jsol@bbncca.ARPA (Jon Solomon ) (11/05/83)
My last article was more flammatory than informative, so I will make up for it here. We have (at least) two theories about why homosexuals exist. The first is genetic and the second is environmental. It is my belief that we (humans) all have homosexual feelings of one sort or another (that's what I believe is the genetic part.) What we do with those feelings is a matter of personal preference, moral outlook, background, religion, etc (thats what I believe is the environmental part). Hence, I believe that both factors play a role in the developent of a person, homosexual or not. Don't knock the bible, it was a very useful tool back in the old days before we really had a perspective on the world, environment, etc. However, don't take the bible literally, because (at least the Old Testmanent) is horrible out of date. I was brought up Jewish, our religion taught that it was more important to interpret the bible in today's terms than to read into it literally. Some parts of it are obsolete, for example, the reason Jewish people kept kosher was the cooking and eating utensils were made out of wood. Milk and meat have their parasite germs which when mixed together and ingested in the stomach cause sickness. Separating milk and meat was an effective way to prevent the sickness, so the laws of the kashrut (keeping kosher) were founded. They were means of survival. Now that we have metal, ceramic, and china for utensils, we don't need to keep kosher. We still do, as a matter of tradition, but we DONT NEED TO and that's what I consider important. Rambling on... --Jon
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (11/08/83)
This really doesn't belong in net.motss, so I'm copying it to net.religion. Followups should stay in net.religion. Jon Solomon (bbncca!jsol) states: >>>I was brought up Jewish, our religion taught that it was more >>>important to interpret the bible in today's terms than to read into >>>it literally. Some parts of it are obsolete, for example, the reason >>>Jewish people kept kosher was the cooking and eating utensils were >>>made out of wood. Milk and meat have their parasite germs which when >>>mixed together and ingested in the stomach cause sickness. Separating >>>milk and meat was an effective way to prevent the sickness, so the >>>laws of the kashrut (keeping kosher) were founded. They were means of >>>survival. Now that we have metal, ceramic, and china for utensils, we >>>don't need to keep kosher. We still do, as a matter of tradition, but >>>we DONT NEED TO and that's what I consider important. Sorry, that is NOT *not* *not* what Judaism teaches. That may be what someone taught you, but it is NOT Judaism. It is a rationalization away of observance of the religion by finding reasons, not longer valid, for people in the past having observed the laws. Judaism teaches very clearly that the reason for keeping kosher has absolutely nothing to do with health. Health may be a convenient and useful byproduct, but it is in no way the basis for the observance. The bottom line on why we observe the laws ("mitzvos") is that they are there. Judaism is very much a religion of action. Unlike some religions, where one can be "saved" by proclaiming one's faith, the essence of living Jewishly is to observe the religious requirements. There are many. That is part of the test of our free will. If you want to say you're not observant, fine. Every Jew has the right to choose not to do mitzvos. But don't say that the religion no longer requires it. The religion hasn't changed. Dave Sherman -- {allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!dave