Comments on: Ex-JW Rebuttal to a Jehovah’s Witness http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/2006/03/05/ex-jw-rebuttal-to-a-jehovahs-witness Contagious Thoughts, Mutating as Needed Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:07:23 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: VirusHead http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/2006/03/05/ex-jw-rebuttal-to-a-jehovahs-witness/comment-page-1#comment-3652 VirusHead Wed, 08 Mar 2006 02:26:22 +0000 http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/2006/03/05/ex-jw-rebuttal-to-a-jehovahs-witness/#comment-3652 My own feeling was that he was bringing out - for new emphasis - aspects that had already been there in the Hebrew texts and traditions, but had been overshadowed by other concerns at the time (esp. under Roman occupation). I've always wondered if he might have been a bit of a magician healer... I have always thought that every religion has this danger zone, of becoming so attached to the rules (either as as part of self-identity or to make a group more distinct from a competing/opposed group) that the context for the laws is lost, and higher insights and priorities of justice and compassion forgotten. It's easy to understand how it happens - there are lots of non-religious examples too. There is a golden mean there somewhere, and it seems that every generation of every religion has to struggle through the process of finding it again (with varying results). My own feeling was that he was bringing out – for new emphasis – aspects that had already been there in the Hebrew texts and traditions, but had been overshadowed by other concerns at the time (esp. under Roman occupation). I’ve always wondered if he might have been a bit of a magician healer…

I have always thought that every religion has this danger zone, of becoming so attached to the rules (either as as part of self-identity or to make a group more distinct from a competing/opposed group) that the context for the laws is lost, and higher insights and priorities of justice and compassion forgotten. It’s easy to understand how it happens – there are lots of non-religious examples too. There is a golden mean there somewhere, and it seems that every generation of every religion has to struggle through the process of finding it again (with varying results).

]]> By: Rachel http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/2006/03/05/ex-jw-rebuttal-to-a-jehovahs-witness/comment-page-1#comment-3649 Rachel Wed, 08 Mar 2006 00:27:00 +0000 http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/2006/03/05/ex-jw-rebuttal-to-a-jehovahs-witness/#comment-3649 <i>Jesus broke the law of resting on the Sabbath - because healing was more important. The prohibition on eating pork had an exception for a pregnant women who had no other food. Why? Because there is a set of priorities at the top of which is love, compassion, care - not just for one’s own ingroup, but for all humankind, and in some traditions, for all sentient beings. </i> ::nod:: Incidentally, this is mainstream halakhic (Jewish-legal) policy. The mitzvah of saving a life trumps any other mitzvah (commandment) in the lexicon, up to and including the commandments regarding Shabbat observance. :-) Granted, the halakha on this matter evolved in the early Common Era, e.g. after Jesus' lifetime. So it was probably pretty radical when he did it. But though I don't think mainstream Judaism regards him as the precedent-setter, Judaism's approach on this matter matches his... Jesus broke the law of resting on the Sabbath – because healing was more important. The prohibition on eating pork had an exception for a pregnant women who had no other food. Why? Because there is a set of priorities at the top of which is love, compassion, care – not just for one’s own ingroup, but for all humankind, and in some traditions, for all sentient beings.

::nod::

Incidentally, this is mainstream halakhic (Jewish-legal) policy. The mitzvah of saving a life trumps any other mitzvah (commandment) in the lexicon, up to and including the commandments regarding Shabbat observance. :-)

Granted, the halakha on this matter evolved in the early Common Era, e.g. after Jesus’ lifetime. So it was probably pretty radical when he did it. But though I don’t think mainstream Judaism regards him as the precedent-setter, Judaism’s approach on this matter matches his…

]]> By: Danny Haszard http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/2006/03/05/ex-jw-rebuttal-to-a-jehovahs-witness/comment-page-1#comment-3608 Danny Haszard Sun, 05 Mar 2006 23:27:08 +0000 http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/2006/03/05/ex-jw-rebuttal-to-a-jehovahs-witness/#comment-3608 Well done! Well done!

]]>