Judaism as a metaphor for reality....

[Honza]

I'll admit it right away....that I do not know much at all about Judaism. In many ways I do not know much about *any* religion or *any* spiritual path. Except my own.

But I can quite sincerely say that what I do know about Judaism I like. I tend to treat all religions and spiritual ideas as metaphors for reality.

The basic principles of Judaism and the finer details and structures contained within this religion serve me very well as concepts about God and how reality works. I cannot start a thread in the Judaic section here at SF which is inherently Jewish because I'm only vaguely sure what Jewish means.

So I approach this section as a door to the Jewish universe - where I can explore the metaphor of Judaism. Don't forget - SF is a SPIRITUAL forum...not a Jewish one. We are here to explore spirituality.

So my question is how does Judaism fit into SPIRITUALITY. Not how does spirituality fit into Judaism.

Spirituality ought to be the priority and not being 'true' to Judaism.

[RabbiO]

Originally Posted by Honza

So I approach this section as a door to the Jewish universe - where I can explore the metaphor of Judaism. Don't forget - SF is a SPIRITUAL forum...not a Jewish one. We are here to explore spirituality.

So my question is how does Judaism fit into SPIRITUALITY. Not how does spirituality fit into Judaism.

Spirituality ought to be the priority and not being 'true' to Judaism.

I think the first step here is to get the Honza definition of the spirituality.

[Honza]

But the subject is too broad to be definable. SF is a discussion forum about spirituality - and as we can see the scope of such discussion is very large. There are people here who discuss a vast array of subjects.

Within this context there is the Jewish sub-section. I feel that members ought to be allowed to discuss the vast array of spiritual subjects in this sub section as long as they keep in mind that it bears some relevance to Judaism.

[RabbiO]

Originally Posted by Honza

But the subject is too broad to be definable. SF is a discussion forum about spirituality - and as we can see the scope of such discussion is very large. There are people here who discuss a vast array of subjects.

Within this context there is the Jewish sub-section. I feel that members ought to be allowed to discuss the vast array of spiritual subjects in this sub section as long as they keep in mind that it bears some relevance to Judaism.

No one said we shouldn't discuss the topic, but in order to discuss the topic both of us need to know what we're talking about. How can I, on my end, say anything about how "x" relates to "y" if I don't know what "y" is.

It would be like, if I were a dietician, you came to me to come up with healthy and nutritious meals. It would be like my coming up with lunch and dinner menus for that included much fish, the occasional piece of chicken, and very, very rarely a piece of lean beef, only for you to tell me that the menus were not what you were seeking because you are a vegan.

[Honza]

Put it this way...even if one is not Jewish one can recognise the 'themes' that run through Judaism. Those themes are common to all of us. So instead of specifically coming here to study Judaism I come here to explore the Jewish themes which it has given the human race.

All religions present one spiritual theme or another. So for a spiritual forum like this one it is a source of much inspiration.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Honza

Spirituality ought to be the priority and not being 'true' to Judaism.

If that were the case with these various sub-forums, then the same would be true in the Christianity forum. But it's not. The moderators just deleted two threads having to do with Christian mystics. Apparently, according to the rules, mystical Christianity is not an appropriate topic in the Christianity forum. So spirituality is not the priority; the priority is being 'true' to mainstream Christianity. The same would apply in this sub-forum obviously.

EDIT: Just wanted to add I think any and all discussion should be allowed, I'm easy about stuff like that. I was just pointing out that the moderators appear to want to keep these sub-forums focused on religious discussion, specific to the particular religion. Whereas it seems the General Spiritual forums are for broad, generic "spirituality-oriented" investigations.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by RabbiO

No one said we shouldn't discuss the topic, but in order to discuss the topic both of us need to know what we're talking about. How can I, on my end, say anything about how "x" relates to "y" if I don't know what "y" is.

It would be like, if I were a dietician, you came to me to come up with healthy and nutritious meals. It would be like my coming up with lunch and dinner menus for that included much fish, the occasional piece of chicken, and very, very rarely a piece of lean beef, only for you to tell me that the menus were not what you were seeking because you are a vegan.

If every discussion in this forum were undertaken with that degree of conscious self-responsibility and logical clarity...

[Honza]

Originally Posted by Baile

If that were the case with these various sub-forums, then the same would be true in the Christianity forum. But it's not. The moderators just deleted two threads having to do with Christian mystics. Apparently, according to the rules, mystical Christianity is not an appropriate topic in the Christianity forum. So spirituality is not the priority; the priority is being 'true' to mainstream Christianity. The same would apply in this sub-forum obviously.

The Christian forum is full of mystical threads....I think the moderators deleted the last two because the mystical threads were in fact taking over. It was the mainstream Christians who were getting pushed out.

Whatever you may think; I do not believe that New Age Christianity is much to do with conventional Christianity at all. They are at loggerheads with each other. Two different interpretations of the NT.

The moderators are obviously aware of that....and are trying to keep the situation under control.

[Baile]

N/M.......