tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-730336946729288279.post2018331711562654523..comments2023-06-02T03:14:13.806-07:00Comments on A Band of Christians: Honoring Ancestors - Mormon Rituals, Jewish Heritage, and why no one should be offendedFleeting_Thoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03443223126526616704noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-730336946729288279.post-37137994079889796452009-07-07T22:07:58.912-07:002009-07-07T22:07:58.912-07:00Dear Fleeting_Thoughts, ...Dear Fleeting_Thoughts, 8 July 2009<br /><br /> I enjoyed this article very much! Well done! I agree completely that the practice of Baptism for the dead, in the LDS Church, should not be cause for alarm or offence to our friends of other faiths.<br /><br />I was intrigued by your questions and so I did a little research…<br /><br />1-Is it true that birth has a lot to do with being Jewish? How much weight is placed on being born Jewish as opposed to converting to Judaism?<br /><br />The answers to these questions are not as simple as one may think when starting to research the answers to these questions. Prior to reading your questions, I was under the impression that the Jewish People were all of the same denomination. After further investigation, I found that there are several distinctly different forms of Judaism that are currently practiced. So the answer for many of your questions is, “well, that depends on the Jewish denomination to which you are referring...”<br /><br />My answers therefore will not be comprehensive, (however, they do say that brevity is the soul of wit.)<br /><br />A Jew is anyone born of a Jewish Mother or converted to Judaism. (Or in some denominations – anyone born to a Jewish Mother or Father, if they were also raised with a Jewish Identity.) If a person becomes a Jew, under the supervision of an authority in the faith, after testing their knowledge and sincerity, they are called a son or daughter of Abraham and are thought of as being adopted into the family of Abraham. Allowing people to convert to Judaism was discouraged during the time of the Savior, however, all forms of mainstream Judaism today are open to converts. I knew a man in our ward who converted from being a member of the LDS Church to Judaism. There has been a shift during the last few decades in the belief that once someone is a Jew they are always a Jew (even if they joined another faith.) This shift has taken place mostly for political reasons in Israel in order to settle citizenship questions. This issue is one that is far from settled and it re-surfaces from time to time in Israeli politics. <br /><br />2-I know people convert to Judaism that do not have Jewish roots. Are they adopted into the Jewish faith, and if so, what of their ancestors? <br /><br />As far as I can tell the ancestors are not adopted and are on their own.<br /><br />3-What are the rites, procedures, or processes for one to convert to Judaism? Can these be performed, inherited, or spread to ones ancestors and/or desendants?<br /><br />In some Jewish denominations an ordained Rabbi with special legal training oversees the conversion to the faith. After the requirements for knowledge and sincerity have been achieved it depends on the denomination whether the new convert would need to be circumcised or not. There are conservative (or orthodox) denominations and liberal (or progressive) denominations. Some denominations, for example, allow a woman to be a Rabbi and some do not.<br /><br />4- Should a religion that claims all are the children of God not have some provision for those not of their faith? What does your religion do for those that never had an opportunity to accept your faith?<br /><br />I believe that every religion that teaches about a loving God must, out of fairness then also believe that there must be a way for the love and mercy of God to extend to all of his children. As far as I can tell, the Jewish faith does no more for those who never heard the Law and the Prophets than our Christian brethren of different denominataions.<br /><br /> Your friend always,<br /> <br />-Appreciable Goodfaithpoetappreciablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01358893434804995465noreply@blogger.com