Principle, not Expediency

Celesteno, I shared what I did to inform you that I have access to a decent Jewish education through a well-educated Rabbi. I also wanted to inform others--not just you--that the Reform movement doesn't view the Torah as antiquaed. To say that I was "assuming" anything about "you" is also another straw man. Yes. A vast majority of Jews do have a poor Jewish education. That is an issue. I can't help but wonder if you, Celesteno, have a negative bias toward the "majority" because they are not as well educated. This is an issue that is not mine. However, I do encourage you to take sometime and do some self-examination. Can you step outside of your box for a few seconds and read what you said in regard to "most Reform" and the "majority of Jews"? When you are in another Jew's shoes how does that paragraph sound to you? How would you respond to the phrase, "I know what the Reform movement stands for (better than most who affiliate with the movement I might add)"? Would you take that as negative or as positive? Is it a "you" focused or "I" focused message? What about the audience? We all have biased views. A bias comes from many elements of our lives--culture is one example. The key is in recognizing our biases so as to interact better with other people inside and outside our community. I noticed that I had typed "my" instead of "by" in my previous post. I do appolgize about that. I sometimes make these errors in writing and typing--an issue that has developed in the past 2 years or so. My field of study is Early Childhood Education with Emphasis in Special Education. I am being trained to recognize the importance of self-examination before interacting with children, families, and community. Shalom!

Truth is a matter of perspective which is subject to one's viewpoint. The world is not black and white. I think biases are a very important aspect of this whole discussion. Researchers have discovered that people have unconcious biases and beliefs. http://www.projectimplicit.net/media.php Biases develop out of three causes: fear, misinformation, or ignorance. " Biases can be negative or positive. Sterotyping stems from biases. Both create warped views of other groups and/or cultures. I feel that every single one of us who has written about or responded to the discussion on homosexuality has either a negative or positive bias about GLBTs. Futhermore, we have biases {negative and positive} about different groups of Jews and non-Jews. Also,when people communicate, they present the message in a form that reflects their own cultural understanding. Those on the other end of the communication, decepher the message in a form that reflects their own cultural understanding. There are cultural differences within groups and outside of groups. Effective communication has an element of accepting diverse cultures in their own viewpoint and conditons--not an outside viewpoint and conditions. It is extremely important to self-examine and to educate one's self about life experiences, ethics, and behavior of diverse groups and cultures. This helps create a positive view of diverse groups and nonjudgmental attitiudes about diverse groups. Diversity can be within a group and outside a group. Shalom!

The post I made was a general post that brings forth information to consider in regard to the dicussion presented by the orginal post by the rabbi. It was not directed at anyone. I suggest that everyone remain calm and try to refrain from any form of fallacy which includes ad hominem and straw man. http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ Description of Straw Man: http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html Shalom!