WHAT’S THE POINT?
I had lunch last week with a friend of mine, who is a doctor. She comes from a very Democratic family, very liberal in their thought. And, with me being a lawyer, there’s a natural competition between the two of us with tinges of playful animosity. We like to engage in intellectual word games and philosophical stand-offs. One of the nice things about this banter is that it breeds further understanding and insight on both our parts.
She comes from a relaxed Jewish background. Her family is not extremely devout but she is married to a very devout person. My background is pretty much religious mutt. I am the spawn of a fallen Catholic father, a wayward Protestant mother, with strong influences from a Lutheran next-door neighbor. I worked at a Jewish day camp in high school. So when it comes to discussing religion (i.e., Christianity versus Judaism versus Islam), I don’t necessarily have a great deal of academic expertise.
At our lunch the topic was the profound shift in America towards fundamentalist Christianity. The discussion wandered into why we don’t see or hear about Jews trying to push agendas when it comes to social issues.
In digging into what are the reasons why there don’t seem to be Jewish activists, it was pointed out to me that one is traditionally Jewish by birth and there is no history of proselytizing in the Jewish faith. Consequently they don’t solicit the publicity or the headlines of a Jerry Falwell or a Fred Phelps.
I find that basic difference to be very telling. Not only in interfaith relationships but in relationships in general. In all of our relationships the most relaxed, the most easy going and enjoyable relationships have an ease and comfort about them. Look to your best friend. How often do we spend time sitting in judgment of our best friend?
Generally our best friends are those whom we are willing to forgive their flaws. We accept their quirks, and let them be late, or forgive them if they show up too early, because we love them. And because of that, the relationship flows much more smoothly.
Those people we judge the least are generally ones we get along with the best. And they, in turn, accept us, which allows the relationship to grow. And it might not grow into a “best friend” relationship, but it allows for a smoother social intercourse. But then the principle halts when we push it to our wider circle of our acquaintances, whether they be co-workers, neighbors, bosses or that jerk with the bald head.
I think that’s why we all try so hard to fit in, to be liked and to be like others. In similarity is comfort. If you and I share the same social values, and material values, there’s a greater likelihood that we’re not going to be judging each other, which is why all those little Stepford communities in Orange County look alike, and the people dress alike and everyone acts alike. The problem is that it creates an “us versus them” mentality. We who all fit in versus those who don’t.
On the one hand, orthodox Jews are probably the most accepting, in that it is an objective fact to them, who is born Jewish versus who is not. If you are Jewish great, if you’re not, well, your loss. It is probably smug, but they do it behind closed doors or in their own communities, and frankly I find that a lot more palatable. It is a matter of simple respect — respect for my right as a human being to lead a life that is separate and apart from someone else’s.
I don’t find that same respect present in fundamentalist Christians. They choose to lecture and try to convert others to their belief system. For example, in Kansas the schools are now approved to teach evolution and the “new” Biblical theory of intelligent design.
“We think this is a great development... for the academic freedom of students,” said John West, senior fellow of the Discovery Institute, which supports intelligent design theory. The Discovery Institute has a very professional Web site that looks much like one would expect National Geographic to look like.
That is, until one delves deep and sees “SCIENTISTS, TEACHERS, AND STU- DENTS ARE UNDER ATTACK FOR QUESTIONING EVOLUTION — HELP US HELP THEM.” Things like this always make me think of that warning about wolves in sheep’s clothing.
What is being hailed as a “great development for the academic freedom of students” by this Phi Beta Kappa Ph.D. is the watering down of the teaching of the scientific theory of evolution. These would be the same fundamentalists that don’t believe that sex education should be taught in schools, nor contraception distributed because those are parental responsibilities.
Why isn’t teaching a biblical theory of sprouting out of the nothingness 6,000 years ago, a parental responsibility which should be taught in the home? The Christian soldiers argue that teaching basic contraception and human reproductive biology is not acceptable because that is a moral issue, which should be taught in the home, but using the Bible as an academic text is acceptable in giving the history of man. How this makes sense is beyond me.
My point here is that you don’t see orthodox Jews up in arms about the teaching of evolution in public schools. You don’t see the Ba’Hai demonstrating for teachings of their fundamental belief system. When was the last time someone saw a Hindu protesting the serving of hamburgers in school cafeterias? None of these groups set themselves up as the moral arbiters of what is right or wrong for others. They might do it for themselves, and that’s fine, that is their prerogative. But they are not telling any other people how to live, what to read and what should or not be taught in public schools. They do in private schools.
Christians like to play the perfect victim. In fact, they set themselves up for it. It’s a neat little trick. They throw themselves into the fight, and then get upset when they are bruised and battered. To quote my mother, “I wish they’d get down off the cross, we need the wood.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 23, 2005. Read the original PDF.