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From: matt@brl-tgr.ARPA (Matthew Rosenblatt )
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: A query to "Dvar Torah"
Message-ID: <2950@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 7-Nov-85 08:47:48 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.2950
Posted: Thu Nov  7 08:47:48 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Nov-85 19:49:07 EST
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DAN LEVY writes:

> Anyhow, if the worst of Rosenblatt's thunder be true, I don't even under-
> stand how Judaism can claim that non-Jews can also have a part in the future
> world; they would clearly not meet up to Matt's standards, certainly not any
> Christians (who, gasp, believe that the Laws of the Old Testament have been
> overridden by their "Savior", and don't even care a hoot about the post-
> Christ "oral law" of the Jews--how's THAT for tampering with the un-
> tamperable?).

It's easy!  People who are born Jews have to believe more things, and
follow more rules, than people who are not.  So a born non-Jew need only
follow the seven Noahide commandments, and he is OK.  Those who swear by
so-called "Enlightenment" values, under which any such distinctions based on 
birth are repugnant, tear their hair out when they hear such a thing.  But 
then, the Enlightenment *arose* to "free" Europeans from the "chains" of 
religion.  The _philosophes_ (like Freud, who came much later) believed
that religion represented the DARKNESS of ignorant superstition.  So those
who hold Enlightenment values supreme cannot simultaneously hold Judaism
(or any other religion) up as a LIGHT unto the nations.   Judaism starts
with ethical monotheism.  If there is no G-d, then Judaism is just one
more outmoded, discredited lie, no matter what kind of fine fellows the
Jews may be.

					-- Matt Rosenblatt