Why can one be a Jew and be an atheist and not be a Jew and a Christian?
918801
hi. the answer is... because a convert to another religion, i.e. christianity, has deliberately and specifically rejected the the jewish religion and people, by actively leaving it and joining another, whereas most "jewish" atheists have not. to us, a "jewish" christian (including "messianic jews") is a plain-old christian like any other, but a "jewish" atheist is just a non-practicing jew. \n\nalso, there ARE many christians, even who are not at all jewish under jewish law and never have been, who are eligible to go to israel under the law of return. the law of return says that not only jews, but non-jewish children, grandchildren, in-laws, etc of jews can immigrate as well. there are two main reasons - the first is to  keep families from being broken, and the second is to protect non-jews who are at risk of being persecuted for their jewish background/heritage safe as well.\n\nhowever, israel rejects applications from actual jewish people who convert to another religion to immigrate under the law of return. to them there is a difference between an innocent christian child getting sent to a death camp in nazi germany because his grandfather was a jew, and a fully jewish person who, aware that converting to another religion will make him forfeit his claim to jewish peoplehood, does it anyway. converts out of judaism have to immigrate to israel the regular way, by moving in, spending a couple years there, and then applying for citizenship. in the unlikely scenario, though, where some new fascist regime persecuting jews surfaced and converts out of judaism were being persecuted as jews, israel would let them in. but that scenario is pretty unlikely. in this day and age, most of the jews have already fled the countries that persecute jews and are now already in israel.
863810
It's not Christians and Atheists.  \n\nIt's fundie xians and militant atheists.  (I suppose you could call me a militant atheist, because I'm guilty of the hostility and disrespect at times when dealing with xians of the fundie variety).  I don't mind christians as a rule (Or Muslims or Jews, or any other religion).  I believe faith is a personal thing and everyone has to follow their heart, but the moment they start trying to push their religion on others, or condescend to anyone who doesn't believe what they do, it gets my back up and sometimes the claws come out.
249263
That would be interesting. Being a Jew and not a Christian I can honestly say that would surprise me and would require me to seriously rethink some of my practices in life but I do not think it will change how I am as a person. Though I would wish he/she/it would leave some instructions on what we should do IE how to be a good person stuff like that. That being said I will still continue leading a moral life I just may redefine what morality is.
136718
The same reason christians and jews are.
886736
This is Religion and Spirituality.  If you have no religion you have no business being here.  That means no atheists unless you are finally willing to declare Athiesm a religion!
220677
"Jews" for Jesus are not Jews, and there is no difference between them and fundamentalist Christianity, who are the ones paying for such ministries as the "Jews" for Jesus who missionize Jews.\n\nMany people, Christians and some Jews as well, erroneously believe that just as one can be Black and Christian, just as one can be Oriental and Christian, one can also be Jewish and Christian. It is not true. The Jews are not a race. There is no genetic code passed from either mother or father to the child that makes that child a Jew. Even if all, or some, of the genetic code in a child could be proved to be of Jewish Origin, that would not make the child a Jew. Jewish law determines who is a Jew, and Jewish law is quite clear. If a person's mother is a Jew, and that person has not converted to another faith, then that person will be considered fully Jewish, so long as that person wishes to identify solely as a Jew. Although one cannot convert to become a member of a race, one who converts to Judaism does, indeed, become fully a Jew. Similarly, if one converts from Judaism to another faith, one is no longer a Jew.\n\nMessianic "Judaism" is a product of the successful missionizing campaign of such ministries as the "Jews" for Jesus, who try to make it look as though one can be a Jew and a Christian at the same time. By definition, one who believes in Jesus as their savior is a Christian. One who accepts Jesus as anything other than a man who once lived, but died without doing anything the Real Messiah will do when he gets here (hence the reason for a Second Coming!), is a Christian and no longer a Jew.\n\nThe Orthodox Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, writing for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, for the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, the Orthodox Youth Group, in his book The Real Messiah, on page 21 wrote:\n\n""This brings us back to our original question: \nWhat can a Jew lose by embracing Christianity? \n\nThe answer is: Everything. \n\nChristianity negates the fundamentals of Jewish \nfaith, and one who accepts it rejects the very \nessence of Judaism. Even if he continues to keep \nall of the rituals, it is the same as if he \nabandoned Judaism completely. \n\nA Jew who accepts Christianity might call himself \na "Messianic 'Jew,'" but he is no longer a Jew. \nHe can no longer even be counted as part of a \nJewish Congregation.""\n\nWe Jews define for ourselves who is and who is not a Jew, and not the Jewish wannabees, and the targets of this newest technique in missionizing Jews. \n\nThe majority of the membership of Messianic ""Jewish"" congregations, as a matter of fact, were not ever Jewish up until recently, and this is also true about their Messianic ""rabbis."" Many of these "rabbis" change their names to something that sounds stereotypically Jewish, in order to better target those they want to convert to Christianity.\n\nAs the success of this newest technique in missionizing the less knowledgeable Jews increased, the percentage of membership of ex-Jews as members of their messianic congregations has also increased, now running about 50-50.\n\nIt is also interesting to note that a large number of people converting TO Judaism have come to real Judaism from having been exposed to Messianic ""Judaism."" \n\nAt a messianic congregation, all references to Christian theology has been changed to make it sound more Jewish, and therefore more pallatable to their targets. They will only refer to Jesus as 'Yeshua' (which would not have been his name), they will say 'moshiach' instead of 'christ,' they will say 'synagogue' instead of 'church,' and on and on, in keeping with the techniques described in the book Understanding Church Growth by Donald MacGavran, who helped the idea of Indiginous Cultural Evangelism get started. \n\nTh
927495
thank you first, for making a point that you didnt want to offend anybody and you respect all religions. If Christianity was orven to be false in the aspect that "Jesus was not our messiah" and he never lived at all, i would go to Judiasm, because it has the same basic principles, i would have to go through judiasm and muslim after christianity and then become an atheist. but i hope it doesnt come to that
492449
Yes a follower of Christ is a Christian... please get to the point... Jews do not follow Christ, they cannot be called Christians. Muslims believe in Jesus but not that He is the Christ so they are not Christ followers. Im not yelling at you but cant you see why we cant come together and say "we're all christians" because we are not and Jews and Muslims will never say they are.
302515
That is in the New Testament, which is irrelevant. Jews determine who is a Jew, not the Jewish wannabees.
529305
Jews don't have to share, they show by example. Jews have personal relationships with God that Christians strive for their whole lives. Yet a Jew will not shove his/her belief down the throats of others, or take the Torah and keep knocking it on people's heads.\n\nBy leading a proper life according to Torah, this makes people think and investigate. Sometimes, there are a few who wish accept this way of life as their own and start converting.\n\nJews have learned not force our beliefs on others, but to quietly live a Torah lifestyle. Because actions speak louder than words.
1000038
The Jews and the Christians have the same God.  They both believe the old testament.  Jews just don't believe that Jesus Christ was God's son.  They believe in the same God, but the Jews just have a different name for God (just like Savior, Father, the Holy Spirit).  I woudl know, I'm Jewish, but I used to be a Christian.
537680
^Have you read the Talmud?  Have you studied it?  Can you understand it?  Do you know what it is?\n\nLet us not forget that the Old Testament is Jewish and the christians accept it in it's entirety.  Jews have to wait until Yom Kippur for forgiveness, even assuming your premis to be correct.  Cross-kissers can simply fess up at their convenience, mumble a few incantations and kiss a ring or a  statue to get theirs.  Protestants have to earn forgiveness, except for those sects who are doomed from birth (other than the select chosen ones.\nIf your question was intended to be anti-Semitic, it was a poor effort.  If it wasn't, learn a little about racism before you open your mouth because yours is blatant. \n\nAs for other racist books, try most anything put out by the monks in the Middle Ages.
276210
""Jews" for Christ," also called, Messianic "Jews," are not Jews! \n\nMany people, Christians and some Jews as well, erroneously believe that just as one can be Black and Christian, just as one can be Oriental and Christian, one can also be Jewish and Christian. It is not true. The Jews are not a race. There is no genetic code passed from either mother or father to the child that makes that child a Jew. Even if all, or some, of the genetic code in a child could be proved to be of Jewish Origin, that would not make the child a Jew. Jewish law determines who is a Jew, and Jewish law is quite clear. If a person's mother is a Jew, and that person has not converted to another faith, then that person will be considered fully Jewish, so long as that person wishes to identify solely as a Jew. Although one cannot convert to become a member of a race, one who converts to Judaism does, indeed, become fully a Jew. Similarly, if one converts from Judaism to another faith, one is no longer a Jew.\n\nMessianic "Judaism" is a product of the successful missionizing campaign of such ministries as the "Jews" for Jesus, who try to make it look as though one can be a Jew and a Christian at the same time. BY definition, one who believes in Jesus as their savior is a Christian. One who accepts Jesus as anything other than a man who once lived, but died without doing anything the Real Messiah will do when he gets here (hence the reason for a Second Coming!), is a Christian and no longer a Jew.\n\nThe Orthodox Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, writing for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, for the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, the Orthodox Youth Group, in his book The Real Messiah, on page 21 wrote:\n\nThis brings us back to our original question: \nWhat can a Jew lose by embracing Christianity? \n\nThe answer is: Everything. \n\nChristianity negates the fundamentals of Jewish \nfaith, and one who accepts it rejects the very \nessence of Judaism. Even if he continues to keep \nall of the rituals, it is the same as if he \nabandoned Judaism completely. \n\nA Jew who accepts Christianity might call himself \na "Messianic 'Jew,'" but he is no longer a Jew. \nHe can no longer even be counted as part of a \nJewish Congregation.\n\nWe Jews define for ourselves who is and who is not a Jew, and not the Jewish wannabees, and the targets of this newest technique in missionizing Jews. \nAs a matter of fact, the majority of their members were not ever Jewish up until recently, and this is also true about their messianic ""rabbis."" Many of them change their names to something that sounds stereotypically Jewish, in order to better target those they want to convert to Christianity.\n\nAs the success of this newest technique in missionizing the less knowledgeable Jews increased, the percentage of membership of ex-Jews as members of their messianic congregations has also increased, now running about 50-50.\n\nIt is also interesting to note that a large number of people converting TO Judaism have come to real Judaism from having been exposed to Messianic ""Judaism."" \n\nWhat you should expect at a messianic congregation is that all references to Christian theology has been changed to make it sound more Jewish, and therefore more pallatable to their targets. They will only refer to Jesus as 'Yeshua' (which would not have been his name), they will say 'moshiach' instead of 'christ,' they will say 'synagogue' instead of 'church,' and on and on, in keeping with the techniques described in the book Understanding Church Growth by Donald MacGavran, who helped the idea of Indiginous Cultural Evangelism get started. \n\nThe services will sound very Jewish, usually a lot of (mispronounced) Hebrew, and prayers will have been changed to add the Christian theology of Jesus to them, again, to make the service more f
296996
Besides for a bit of resentment for missionaries that go after the young and the ignorant. I have a fairly positive outlook on Christianity today. Some of my best friends are Christians. As for Judaism we believe that a person can be Christian and go to heaven.  Our religion states that all a gentile needs to do is believe in G-d and be a moral person. On the other hand Christianity is unacceptable for a Jew in part due to the Christian concept of the trinity it for us (and only us) would equate to idol worship and it is better to sacrifice ones life than to do this. For more info email me.
161592
Because the basic beliefs of Christians are UnBiblical, and against what the Bible says and what the Jews believe!\n\nPLEASE look at the following::\nhttp://WhatJewsBelieve.org\nhttp://Convert.org \n\nThe basic beliefs of Christianity about Jesus are against what the Bible says, and so Real Jews cannot believe in Jesus at all.\n\nThe Christian understanding is that the Messiah, Jesus, died for the sins of the people. The messiah is supposed to be a human sacrifice that is the blood sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of sin.\n\nBut we are taught in our Torah that no one can die for the sins of another. In Deuteronomy 24:16 it specifically says this:\n\nDeuteronomy 24:16 The fathers shall not \nbe put to death for the children, neither \nshall the children be put to death for\nthe fathers: \nevery man shall be put to death for his \nown sin (eesh b’chet-o yumatu).\n\nIn Exodus 32:30-35, Moses tries to offer himself to atone for the sins of the people. To be written out of Gd's book, means to be written out of the Book of Life, which means Moses was asking to die for the sins of the People. Gd's response is No, it does not work that way, each man dies for his own sin:\n\nExodus 32:30-35 And it came to pass on the \nmorrow, that Moses said unto the people, \nYe have sinned a great sin: and now I will \ngo up unto the Etrnl; perhaps I shall make \nan atonement for your sin. And Moses \nreturned unto the Etrnl, and said, Oh, \nthis people have sinned a great sin, and \nhave made them gods of gold. Yet now, if \nthou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, \nblot me, I pray thee, out of thy book \nwhich thou hast written. And the Etrnl \nsaid unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned \nagainst me, him will I blot out of my \nbook. \n\nThe whole of chapter 18 of the book of Ezekiel is about this idea, that no one can die for someone else's sin. Further, this chapter of Ezekiel teaches us that all we have to do for Gd's forgiveness is to stop doing the Bad and start doing the Good, and Gd will forgive us.\n\nSo, the Bible is clear, no one can die for the sins of another, and this means that Jesus cannot die for anyone else's sins.\n\nChristians also believe that one needs a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin, that one who does not have such a blood sacrifice will die in their sins, and go to hell, except for the sacrifice of Jesus.\n\nThis, too, is UnBiblical. The Bible describes blood sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin in the Book of Leviticus. But it is in Leviticus itself, in the middle of the discussion of the sin sacrifices, that we are taught that we do not need a blood sacrifice to be forgiven for our sins. Offering a blood sacrifice was an expensive thing to do for the family offering the animal. Was forgiveness then, to be only for the rich? No, because if one could not afford a blood sacrifice then one who sins could bring flour, which has no blood and no life as their sacrifice, and Gd forgave them!\n\nLeviticus 5:11-13; But if he be not able to \nbring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, \nthen he that sinned shall bring for his \noffering the tenth part of an ephah of fine \nflour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil \nupon it, neither shall he put any \nfrankincense thereon: for it is a sin \noffering.\n\nFurthermore, read the Book of Jonah. In Jonah, the People of Ninevah do three things in order to be forgiven by Gd. They fast, they pray for forgiveness, and they stop doing the Bad and start doing the Good, and Gd forgave them! This is exactly what we do on Yom Kippur, we fast, we pray for forgiveness, and, hopefully, we stop doing the Bad and start doing the Good, and Gd forgives us. And what book do we read on Yom Kippur afternoon? The Book of Jonah!\n\nJonah 3:7-10 And he caused it to be proclaimed \nand published through Ninevah, by the decree \nof the King and his nobles, saying, Let \nneither man nor beast, herd nor flock taste \nanything; let them not feed nor drink water; \nbut
664680
religious ppl of all natures can be like that. but lately its christians that seem to be the biggest pains. because they so firmly feel they're right, and everyone else is wrong. to them, its as if you're arguing that 1+1 is 3. they view religion as though its not a personal choice, theres only 1 answer, and if you dont agree, you're wrong. which is interesting because Jesus Christ was a JEW. how do we know he meant to change people from judaism to another religion? maybe he just wanted them to be better jews and we took it the wrong way.
399928
Only according to the Christians. Therefore as an Atheist, I would be classed as a disciple of the Devil, which would be difficult because I don't believe in God or the Devil in the first place. So how can I be classed as something that I believe doesn't exist? Obviously the Christians are a bunch of f**king liars :)