"Jew"nitarian?

[sunsplash]

It might be my bad for not reading all of this, but the question that comes to mind is what do you know about UU's. The thread caught my eye because a women I used to attend with said that it perfectly expressed her faith, which is Judaism.

:namaste
SageTree

From what I understand of UU is that they welcome diversity and encourage an open mind, protection of personal rights, promote peace and environmental protection...things like that. My only hesitation is that it seems that UU is almost too intermingled or more of a club than religion; for example having both a theistic and an atheistic side. Since my core religious beliefs are on par with Judaism (one ultimate God, no hell, no original sin or need for a savior/God-incarnate being, etc) but I respect all religions and feel that there is a truth in them all (perhaps different cultural understandings but I recognize a commonality in them all and want to embrace that, instead of play the who's right/who's wrong game), it seemed like blending the two would make sense. I don't know...lol.

 

[SageTree]

It's not a club persay, but it's definitely a group of people committed to doing good first and talking about their personal flavours second, in my experience.

UUA.org

looks for the 7 UU principles and maybe just go to a service and/or to talk with a local congregation.

If you are looking for specific ritual of Judaism, that will be hard to come by singularly. But if you are interested in how others connect with goodness through openness with each other, than the UUs are a great group of people to commune with.

Keep on talking if you have more questions. I don't mind fielding them best I can.

:namaste
SageTree

 

[sunsplash]

It's not a club persay, but it's definitely a group of people committed to doing good first and talking about their personal flavours second, in my experience.

UUA.org

looks for the 7 UU principles and maybe just go to a service and/or to talk with a local congregation.

If you are looking for specific ritual of Judaism, that will be hard to come by singularly. But if you are interested in how others connect with goodness through openness with each other, than the UUs are a great group of people to commune with.

Keep on talking if you have more questions. I don't mind fielding them best I can.

:namaste
SageTree

Are there any theologies that are agreed upon between UU's you know of? It seems so diverse and when I compared it to a club rather than a religion I meant as far as believing in good morals/values and respect towards all living beings, without a focus on a higher power/creator being/God.

 

[SageTree]

I think the common 'higher power' is Life affirming action through Love.

God is Love as it's said after all.

There are centric UU churches that have larger pop. of this or that, and there you might find more biased opinions, but the way will still likely be wide open and welcoming to others opinions.

I'd suggest trying to find one locally and talk with the Minister.

 

[sunsplash]

Update:

I had a really nice conversation with my husband last week about my interest in Judaism. This was the first time he was receptive to what I had to say and I got a few answers from him. Firstly, he said he's fine with my no longer identifying with Christianity (it's been almost a decade but he never really acknowledged my spiritual growth) and is open to studying with me other religions. He said he is uncomfortable "talking" with anyone right now (I mentioned checking out a rabbi) and to let him take it slow but he's willing to seek with me through our own converstations and books.

The only stalemale we had, and really it wasn't even that, was when I asked flat out why he believed in Christianity and Jesus/what makes him believe that is the right religion for him? His answer was "that's where I am right now." I pressed a little further but was very careful with my tone and how I worded my questions because I am genuinely curious and want to know how firmly he's planted in his beliefs to see if my quest is going to be an obstacle at all. He just said this is what he was taught, his family would have a hard time if he was non-Christian, that he has had periods in his life where he questioned things (divinity of Jesus, purpose of life, God in general), but puts them on the backburner - out of sight, out of mind. He's not churchy and seems to be willing to explore with me (only me right now, which is better than nothing!).

Anyway, I just wanted to share about our positive conversation. It was the first time he actually gave some responses and didn't just let me talk and change the subject, so I'm encouraged that he is supportive and willing to explore with me.

 

[Rakhel]

Well, I think it's cool that he is starting to open up. And it is okay that he is not ready to talk to a rabbi.
If his family is very religious, then it will be harder on him to tell them he is converting than it is to tell them you are converting.
But I still think it's cool. one step at a time

 

[sunsplash]

Well, I think it's cool that he is starting to open up. And it is okay that he is not ready to talk to a rabbi.
If his family is very religious, then it will be harder on him to tell them he is converting than it is to tell them you are converting.
But I still think it's cool. one step at a time

Yeah, I can understand him not wanting to talk to a rabbi in person yet, I am still a bit shy about it myself which is why I was hoping he'd want to go with me, lol. But it's a step forward which is nice because I felt like I was kind of stuck right now without knowing where he stood, supportive or not. I'm happy he wants to learn more either way, even if Judaism is not for him at least he'll probably solidify his beliefs along the way and learn and choose for himself what he believes and why.

His family is very Catholic (his mom was a Catholic school teacher for over 30 years) but he left the Catholic Church in high school and converted to Protestantism. THAT was hard on his mother so I know a non-Christian religion would be worse. He hasn't gone to church in about 7 years so isn't active in any beliefs and his mother is constantly pressing if he is still a believer, if we're going to baptize our daughter or damn her, nasty things like that. All that aside, she and I do not get along well anyway so throw that into the mix and well...I'm sure you can imagine!

I will say this about my husband, as strong of a family man as he is, his PRIMARY concern is the family he chose to create with me as his wife and our daughter. So while it wouldn't be a fun conversation to have with his family, I know he'd do it if it was right for us and we made an official step as a couple/family towards Judaism.

 

[Rakhel]

I can imagine. My family is atheist, and telling my mother I was converting and marrying a Jew...Well her mind went straight to "the subjugation of women" and the "what about kids and christmas?" and the like.

Funny thing was, my mother had no problem with a Christian belief. Prior to meeting my husband, I was "active" in church(I tried to focus the Sunday school class on OT books because that was my interest), yet never connected with the belief system.

Mothers...what can you do?

 

[sunsplash]

I don't get why Christianity is accepted so much easier than other religions. I suppose majority rules and it's more familiar or socially acceptable to swing that way.

 

[Rakhel]

It also has all the fun holidays.
Easter- A magical bunny hides colored eggs and candy. and you get to eat ham.
Christmas- A magical man flies through the air on a sled pulled by flying reindeer(or alligators, if you're Cajun) and leaves presents under a tree.
Halloween- dress up in scary costumes and get candy from perfect strangers

 

[sunsplash]

None of which focus on religion. Those are the secular aspects. I never considered Halloween a Christian holiday, lol.

And ham is gross.

 

[Rakhel]

Halloween depends on who you talk to. and I agree with you on the ham. All my pork substitutes are turkey. Turkey ham, turkey bacon, turkey bologna.....
Which is kind of funny cuz a roasted turkey just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

 

[sunsplash]

I asked over in the Judaism DIR about holidays...are non-Jewish or secular or national holidays not allowed to be celebrated? Your mention of Halloween got me thinking because that is my favorite day of the year (costume parties, trick-or-treating, etc) and the history/religion part of it has never been apart of why I celebrate it so that would be a bummer to give up, moreso than Santa!

 

[Rakhel]

There is always Purim. Purim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[sunsplash]

So only Jewish religion/cultural holidays can be celebrated? No 4th of July or Memorial Day, etc?

 

[Rakhel]

I don't know about orthodoxy, but we, my family, usually celebrate the 4th, and New Year's.
Some reform rabbis see no problem with celebrating Halloween and most, even the orthodoxy here, celebrate Thanksgiving. So I guess it is based on the community you join.

 

[sunsplash]

Ok...I was just trying to think of why an American Jew would not celebrate an American holiday like July 4th...it's wonderful to be proud of your cultural idenity of the past, but it makes more sense to me to also embrace the "American" side as well since both embody who the person has become.

 

[Tarheeler]

Ok...I was just trying to think of why an American Jew would not celebrate an American holiday like July 4th...it's wonderful to be proud of your cultural idenity of the past, but it makes more sense to me to also embrace the "American" side as well since both embody who the person has become.

I think the prohibition is on religious celebrations, which makes sense. Why would a person who doesn't believe in the divinity of Jesus or his status as messiah celebrate his birth or his death? It would be like a Hindu celebrating Sukkot or Purim.

Secular and national celebrations, to the best of my knowledge, are fine. The 4th, Thanksgiving, Mother's & Father's Day, New's Years, ect.

 

[Dena]

For someone converting, what were you drawn to most, reform or conservative? One of the synagogue's by me I just found out is reform, one is orthodox, and I can't find any info on the other one - but now, other than fear and shyness, I have no excuse not to look into it further.

Are you going to become a member - or is it expected? The annual fees at the ones I've found are nothing I could ever afford.

I need to pray about it because right now nerves are getting the best of me.

I was drawn more to Conservative but I am working with a Reform Rabbi for various reasons. I could see myself doing a Conservative conversion in the future. Oh..sorry I am so late to the game. I didn't see this thread earlier.

 

[Dena]

I haven't discussed Holidays with my Rabbi. I did discuss it with the Conservative Rabbi and he agreed that I should see my family at Christmas and Easter so long as they don't harass me about anything. That didn't used to be his stance but he said as he's gotten older, he's felt people should still see their family, realizing it's not our holiday.