thread: 2007-01-04 : Self-identification vs. Membership
On 2007-01-10, NinJ wrote:
Israel: You're God's chosen people, whom God has shepherded throughout history? Prove it. (How do we know the Israelites weren't just tremendously egocentric?)
I'm afraid this is not a central issue in the practice of Judaism. It has little bearing on how one lives one's life, nor does it illuminate the mystery of our place in the Universe. The nature of the phrase "Chosen People" is a tertiary and abstract concern.
"Shepherd" is a phrase that marks yours as a Christian perspective. The sheep don't wrestle the shepherd and win. The sheep don't base their interactions with the shepherd on contract.
Let me throw you a meatball: "I am The Lord, your god. You will have no gods before me." First commandment. It's before "No murdering," and "Respect your ancestors."
Ignore the first sentence, and pay attention to the second: "You will have no gods before me." It doesn't say they don't exist; it says that to worship anything other than the primary motive force in the Universe is to worship a fiction, i.e. something you made up, i.e. your own mind. Now, the first sentence: "I am the Lord, your god." Note that I don't capitalize "god" there; it's a descriptive word there. So, "Your god is the Lord," is another way to say it.
This is a sentence to distinguish a tribal group from other groups. What this says, here? This says "You are Jews." This is a statement of identity. It's also a heading: "If you're a Jew, do the following: don't fuck your sister and stuff." The other nine commandments don't take much of a leap of faith: they're a list of socially damaging behaviors.
