On 11/8/2011 3:25 PM, HeyBub wrote:


Contrast the Shema:
"Hear O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is One."

with the Apostles Creed:
"I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in
Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord..."

"Belief" does not appear in the former but is essential in the latter.

It is so implied that it should not need to be said that someone
reciting the "Shema" in the privacy of their own home, in synagogue, or
at grave-site during a Jewish burial ceremony believes in what they are
saying. It very much is a belief, even if the text they are saying does
not incorporate the word "believe".

As to your basic question, there is no "proper" way to be a Jew.

I agree with that, but many members of the more liberal branches of the
other great world religions would say the same thing when challenged by
more orthodox members of that same religion that the liberal individuals
are not proper ..... (choose your religion here to end this sentence).

It's a matter of personal taste. A "good Christian" is much like "good barbecue".
Both should be hyphenated in that there's no such thing as a "bad" one. In
Judaism, one can be a "good Jew" and also an atheist.

Weird, eh?


Again, that's the opinion of many people of the more liberal Jewish
branches. However, I cannot square that circle. No one has ever
adequately explained to me how a person who professes that there is no
God (the atheist) can be a good member of a religion (Judaism) that
proclaims that "The Lord Our God, the Lord is One" and professes belief
in the 10 Commandments, the first 4 of which explicitly refer to "The
Lord" or "Thy God".