Today, as I walked down Com Ave. to pick up a bagel, I noticed 2 large signs on Marsh Plaza, a central location on campus. These signs, both brightly colored and visible to all passersby, screamed in black marker something along the lines of "Accept Jesus. Follow the righteous path, or you'll end up in hell." (I wish I would have taken a picture, so you could see the exact words.)
Instead of feeling upset, I walked away from those signs empowered and even happy. Clearly, according to the two people holding those signs, I am destined to go to hell, simply because I'm Jewish. But what I got from this experience was a sense of contentment with my own religion. In Judaism, we would never tell someone that by simply not believing a certain principle, they will end up in hell. In fact, our conception of hell is very different from the firey mass of evil and destruction, but I digress.
Now, I'm not saying that all Christians are extremists, I'm just trying to say that I'm proud to be a Jew. I'm proud to be able to find a community of people who are welcoming, and a religion that is largely based on repentance and forgiveness. If I question a certain facet of my religion, I don't fear that my life will end in hell. Instead, I can just concentrate on being a good person, enjoying my life and the people in it, and discovering things on my own. Sure, I was brought up in a certain way, with a certain belief system, but I'm proud of that. And hey, everyone has different beliefs, but you know, make the most of this life, whether you're a Jew, Christian, Hindu, Atheist, Rastafarian...
But you know, I'm not a rabbi. Just a girl with too many opinions :)
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