Surprise! I'm an Athiest Jew. The reason I'm saying this is because not everybody understands how it's possible to be an Athiest and to be a Jew at the same time. So I'm here to pretty much explain it. First off, it is pretty much only possible to be dedicated (and I use this term loosely, you'll find out later why) to a religion and be athiest is with Judaism. Why? Because of several things. The Holocaust, the State of Israel, etc. I'll only touch on those two for now, though The Holocaust After the Holocaust, many Jews gave up their belief in God. "Why would God do such a thing?" they would ask themselves. The only conclusion they could come up with is that there is no God. God wouldn't let such a man systematically kill millions of people for absolutely no reason. Or so they thought. And the idea of God was gone, but the traditions and morals were not. They stilled followed the holidays because they were still Jewish at heart and they felt a great pride in it. It had nothing to with God anymore, but with tradition. Israel After Israel was founded, there was more of a reason to remain Jewish, regardless of belief in God or not. It's the only thing standing in the way of another Holocaust. And there is alot of tradition from Israel, and although I won't go into detail here, that is why I remain Jewish, even if I don't believe in God. The religion has alot of heart to it. Alot of morals of importance that still have meaning today. And there's alot of tradition that is a part of my lifestyle because my parents are Israeli. Like eating levivot (lit. hearts. I eat chicken hearts) or having a pit with falafel and hummus or speaking my own tongue. So there is no God. But me and others don't need a God of any sort to be Jewish. I would recommend re-reading anything you don;t understand instead of sending a barrage of questions my way, but if there is anything you don't understand or anything you wish to inquire, feel free to ask.
What Saki is trying to say is the way the word Jew is used no longer pertains only to practitioners of the faith. There are people who are ethnically Jewish, they have Jewish heritage and follow some customs but do not have a rooted belief in it as their religion, so much as they believe it is their heritage.
i'm an atheist jew also...that is kinda wierd jew by birth but atheist by choice. but we do haunika(XD yes i cannot spell it), but not for presents.
Hanukkah. Or Chanukkah. I don't really think of it as wierd. But it's hard to explain it to people (mostly Christians) who can barely fathom it because of their own religion and views. But yeah. Reason for this thread right thar.
hanukkah. i have no idea what chanukka is... tell? XD yay i win for reading ur long post 2 times! i never explain it to people. i have no idea it's difficulty.
I thank you for explaining that out. It was very insightful to learn. Also, as jettie said, Jews are Jewish by birth but can be Atheist by choice. The Jewish culture is definitely one that is vibrant and it would be a shame to lose the culture entirely just because of a regard to disbelieve in the religion itself. I do not think it so different in some ways as I celebrate Christmas though I am not a Christian and also celebrate some other holidays around the world and from my Native American side though I am also Atheist and just tend to take out the deity aspect of it. I suppose though it is a very odd thing for people to hear of an Atheist Jew. Some curious questions I have: On holidays and such, you say you celebrate them. Do people in your family know you are also Atheist and do they mind that? Do you receive more pressure by outsiders who aren't Jewish asking how you are an Atheist Jew or from Jewish people? Also, do you know quite a few Atheist Jews where you are at? I do appreciate you putting this here and explaining it as it did clarify things and is intriguing. I also find it intriguing that Jettie too is also an Atheist Jew so it lets you know on the boards here you aren't alone.
I never really thought of it that way cuz I wouldn't say that every Jew out there believes in Judaism. Some are Atheist, some aren't. Kinda like every other religion. =/ But this is very informative. I kinda understand the geist of it now. The tradition part's kinda like Christmas I guess. Some celebrate it for rememberance of Jesus while others just wants the presents. lol, I wonder what my Jewish friends at school would say. Thx again.
It seems like it could have a bit of difficulties. What do you beleive in? If you dont believe in god, there has to be something else.
Ah. I understand it now. So you're of Jewish decent, but you no longer participate in the religion. Nothing strange about that, really, imo. Though it'll trip-up some people. XD
1.my family doese not know. but i dont think they would really mind. we don't talk much and we NEVER go to church. i go to church with friends but it is some other religion with a god...i know heplfull XD i've always wonered if we ever went to a jewish church if i would believe more in it. or in it at all for that matter. 2.i don't know about that much. only my close friends know. and they know me so well i guess it comes as no supprise to them. i never have even known an athiest jew. i didn't even know of others till here. there are VERRY little jews here where i am. i remember in combo class (class of 60 kids) there was one other last year. and this year when they asked who was jewish i did not raise my hand cuz no one else did. i still feel funny not doing that. it is not a god i believe in true. it is hard to explain. it is like believing in the good of people.... that is how my friend put it. like knowing people and that they can do good for others, how they make this world work. maby it is i have never seen god. i cannot see what they do. to me i guess seeing is believing. and just for the record. i celebrate Christmas. i never see the other side of my family. i do Hanukkah but not for presents...just sitting there watching candles burn out.....and listing to mom try to sing that annoying song. then i do christmas with the family and relatives for presents. technically i am only 3-4 jew. sorry to let u all down.
My father's also an Athiest Jew. So, they don't mind. Although I did believe in God until about half a year after my Bar Mitzvah. But it had nothing to do wuth my father being an Athiest. I actually found out that he was after I told my family I don't believe in him. I don't fast on holidays that need me to. I could never do it. xD Not at all. They are curious about it and try to fathom the idea. But as I said before, their beliefs in God and mis-conceptions of Judaism does make it harder to explain. Thus this thread. And I know only one other Athiest Jew where I live since we are in the same youth group. (BBYO). That's what Athieism(sp?) is. You don't believe in God. There is nothing else. I don't believe that there is life after death (although it's the same in Judaism, although it depends on the person), I don't believe that the world was created in 7 days, nor do I believe that dinosaurs existed at the same time during man, unlike one politician I won't mention *couchpalincough*. I hope that answers your question. And don't try finding a deeper meaning in it. There is no God. Although you may think otherwise and see God's existence as a fact, I see it as an archetype that was created to give comfort and give an explanation for the world around us. I still participate in the religion. I still celebrate the holidays, but I don't celebrate Shabbat often. Maybe several times a year. And I do go to synagouge, but only on special occasions (and at a Chasdic one at that xD).
As a fellow jew, I dont really see how this can work. Jews are obligated to uphold the ten commandments, the first being "I am the Lord your God". If you do not believe in god, you cannot be jewish. I relate it to accepting Jesus, if you do not accept jesus, you cannot be christian.
But Judaism can go beyond God. It goes to the morals, values, traditions, and rich history that we have. I see God as an explanation for everything basically. That's why there are so many religions, most dead. People wanted explanations for the world around us. But the laws of the Torah have many important things to say and that's how there is such a thing as an Athiest Jew. That's really offensive.
i agree in every way. that people created god to shove problems on. like a scape goat i think it is called. they could not answer their own questions like how the world or people were made so they said god did it. maybe it was also a way to give some people hope. false hope but not if they did not view it that way. or to get money out of people even. there is so much.
