So we should talk about a sensitive subject, because nobody wants to, and because the powers that be don’t want us to.
If ever, there was a reason to talk about a subject, it’s because the phony authorities consider it taboo.
I don’t think I’m going to come out with any definitive conclusions, but I am going to talk.
So with that stated, let’s talk about what it means to be Jewish. As a person who was raised in the Christian church, but who is not one who attends church, I feel I am more qualified than Jews to talk about the subject. I am more qualified because I’m not emotionally attached to the religion.
I wasn’t shanghaied into Judaism by my parents (just as Christians are shanghaied into their religion by their parents) and therefore feel emotionally attached to the religion out of loyalty to my parents.
That leads us to the first question. Is Judaism a religion, or is it an ethnicity. Or is it a way of living?
I have argued in the past that if you don’t practice the precepts of Judaism, you are not Jewish. Similarly if you do not practice the precepts of Christianity, you are not Christian.
I have stated clearly that there is no such thing as a cultural Jew just as there is no such thing as a cultural Christian.
Having a menorah down by the bar doesn’t qualify you as Jewish anymore than I having a Christmas tree in the living room qualifies me as Christian.
Obviously, people will disagree with this.
The point of this conversation is to destroy my opponents, to checkmate them into a humiliating nonexistence. Why else would I write this article?
Let’s begin with Max Baer. Max Baer was a hero to many Jewish people back in the day.
Max Baer was the heavyweight champion of the world and was reportedly Jewish.
But why was he Jewish?
Was he Jewish because he practiced the principles of Judaism, or was he Jewish because of his parents.
Well, as it turns out, Max Baer’s father was Jewish, but his mother was not.
According to many orthodox Jews, Judaism can only be transmitted through the mother
So, pretending for a second that Max Baer is still alive, which he is not, is Max Baer truly Jewish regardless of whether he practices Judaism or not?
Well, I suppose he is, if you accept Jewish identity as being able to trace your lineage back to the original Jews.
If that is the case, that all you need is a Jewish parent who is descended from Jews, then what about those Christians, who are ultimately descended from the Jews who lived during the time of Jesus?
What do I mean by this?
Many years ago I stated to a Jewish friend of mine that in the final analysis we were all Jews at one time.
He was shocked when I said that and said, “Oh, no.”
Why not? If being Jewish is nothing more than genetics and being able to trace your lineage back to the original Jews, then why don’t we Christians count also?
Some of us can trace our lineage back to the original Jews, right?
I mean, who was Jesus preaching to in his community? Buddhists?
Not at all. It seems totally logical that Jesus was converting Jews.
So again, I ask, why don’t we count?
Now, if you throw that argument out to a Jew, he probably won’t answer you except to say that you have to also follow the laws of Judaism.
At which point I will come back to you and say: Well, if that’s necessary, then what about those people who don’t follow the principles of Judaism at all but were born into a Jewish family.
What about those people today who commonly call themselves non-practicing Jews?
What about Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel? They tortured and killed people with relish.
Why should they count if you just told me that you had to follow the laws of Judaism?
At which point you are checkmated, thank you, but we can continue anyway. I don’t mind carrying you for a few more rounds.
Perhaps you are of the persuasion that you have to meet both requirements. You have to be descended from Jews, and you have to follow the precepts of Judaism.
Fair point, but aren’t we leading back to the same arguments?
What about people who have been descended remotely from the Jews? What about people who barely practice Judaism?
Suppose I have a great grandmother, who was Jewish, but everybody in between was Catholic or Protestant. Do I count as a Jew if I choose choose to call myself that?
At what biological dilution does a person cease to become Jewish? 1/2? 1/4? 1/8? 1/16?
And who makes this decision?
How about those Jews who converted to Christianity? Are they Jews?
Really?
People who go around and celebrate Jesus are Jews?
Wouldn’t they fall into the same category as Jews for Jesus? My understanding is that orthodox rabbis are firmly of the opinion that Jews for Jesus are not Jews.
Karl Marx’s father converted to Christianity so that he would be able to pursue a career in law.
Karl Marx was raised as a Christian.
Was Karl Marx Jewish?
Many Jews think so, although I think they think that way because they never read any detailed biography of him.
Technically, I guess you can say that he had Jewish influence in his life and that his parents probably gave him values that were in line with Judaism. Just because your parents convert doesn’t mean that they change all their values on a dime.
Yet, Jewish scholars, at least the traditional ones, will state that you can’t become a Jew just by adopting a few values or precepts of Judaism.
So was Karl Marx Jewish even though he was raised as a Christian?
Some scholars have felt that Karl Marx was antisemitic? Can you be Jewish and antisemitic at the same time? I suppose you can. This might fall under the category of what has been termed the self-loathing Jew.
Are such people Jewish?
I suppose they are. You can be Jewish and hate Jews at the same time.
You can also do destructive things to the Jews and be Jewish at the same time, right? Look at the leadership of Israel. One can argue that they’re engaging in policies that will be ultimately harmful to Jews decades or possibly centuries down the line.
In the past century, the leadership of Israel has engaged in policies that are extremely harmful to the Palestinians. Is that brotherhood? Is that behavior in accordance with the Jewish values?
Will these policies in time engender blowback which will be harmful to the Jews? I think so.
So can we call the leadership of Israel nothing short of a pack of self-loathing Jews who are engaging in acts ultimately destructive towards Jews?
How could one possibly call the leadership of Israel Jewish when they don’t practice Jewish values, when they engage in practices which are ultimately destructive to Jews?
I don’t think you can. I think it’s more appropriate to call them pagans.
They may wear a kippah, they may have a menorah in their house, but that doesn’t make them Jewish.
You can’t possibly be Jewish because your parents were Jews. Nor can you be Jewish because your parents shanghaied you into a religion.
We are all shanghaied into a religion.
If you switched Jewish babies and Catholic babies at birth they would grow up within that religion.
Abraham Foxman’s parents had their nanny take care of Abraham while they went to a concentration camp in the 1940s. She promptly shanghaied him into Catholicism.
After the war was over, Abraham’s parents tried to reclaim young Abraham who was on a steady path to being a thoroughly indoctrinated Catholic.
After much difficulty, they were able to reclaim him and re-shanghai him back into Judaism.
So it should be clear that we are only of a religion because our parents kidnapped us on the weekend and browbeat us into that religion. They said to us: This is what you are going to believe, and we don’t care what you think.
So who are we kidding here?
I suppose the point I’m trying to make here is that religion is a device that man invented to keep people on the straight and narrow.
Since 90% of the people don’t know anything about their religion, and of the the 10% who do 90% don’t follow it, what’s the whole point of it?
Do you doubt me? Man on the street interviews can demonstrate that many Christians think Jesus was born in Nazareth.
One of my Jewish colleagues (college educated, a physician no less) didn’t understand why you don’t mix milk and meat together. He thought it was because of sanitary reasons. I explained to him that in Judaism milk represents life and meat represents death and that you don’t mix the two.
This type of ignorance applies to all religions.
So what’s the point of religion if people don’t practice it or don’t know much about it.
Does the religion exist for the people, or for the mad powerbrokers who rule the religion?
It seems to exist for the mad power brokers who have made convenient relationships with the ruling class.
Religion is then used as a tool to get people to fight useless wars or follow the ridiculous dictates of the ruling class.
That’s the situation in Israel today where many Israelis, who I will safely assume are Jewish, beat up on Palestinians, burn down their houses, or go to rallies in order to cheer for Elor Azaria, a former IDF solider, who essentially murdered a helpless Palestinian as he lie dying on the ground.
To be fair, Christians do the same thing.
All in the name of religion.
What insanity is this?
It is the product of being shanghaied into a religion.
It is the product of blind obedience.
This is not particular to Judaism. My parents tried to shanghai me into Christianity, but I was a problem child.
I viewed church as prison. Not only was I forcibly compelled to go to church, I wasn’t able to go out and play with other children after church. It was the Lord’s day, my parents told me.
Is the Lord opposed to children playing with their friends, I must’ve asked on some level.
If that is the case, count me out.
Sincerely,
Archer Crosley
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