Re: RELI: My secret is out

From: QueeneMUSE@aol.com
Date: Sun Jul 23 2000 - 20:38:25 MDT


In a message dated 7/23/2000 5:59:52 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
sentience@pobox.com writes:

> Uh, Spudboy - I'm *not* a Jew.

Let me throw in my two cents here, I am glad for you that you no longer have
to live a lie. That must have been hellish. My parents are atheist (dad) and
agnostic (mom). In other words, not religious at all. My name, Nadia, comes
from a marvelous Russian intellectual woman - russian jew - who was a self
proclaimed Jewish Atheist. So I have always thought it natural to be both!

As a matter of fact.. now that I think of it: Most of my friends who are
Jewish are not at all religious, and most flat out call themselves atheist,
and very 'out of the closet" about it. When they say they are Jewish they
mean the ethnicity, not the spiritual practice.
Like being African American or Native American. Is this a strange phenomenon?

Separating oneself from the past, but not closing the door on it...
As opposed to my non-religious friends who are from Christian families, who
seem more superstitiously "respectful" of everyone's' spiritual beliefs and
find it somewhat distasteful and suspicious when I say I don't believe in God
and outright offensive when I use the term Atheist.. & seem to believe that
one shouldn't speak of such things.

Personally, I'm in favor of letting go of things that shackle you, whatever
they are.



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