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Rebuttal: Born Again as an Infidel
Ivan M. Lang
In her 4/20/2005 column on faithfreedom.org Ms
Eleanor Green provided her reasons for discarding her adopted religion
of Orthodox Judaism for atheism. Unfortunately, Ms Green’s reasons were
based on distortions and omissions of Jewish law, Halacha, and as such do
not represent Orthodox Judaism.
Ms Green began her essay by suggesting that in
Judaism “no matter what a monster” all Jews have a place in the World
to Come (WtC) but “most Gentiles” do not unless “they follow an
inferior religious system” that they never even heard of. She suggests
that because of this Mother Teresa because of her belief in Christianity
and Walt Whitman because of being a homosexual would not go to WtC, but
Pat Robertson would even though he has taken money under false pretenses
from the poor.
The truth is that Jews believe that Jews must follow
613 commandments and Gentiles only 7 to be worthy of the WtC. The seven
laws Gentiles must follow are called the Noahite laws and although the
specific laws are disputed most suggest they are no worship of idiols, no
blashphemy, no murder, no robbery, no incest or adultery, no eating live
animals and establishing a system of justice. Whether Gentiles have heard
of these laws or not these laws are consistent and followed by all of the
major religions of the world and even the great majority of people of the
world. None of these laws would prevent Mother Teresa or any Christian
from going to WtC and none of these laws say anything about homosexuality.
No Jewish commentator or Rabbinical authority has ever included a ban on
homosexuality in these laws. The Noahite laws do not even require a belief
in G-d, therefore according to Judaism, even atheists like Ms Green have a
place in the WtC.
Ms Green suggests continually in her diatribe that
Judaism favors Jews in some way; but the truth is that it is far far
easier to fulfill the 7 Noahite laws than 613 commandments. Surely the
Jewish concept of law favors Gentiles over Jews as billions of Gentiles
right now qualify for the WtC and they do not even know it.
Ms Green suggests something even more insidious and
false. She writes that since Whitman and Mother Teresa transgressed one
commandment that according to Judaism they are doomed to not be worthy of
the WtC forever. Ms Green is confusing her former religion, Christianity,
with Judaism. Judaism, in contrast to Christianity, does not believe in
mortal sins. There is no one sin that prevents anyone from going to the
WtC according to Judaism. Judaism believes that G-d judges us based on our
entire life and he weighs the good with the bad. Proof of this clear from
the Torah. Moses, Judaism’s greatest prophet, sinned by killing an
Egyption guard, yet does Ms Green suggest that Jews believe that Moses
cannot go to the WtC? In addition, Judaism believes that everyone has the
opportunity to repent and be absolved of any sin. This is what the holiday
of Yom Kippur is all about. What is the purpose of Yom Kippur if there are
sins from which there is no possibility of redemption? However, repentance
can occur anytime and one need not and should not wait for Yom Kippur to
repent and repentance is fully open to Gentiles as well as Jews anytime
and any place.
Ms Green also seems to not understand at all the
Jewish concept of heaven and hell. Jews believe in hell, but according to
Judaism one can only go to hell for a maximum of 11 months. Therefore,
even if at death one is not worthy of the WtC; the sins get washed away
after spending an appropriate amount of time in hell not to exceed 11
months. Therefore, everyone no matter how sinful has a possibility for a
place in the WtC whether Jew or Gentile. Moreover, while Ms Green may
state that she knows who would or would not go to heaven; Jews and Judaism
do not make such judgements about any human being as we fully acknowledge
that we do not know the will of G-d or the hearts of men.
Ms Green continues to denigrate Judaism by suggesting
that Orthodox Jews have “accomplished so little good for the betterment
of universal mankind” whereas secular Jews like Einstein have
accomplished so much. This statement denies 4000 years of history.
The entire system of jurisprudence of the Western World is based on the
Torah concept of justice and law. The first systematic set of laws and a
court system to adjudicate these laws with its basis of fairness
regardless of position or influence or riches is spelled out in great
detail in the Torah and these laws and precepts were adopted by
Christianity and then the
Roman Empire
and then the entire Western world. There is no other system in the Western
world which has brought more good to”universal mankind” than this
system of jurisprudence. In addtion while I have no intention of
denigrating Einstein, surely, Ms Green must recognize that Einstein's
brilliance has resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people in
Japan
. Brilliance and intelligence are good virtues, but are not immune to
evil.
Ms Green acknowledges the great contributions to
mankind of all of the great secular Jewish lawyers, doctors, and
scientists. One-third of all Nobel prize winners are Jews yet they
constitute a very small segment of the population. This cannot be by
chance, so where did these traits come from to create these geniuses?
Since intermarriage was minimal among Jews before the 19th century and the
only Judaism before the 19th century was Orthodox Judaism this means that
the ancestors of every one of those brilliant Jewish Nobel prize winners
was an Orthodox Jew and many of them Orthodox Rabbis. If Ms Green believes
in the science of genetics, then she must acknowledge that these great
scientists got their brains and brilliance from Orthodox Rabbis. And where
did these Orthodox Rabbis get their genius from? For thousands of years
Orthodox Jews developed their intellect and brains and brilliance through
their religion in the form of intelligent religious discourse epitomized
but not limited to the Talmud. It is clear that Ms Green has never read
the Talmud or Maimonides, or Nachmonides or Rashi or the myriad of other
brilliant Torah scholars who were the forefathers of those Jewish Nobel
prize winners. The truth is that according to genetic theory, there would
be no secular Jewish Nobel prize winners today without the brilliant Torah
scholars of yesterday.
Finally Ms Green suggests that Judaism teaches that
Jews should disrespect or dishonor relatives and friends by refusing to
attend weddings of non Jewish friends or eating non-kosher food at the
homes fo non-Jewish friends or other disrespect of our fellow human in
favor of the 613 commandments. Again, nothing could be farther from
the truth. Judaism teaches very clearly that the laws governing relations
between man and man supercede laws between man and G-d. In addition every
Orthodox Jew is taught the famous story about Rabbi Hillel, one of the
main Rabbis of the Talmud. He was asked to be told the Torah in a nutshell
and he said that the entire purpose of the Torah is the Golden Rule
and everything else is commentary. There are very few situations in which
an Orthodox Jew must chose between the 613 commandments and friendship or
relatives, and if those situations arise they are very easily explained
and compensated for by simply talking with the person involved. One can go
to a wedding and not eat the non-kosher food and one can invite the friend
to your house instead of going to his explaining to him that you value
your kosher laws. No true friend would think ill of this; and I have many
non-Jewish and non-religious Jewish friends for proof of this.
Ms Green’s article exhibits either a profound
ignorance of true Orthodox Jewish law or a deliberate falsification of
those laws and therefore I am forced to doubt her integrity in this
matter.
Related links
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Born Again as an Infidel Eleanor
Green 2005/04/20
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