My inbox this morning had a few responses to my last post (right there below this one). Some thought it was hysterical. Others thought it was wrong to mock these things, pointing out that kashrut and prayer are not narishkeit.
I’ve also just concluded a conversation with a traditional friend who felt that my tone undermined my point.
I’m torn. On one hand, as a secular humanist, I hold the position that we should treat each other with dignity. On the other hand, I’m not sure that mocking a belief or behavior contradicts that principle. On the third hand, sarcasm and derision do hurt people’s feelings. I think you see my dilemma.
Keeping in mind that I fully stand by the principles that inspired that post AND that I’ve made fun of fundamentalists before, I’m asking the readers of this blog: Was my tone out of line? Is there a place for snarkiness and sarcasm in this discourse? Or did I step over the bounds?
I look forward to your comments.
Not too far. You aren't trying to convince anyone--you are mostly (pardon the expression) preaching to the choir.
ReplyDeleteThe Reform Deist
Corrected version of comment posted then deleted:
ReplyDeleteRabbi Jeff, I am perplexed by your statement, "My wish would be that Jewish identity would no longer include religion and instead be understood as a cultural concern." Why, then, are you a rabbi? I clicked on the link for the term "post-theistic religion" and found these statements in a post dated February 16 of this year:
I am a rabbi. I’m dedicated to preserving the positive in religion and, to their credit, so are my liberal theistic colleagues. . . .
That pretty much sums up my purpose in life; to completely transform religion into culture by eliminating its supernatural truth claims. That’s what Post-Theistic Religion© is all about.
If these statements were couched in a more ponderous and windy language, they could be attributed to Mordecai Kaplan. Religion without theism and Jewishness without religion seem to me two quite different things.
Rabbi, I understand what you were saying, and the use of humor to do so. Sometimes humor is the most appropriate medium. But many people are very literal-minded and humor-impaired, and while you may encounter them one-by-one in everyday life, they appear in large groups on the internet. (Example: Look at the many posts for "The Onion" that get picked up and published as actual news.) Another area with many literalists is religion.
ReplyDeleteNot all posts have to be uber-serious.
There are also quite a few people who cannot separate the concept of spirituality from that of a structured, formal religion.
MKR:
ReplyDeleteWhile I am thrilled to be compared in any way to Mordecai Kaplan, I split from his brand of theology a while ago. I’m sorry if my writing seems “ponderous and windy.” That is not a complaint I have heard before. Now to your comments.
First of all, I’m a rabbi because I worked damn hard to attain a rabbinical degree with five years of study at HUC-JIR, the Reform movement’s seminary. (I have a very fancy ordination poster on the wall of my office.) More to the point, “rabbi” can simply mean teacher of Judaism and that describes my role.
I belong to the Society for Humanistic Judaism, the fifth “denomination” of N. American Judaism with 50,000 members. We have rabbis here and in Israel who conduct ceremonies, teach and perform many other familiar rabbinical duties. Many of us lead congregations of secular, non-theistic Jews who enjoy Jewish culture and who find value in being organized as congregations. Our groups generally offer Shabbat services, holiday celebrations, life cycle ceremonies and so forth (as detailed on the many websites of our movement and its affiliates). All of these use human-focused, non-theistic language drawn or adapted from both Jewish and non-Jewish sources. Our philosophy and value system are secular and humanistic. So while Judaism provides us a basic framework for our identity, we do not rely upon the Torah or any ancient text to inform our morals or values.
My post on “Post-Theism” was actually part of a longer look at what some churches were doing. There are a few, here and there, that have removed all mentions of God from their services and it’s a bit of a parallel to what we do in affiliates of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. For a broader look at my beliefs, I suggest you look at the first two or three posts on the blog.
Finally - and most directly to your point - I absolutely confess to a lack of clarity in my use of the word religion. It’s such an imprecise term and our movement struggles with the definition. (If you look at the Wikipedia entry on religion you’ll see the lack of consensus.) Sometimes I use the word to describe theism or a supernatural belief system. That is not particularly accurate or helpful. So now allow me to be as clear as I am able. If it’s still too windy, I apologize.
I relate to Judaism as my culture and to the Jewish people as my extended family. I find that, in general, there are many valuable aspects of theistic religion, including the Jewish versions, that are worth preserving. These include communal gatherings, holiday celebrations, life cycle observances, study of our history and so forth. I would like to retain these elements of religion and keep them available to cultural non-theistic Jews, many of whom find meaning and enjoyment in them.
Secular Humanistic Judaism makes it possible for non-theistic Jews (and those who want to join us) to participate in Jewish life without expressing belief in the supernatural.
Some have described our version of religion as “cultural religion,” meaning religion without theism. When I wrote, so imprecisely, that I want Judaism without religion, it would have been more accurate to say “without theism.” So I’m going to re-phrase it now, in keeping with what I’ve written here and hope that it no longer sounds like two different things.
I see value in preserving a version of the Jewish religion that retains some of its infrastructure, adapting it to the needs of those who do not believe in any gods. This is a Jewish non-theistic religious approach that treats all rituals as human-created, human-centered and in keeping with secular humanistic values.
This seems to be clear to most people with whom I have shared it. I hope it clarifies my approach for you, too.
Yes, you did go too far. The way I hear it, you're covering the malicious things you said and thought with a "joke" label; calling it sarcasm, or whatever. Sort of like the "Freudian Slip".
ReplyDeleteIt's not nice to mock the believers. Just poor etiquette. No harm done.
But it's cool that you are aware of this at some level and that's why you've put it out for review and comment.
We should all understand the Starbucks-Kashrut chart as our "living cultural heritage". We may not want it for ourselves, and indeed we don't. But, for many, it is a way of life, and, as such, deserving of our respect, if not love.
Perhaps my perspective is a little skewed by reading Pharyngula, but I thought that post was light-hearted and humorous. Keep blogging, I like your writing!
ReplyDeleteBut more relevantly, I think there's a difference between something offensive, and something that some people may find offensive. Russel Blackford has several nice posts about tone, one of which is:
http://metamagician3000.blogspot.com/2010/09/watch-your-language.html
The general gist is that tone does matter, but many people can be rather poor at discerning it. More than that, its rather self-defeating to self-censor with the fear that you may offend. Because, frankly, I am deeply and/or passionately offended that you would ever consider doing such a thing! Utterly outraged!!!
Besides, can it be considered that effectively lying to and patronising someone is a dignified way to treat them? Is not dealing with someone honestly showing respect for both them and yourself? The pen might be mightier than the sword, but its rather less ouchie when you poke someone with it. And really, some people need a good poking.
Anyone who is really disturbed by what you think, say, or write has such serious problems with their sense of self worth, that they should really get help. I assume that you don't care about what others think of you, I don't know why anyone is bothered by you.
ReplyDeleteYou are repeating what others have said at various points in history over thousands of years. We believing, practicing Jews are still here.