How Christian of you!

This essay began as a response to a post by Liberal Scientist demanding that Jews defend a passage from Deuteronomy.  The passage talks of a father's rights to recompense if his daughter's husband falsely claims that his wife was not a virgin.

Liberals often tout their tolerance by blaming intolerance on Judaism. Bertrand Russel, the great rationalist, blamed the Jews for Christian bigotry because he, as a European, bought into the idea that religion is evangelical and oppression.

Please do not paint Judaism with the muddy, blood soaked brush of Christianity.


Until Emperor Constantine imposed Christianity on the Roman Empire Rome was officially tolerant of its subject religions .. including atheism.

After Constantine, the last non-Christian Emperor, Julian promulgated an edict overturning Constantine's laws and declared that all the religions equal before the law.  Julian, himself a "pagan" returned temples confiscated by the Christians to their original owners and even attempted to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem.

Legend says Julian was killed by two of his soldiers, now Christian saints.  Christians have condemned Julian, calling him "Julian the Apostate."

"Religion," as you use the term, is defined by the evangelical triumphalism, exclusivism and imperialism of Christianity and Islam.  Communism too is part of that tradition.

Judaism, like most other religions, was never evangelical.  While Judaism teaches that its truth is correct, the idea of forced conversion of others was never a part of Judaism.  In fact, the Talmud teaches that the most religious person is not a Jew, but a non-Jew because she or he has no need to follow Jewish law.

"How Christian of you!" .. has never been a compliment in my book.

Here is the exchange I had over at HA.

@14 Liberal Scientist
“This is from YOUR book.”
What a load of horse manure you are spreading.
How VERY Christian of you to demand that I defend YOUR version of my Torah!
1. You have NO idea what “chosen people” means to Jews. Instead you use the term an overtly antisemitic way to claim that Jews have claimed some sort of unique privilege.
How VERY Christian of you
2. You seem to suggest that the Zionists built Israel because we were chosen and the folks living in Palestine were not. The Zionists were secular Jews, largely atheists.
How VERY Christian of you
3. You accuse me of “bray(ing) about my religions never forcing others to convert.” When have we ?
How VERY Christian of you
4. You assume that because I am Jewish YOU know what my beliefs are. Try telling that to Marx, Spinoza, Halevi, Salk …
How VERY Christian of you
5. You treat our history as if it were YOUR revealed truth. Do you really thkink Jews consider David’s murder of his General a good thing? Does Judaism celebrate the sacrifice of the Egyptians?
How VERY Christian of you
6. I am willing to bet that you deny your own Christian heritage, clinging to the “great ethical lessons of Jesus” while blaming the horrors of Christianity on bad Christians.
How VERY Christian of you
For what it is worth, I am a devout atheist.