tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post112748789993834850..comments2023-10-30T08:40:59.016-04:00Comments on Wolfish Musings: On Convictions and ConversionsBrooklynWolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03994285019137108636noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1133910976845526132005-12-06T18:16:00.000-05:002005-12-06T18:16:00.000-05:00Frum Jews need to be proactive not only on rote "J...Frum Jews need to be proactive not only on rote "Jewish education" but also in a bit of the "fluffy stuff" as well. I know of two frum women who frequent the local Aish HaTorah center basically in an effort to connect the dots and hear about the spirituality underlying the ritual in Judaism.Miss S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10887805742474651903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1128029593655853772005-09-29T17:33:00.000-04:002005-09-29T17:33:00.000-04:00SW,Understand what you preach!The Wolf<B>SW</B>,<BR/><BR/>Understand what you preach!<BR/><BR/>The WolfBrooklynWolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03994285019137108636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1128029562124535642005-09-29T17:32:00.000-04:002005-09-29T17:32:00.000-04:00Coco, you're absolutely right. I post on other (n...<B>Coco</B>, you're absolutely right. I post on other (non-Jewish) message boards quite often and have found that some of the most knowledgeable Christians are the non-evangelical ones.<BR/><BR/>The WolfBrooklynWolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03994285019137108636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1128022775817624652005-09-29T15:39:00.000-04:002005-09-29T15:39:00.000-04:00A lot of Christians are very well-read and knowled...A lot of Christians are very well-read and knowledgeable about their faith. These are not the ones who go about preaching on street corners. There is no sense trying to engage in a meaningful dialogue with those guys. There can be, however, much gained from exchanges and dialogues between well-meaning, well-educated Christians and Jews.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1127797498808382472005-09-27T01:04:00.000-04:002005-09-27T01:04:00.000-04:00The best way to change a Jew caught up in a missio...The best way to change a Jew caught up in a missionary is to invite them for Shabbos.Just this year I did exactly that and every week this jews for j guy comes for Shabbos.I also got this Jewish woman who is a buddist to come for Shabbos weekly.Its amazing how they have changed so fast.The J guy was in the movement 4 years and the buddist woman was in it for 10 years.One real Shabbos and they have chucked their foolish beliefs.If I would not of seen it with my own eyes I would never believe it.WHY WHY WHYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01862613446723431932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1127691665479924142005-09-25T19:41:00.000-04:002005-09-25T19:41:00.000-04:00Wolf, great post. If you could fit your message on...Wolf, great post. If you could fit your message onto a bumper sticker somehow, I think it would be well worth the effort.and so it shall be...https://www.blogger.com/profile/14938399154970068213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1127670489019092642005-09-25T13:48:00.000-04:002005-09-25T13:48:00.000-04:00To use a cliche, I think you've hit the nail right...To use a cliche, I think you've hit the nail right on the head. I heard an entire speech from a Rabbi who had been a former missionary, where he unveiled certain tactics he had used and tried to understand. One of the things he felt was most important was that Jews understand their identities as Jews. As he would say, there is a difference between a "belly-button Jew," namely, one who has been born Jewish and had it passed on through the blood-line, and a Jew who is able to identify why he is Jewish. Or perhaps, why he is a practicing or even a non-practicing Jew. Sadly, many times much of the focus turns into a geometrical mathematical proof- GIVEN: One is a Jew, THEN and we have a whole list of responsibilites/ ways of acting necessary.<BR/><BR/>Those people who can question the GIVENS and come up with their own answers and ideas are those who are really thinking about their religion as a choice- and therefore people who, in my mind, have begun to truly connect to/ with God.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11425059.post-1127501689277995922005-09-23T14:54:00.000-04:002005-09-23T14:54:00.000-04:00In my experience, missionaries do not relent do to...In my experience, missionaries do not relent do to a glitch in logic. They are not influenced on a logical basis, so just crossing their circuits never worked for me.<BR/><BR/>I had a missionary at work (I will not turn him in, though I could) tell me about the Messiah. I asked if he knew what the word meant. He ventured "savior, lord, master, god" and a few others. (Doesn't Google work at your desk, man?) I gave a few examples of stories in the New Testament that are only understood in light of proper translation of Tanach phrases. Again I asked if he understood the LANGUAGE of the Bible? He said no. The history of 1st century Judea? No. The prominant ideas and people of that time? No. <BR/>I asked him if a Russian were to tell him that the constitution of the US was referring to communism, would he believe it. Again, no. Suppose he said that it talks about "general welfare, common defense, the people, perfect union" etc. Again no. Now suppose he said that he knew nothing about America, nothing about American history, and had only read the above Preamble, and that, only in translation, written by a communist. I told him, with as much hubris pouring through as I could muster, that he needed to learn a bit more before discussing the subject with me. Though it was entertaining in a sadistic kind of way.<BR/><BR/>Sometimes, they will reward you with a frustrated, angrily sputtered "I am going to PRAY for you!" It is nice to know that as exasperating as our kiruv clowns are, they sound like brain surgeons next to these "talking points" regurgitation machines.Rebeljewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12134454584925044808noreply@blogger.com