a while back a number of gentiles expressed to me that they had been taught that Jews don’t consider Jesus Christ to be the Messiah, but that he is considered a prophet in Judaism.
idk where this is coming from, but for the record, Jesus Christ has absolutely no religious significance in Judaism. he was not a prophet. he was certainly not the messiah. he does not play any role whatsoever in Judaism
It’s because there are two types of Judaism: the Mesianic, which believes Jesus came again and Sephartic doesn’t. At least from what I remember.
this is wrong on so many levels
most importantly, “Messianic Judaism” is a recent Christian invention designed to trick Jews into converting to Judaism, and to justify appropriating Jewish traditions. it is not a form of Judaism by any means.
Not according to all the congregations we’ve been to. My family has always been Messianic Jews. I’ve never been told different. We celebrate all the same holidays and do the same things.
Oh, so if the people tricking you into being Christian didnt tell you that they were tricking you, they must not be tricking you. Just fucking google “origins of messianic judaism.” Read the “history” tab in the wikipedia page on messianic “judaism.” Its well documented that messianic Judaism was invented by Christians’s to trick Jews into accepting Christ. It always has been.
I’m not going to yell at someone for not knowing any better, but you’ve been lied to. Maybe the people who lied to you know it, or maybe they were also deceived, but OP is right, he has absolutely no place in any Jewish denomination or tradition. If you follow his teachings, your religion is Christianity. It’s not Judaism.
You have a lot of misinformation about Jewish groups so let me try to give a nutshell version of it. Jews are a diasporic ethnoreligion. This means Jewishness is both an ethnicity and a religion. People who are ethnically Jewish are indigenous to the Levant, which is now the state of Israel. They were forced into exile and now live all over the world.
Sephardic Jews are Jews whose ancestors lived in North Africa and the Iberian peninsula. Ashkenazi Jews are Jews whose ancestors lived in central/Eastern Europe. They developed different customs and cultural traditions because they were in different regions, but they are all Jews. There are also distinct Jewish groups in Africa, India, China, South America, and of course, the Middle East. They may eat different foods, wear different clothes, use different colloquial languages (Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic), have different holiday customs, or pronounce Hebrew differently, but religious Jews follow the same halacha (religious law) no matter where they (or their ancestors) come from. None of them believe that he was the messiah (and in fact, he doesn’t fit the description for who the messiah is or what he’s supposed to do. Everything you’ve been told to the contrary is based on a retroactive Christian reading of scripture, which is NOT how it was/is interpreted by Jews). Anyone who does is a Christian. It is possible to have an ethnically Jewish background and be Christian but if you believe this then your religion is still Christianity and absolutely not Judaism.
There are different denominations among Jews, related to their observance of and belief about Jewish law. Again, none of them believe he was the messiah. No Jewish organization recognizes “messianic Judaism” as a legitimate Jewish denomination. It is Christian. You are Christian.
“Messianic Judaism” is a scam designed to trick Jews into converting to Christianity by making them think that the two religions are basically the same and they are NOT. It is ahistorical and dishonest. I feel legitimately sorry for anyone who was duped by this fraudulent movement, but I cannot soften my criticism. “Messianic Judaism” is an act of attempted cultural genocide. It steals Jewish symbols and rituals without preserving their context or meaning. You claim that this is your religion, yet your comments show that you don’t know anything about Judaism. It is not about blowing a shofar or wearing a tallit. Judaism and Christianity have fundamentally different world views and beliefs about G-d. The goal of “Messianic Judaism” is to get Jews to STOP BEING JEWISH because Judaism and Christianity are not and never will be compatible.
I am sorry for anyone who has been taught this and does not know any better. But now you do. I am not telling you not to be a Christian. Judaism does not believe in proselytizing, or say that you have to be Jewish to be a good person. But do not call your religion Judaism when it is not, because that is an act of violence against Judaism, and now that we have told you, you can no longer be excused on account of ignorance.
This is possibly the best and most polite explanation I’ve read of what is inherently wrong with Messianics. Well said @chiribomb!
I wrote a paper on Messianic “Judaism” for a class many years ago and as a part of that paper, I interviewed Karl Desouza, who was a spokesman for Jews for Jesus in Montreal. I’ll never forget the way he basically admitted that yes, at the end of the day, they were a Christian organization.
J4J and other Messianic groups are especially successful in countries or cities with a large population of descendants of marranos – that is, the Jews who had to convert or die in 15th century Spain. Picture this, if you will. You’re doing your family tree and you discover that your 9th great-grandmother was Jewish and she had to convert or risk getting kicked out of Spain. Maybe she passes down a few customs to her grandchildren, who head to the New World full of vim and vigor and love for Jesus, but they also light candles on Friday night even if they don’t know why. The family continues and here you are, in 2018, discovering that you have maternal Jewish ancestry. You don’t know what to do with that information, so you head to the nearest synagogue in town. Unfortunately, it’s a Messianic synagogue. Now you’re being told that this is Judaism, this is the way you can embrace your heritage but it’s totally cool that you also love Jesus.
I went to a Shabbat service at a Messianic temple in Montreal, also as part of the paper I was writing, and at least 80% of the congregants were of Latin American and African heritage. I would not have been at all surprised if a number of them did actually have Jewish ancestry. Messianics who claim to be Jewish are predators posing as lambs.
For those reading this who are curious about the earlier point about Jesus not meeting the qualifications for “Messiah” as that role is understood within Judaism, I want to explore that further so you can understand just how theologically bankrupt this scam is.
You see the Messiah, as that figure tends to be understood in Judaism, is going to end all hunger. Heal all sickness. End all war. When the Messiah comes, everyone is coming back from the dead.
But the Proto-Christian sects, way back in the Second Temple Period, were heavily into a radical concept of individualism. They argued that when an action happened to just one person, it was the same as if it had happened to the entire world. So to qualify as the Messiah, a person would only have to bring one person back from the dead, end hunger for one person, so on and such forth.
This argument was going on loooong before anyone started saying the Messiah had already come and he was a guy named Yeshua. It is one of the most fundamental things to understand when it comes to why Jesus literally can not possibly be the Messiah when a person understands that term within a Jewish context.
From the Jewish perspective, the Messiah seriously changes things. The Messiah alters the fundamental nature of the universe and is linked to concepts like the closest thing Rabbinic Judaism has to an afterlife (עולם הבא/Olam HaBa/The World to Come) since well… people returning from the dead when the Messiah comes is basically our entire afterlife concept.
So you see, in order for Messianic “Judaism” to argue that Jesus was the Messiah, they have revisit and renegotiate this big ole argument from the ancient world. An argument that touches on key philosophical understandings of the world around us (we’re still heavy on the communal emphasis to this day) and the only answer anyone in Judaism really has to the whole death question (luckily that isn’t that big a deal, as we tend to think what happens in the here and now is a billion times more important than anything else).
But they aren’t interested in any of that. Instead they are just taking Christianity and sticking some Jewish trappings on it and then are saying that is that.
Like you literally can not have a group that believes Jesus was the Messiah and have that group be Jewish all at the same time. It is a theological nightmare.
One they have no care to address, because their goal is simply getting people to convert.
So yeah, Messianic “Judaism” is nothing but a scam designed to trick Jews into converting to Christianity. They’re not even putting forth something theologically interesting, they’re just straight up advocating for Christian conversion (the same as any number of antisemitic groups throughout history).
It is tempting to forget the morning rituals, when you inspected your body for lesions that might have appeared during the night and signal that it had started.
It is tempting to forget that when you asked, “Does this spot look purple to you?” you didn’t need to say anything else for everyone around you to know just what was on your mind, if not on your skin, and how fast your heart was racing as you uttered the words as casually as you could because sounding casual seemed to increase the chances of a reassuring response.
It is tempting to forget that there was a time when gay men were hoping not to lose weight, that plump meant healthy and healthy reassuring. And reassuring, in a turnabout so shocking for us then, meant sexy.
It is tempting to forget that people were dropping like flies, that many gay men in cities like New York or San Francisco were crossing out name after name from their address books, and it is tempting to forget that many gay men who had long left their families behind in favor of friendships were now left only with mere acquaintances, no one close still living.
It is tempting to forget how parents who had once expelled their faggot son now rushed to his bedside to keep te lovers and friends away, to contest the will, and to snatch the spoils of a life lived far from the tender bosom of the family.
It is tempting to forget that women never “got” AIDS but somehow died of it by the thousands.
It is tempting to forget that the truth could only be whispered or screamed but seldom simply told.
It is tempting to forget that kids were chased out of schools by their friends’ parents and by their friends and that their houses were burned to the ground.
It is tempting to forget that Ryan White was once described as a “homophiliac” in a newspaper.
It is tempting to forget the frightened medics and undertakers and the cop’s face masks and latex gloves, as they arrested dying young men and women fighting for their lives.
It is tempting to forget ACT UP’s unforgettable chant, “They’ll see you on the news; your gloves don’t match your shoes!”
It is tempting to forget angry queers screaming bloody murder and spitting out hosts in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.
It is tempting to forget the pictures of Dorian Gray on TV and on the pages of magazines, the emaciated faces covered with lesions, the hollow stares, and the feeling that one might as well have been looking at a charred and contorted body hanging from a tree, like Billie Holiday’s strange fruit, as the crowd cheered.
It is tempting to forget gay-related immune deficiency and the gay cancer and the 4-H club — homosexual, heroin addict, hemophiliac, Haitian — and all the conspiracy theories and miracle cures that we knew were bullshit yet couldn’t help but consider just in case, because madness could make sense.
It is tempting to forget the promise of a vaccine in about five years and that it felt like such an eternity that researchers sounded almost apologetic when explaining that retroviruses are particularly treacherous foes.
It is tempting to forget the calls for quarantine camps and tattoos and mass expulsions, “solutions” whose pros and cons were discussed with the sort of equanimity now applied to the debate on torture.
It is tempting to forget that nobody gave a shit.
It is tempting to forget that all this is still happening far, far away from here.
It is tempting to forget and it is easy.
pp. 9-10, The Nearness of Others: Searching for Tact and Contact in the Age of HIV, David Caron.
It was actually 34C/93F here again until a little while ago. Definitely starting to feel a little relief outside now that some rain has started up. (Not so much inside the house yet, but hey.)
If the forecast holds, tomorrow will probably feel just plain chilly by comparison to the past month or so. But, not about to complain.
As an atheist, putting my hand on the Bible and saying an oath before testifying to a court is less likely to get me to tell the truth than a pinkey promise
When my parents were fighting for custody, I was old enough to have a say, so they put me under oath to assure I was being honest with my feelings. Using my best serious face, knowing what was coming, when offered the bible to swear on, I requested to swear on the secretary’s hole punch, “because it’s far more honest. It says it’s going to punch a hole, and it does, best God I’ve seen today.” My mom buried her face in her hands, my dad sighed and rubbed his forehead. The judge almost choked on his water before telling the bailiff “find this young lady a hole punch!”
San Jose councilman
Lan Diep sworn into office with his Captain America Shield
Good morning everyone today’s discourse is: *throws dart at spinning wheel*
Nobody should be pressured to use any specific menstrual product and should be only encouraged to use what they’re comfortable with, however when having this conversation some of y’all REALLY get into some serious fearmongering territory over tampons and toxic shock syndrome and should quit that
“Toxic shock syndrome” is essentially a complication in a staph or strep infection, which are caused by VERY common bacteria. Ever had strep throat? It’s the same bacteria, and any wound is at risk of being infected.
The reason it’s so heavily associated with tampons is because of a tampon called “Rely” released in the 70s, which utilized a new hyperabsorbant material… and people were leaving them in for DAYS at a time. Who would have thought – leaving a ridiculously full tube of blood in your body for an unheard of amount of time would be a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, and it was SO effective at absorption it dried out vaginas everywhere… leaving them at risk of abrasive damage, which is, again, not great to have beside an over-encumbered bacteria generator.
That caused a serious spike in TSS, and once it was figured out, that specific material was banned for use in tampons and all the “don’t leave it in for more than 8 hours” warnings were added to all packaging.
Based on this article from Dec. 2017, there are now less than 1 in 100 ,000 cases of TSS reported annually in the United States… and not all of them are even related to tampons since again, TSS is a complication of a staph/strep infection, which can be contracted anywhere.
And even then, nowadays those infections – while still nasty – are perfectly treatable.
If you use tampons:
-don’t leave them in for an extreme amount of time (like 8+ hours… which most people cannot do comfortably anyways)
-don’t use ones that are too big for your shape and flow
-don’t use them if you have a vaginal wound
-don’t apply them with dirty hands
-make sure they’re clean and fresh out of the wrapper
(And I don’t have specific details right now but I imagine being immunocompromised would also be a factor – but that’s something best discussed with your doctor, I think.)
If you don’t use tampons, then that’s cool too!
But when we talk about our options for menstrual products and the positives and negatives for everyone, ESPECIALLY when it comes to ending stigma around different types of products, let’s NOT lean into another kind of stigma that is perpetuated by fearmongering and misinformation.
You may find tampons to be uncomfortable, even painful, less effective for you, or just plain gross, and that’s all perfectly fine. But you’re incredibly unlikely to get TSS from using them if you practice basic hygiene and follow common sense.
So the really good news is that cats are pretty good at the whole ‘handling heat’ thing. They evolved from a desert-dwelling wild cat and still retain a lot of those features. Certain breeds are more sensitive—-any brachy breed like Persians will have more trouble coping with heat, and long-haired cats will have extra problems.
Elevated beds help a LOT. These tend to be pretty cheap too.
Cooling beds are more expensive and usually contain cooling gels. While very effective, these gels are toxic to cats, so check cooling beds frequently for any claw marks
Fans. Lots and lots of fans, really? Sometimes I put a bowl of ice in front of the fan for extra cooling power.
Water fountains. Cats are already pretty bad at the whole ‘drinking water’ thing, and a fountain helps A LOT, especially with older cats who are more prone to getting dehydrated. You might want to talk to your vet about giving sub-q fluids to older kitties too.
Patting with a damp cloth.
Keep their coats in good order! Mats trap a LOT of heat, so brush out long-haired cats daily to remove mats (see here for a guide on desensitizing cats to brushing). If your cat HAS to be shaved during this season, be sure to keep it out of the sun to avoid sunburns. PLEASE DO NOT USE SUNSCREEN ON YOUR CATS. They’re usually toxic to kitties if groomed off. Consult your vet!
Offer cool treats! I make ice cubes with tuna, salmon, or chicken broth and some pureed wet cat food. It’s disgusting, but the cats love them. Be careful of high sodium content!
Give them a super cool place to hide. Like literally. Just put a cardboard box on its side and put frozen water bottles next to it and on top of it. It’ll stay nice and chilly for kitties.
Honestly wrapped ice bottles are hugely useful in general.
Encourage them to be inactive. It’s literally time to chill out.
Signs of heat stroke:
Excessive grooming
Rapid breathing and heartbeat
Stumbling/difficulty walking
Drooling
Vomiting
Very red tongue and mouth
Lethargy
Sweaty paws (this one isn’t a SERIOUS serious sign, but it’s something to be aware of)
Thank you and I hope this helps your cats this summer!
“NOT ALL KIDS ARE STRAIGHT. TEACH ABOUT GAY & LESBIAN LIVES”, a poster from the lesbian avengers in belfast, ireland, photographed by maxine wolfe, 1998
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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