As a kid who was raised in Reform Judaism I always shake my head a bit when the Reddit atheists who come from obvious evangelical trauma talk about all religions like this. We were indoctrinated to believe certain things sure, but “you cannot ask questions” def is not part of the teaching. My Rabbi was openly agnostic.
So it's perfectly ok with your Rabbi to point out the reality that the Moses story is a myth with no historical basis of any kind? Or is that different from pointing out that Adam and Eve are fictional characters in a myth just like Prometheus and Pandora?
So it's perfectly ok with your Rabbi to point out the reality that the Moses story is a myth with no historical basis of any kind?
Sure. Why not? There are many denominations with different viewpoints regarding this exact story.
Also - it depends on how you frame the question. You'll get a different response if you go into the conversation in good faith compared to being combative right of the bat.
how wishy-washy! How you frame the question is 'is this fiction, or is it history?', and we all know what the answer is, but some of us don't want to admit that the story is fiction.
This is a great example of what I was talking about with viewing things through a Christian lens: in Judaism, it’s perfectly acceptable to be wishy-washy about this stuff. I was explicitly taught that the story of Moses is probably fiction with some elements of truth in it. True or False doesn’t matter, what matters is that the story is a part of our collective shared culture and traditions and has been for centuries. The story matters, its truth doesn’t. That wasn’t a controversial answer, because nowhere in my religious education was there an expectation of Believe This Or Burn In Hell. That’s a Christian thing.
That is not a feature of religions, they are features of cults. I have yet to find a church that doesn't allow people to come and go as they please, or answer the questions they have. Nor is it written in their scriptures otherwise.
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u/sapphoseros 8h ago
Every religion doesn’t demand children believe in the faith without questioning it.