I hate that phrase. I mean, there are many common values held by both religions, but many of the good values originated in the old testament, ie judaism, while many concepts that bother me are to be found in christianity only, and its assumed that they appear in judaism as well.
ex: The concept of sex as original sin, therefore sinful, and women are sinful because of their lust. According to judaism, sex is not a sin and originated before Eve ate from the tree. (see rashi on "vihadam yada") God commanded man to be fruitful and multiply, and sex in the context of marriage is holy, even when the woman is post-menopausal or infertile for other reasons. A man is obligated to satisfy his wife's sexual needs, and his failure to do so is considered legitimate grounds for her to divorce him. Thus, sex as original sin, while thought to be judeo-christian, is certainly not jewish. I don't know about christianity enough to comment on its place there. I do know that the concept has long been used for the opression of women and repression of their sexual desires, esp in the middle ages.
What got me thinking about this, oddly enough, were the Chronicles of Narnia - is anyone else bothered by the last chapter of "the Last Crusade"? (not to mention the title)
ex: The concept of sex as original sin, therefore sinful, and women are sinful because of their lust. According to judaism, sex is not a sin and originated before Eve ate from the tree. (see rashi on "vihadam yada") God commanded man to be fruitful and multiply, and sex in the context of marriage is holy, even when the woman is post-menopausal or infertile for other reasons. A man is obligated to satisfy his wife's sexual needs, and his failure to do so is considered legitimate grounds for her to divorce him. Thus, sex as original sin, while thought to be judeo-christian, is certainly not jewish. I don't know about christianity enough to comment on its place there. I do know that the concept has long been used for the opression of women and repression of their sexual desires, esp in the middle ages.
What got me thinking about this, oddly enough, were the Chronicles of Narnia - is anyone else bothered by the last chapter of "the Last Crusade"? (not to mention the title)
No comments:
Post a Comment