although texts mention certain categories for whom the way back will be exceedingly hard, such as the slanderer, the habitual gossip, and the malicious person)
Sins between man and his fellow[edit]
Main article: Sins between man and his fellow(Judaism)
Sins between people are considered much more severe in Judaism then sins between man and God. Yom Kippur, the main day of repent in Judaism can atones for Sins between man and God, but not for Sins between man and his fellow, that is until he has appeased his friend.(Mishnah, Yoma,8:9).[6] Eleazar ben Azariah derived [this from the verse]: "From all your sins before God you shall be cleansed" (Book of Leviticus,16:30) – for sins between man and God Yom Kippur atones, but for sins between man and his fellow Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow.[7][8][9]
The Gemara (87a) continues: "R. Yitzchak said: Whoever aggravates his fellow even through words is required to placate him… R. Yosi bar Chanina said: Whoever beseeches forgiveness from his friend should not beseech him more than three times. And if he died, [the offender] brings ten people and must stand them by his grave and he says, "I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and so-and-so whom I wounded.""
Many small sins vs. One big sin[edit]
Two Jews came to a Chassidic Rabbi to ask advice about sins they had committed. One had committed a great sin for which he was sure God would never forgive him; the other was less worried, because he had never been guilty of anything so grave, but only of the normal collection of lesser sins. The Rabbi told them to go out to a field and select stones corresponding to the size and number of their sins, and later to return to the field and scatter the stones. This done, they came back to the Rabbi. “Now go to the field once more,” he told them both, “pick up the stones you scattered, and bring them to me.”[15]
He who had committed the one big sin knew at once which was his stone, and brought it to the Rabbi. The other, however, had scattered so many little stones that he could not be certain of identifying them again. He had a most difficult time in finding his stones and bringing them to the Rabbi. The Rabbi then told them: “Your deeds are like your stones. You who brought one large stone, committed a grave sin. But you were conscious of what you had done, and with a determined effort at repentance you could be forgiven by God. But you, whose sins were many and small, like those of most human beings, have found how hard it is to catch up with one’s minor lapses. And no repentance of yours can possibly be effective until you realise that small things matter.”[15]
Selflessness vs. selfishness[edit]
See also: Golden mean (Judaism)
The rabbis recognize a positive value to the yetzer hara: one tradition identifies it with the observation on the last day of creation that God's accomplishment was "very good" (God's work on the preceding days was just described as "good") and explain that without the yetzer ha'ra there would be no marriage, children, commerce or other fruits of human labor; the implication is that yetzer ha'tov and yetzer ha'ra are best understood not as moral categories of good and evil but as selfless versus selfish orientations, either of which used rightly can serve God's will.
Or as Hillel the Elder famously summarized the Jewish philosophy:
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?And when I am for myself, what am 'I'?And if not now, [then] when?"
Another explanation is, without the existence of the yetzer ha'ra, there would be no merit earned in following God's commandments; choice is only meaningful if there has indeed been a choice made. So whereas creation was "good" before, it became "very good" when the evil inclination was added, for then it became possible to truly say that man could make a true choice to obey God's "mitzvot" (commandments). This is because Judaism views the following of God's ways as a desirable end in and of itself rather than a means to an end.
Value of repentance[edit]
See also: Repentance in Judaism
The Babylonian Talmud teaches that "Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Eleazar both explain that as long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel, but now, one's table atones [when the poor are invited as guests]." (Tractate Berachot, 55a.)
Repentance in itself is also a means of atonement (See Ezekiel 33:11, 33:19, Jeremiah 36:3, etc.) The Hebrew word for repentance is teshuvah which literally means to "return (to God)." The prophet Hosea (14:3) said, "Take with you words, and return to God."
Judaism teaches that our personal relationship with God allows us to turn directly to Him at any time, as Malachi 3:7 says, "Return to Me and I shall return to you," and Ezekiel 18:27, "When the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive." Additionally, God is extremely compassionate and forgiving as is indicated in Daniel 9:18, "We do not present our supplications before You because of our righteousness, but because of Your abundant mercy."
The traditional liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah (charitable actions) are ways to repent for sin. In Judaism, sins committed against people (rather than against God or in the heart) must first be corrected and put right to the best of a person's ability; a sin which has not also been put right as best as possible cannot truly be said to be repented.
True repentance[edit]
To a man who says “I will sin and repent, I will sin and repent,” the Day of Atonement brings no forgiveness. For sins against God the Day of Atonement brings forgiveness; for sins against one’s fellowman, the Day of Atonement brings no forgiveness till he has become reconciled with the fellowman he wronged (Mishnah Yoma 8:9).[15]
According to Maimonides in order to achieve true repentance the sinner must abandon his sin and remove it from his thoughts and resolve in his heart never to repeat it, as it is said, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the man of iniquity his thoughts” (Isaiah 55:7). Likewise must he regret the past, as it is said: “Surely after I turned I repented” (Jer. 31:18). He must also call Him who knows all secrets to witness that he will never return to this sin again.[15]
Atonement in the Temple period[edit]
See also: Repentance in Judaism and Korban
Atonement for sins is discussed in the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. Rituals for atonement occurred in the Temple in Jerusalem, and were performed by the Kohanim, the Israelite priests. These services included song, prayer, offerings and animal sacrifices known as the korbanot. The rites for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are prescribed in the book of Leviticus chapter 15. The ritual of the scapegoat, sent into the wilderness to be claimed by Azazel, was one of these observances (Lev. 16:20-22).
Liturgical norms[edit]
The liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah (the dutiful giving of charity) atone for sin. But prayer cannot atone for wrongs done, without an honest sincere attempt to rectify any wrong done to the best of one's ability, and the sincere intention to avoid repetition. Atonement to Jews means to repent and set aside, and the word "T'shuvah" used for atonement actually means "to return". Judaism is optimistic in that it always sees a way that a determined person may return to what is good, and that God waits for that day too.
A number of animal sacrifices were prescribed in the Torah (five books of Moses) to make atonement: a sin-offering for sins, and a guilt offering for religious trespasses. The significance of animal sacrifice is not expanded on at length in the Torah, though Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17 suggest that blood and vitality were linked. Conservative Jews and Christians argue at the present era that the Jews never believed that the aim of all sacrifice is to pay the debt for sins - only the sin offering and the guilt offering had this purpose; modern scholars of early Jewish history, however, often disagree and argue that this division came later.
Later Biblical prophets occasionally make statements to the effect that the hearts of the people were more important than their sacrifices - "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (I Samuel 15:22); "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6); "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17) (see also Isaiah 1:11, Psalm 40:6-8).
Although the animal sacrifices were prescribed for atonement, there is no place where the Hebrew Bible says that animal sacrifice is the only means of atonement. Hebrew Bible teaches that it is possible to return to God through repentance and prayer alone. For example, in the books of Jonah and Esther, both Jews and gentiles repented, prayed to God and were forgiven for their sins, without having offered any sacrifices.[11] Additionally, in modern times, most Jews do not even consider animal sacrifices.
On the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur - also known as the Day of Atonement-, and the ten-day period between these holidays, repentance of sins committed is based on specialized prayers and hymns, while some Jews continue the ancient methods of sacrifice. An example of a common method of "sacrificing" for the sake of repentance is simply to drop bread into a body of water, to signify the passing of sins and the hope for one to be written into the Book of Life by God once again. This is especially emphasized on what is arguably the holiest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur.
See also[edit]
Golden mean (Judaism)
Jewish principles of faith#Reward and punishment
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Genesis:8:21 HE
2.Jump up ^ http://www.torah.org/learning/mlife/ch1law1.html
3.^ Jump up to: a b https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/qorbanot.html
4.^ Jump up to: a b c http://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/texts/scriptural-studies/leviticus-1711/
5.Jump up ^ Mishnah, Yoma,8:9
6.^ Jump up to: a b http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=9670&st=&pgnum=310
7.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0316.htm#30
8.^ Jump up to: a b Simon and Schuster, 1986, Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism, New York: Touchstone book.
9.^ Jump up to: a b http://thetorah.com/historical-uniqueness-and-centrality-of-yom-kippur/
10.Jump up ^ https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16693.html
11.^ Jump up to: a b English Handbook of Jews for Judaism
12.Jump up ^ JewishEncyclopedia.com - SIN:
13.^ Jump up to: a b As Great as Moses
14.Jump up ^ http://www.oztorah.com/2013/09/penitence-prayer-charity-an-anthology-for-rosh-hashanah-yom-kippur/
15.^ Jump up to: a b c d Rabbi Raymond Apple originally appeared in booklet form as Penitence, Prayer & Charity: An anthology for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, published by the Publications Committee of the United Synagogue, London, 1970
  


Categories: Jewish belief and doctrine
Sin


Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Italiano
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 March 2015, at 03:44.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_views_on_sin












Sin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

"Sinful", "Sinner", and "Sinners" redirect here. For the trigonometric function commonly written as sin, see Sine. For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation), Sinful (disambiguation), Sinner (disambiguation), and Sinners (disambiguation).


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)



 A Sistine Chapel fresco depicts the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden for their sin of eating from the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In Abrahamic contexts, sin is the act of violating God's will.[1][2][3][4] Sin can also be viewed as anything that violates the ideal relationship between an individual and God; or as any diversion from the ideal order for human living. To sin has been defined as "to miss the mark".[5]
Sins fall in a spectrum from minor errors to deadly misdeeds. Catholicism regards the least corrupt sins as venial sins—which are part of human living and carry immediate consequences on earth, and, if unrepented for, more painful purgation, assuming the person is destined to heaven, as it is written in the formation letter "Purgatory", "most of the early Fathers of the Church speak of a cleansing fire, though we cannot tell whether this means actual or spiritual fire." [6] Conversely, sins of great evil are mortal sins—which bring the consequence of hell if they are not addressed either through an act of perfect contrition or going to confession about them.
Sins of careless living are considered [7] destructive and lead to greater sins. Another concept of sin deals with things that exist on Earth but not in Heaven. Food, for example, while a necessary good for the (health of the temporal) body, is not of (eternal) transcendental living and so, because the human being's fixation upon the temporal and its deceitful pleasures distracts and diverts human beings from righteousness, accordingly its excessive savouring is considered a sin.[8]
Many Christians also categorize sin as an inevitable act that was passed down from generation to generation by the common ancestor, Adam.[9] Believers in this doctrine of original sin hold that like a disease, sin is the curse that poisons the heart of every human thereafter; and that every person is completely full of sin and cannot help thinking and acting on it. Romans 3:22-24 states: "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, / for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, / and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."[10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Religions 2.1 Bahá'í
2.2 Buddhism
2.3 Christianity
2.4 Hinduism
2.5 Islam
2.6 Judaism
2.7 Shinto
3 See also
4 Notes and references
5 Bibliography
6 External links

Etymology[edit]
The word derives from "Old English syn(n), for original *sunjō... The stem may be related to that of Latin sons, sont-is guilty. In Old English there are examples of the original general sense, ‘offence, wrong-doing, misdeed'".[11] The Biblical terms translated from New Testament Greek (αμαρτία - amartia) and from Hebrew as "sin" or "syn" originate in archery and literally refer to missing the "gold" at the centre of a target, but hitting the target, i.e. error.[12] (Archers call not hitting the target at all a "miss".)
Religions[edit]
Bahá'í[edit]


Main article: Bahá'í views on sin
In the Bahá'í Faith, humans are considered naturally good (perfect), fundamentally spiritual beings. Human beings were created because of God's immeasurable love. However, the Bahá'í teachings compare the human heart to a mirror, which, if turned away from the light of the sun (i.e. God), is incapable of receiving God's love.
Buddhism[edit]
Main article: Buddhist views on sin
Buddhism does not recognize the idea behind sin, but believes in the principle of karma, whereby suffering is the inevitable consequence of greed, anger, and delusion (known as the Three poisons).[13] While there is no direct Buddhist equivalent of the Abrahamic concept of sin, wrongdoing is recognized in Buddhism. The concept of Buddhist ethics is consequentialist in nature and is not based upon duty towards any deity. Karma is the direct result of the intention. Action is secondary. Karma whether good or bad is performed with Mind, Body and words would bring pleasant or unpleasant results. Defilement in mind cause the Karma and Karma defiles the being. One needs to purify his being with Four Satipatthanas to free oneself from the vicious circle. The purification reduces suffering and in the end one reaches Nibbana, the ultimate purification. An enlightened being is free of all the suffering and karmas. He would never be born again.
Christianity[edit]
Main articles: Hamartiology and Christian views on sin
See also: Christian views on the Old Covenant and Seven deadly sins
In Old Testament, sin is often punished by death in different forms.[14] While some sins are forgiven by burnt offerings. [15] Christians consider most of the Laws of Old Testament are defunct, although Jesus did not mention that the Laws of Old Testament are invalid.
 In New Testament however, the forgiveness of sin is effected through repentance which involves confessing the sin. Sin is forgiven, when the sinner acknowledges, confesses, and repents for his sin.[16] But in Epistle to the Romans 6:23, it is mentioned that "the wages of sin is death", which is commonly interpreted as, if one does not repent for his sins he'll die. [17]
In Western Christianity, sin is believed to alienate the sinner from God even though He has extreme love for mankind. It has damaged, and completely severed, the relationship of humanity to God. That relationship can only be restored through acceptance of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for humanity's sin. Humanity was destined for life with God when Adam disobeyed God. The Bible in John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, so that whoever believes will not perish, but have everlasting life."
In Eastern Christianity, sin is viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. Sin is seen as the refusal to follow God's plan, and the desire to be "like God" (Genesis 3:5) and thus in direct opposition to God's will (see the account of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis).
 Original sin is a Western concept that states that sin entered the human world through Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, and that human beings have since lived with the consequences of this first sin.[18]
The snake who seduced Eve to eat of the fruit was punished by having it and its kind being made to crawl on the ground and God set an enmity between them and Eve's descendants (Genesis 3:14-15). Eve was punished by the pangs of childbirth and the sorrow of bringing about life that would eventually age, sicken and die (Genesis 3:16). The second part of the curse about being subordinate to Adam originates from her creation from one of Adam's ribs to be his helper (Genesis 2:18-25); the curse now clarifies that she must now obey her husband and desire only him. Adam was punished by having to work endlessly to feed himself and his family. The land would bring forth both thistles and thorns to be cleared and herbs and grain to be planted, nurtured, and harvested. The second part of the curse about his mortality is from his origin as red clay - he is from the land and he and his descendants would return to it when buried after death. When Adam's son Cain slew his brother Abel, he introduced murder into the world (Genesis 4:8-10). For his punishment, God banished him as a fugitive, but first marked him with a sign that would protect him and his descendants from harm (Genesis 4:11-16).
One concept of sin deals with things that exist on Earth, but not in Heaven. Food, for example, while a necessary good for the (health of the temporal) body, is not of (eternal) transcendental living and therefore its excessive savoring is considered a sin.[8] The unforgivable sin (or eternal sin) is a sin that can never be forgiven. Matthew 12 30-32 : “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
In Catholic Christianity sins are classified into grave sins called mortal sins and pardonable sins called venial sin. Grave sins cause one to lose heaven unless the sinner repents and pardonable sins require some sort of penance either on Earth or in Purgatory.[19]
Jesus was said to have paid double for the complete mass of sins past, present, and to come in future. Even inevitable sin from our weakness has already been cleansed.
The Lamb of God was and is God Himself and therefore sinless. In the Old Testament, Leviticus (Specifically, 16:21) states that ‘the laying on of hands’ was the action that the High Priest Aaron was ordered to do yearly by God to take sins of Israel's nation onto a spotless young lamb.
Hinduism[edit]
In Hinduism, the term sin (pāpa in Sanskrit) is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes, which automatically brings negative consequences. This is similar to Abrahamic sin in the sense that pāpa is considered a crime against the laws of God, which is known as (1) Dharma, or moral order, and (2) one's own self, but another term apradha is used for grave offences.
Islam[edit]
Main article: Islamic views on sin
Muslims see sin (dhanb, thanb ذنب) as anything that goes against the commands of God (Allah). Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. The Qur'an teaches that "the soul is certainly prone to evil, unless the Lord does bestow His Mercy" and that even the prophets do not absolve themselves of the blame.[Quran 12:53] It is believed that Iblis (Devil) has a significant role in tempting humankind towards sin. Sin is also defined in the hadith, a collection of Muhammad's sayings. It is reported by An-Nawwas bin Sam'an:

"The Prophet (Muhammad) said, "Piety is good manner, and sin is that which creates doubt and you do not like people to know it.""
— [Muslim]
Wabisah bin Ma’bad reported:

“I went to Messenger of Allah (SAWS) and he asked me: “Have you come to inquire about piety?” I replied in the affirmative. Then he said: “Ask your heart regarding it. Piety is that which contents the soul and comforts the heart, and sin is that which causes doubts and perturbs the heart, even if people pronounce it lawful and give you verdicts on such matters again and again.”
—[Ahmad and Ad-Darmi]]
In Sunan al-Tirmidhi, a Hadith is narrated:

Allah's apostle said, "Every son of Adam sins, the best of the sinners are those who repent."
—Sunan al-Tirmidhi,Hadith no. 2499
In Sahih Muslim, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and Abu Huraira narrated:

Allah's apostle said," By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them."
—Sahih Muslim, 37:6621
In Islam, there are several gradations of sin:
sayyia, khatia: mistakes (Suras 7:168; 17:31; 40:45; 47:19 48:2)
itada, junah, dhanb: immorality (Suras 2:190,229; 17:17 33:55)
haraam: transgressions (Suras 5:4; 6:146)
ithm, dhulam, fujur, su, fasad, fisk, kufr: wickedness and depravity (Suras 2:99, 205; 4:50, 112, 123, 136; 12:79; 38:62; 82:14)
shirk: ascribing a partner to God; idolatry and polytheism (Sura 4:48)
One may sincerely repent to God for the wrongs committed and seek forgiveness, as stated in the Quran, "Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, remove from us our iniquities, and take to Yourself our souls in the company of the righteous." (Al-Imran.193/ 3.193).

"Say O my slaves who have transgressed against their own souls despair not of the mercy of God, verily He forgives all sins, verily He is the oft-forgiving, most merciful."
— Qur'an, Az-Zumar)
Judaism[edit]
Main articles: Jewish views on sin and [[Maimonides Golden mean]]
Judaism regards the violation of any of the 613 commandments as a sin. Judaism teaches that to sin is natural thing because there is no man that is perfect and everyone has an inclination to do evil "from his youth".(Genesis 8:21). The main thing is to try your best.[20] Sin furthermore has many classifications and degrees. Some sins are punishable with death by the court, others with death by heaven, others with lashes, and others without such punishment, but no sin with willful intent go without consequence. Unintentionally sins are not considered as sins, since you can't punish someone for something he did not know was wrong. Sins by error considered as less severe sins. When the Temple yet stood in Jerusalem, people would offer sacrifices for their misdeeds. The atoning aspect of Karbanot is carefully circumscribed. For the most part, Karbanot only expiate unintentional sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, Karbanot cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, Karbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.[21][22]
All willful sin has a consequence. The complete righteous suffer for their sins (by humiliation, poverty and suffering that God sends them) in this world and receive their reward in the world to come. Ihe in between (not complete righteous or complete wicked), repent their sins in hell and thereafter join the righteous. And the complete wicked cannot correct their sins in this world and hence do not suffer them here, but in gehinom (hell). The very evil do not repent even at the gates of hell. Such people prosper in this world to receive their reward for any good deed, but cannot be cleansed by and hence cannot leave gehinom, because they don't or can't repent. This world can therefore seem unjust where the righteous suffer, while the wicked prosper. Many great thinkers have contemplated this, but God's justice is long, precise and just.[22] [23]
Shinto[edit]
Evil deeds fall into two categories in Shinto: amatsu tsumi, "the most pernicious crimes of all", and kunitsu tsumi, "more commonly called misdemeanors".[24]
See also[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Sin
Actual sin
Asceticism
Devil
Fall of Man
Hamartia
Hedonism
Internal sin
Morality
Mortal sin
Original sin
Religious law
Seven deadly sins
Sin-offering
Taboo
Total depravity
Venial sin
Notes and references[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Action and Person: Conscience in Late Scholasticism and the Young Luther Michael G. Baylor - 1977, "defined sin, in an objective sense, as contempt of god" page 27
2.Jump up ^ The Theology of the Oral Torah: Revealing the Justice of God Jacob Neusner - 1999, Page 523
3.Jump up ^ The fall to violence: original sin in relational theology Marjorie Suchocki - 1994 Page 29
4.Jump up ^ Five Views on Sanctification - page 188, Melvin Easterday Dieter, Stanley N. Gundry - 1996 "The other is 'deliberate violation of God's known will"
5.Jump up ^ Augustine eventually (after the Pelagian controversy) defined sin as a hardened heart, a loss of love for God, a disposition of the heart to depart from God because of inordinate self-love (see Augustine On Grace and Free Will in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, trans. P. Holmes, vol. 5, 30-31 [14-15]).
6.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
7.Jump up ^ "Holy Spirit Interactive: The Seven Deadly Sins - The List". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Hanegraaff, Hank. The Bible Answer Book pp. 18-21. ISBN 0-8499-9544-2
9.Jump up ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Original Sin". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
10.Jump up ^ Holy Bible, New International Version, Romans 3:22-24
11.Jump up ^ "Oxford English Dictionary". Oed.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
12.Jump up ^ Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels. Vintage Books: New York, 1989. p. 123.
13.Jump up ^ Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Soka Gakkai, "Three Poisons": "Greed, anger, and foolishness. The fundamental evils inherent in life that give rise to human suffering."
14.Jump up ^ "Deuteronomy". Rational Wiki. Retrieved 13 April 2015. "Chapter 13 Versus 1-11"
15.Jump up ^ "Deuteronomy". Rational Wiki. Retrieved 13 April 2015. "Chapter 14 Verses 9,10"
16.Jump up ^ Schmaus, Michael (1975). Dogma: The Church as Sacrament. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 220,222. ISBN 0-7425-3203-8. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
17.Jump up ^ "Romans 6:23". Biblehub. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
18.Jump up ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Original Sin". Newadvent.org. 1911-02-01. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
19.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1472. The Vatican.
20.Jump up ^ "Maimonides on Life - Torah.org". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
21.Jump up ^ "Sacrifices and Offerings (Karbanot) - Jewish Virtual Library". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
22.^ Jump up to: a b Rabbi Michael Skobac. "Leviticus 17:11". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
23.Jump up ^ "Reward and Punishment". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
24.Jump up ^ The Essence of Shinto: The Spiritual Heart of Japan by Motohisa Yamakage
Bibliography[edit]
Fredriksen, Paula. Sin: The Early History of an Idea. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-691-12890-0.
Granoff; P E ; Shinohara, Koichi; eds. (2012), Sins and Sinners: Perspectives from Asian Religions. Brill. ISBN 9004229469.
Hein, David. "Regrets Only: A Theology of Remorse." The Anglican 33, no. 4 (October 2004): 5–6.
Lewis, C.S. "Miserable Offenders": an Interpretation of [sinfulness and] Prayer Book Language [about it], in series, The Advent Papers. Cincinnati, Ohio: Forward Movement Publications, [196-].
Pieper, Josef. The Concept of Sin. Edward T. Oakes SJ (translation from German). South Bend, Indiana: St. Augustine's Press, 2001. ISBN 1-890318-08-6
Schumacher, Meinolf. Sündenschmutz und Herzensreinheit: Studien zur Metaphorik der Sünde in lateinischer und deutscher Literatur des Mittelalters. Munich: Fink, 1996.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sins.
 Look up sin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The Different Kinds of Sins (Catholic)





[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Hamartiology





















[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Theology






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Seven Deadly Sins














































  


Categories: Christian hamartiology
Christian philosophy
Crimes in religion
Religious belief and doctrine
Sin
Religious terminology
Vices
Crime








Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Acèh
العربية
Aymar aru
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Беларуская
Български
Brezhoneg
Català
Čeština
ChiShona
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
Gàidhlig
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
हिन्दी
Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia
Interlingua
Italiano
עברית
ಕನ್ನಡ
Kiswahili
Кыргызча
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Limburgs
Magyar
മലയാളം
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
नेपाल भाषा
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Polski
Português
Română
Runa Simi
Русский
Саха тыла
Shqip
Sicilianu
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
தமிழ்
Татарча/tatarça
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
Tiếng Việt
ייִדיש
Žemaitėška
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 April 2015, at 15:07.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin#Judaism












Sin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

"Sinful", "Sinner", and "Sinners" redirect here. For the trigonometric function commonly written as sin, see Sine. For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation), Sinful (disambiguation), Sinner (disambiguation), and Sinners (disambiguation).


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)



 A Sistine Chapel fresco depicts the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden for their sin of eating from the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In Abrahamic contexts, sin is the act of violating God's will.[1][2][3][4] Sin can also be viewed as anything that violates the ideal relationship between an individual and God; or as any diversion from the ideal order for human living. To sin has been defined as "to miss the mark".[5]
Sins fall in a spectrum from minor errors to deadly misdeeds. Catholicism regards the least corrupt sins as venial sins—which are part of human living and carry immediate consequences on earth, and, if unrepented for, more painful purgation, assuming the person is destined to heaven, as it is written in the formation letter "Purgatory", "most of the early Fathers of the Church speak of a cleansing fire, though we cannot tell whether this means actual or spiritual fire." [6] Conversely, sins of great evil are mortal sins—which bring the consequence of hell if they are not addressed either through an act of perfect contrition or going to confession about them.
Sins of careless living are considered [7] destructive and lead to greater sins. Another concept of sin deals with things that exist on Earth but not in Heaven. Food, for example, while a necessary good for the (health of the temporal) body, is not of (eternal) transcendental living and so, because the human being's fixation upon the temporal and its deceitful pleasures distracts and diverts human beings from righteousness, accordingly its excessive savouring is considered a sin.[8]
Many Christians also categorize sin as an inevitable act that was passed down from generation to generation by the common ancestor, Adam.[9] Believers in this doctrine of original sin hold that like a disease, sin is the curse that poisons the heart of every human thereafter; and that every person is completely full of sin and cannot help thinking and acting on it. Romans 3:22-24 states: "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, / for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, / and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."[10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Religions 2.1 Bahá'í
2.2 Buddhism
2.3 Christianity
2.4 Hinduism
2.5 Islam
2.6 Judaism
2.7 Shinto
3 See also
4 Notes and references
5 Bibliography
6 External links

Etymology[edit]
The word derives from "Old English syn(n), for original *sunjō... The stem may be related to that of Latin sons, sont-is guilty. In Old English there are examples of the original general sense, ‘offence, wrong-doing, misdeed'".[11] The Biblical terms translated from New Testament Greek (αμαρτία - amartia) and from Hebrew as "sin" or "syn" originate in archery and literally refer to missing the "gold" at the centre of a target, but hitting the target, i.e. error.[12] (Archers call not hitting the target at all a "miss".)
Religions[edit]
Bahá'í[edit]


Main article: Bahá'í views on sin
In the Bahá'í Faith, humans are considered naturally good (perfect), fundamentally spiritual beings. Human beings were created because of God's immeasurable love. However, the Bahá'í teachings compare the human heart to a mirror, which, if turned away from the light of the sun (i.e. God), is incapable of receiving God's love.
Buddhism[edit]
Main article: Buddhist views on sin
Buddhism does not recognize the idea behind sin, but believes in the principle of karma, whereby suffering is the inevitable consequence of greed, anger, and delusion (known as the Three poisons).[13] While there is no direct Buddhist equivalent of the Abrahamic concept of sin, wrongdoing is recognized in Buddhism. The concept of Buddhist ethics is consequentialist in nature and is not based upon duty towards any deity. Karma is the direct result of the intention. Action is secondary. Karma whether good or bad is performed with Mind, Body and words would bring pleasant or unpleasant results. Defilement in mind cause the Karma and Karma defiles the being. One needs to purify his being with Four Satipatthanas to free oneself from the vicious circle. The purification reduces suffering and in the end one reaches Nibbana, the ultimate purification. An enlightened being is free of all the suffering and karmas. He would never be born again.
Christianity[edit]
Main articles: Hamartiology and Christian views on sin
See also: Christian views on the Old Covenant and Seven deadly sins
In Old Testament, sin is often punished by death in different forms.[14] While some sins are forgiven by burnt offerings. [15] Christians consider most of the Laws of Old Testament are defunct, although Jesus did not mention that the Laws of Old Testament are invalid.
 In New Testament however, the forgiveness of sin is effected through repentance which involves confessing the sin. Sin is forgiven, when the sinner acknowledges, confesses, and repents for his sin.[16] But in Epistle to the Romans 6:23, it is mentioned that "the wages of sin is death", which is commonly interpreted as, if one does not repent for his sins he'll die. [17]
In Western Christianity, sin is believed to alienate the sinner from God even though He has extreme love for mankind. It has damaged, and completely severed, the relationship of humanity to God. That relationship can only be restored through acceptance of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for humanity's sin. Humanity was destined for life with God when Adam disobeyed God. The Bible in John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, so that whoever believes will not perish, but have everlasting life."
In Eastern Christianity, sin is viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. Sin is seen as the refusal to follow God's plan, and the desire to be "like God" (Genesis 3:5) and thus in direct opposition to God's will (see the account of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis).
 Original sin is a Western concept that states that sin entered the human world through Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, and that human beings have since lived with the consequences of this first sin.[18]
The snake who seduced Eve to eat of the fruit was punished by having it and its kind being made to crawl on the ground and God set an enmity between them and Eve's descendants (Genesis 3:14-15). Eve was punished by the pangs of childbirth and the sorrow of bringing about life that would eventually age, sicken and die (Genesis 3:16). The second part of the curse about being subordinate to Adam originates from her creation from one of Adam's ribs to be his helper (Genesis 2:18-25); the curse now clarifies that she must now obey her husband and desire only him. Adam was punished by having to work endlessly to feed himself and his family. The land would bring forth both thistles and thorns to be cleared and herbs and grain to be planted, nurtured, and harvested. The second part of the curse about his mortality is from his origin as red clay - he is from the land and he and his descendants would return to it when buried after death. When Adam's son Cain slew his brother Abel, he introduced murder into the world (Genesis 4:8-10). For his punishment, God banished him as a fugitive, but first marked him with a sign that would protect him and his descendants from harm (Genesis 4:11-16).
One concept of sin deals with things that exist on Earth, but not in Heaven. Food, for example, while a necessary good for the (health of the temporal) body, is not of (eternal) transcendental living and therefore its excessive savoring is considered a sin.[8] The unforgivable sin (or eternal sin) is a sin that can never be forgiven. Matthew 12 30-32 : “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
In Catholic Christianity sins are classified into grave sins called mortal sins and pardonable sins called venial sin. Grave sins cause one to lose heaven unless the sinner repents and pardonable sins require some sort of penance either on Earth or in Purgatory.[19]
Jesus was said to have paid double for the complete mass of sins past, present, and to come in future. Even inevitable sin from our weakness has already been cleansed.
The Lamb of God was and is God Himself and therefore sinless. In the Old Testament, Leviticus (Specifically, 16:21) states that ‘the laying on of hands’ was the action that the High Priest Aaron was ordered to do yearly by God to take sins of Israel's nation onto a spotless young lamb.
Hinduism[edit]
In Hinduism, the term sin (pāpa in Sanskrit) is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes, which automatically brings negative consequences. This is similar to Abrahamic sin in the sense that pāpa is considered a crime against the laws of God, which is known as (1) Dharma, or moral order, and (2) one's own self, but another term apradha is used for grave offences.
Islam[edit]
Main article: Islamic views on sin
Muslims see sin (dhanb, thanb ذنب) as anything that goes against the commands of God (Allah). Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. The Qur'an teaches that "the soul is certainly prone to evil, unless the Lord does bestow His Mercy" and that even the prophets do not absolve themselves of the blame.[Quran 12:53] It is believed that Iblis (Devil) has a significant role in tempting humankind towards sin. Sin is also defined in the hadith, a collection of Muhammad's sayings. It is reported by An-Nawwas bin Sam'an:

"The Prophet (Muhammad) said, "Piety is good manner, and sin is that which creates doubt and you do not like people to know it.""
— [Muslim]
Wabisah bin Ma’bad reported:

“I went to Messenger of Allah (SAWS) and he asked me: “Have you come to inquire about piety?” I replied in the affirmative. Then he said: “Ask your heart regarding it. Piety is that which contents the soul and comforts the heart, and sin is that which causes doubts and perturbs the heart, even if people pronounce it lawful and give you verdicts on such matters again and again.”
—[Ahmad and Ad-Darmi]]
In Sunan al-Tirmidhi, a Hadith is narrated:

Allah's apostle said, "Every son of Adam sins, the best of the sinners are those who repent."
—Sunan al-Tirmidhi,Hadith no. 2499
In Sahih Muslim, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and Abu Huraira narrated:

Allah's apostle said," By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them."
—Sahih Muslim, 37:6621
In Islam, there are several gradations of sin:
sayyia, khatia: mistakes (Suras 7:168; 17:31; 40:45; 47:19 48:2)
itada, junah, dhanb: immorality (Suras 2:190,229; 17:17 33:55)
haraam: transgressions (Suras 5:4; 6:146)
ithm, dhulam, fujur, su, fasad, fisk, kufr: wickedness and depravity (Suras 2:99, 205; 4:50, 112, 123, 136; 12:79; 38:62; 82:14)
shirk: ascribing a partner to God; idolatry and polytheism (Sura 4:48)
One may sincerely repent to God for the wrongs committed and seek forgiveness, as stated in the Quran, "Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, remove from us our iniquities, and take to Yourself our souls in the company of the righteous." (Al-Imran.193/ 3.193).

"Say O my slaves who have transgressed against their own souls despair not of the mercy of God, verily He forgives all sins, verily He is the oft-forgiving, most merciful."
— Qur'an, Az-Zumar)
Judaism[edit]
Main articles: Jewish views on sin and [[Maimonides Golden mean]]
Judaism regards the violation of any of the 613 commandments as a sin. Judaism teaches that to sin is natural thing because there is no man that is perfect and everyone has an inclination to do evil "from his youth".(Genesis 8:21). The main thing is to try your best.[20] Sin furthermore has many classifications and degrees. Some sins are punishable with death by the court, others with death by heaven, others with lashes, and others without such punishment, but no sin with willful intent go without consequence. Unintentionally sins are not considered as sins, since you can't punish someone for something he did not know was wrong. Sins by error considered as less severe sins. When the Temple yet stood in Jerusalem, people would offer sacrifices for their misdeeds. The atoning aspect of Karbanot is carefully circumscribed. For the most part, Karbanot only expiate unintentional sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, Karbanot cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, Karbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.[21][22]
All willful sin has a consequence. The complete righteous suffer for their sins (by humiliation, poverty and suffering that God sends them) in this world and receive their reward in the world to come. Ihe in between (not complete righteous or complete wicked), repent their sins in hell and thereafter join the righteous. And the complete wicked cannot correct their sins in this world and hence do not suffer them here, but in gehinom (hell). The very evil do not repent even at the gates of hell. Such people prosper in this world to receive their reward for any good deed, but cannot be cleansed by and hence cannot leave gehinom, because they don't or can't repent. This world can therefore seem unjust where the righteous suffer, while the wicked prosper. Many great thinkers have contemplated this, but God's justice is long, precise and just.[22] [23]
Shinto[edit]
Evil deeds fall into two categories in Shinto: amatsu tsumi, "the most pernicious crimes of all", and kunitsu tsumi, "more commonly called misdemeanors".[24]
See also[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Sin
Actual sin
Asceticism
Devil
Fall of Man
Hamartia
Hedonism
Internal sin
Morality
Mortal sin
Original sin
Religious law
Seven deadly sins
Sin-offering
Taboo
Total depravity
Venial sin
Notes and references[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Action and Person: Conscience in Late Scholasticism and the Young Luther Michael G. Baylor - 1977, "defined sin, in an objective sense, as contempt of god" page 27
2.Jump up ^ The Theology of the Oral Torah: Revealing the Justice of God Jacob Neusner - 1999, Page 523
3.Jump up ^ The fall to violence: original sin in relational theology Marjorie Suchocki - 1994 Page 29
4.Jump up ^ Five Views on Sanctification - page 188, Melvin Easterday Dieter, Stanley N. Gundry - 1996 "The other is 'deliberate violation of God's known will"
5.Jump up ^ Augustine eventually (after the Pelagian controversy) defined sin as a hardened heart, a loss of love for God, a disposition of the heart to depart from God because of inordinate self-love (see Augustine On Grace and Free Will in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, trans. P. Holmes, vol. 5, 30-31 [14-15]).
6.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
7.Jump up ^ "Holy Spirit Interactive: The Seven Deadly Sins - The List". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Hanegraaff, Hank. The Bible Answer Book pp. 18-21. ISBN 0-8499-9544-2
9.Jump up ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Original Sin". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
10.Jump up ^ Holy Bible, New International Version, Romans 3:22-24
11.Jump up ^ "Oxford English Dictionary". Oed.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
12.Jump up ^ Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels. Vintage Books: New York, 1989. p. 123.
13.Jump up ^ Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Soka Gakkai, "Three Poisons": "Greed, anger, and foolishness. The fundamental evils inherent in life that give rise to human suffering."
14.Jump up ^ "Deuteronomy". Rational Wiki. Retrieved 13 April 2015. "Chapter 13 Versus 1-11"
15.Jump up ^ "Deuteronomy". Rational Wiki. Retrieved 13 April 2015. "Chapter 14 Verses 9,10"
16.Jump up ^ Schmaus, Michael (1975). Dogma: The Church as Sacrament. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 220,222. ISBN 0-7425-3203-8. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
17.Jump up ^ "Romans 6:23". Biblehub. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
18.Jump up ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Original Sin". Newadvent.org. 1911-02-01. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
19.Jump up ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1472. The Vatican.
20.Jump up ^ "Maimonides on Life - Torah.org". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
21.Jump up ^ "Sacrifices and Offerings (Karbanot) - Jewish Virtual Library". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
22.^ Jump up to: a b Rabbi Michael Skobac. "Leviticus 17:11". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
23.Jump up ^ "Reward and Punishment". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
24.Jump up ^ The Essence of Shinto: The Spiritual Heart of Japan by Motohisa Yamakage
Bibliography[edit]
Fredriksen, Paula. Sin: The Early History of an Idea. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-691-12890-0.
Granoff; P E ; Shinohara, Koichi; eds. (2012), Sins and Sinners: Perspectives from Asian Religions. Brill. ISBN 9004229469.
Hein, David. "Regrets Only: A Theology of Remorse." The Anglican 33, no. 4 (October 2004): 5–6.
Lewis, C.S. "Miserable Offenders": an Interpretation of [sinfulness and] Prayer Book Language [about it], in series, The Advent Papers. Cincinnati, Ohio: Forward Movement Publications, [196-].
Pieper, Josef. The Concept of Sin. Edward T. Oakes SJ (translation from German). South Bend, Indiana: St. Augustine's Press, 2001. ISBN 1-890318-08-6
Schumacher, Meinolf. Sündenschmutz und Herzensreinheit: Studien zur Metaphorik der Sünde in lateinischer und deutscher Literatur des Mittelalters. Munich: Fink, 1996.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sins.
 Look up sin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The Different Kinds of Sins (Catholic)





[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Hamartiology





















[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Theology






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Seven Deadly Sins














































  


Categories: Christian hamartiology
Christian philosophy
Crimes in religion
Religious belief and doctrine
Sin
Religious terminology
Vices
Crime








Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Acèh
العربية
Aymar aru
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Беларуская
Български
Brezhoneg
Català
Čeština
ChiShona
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
Gàidhlig
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
हिन्दी
Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia
Interlingua
Italiano
עברית
ಕನ್ನಡ
Kiswahili
Кыргызча
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Limburgs
Magyar
മലയാളം
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
नेपाल भाषा
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Polski
Português
Română
Runa Simi
Русский
Саха тыла
Shqip
Sicilianu
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
தமிழ்
Татарча/tatarça
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
Tiếng Việt
ייִדיש
Žemaitėška
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 April 2015, at 15:07.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin#Judaism