My faith/religion is Jewish though, technically, Judaism is not a religion or faith; it is a way of life. I choose to be Jewish because, for me, it fits me like a glove. I don’t claim to understand everything there is to know about scripture, and I don’t claim Judaism to be the “way, the truth, and the light.” As far as my limited human understanding goes, it makes sense to me, and the Jewish God makes sense to me. I don’t presume to suggest that it should be so for everyone.

I’d like to address a few things in this conversation that caught my eye:

First of all, evolution. Like some of the others, I accept the Theory of Evolution as fact. I don’t see it as a denial of God, I see it as a tool God used to bring about creation. Maybe I should learn to think inside boxes, but the creation story in Genesis I suggests a progression over time, and the Biblical progression coincides with the evolutionary theory, such as that life began first in water and that humans were the last beings created. I realize that conservatives of all three Abrahamic faiths reject this.

Second, someone asked what is righteousness. Hebrew can provide an answer. In Hebrew, the root letters for the word righteousness (tzadik) are tzadi-dalet-kaf. The the root letters for charity (tzedekah) are the same: tzadi-dalet-kaf. When words share the same root, it means they have a very close relationship with each other. Thus, charity is righteousness, and righteousness is charity. I realize this answer is unacceptable to Christians, but maybe the questioner might find some value to it.

The discussions I’ve been reading here are just like the ones I read on Jewish message boards: everyone arguing that their interpretation of Torah is correct, and if you ain’t Orthodox, you ain’t Jewish. It’s OK to disagree. But I believe - in the spirit of the Faith Club - that disagreements stay respectful and courteous. If we disagree, we just agree to disagree. I’ll never prove that my interpretation of Torah is correct, and nobody will prove their interpretation is correct.

Incidentally, I find it fascinating that science has discovered humans may have a DNA-centered need for a belief in God, that their belief in and surety of may be DNA-deep. Now the question becomes: Did that occur naturally or supernaturally?

I was also a Mormon several years back. Spent 12 years in the LDS Church. I grew in my walk with the Lord during that time. I studied the Bible as all Mormons do. I left the church not because of the religion but because of the ignorance of the leaders in my Ward. The Mormons are some of the best Christians I have ever known. They live their beliefs. Although no longer a Mormon, I am one of the greatest fans of the Mormons. If we truly want to find some common interests with others, we can all have a dialogue. I teach a course in the American Red Cross called, “Working with Total Diversity” which encourages all people to foster inclusive, not exclusive, relationships. I want to know why people act and react the way they do. If I offend someone I want to know why my actions or words were offensive so that I will not make that mistake again. This site is a great step to better understanding.

I grew up going to several mainstream churches, but when I was 21 years old I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and have been actively involved in that church for 31 years now. As to the question of why— I had a real problem with the idea of the holy trinity as explained to me by my pastors, and I also felt that the Jesus I knew and loved wouldn’t send God’s children to Hell because they hadn’t had the opportunity to learn of Him on earth and accept Him, etc. In fact, I had a real problem with people going to Hell who lived righteous, good lives, but who grew up in faiths like Muslim, Judism, etc.

The LDS faith believes that we lived with our Heavenly Father as His spirit children before we came to earth, and came here to receive a physical body and have a time of testing and trials, apart from His presence, and make choices of our own free will to decided how we would live. We believe He gave us the plan of salvation whereby our faith in Jesus Christ and our striving always to follow His perfect example of how to live our lives and treat others would allow our sins to be forgiven and for us to return to live with God some day. We also believe that there are multiple kingdoms in Heaven and “born again” Christians aren’t the only people who will go to Heaven. All of us will have the chance to learn of Him and His gospel either in this life or in the Spirit World where our spirits go from death until the resurrection. We believe we continue to grow and learn after our deaths. We believe that very few will permanently end up in what most people think of as Hell. Those are some of the reasons I converted to this church.

I have had to learn how to deal with stereotypical judgements made on me because of my membership in my church. People seriously ask if Mormons have horns, etc. I am not kidding! We are often referred to as a non-Christian cult which is pretty silly since Jesus Christ is the basis for our church and all of its beliefs. We believe He is the divine Son of God who atoned for our sins, was crucified, and resurrected. Have not figured out how that makes me a non-Christian.

I hope The Faith Club and this website can be a place of peace and love where we can freely express our feelings and questions and needs and not be judged. I crave to learn more about women of many faiths, particularly those who are non-Christian, so my knowledge and understanding of all people can be enlarged. In my view, if this world is ever to find peace it will be by more knowledge and greater understanding of all God’s children. God will ultimately be our judge and I think we would be better off if we stopped trying to take that job away from Him and exercise it ourselves. I hope anyone who reads my comments will know that anything I say regarding my church and my beliefs is strictly in answer to the questions posed on the website–I don’t want women to think I am trying to prosyletize. Thanks

here i will post a couple of such biblical quotes in hopes of an intellegent response from becca and truth and others as well….about slavery, adornment, homosexuality…

http://www.religioustolerance.org/sla_bibl2.htm
http://www.actseighteen.com/articles/jewelry-bible.htm
http://www.rdrop.com/~jimka/treties.html

thats not the god i believe in. thats human control of the masses.

so because she chose to save her life, she was no longer able to worship in the church she grew up in. god blessed her, we all still worship dispite the religion that excommunicated her.

October 13th, 2006 at 4:23 am
RVNFTHR8 indicates his own feelings and interpretations determine that
“the higher being, however you call it, is based on love and inclusion.”

Well, your higher being can’t be the same deity depicted in the Bible.

rvnfthr8 is a she, and ur right, when you look at the old testament. however, dispite what the others on here (specifically becca and truth) say, i interpret jesus differently i guess, cuz i believe jesus was loving and caring and all inclusive…my interpretation only… from what i gather here.

i gotta go make brownies with my daughter now, thats not in the bible, but it truth to me…

live4Truth Says:

October 3rd, 2006 at 6:25 pm
I would like to pose this question to anyone who has a relationship with God, but is not connected to a church. How do you determine what is truth? I’m not suggesting that your relationship with God is false…I don’t know you. And I don’t want to be misunderstood as saying that we cannot hear God speak and direct our lives. I certainly don’t think we should get caught up in legalistic religion, but the question still remains. There are so many interpretations of the Bible out there, so many opportunities to be misguided. And those who proclaim false beliefs are skilled at appearing biblical, or they may not even know that their beliefs are wrong because what they are teaching seems right to them. If you are not connected to a body of believers with a core set of beliefs, who holds you accountable? How do you know God and know truth when everyone out there has a different opinion of what that is?