#interfaith conversations

[spot-the-antisemitism]

Muslim colonialism needs to be acknowledged way more than it is. It is one of the most brutal forces of colonialism in history, but no one talks about it.

I'm Christian and a few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Bethlehem, but I had to cancel the trip after the land was taken over. Now I could risk being killed for going to one of the holiest/most special places within my religion. Over half of the Middle East is Muslim and kills/terrorizes people who aren't.

We always talk about white colonialism.

Occasionally we'll talk about Asian colonialism (kind of hard not to when Genghis Khan exists). But we never talk about Arab colonialism, which is still an everlasting problem to this day.

Dear anon,

I don’t like comparing atrocities to each other to decide which is worse but yeah the conquests of the Empire were not particularly peaceful and in Arab countries it’s missed the way Europeans miss Rome

You know yeah it’s messed up that even Christians can’t step foot in the PA right now.

Also Ghenghis Khan isn’t the only colonialism we learn in school. We learned about the colonization of Korea

but these people twist themselves into knots that it only counts if the colonists are from a Certain country to count or only works if there are boats (to exclude Arab, Chinese and Russian colonialism)

yours,

Cecil

[shalom-iamcominghome]

So I learned the reason why my dad (and some other xtians) believes a rabbi has to bless things to make them kosher is because priests actually do bless things and those things become Super Special

Like, he said that the bread they get for communion is bought from a supermarket and then is blessed by the pastor, and the moment she blesses it, it cannot be tossed - it has to be used up. So somebody took the leftover Holy Bread and made a grilled cheese out of it, which is... actually, it's iconic. Imagine having Holy Grilled Cheese

[askjumblr]

disclaimer: this is a genuine question, i'm not trying to insult anyone or their journey

but as a (reform) jew...why is conversion okay? i'm in a pretty serious relationship with a non-jew (atheist from a christian family) and though we're too young to get married rn, we've discussed our future, and my boyfriend knows i'm committed to my jewish identity and that raising jewish children is important to me. he's said that he's open to converting for me, which i expected to be happy about (especially given my parents would not look fondly upon me marrying someone who isn't jewish bc my extended family has a pattern of interfaith marriages ending in children that don't continue practicing judaism). but i wasn't happy about it, it just felt wrong. to me, judaism is my cultural and ethnic identity, and it just feels like appropriation for someone who isn't jewish to take on that identity. i know this isn't the viewpoint of reform judaism, and i know there must be a reason why. i want to understand and be more accepting of jewish converts, but it just doesn't sit right with me. ...help?

.

[hereforthecandles]

tour/informal job interview at the local catholic school tomorrow, which is so unexpected but actually has me feeling cautiously hopeful?? 🙏🙏

[we-met-at-mount-sinai]

My family's general reactions to me saying that I want to convert (in order of who I told):

My sibling, in 2022: Well we all knew you were going to convert at some point. I'm just glad you've finally told me. I won't tell the parents until you're comfortable with it.

Several months ago, my girlfriend: Yeah, it makes sense. I love you, and I'll support you in converting. Thank you for telling me. Are gentiles allowed to take part in Jewish holidays with Jewish family or is that closed? I know they'll be important to your life after conversion, and I want to be a part of things that are important for you, but I don't want to overstep the boundaries of what's okay for gentiles to do.

My parents, a few weeks later: Wait you mean the jokes we've had for months, if not years, about you planning on converting to Judaism weren't just jokes? You're serious about this? If this is what you want to do though, we'll support you. (My dad:) I still think that you shouldn't convert before going to university, though, because you'll be studying religion there and converting to Judaism will mean that you see everything through that lens, and it will be harder to be objective.

[overmorrowpine]

okay this might be a little bit silly considering i almost never cry but im like halfway to crying about this cookbook having notes like "this is a pareve version. for a meat version, substitute meat stock and add cubed beef" or whatever (im looking through soups for dinner rn) like. i don't have to do the work to make sure the recipe is kosher. someone else has already made sure it's kosher. my family has gotten it basically (like, they don't cook their bacon in the same pan as im gonna use for my eggs, stuff like that) but like. it's not on me to make sure i can eat this food. someone else has already done it

[smstrouse]

Three Rules of Interfaith Encounter

[nashvillehotchicken]

i'm sorry?

[eris-and-lokis-love-child]

In my own Evangelical upbringing, it was a bit weird. If you hadn't accepted Christ, you went to hell. However, you had another chance after the millennium of Christ's reign to accept him as lord, otherwise they're cast into the lake of fire. Also, about 12000 from each of 12 tribes (Counting Menasseh as a tribe, and not Dan) would also become some sorts of saints during the tribulation.

Honestly, by the time I was 15 I believed in the 4th century heresy of apokatastasis, which eventually got absorbed as purgatory.

Now... My beliefs on the afterlife are a bit more fluid, but definitely not Christian, so not relevant to the discussion.

“Also nice "Jews belong in hell" canard, christian spotted”

Cecil, I’m Christian, and I absolutely DO NOT think that Jews belong in hell. I can’t speak for others, but if they were true Christians, they wouldn’t believe this either.

Dear anon,

I am sorry

yeah I should have said cultural christian spotted or even christian fundamentalist spotted

that's on me

I'm not one of those "I hate all christians" people

doing better,

Cecil

P.S. what DO christians believe happens Jews and Muslims?

[shalom-iamcominghome]

My dad and I are very similar people, but our superficial differences are very funny

You'll see us together and I'm wearing my kippah and he's in his xtian motorcycle T-shirt and I just think that's very funny. Interfaith families can honestly be so interesting like that 😭

[askjumblr]

tips on celebrating a secular Christmas without blaspheming? im seeking to convert when I go to college, but I live in a household of fully Christians. i can't tell them about my decision until I am legally an adult so they see it as an adult decision. so... tips in the meantime?

- @startheconvert

Not sure about OP's intended level of observance, so just state your FOR when you answer please.

[etz-ashashiyot]

This is truly a half-baked thought, but: something that kinda shocked me a bit when talking to a Catholic co-worker some years back (we frequently had mutually respectful interfaith conversations) was his reaction to my explanation of the Moshiach in Jewish theology. Namely, that Moshiach comes after we've proven ourselves worthy of it, and that ultimately tikkun olam, the repair of the world, is our responsibility.

He was horrified.

He thought that was so much pressure and "so fucking bleak" that there wasn't someone swooping in to save us from ourselves.

And I think about that a lot, and how Judaism is very much an empowered religion in that way and how disempowering that dim view of humanity is.

It also just surprised me because the Christianity I was raised in was also an empowered faith, in that I was taught growing up that we were the body of Christ in the world now, and it was our job to be his hands feeding the hungry, his feet marching for justice, and his voice teaching peace and compassion for all. And it's really sad to see how far this specific insidious theology has reached, that encourages Christians to sit back and watch the world burn or pour on the gasoline instead of clothing the naked, healing the sick, welcoming the outcast, stewarding creation, and fighting for a world in which the meek will inherit the earth, the lion will lay down with the lamb, and the swords will be beaten into ploughshares.

Anyway, I just want to offer up a moment of gratitude to the Christians who do center their faith in acts of love and who will actively work alongside people of other belief systems to make the world a better place for us all.

[xclowniex]

I got this comment on one of my other posts where I talk about how antizionists who claim they want to deradicalize zionists fail to do so and with their current approach are far more likely to "radicalize" jews.

Whilst this type of set up for a post usually leads into something negative, the comment isn't and I agree with it, I just wanna turn the idea I had of a response into its own post lol

On its own, it is not a radical idea, however it is radical in the sense of it forces a lot of western leftists to either reevaluate their ideas surronding colonialism, indigenousness, peace and justice, or ignore any opportunities of reflection and be bigoted. And obviously one is a lot easier than the other.

Jews and Palestinians don't fall into the classic colonizers vs. colonized categories as well, our history is different than in the west. Palestinians were not originally arab and were arabinzed through consensual and non-consensual means, and jews have been forcibly removed from the region from multiple groups. It does not play into the dichotomy of "white people came to the land, were violent and gained control and oppressed the native population" which is the overly simplified version of what has happened in the majority of western countries.

In the west, to achieve true peace and justice, you have to hand over control either fully or in part to indigenous folk. But because jews and Palestinians don't fall into western understanding of colonization, peace and justice doesn't look like that. It looks like coexistence with both groups holding power and self determination simultaneously.

Then you have the western view of race also in play. Jews don't fall into the western view of race and ethnicity. Because of multiple exoduses, jews come in a wide range of colors. We aren't just white or brown. Jew as an ethnicity comes from the middle east and is not a European ethnicity. Then wherever jews ended up after being forced out of the land complicates things. If they ended up in Africa, you get black jews like those from Beta Israel (in Ethiopia), if they ended up in other parts of the middle east you get Mizrahi jews (some people consider jews from beta Israel also Mizrahi and some don't, as I am not from beta Israel it is not a conversation I need to be a part of). You also have Sephardic jews, and ofc Ashkenazi jews. You have jews from all parts of Asia. Then you have mixed race/interfaith relationships too, which is how you get black folk in the US who are Ashkenazi jewish or Māori who are Ashkenazi like Taika Waititi.

And the whole forcing western ideals surrounding race, history, etc, onto non western countries, is problematic.

Whilst I'm definitely not the first to call it this in this sense, it is western leftism. It may even fall under white leftism.

And to those in which their belief system is entrenched in western and/or white leftism, the idea that jews don't fall into it, is radical to them.

(Tagging the person who made the addition is screenshotted as I feel weird if I don't @boreal-sea

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Shiryn Ghermezian

A live comedy event set to take place in New York City next week featuring comedians discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been canceled by organizers after the pro-Palestinian comics withdrew their participation.

“Comics for Conversation: Because It’s Not Always a Laughing Matter” was scheduled to be a show in which both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian comics would perform stand-up comedy sets followed by a moderated discussion on stage about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The event was meant to be the first initiative of a new movement called Don’t Hate Debate, a joint initiative between the marketing platform The Heart Monitors and Stand Up NY. Organizers hoped to promote interfaith dialogue between comics from both sides of the conflict while also hosting an evening where audiences can enjoy some laughs.

Two of the pro-Palestinian comics who originally joined the lineup dropped out of the show in late November after facing backlash from anti-Israel activists, who falsely claimed that the event would be a debate about “the genocide” taking place in the Gaza Strip. In response, organizers decided not to release the names of other participating comics and the location of the event in advance. The decision was made to ensure the safety and security of attendees and the remaining comics who would be featured in the show.

Dani Zoldan, the founder of Stand Up NY and the Chosen Comedy Festival, told The Algemeiner on Thursday that the event was ultimately nixed altogether when more pro-Palestinian comics dropped out of the event. The Heart Monitors and Stand Up NY released an open letter on Thursday addressed to the pro-Palestinian comics, urging them to reconsider their decision to pull out of Monday’s show.

“By participating, you are not endorsing any narrative or perspective other than your own. You are helping to create a space where others can see what it looks like to sit in the same room, listen, and engage without fear or anger dictating the conversation,” they wrote in the letter, which was shared with The Algemeiner.”We need your voices. We need your humor. And most importantly, we need your courage to engage.”

[handweavers]

i have an immense fondness for interfaith dialogue and particularly in finding common ideas and vocabulary across religious and cultural practices, i think especially due to having been raised in an interfaith and multicultural/multinational family where reaching across this seeming 'divide' to shared experience and understanding is a daily and necessary act of love.

my babaji (my paternal grandfather) was born in 1917 in a small town in negeri sembilan, malaysia, orphaned at a young age and worked as a child labourer on a palm oil plantation, and by the end of his life he was a respected gyani who did a phd in sikh theology and accrued an extensive library on sikhi, and was renown in our community for his knowledge of not just sikhi but many religions (aside from his primary career as a lawyer)

my other grandfather, my poppy, was born and raised in donegal, ireland in the 1930s and the only way he received an education was due to a sponsorship by an anglican protestant clergyman who hosted him, even though he wasn't from a religious family, and as a result he became intensely protestant and equally conservative. but after my parents married and my mom moved to malaysia, my grandfathers met and they quickly developed a great respect for each other. they would sit and debate theology, and poppy was impressed by babaji's knowledge of christian scripture and in turn learned a lot about sikhi from him. poppy was enchanted by babaji, and to this day (he's 93 and with dementia) he still speaks of him highly, and remembers their conversations late into the night regarding religion.

i never met babaji, unfortunately he passed away a couple years before i was born, and i've always felt that loss profoundly. all of my cousins are much older than me and have strong memories of him, and i'm the only grandchild who never got to meet him. malaysia outlawed the traditional sikh practice of cremation by funeral pyre, but i've been told that they made an exception for him, but i don't know if that is true. i've been told that thousands attended his funeral, but i don't know if that is true either. but once my cousin had a vision of him holding me as a baby under the mango trees in the yard, and i like to think of a world where that might have happened. and i like to think of a world where i got to sit with him the way my poppy did all those years ago and talk deep into the night about these things we both think so much about.

[occasionally-poetic]

marauders characters’ ethnicities/religions/languages

just my own HCs so don’t get offended!

jayaram fleamont potter

(tells people to call him j or jamie bc its easier, so everyone assumes his real name is james, and he doesn’t correct them)

indian hindu on his mum’s side (tamil nadu specifically)

effie comes from a rich tamil pureblood family (many pureblood families name their children something greek/latin, thus ‘euphemia’), and teaches jamie hindi, tamil and some greek

his tamil is great and he’s fluent in writing/reading as well as speaking, writing letters to effie from hogwarts in tamil

his hindi is okay, mostly with reading and talking, his writing is pretty limited

his greek is godawful and he’s barely conversational, much to effie’s dismay

(non-practicing) catholic chilean on his dad’s side

monty is (obviously) a potter, and most of his relatives live in chile or south america, but his parents moved to england for hogwarts (didn’t want him going to school on another continent to them)

he’s a practicing hindu with his mum (monty doesn’t really get it because he doesn’t speak a word of hindi so he just smiles and nods)

he speaks english and (chilean) spanish, which he teaches jamie, who speaks/reads/writes it as fluently as his english and tamil

sirius orion black

he is heir of the noble and most ancient house of black so he’s the french-est pureblooded-est guy you’ll ever meet

especially pureblooded because he’s the product of incest (his parents are second cousins) (canon)

the black family are french, owning many estates there, etc., but have lived in england for generations (his great-grandparents migrated and now they only visit france in the summer sometimes)

catholic (receiving NOO criticism here bc this is canon (no its not)) with intense religious trauma and internalised homophobia (not projecting at all whaaaaat)

sort of converts to judaism (ish?) he makes remus explain it all and siri thinks its sooo fascinating so he gets a menorah for the dorm for hanukah and buys a torah to study and remus is so happy

speaks french as his first language, and latin and greek fluently from tutoring, but only started to learn english for hogwarts (is so bad at it in first year omg)

remus yohanan lupin

(I KNOW HIS CANON MIDDLE NAME IS JOHN BUT HE IS SO JEWISH CODED TO ME SO HERE’S THE HEBREW FORM OF JOHN INSTEAD X)

polish-jewish on his dad’s side (lyall was evacuated to wales in ww2, when he was about 10, and hope’s parents looked after him until he graduated hogwarts and started dating hope (they literally adored him and helped raise remus I DONT CARE))

protestant welsh on his mum’s side (didn’t really practice her faith though - just brought them all to church on christmas eve and easter sunday)

interfaith household + being a patrilineal jew (more not fitting in angst for remus guys!)

spoke english and welsh at home, equally fluent (lyall picked up welsh while living with hope’s parents), and hebrew too from his hebrew sunday school

lyall tried (and failed) to teach him polish, as that was his first language, so remus can speak a very basic amount of polish, mostly swearing and children’s lullabies (marlene teaches him more at hogwarts so they can gossip!)

not very orthodox jews, but celebrate jewish holidays and go to the synagogue on sabbath (and he wears a necklace of the star of david that belonged to lyall’s late mother)

pieter daan pettigrew

(anglicised his name for hogwarts because everyone called him p-eye-ter (like actual pie + ‘ter’))

protestant dutch on his mum’s side (but she went to hogwarts!)

protestant english on his dad’s side

parents were ‘born again’ christians so they were very devout (grace before every meal, helping out at church every sunday, bible study every morning, etc)

peter never really believed in any of it, and would often go to jamie’s to avoid having to go

he spoke english with his dad and half-brother, but solely dutch with his mum and his other siblings. he was also taught latin before hogwarts (pureblood things) and absolutely HATED it (he was probably dyslexic and often found himself changing language in the middle of his talking exams)

picked up a fair bit of tamil from jamie and effie (aka his second mum) and absolutely LOVED the potters’ diwali party (literally the highlight of his year)

let me know any other characters i should do!! and if you disagree feel free to leave your HCs in the comments, but please respect that people have different opinions xx