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What are some criticisms of Judaism as a religion that are not purely Anti-Semitic like the blood libels are?
A number of major objections that people have towards Judaism are actually not what Jews believe but are based on Anti-Semitic publications like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion or Blood Libels. Actual issues with Jewish theology are often the same as those for Christianity when they are sourced in the Old Testament, but Judaism has its own issues that operate separate of Christianity and based in what Jews, specifically Orthodox Jews, believe:Judaism is claimed to be sexist, holding that women are responsible for maintaining a job, taking care of the kids, providing a roof, etc. and that men should be primarily studying Jewish Law that women should not study.Friendships for generations can fall to the wayside over what some would claim are minor matters. For example, if a Cohen marries a convert he loses his Cohen status and most of his friends will see that as a betrayal to "being a Cohen". Heresy can lead to Kherem or Excommunication, which results in the person losing all the community they could ever know. (Spinoza was a victim of Kherem, but he also had Christian friends in Amsterdam.)Insistence on traditions being valued for only being tradition. For example, Orthodox Jews will run water over their hands in the morning even though there is no textual reference in the Torah. The source for this is in the Talmud (Shabbat 108b).Avoiding contact with Non-Jews and, in many cases, Liberal Jews. They may avoid having conversations outside of work or build friendships with people outside of the community, except if there is (1) a likelihood that they could join the Orthodox Jewish world or (2) they may be able to confer some benefit to the Orthodox Jews (like political groups or ecumenicism).Poor education is a huge problem in the more Hasidic groups where Torah and Talmud are taught to the exclusion of useful subjects like math or science or secular history, resulting in people poorly equipped to fend for themselves if they were to ever leave the community. (This is not an issue with Modern Orthodox, since they value both a Jewish and Western education.)Divinely-Granted Real Estate in Israel and all that causes in terms of violence and ethnic/religious supremacism.Circumcision, Animal Slaughter Requirements, etc. to the extent that they violate Liberal understandings of human and animal cruelty.The issue of the Agunah, which is the idea that a Jewish husband can refuse to divorce his wife and she will be unable to conclude a divorce without his permission, making her effectively tied to him and unable to marry within the Jewish community.
Why did the Lutheranism church split?
from Martin at Yahoo Answers: Like John Hasse said, the Lutherans made it 377 years and then split over insurance. What a load. I think "WELS and Other Lutherans" state it best. "Lutheranism moved from Europe to America by means of a long series of migrations, which spanned three centuries. The immigrants founded dozens of Lutheran church bodies, which preached the gospel in nearly a dozen languages. Through the years these groups experienced a bewildering array of mergers, splits and reconciliations." Also remember that the Evangelical Free and the Evangelical Covenant churches were mainly comprised of Lutherans that did not affiliate themselves with Lutheran synods in the United States. The ELCA and the LCMS comprise 94% of Lutherans in the United States, the WELS and ELS comprise 5%, and the rest comprise of smaller synodical conferences. I think that the Lutheran churches in the United States can be lumped into three categories, Liberal Protestant, Confessional Lutheran and what remains of Lutheran Pietism. I will concentrate on Liberal Protestant and Confessionalism because they are the most prevalent. The Liberal Protestant (like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) can be described as following: 1. Questioning or denying the inerrancy of the Bible 2. Questioning or denying the divinity of Jesus Christ or the members of the Trinity. 3. Acceptance of popular moral or social teachings 4. Movement away from teaching of the Lutheran Confessions (Book of Concord) 5. Ordination of Women and openly homosexual in the priesthood. 6. Heavy emphasis on Ecumenicism 7. Departure from the teach of Justification through Faith. It is either taught that man can save himself or that man is really not that bad and doesn't need to be saved. 8. Departure from moral absolute truths. 9. Movement toward Universalism. Confessional Lutherans (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Synod and Church of Lutheran Confession) can be described as: 1. Believe that Scriptures are the sole authority on faith and Christian living. With out error and unified. Therefore, they do not ordain Women or openly homosexuals into the priesthood. 2. The Scriptures are God's revelation, which is Christ, centered with two main messages, the Law and the Gospel. 3. Believe that the three ecumenical creeds (the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian) as well as the Lutheran Confessions as contained in the Book of Concord of 1580 express the true doctrine of Scripture. Since the doctrines they confess are drawn from Scripture alone, we are bound to them in our faith and life. Therefore all preaching and teaching in our churches and schools must be in harmony with these confessions, and we reject all the errors that they reject. 4. Affirm the doctrine of Original Sin and that man is not basically good not only corrupted by the world and cannot save himself. 5. Affirm Justification by Grace through Faith. 6. Believe that unity in Christian Doctrine is necessary for establishing Christian Fellowship with other Synods or Denominations. Synodical Conference: It can be noted that the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod were in communion with each other in the Synodical Conference until 1963. The WELS suspended fellowship with the LCMS over differences on the Office of the Ministry, the LCMS's extension of fellowship with the forerunners of ELCA (varying views on church fellowship) and the LCMS allowing members to join the Boy Scouts. Prior to the WELS suspending fellowship with the LCMS, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod broke of fellowship with the LCMS in 1955 and broke off from the Synodical Conference in 1963 with the WELS. The Concordia Lutheran Conference split from the LCMS in 1956, but still holds to the LCMS doctrinal positions as ratified from 1932. The Church of Lutheran Confession split from the WELS in 1960, prior to the WELS suspending fellowship with the LCMS. I think it can also be said that the the more liberal elements that appeared to cause the majority of problems for the LCMS in the Synodical Conference left the LCMS in 1974 under the auspices of Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (research Concordia's "Seminex"), which later merged into the ELCA in 1988. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod are currently in fellowship with each other. American Association of Lutheran Churches- congregations from the American Lutheran Church that resisted the merger with the ELCA. Association of Free Lutheran Congregations- congregations from the Lutheran Free Church that resisted the merger with the American Lutheran Church. Church of Lutheran Brethren- congregations from the United Norwegian Lutheran Church that resisted merger into the Lutheran Free Church (see above). Lutheran Confessional Synod split from the ELCA in 1994 to be a haven from confessional congregations leaving the ELCA. They were in brief fellowship with the WELS and the ELS, but broke off fellowship over differences in the doctrines of the Lord's Supper and the Ministry. Protes'tant Conference split the WELS in 1920 Lutheran Churches of the Reformation formed from the members left over from the Orthodox Lutheran Conference, when member congregations split to form the Concordia Lutheran Conference. A very good book to read on the subject is WELS and Other Lutherans from Northwestern Publishing House. http://online.nph.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?10...
