Comments on: The Ubiquitous Theology of God-as-a-Mean-Girl

By: Julia Shoup

Julia Shoup — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:13:48 +0000

I”ve read it twice before commenting. There is so much to this piece and I really like it. It took me a while to connect the title with the point. At first I thought it had to do with feeling “in” in one’s religious/spiritual journey, then I got that it has more to do with the gnostic rules that most “in” organizations or cliques have or seem to “know”.
What I like the most though is the references to corporate or communal ties on this mysterious journey rather than those individualist ones. Not everybody takes this life’s journey so seriously but those that do don’t really define what’s “true” as we as individuals keep on changing ( not that the community doesn’t also ). Anyway, lots of food for thought; THANKS!
I always love to hear what Lisa has to say. She adds another honest perspective, and what a wonderful contemporary for you to re-connect with.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:25:02 +0000

lol warren! my husband’s a jewish lawyer and my dad’s a jewish doctor – hmmmm!

By: Warren Hicks

Warren Hicks — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:59:45 +0000

Lisa,

That joke works with Lawyers, Ethicists, Theologians and Doctors it seems also.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:40:35 +0000

There’s this joke that when you ask a Jew a question, the answer is another question! I guess that is part of our legacy, especially as Reform Jews, constantly questioning G-d and Religion and Life (and, yes, I’m capitalizing because these are very big questions!). I’ve watched each of my 3 kids go through this process and arrive at very different end-points, though I suspect that we never truly reach The End-Point until, perhaps, we die. That’s one of the beautiful things about parenting . . . watching your children ask the important questions, seek the answers, then arrive at their own conclusions and incorporate the lessons into their own path.

By: Sarah Bennett

Sarah Bennett — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:51:31 +0000

Thanks Lisa for your comments. Obviously, your family is comfortable with ambiguity and that has to be the greatest legacy you and the faith can give your son. We keep seeking, keeping contemplating in spite of doubts that its all meaningless and absurd. I am so glad your son is comfortable saying he is unsure of the existence of God and at the same time he is engaging his bar mitzvah so deeply. That’s what I’m coming to appreciate as the authentic journey.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:52:47 +0000

Glad to know it’s not just us Jews who claim to be “more religious” than others within our same religion, lol! I just had this conversation with my husband the other day, about how sad it is when one sect of a religion criticizes another for practicing differently. Within Judaism, there are basically 3 different sects: Orthodox (which follows a very strict form of Judaism), Conservative (which follows a more flexible form of Judaism), and Reform (which is the most-loosly interpreted form). Of course, there are variations on all of these that have adopted their own specific rules and practices, but these are the three most common, I guess. Anyway, we have some good friends who consider themselves Conservative Jews while my husband and I consider ourselves Reform, and there is a definite feeling of superiority going on that is very disturbing and sad. I’m not sure what that’s about, but I guess the message I gleaned from your blog entry is that we all have to come at G-d and religion and spirituality from our own place, our own perspective, and do our own personal work to be the best human we can be.

I’ve been working with my son on his bar mitzvah speech this week, and it’s been very interesting to try to get him to articulate his thoughts on G-d and being Jewish. He has to speak about his Torah portion that he’ll be chanting for his bar mitzvah. His portion is Deuteronomy 19:11-20:4 wherein Moses tells the Israelites about the justice system that G-d wants them to implement and that G-d will always ensure their victory against their enemies. I don’t know if it’s just kismet that my son’s bar mitzvah happens to fall on the week that this particular Torah portion is read, but it is certainly a portion that has been food for thought for him given his involvement in competitive tennis as well as his small stature. Anyway, he and I have talked quite a bit about who/what G-d is and how he views G-d in his own life. At this point in his life, my son is sort-of agnostic in that he doesn’t really know if he believes in G-d’s existence at all but is willing to keep an open mind about it. So, your point about the Mean Girls of religion, I think, is relevant to our conversations, and I will definitely bring this up next time he and I chat.

By: Gordon Broom

Gordon Broom — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:23:25 +0000

Wow! What a wonderful post. It gives me a lot to think about.

By: Bob Chapman

Bob Chapman — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:40:45 +0000

There is always a problem whenever limited human beings try to define (and therefore limit) something about the Infinite.

By: Sarah Bennett

Sarah Bennett — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:31:09 +0000

testing