For any Jewish Members

[Brian R.]

Would I, as an agnostic or potential believer, be welcome in a Synagogue? What is the policy for attendence of new members? Does it vary from one place to another? or is it a common law?

Do I need a sponsor or a certain level of knowledge of Judaism?

[UtwigMU]

You need to be born Jewish as they are descendants of Abraham, you're not.

EDIT: I'm not Jewish, FYI.

[Wombat]

Utwig is a little off. Judaism welcomes converts.

But I don't know the answer to your question.

[Gurm]

It depends on the Synagogue.

Any conservative or reform Synagogue would welcome you, so long as you don't bust in the door yelling "GOD IS DEAD!" or something.

The Orthodox (Black Hats) are... a bit less open-minded, and one must tread carefully.

But just dropping in for Shabbat Service next Saturday at your local conservative Shul should not be a problem. No sponsor needed. You might want to chat with the Rabbi privately after the service though, let him know who you are and where you're coming from.

Gpar_

[Brian R.]

Thanks - How can you tell the Orthodox, conservative, etc synagogues from the others (without seeing the congregation)?

[cjolley]

Originally posted by Brian R.
Thanks - How can you tell the Orthodox, conservative, etc synagogues from the others (without seeing the congregation)?

Call & ask?
I was the janitor at the local Hillel Foundation for a while when I was at the University of Oklahoma and went to several special services like Passover.
I was much too busy riding Dirt Bikes and chasing skirts back then to go to a regular Saturday service
But, the were very friendly and inclusive, maybe particularly since it was at a university.
Very interesting for a young man brought up in an extremely conservative Christian denomination.
The director wanted to make sure the kitchen was Koshered to everyone’s satisfaction so he got a Hassidic (sp?) Rabbi from Dallas to come up and do the deed.
I was expecting a somber, humorless individual like the arch conservatives from the church of my youth.
Ha! Not hardly!
We grabbed a couple of big rocks for "twice boiling" the silverware & pots and rented a welding torch for heating the surfaces and went to town on that place.
It was fun.
Don't be shy, it will be easy for you to find a Synagogue that will make you feel very welcome.
chuck

[Brian R.]

I thought maybe there was a tip-off by the name of the synagogue or the appearance.

[Gurm]

Well, if you see lots of guys wearing garter belts and black hats with beards going in and out... that's a tip-off about the "orthodox" thing.

The others are USUALLY conservative.

Gpar_

[KvHagedorn]

Utwig is pretty far off base there.. the Russian and other Eastern European Jews which make up such a large part of the American Jewish community are largely descended from Khazars, a Turkic people who were all converts.. not "children of Abraham" at all.. there are also Ethiopian Jews who were converts, and a few other groups if I'm not mistaken. If you have any Jewish friends or acquaintances, why don't you ask them? As Gurm said, all congregations, whether Jewish or Christian, are somewhat different, so it depends who you find.

If you really want to convert to any religion, something is usually expected of you. In most Christian denominations , you must be baptised and then confirmed. Confirmation classes teach you about the church and its ins and outs, so you are comfortable with what is going on at services and understand the meanings of the liturgy and other ceremony. Judaism is similar, so yes, you will be expected to learn some things. If you don't know any Jews personally, why don't you call a Rabbi and tell him you'd like to talk to him about it? If his congregation is worth joining, he should be happy to talk to you.

[Brian R.]

Kv - Good idea

[Brian Ellis]

The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are also descendants of Abraham (resp. via Ishmael and Isaac). Just another family feud that has already lasted a few thousand years

This is what tickles me when I read of Arabs being anti-Semitic. They are every bit as Semitic as the Chief Rabbi. Their respective languages are also both Semitic and quite closely related (cf. the Arabic word for peace, salaam with the Hebrew word, shalom, becoming distorted in the Bahasa languages to selamat.)

[Gurm]

KvH:

Actually in 99% of "Christian" denominations, baptism is really all that's required. "Confirmation" is a purely Catholic invention, since they have all that "catechism" (translation: made-up shit).

Gpar_

[Brian Ellis]

Sorry Gurm: confirmation is required in most other Christian denominations where child baptism is the norm. This includes the Greek Orthodox, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist churches, etc., before you can partake of Holy Communion, Eucharist or whatever it is called. The difference is that in the Roman Church, it is a sacrament, but not in most of the others, although it is considered as sacramental in all. I think that in the Baptist denomination, as you are not baptised before adulthood, it may not be required to confirm your faith. Some other churches also have catechisms, such as the Westminster Catechism (Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Baptist), the Heidelberg Catechism (Lutheran), the Geneva Catechism (Calvinist) etc. Actually, I believe the first catechism in Q & A form was the Geneva one.

In fact, catechism, as we know it, is a purely early 16th c invention from the Protestant Churches. The first Roman one, by St Peter Canisius, was published in 1555, 2 or 3 decades after the others. Before the 16th c., candidates for confirmation were simply examined on the Creed and the Lord's Prayer, informally by the priest, as all the printed matter was in Latin, incomprehensible to the majority of catechumens. There were virtually no vernacular instruction books for the lay public.

So you would be correct if you had said it was purely catholic, but wrong to say it is purely Catholic.

[Jammrock]

Allow me to help elaborate...without going into great detail.

In the Newer Testament, the Jesus person said:

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot denter into the kingdom of God.

(John 3:5)

"Born of water" is the whole baptism thing. "And of the Spirit" is where the confirmation part comes in. The problem also begins here. Born of water is obviously baptism, i.e. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in water. There is no hard, definite biblical evidence of what "born of the Spirit" means.

Almost each church has their own definition or idea of what being born of the Spirit means. Some think being born of the spirit is a symbolic, internal quest. Some think there is ceremony involved like with baptism. Just kind of depends.

So yes, there is some biblical backing.

Jammrock