Quote:

winged creature said:
religion in general is stupid, were following ideologies that are hundreds of years old and may not have any merit today



I dunno. In terms of real world application, I think religion as a moral code than anything else. The teachings of the various religions teach us not to murder, lie, steal, hate, spread gossip, or even hate other people. They teach us to love and respect our fellow man, even if it's someone we don't agree with. These teachings may be hundreds of years old, but I don't think they lack merit - especially in today's society.

I struggle with my place in my religion pretty often, and I've bounced from one synagogue to the next looking for a place where I feel I fit in, and I'm still looking. But I do feel my religion is important to me, especially the ideas of being a good person just because it's the right thing to be. I don't always succeed, and there's no way I always will. No human is without sin, and our teachers don't hide from us the shortcomings of the greatest and most righteous figures and teachers in Jewish history. It doesn't mean we're excused from sin, but rather that despite our human failings and shortcomings, we still need to make an effort to be the best people we can be. No human is beyond hope or redemption (although some say that men like Hitler are exception to this), and that's a truly encouraging thought on a spiritual level.

As for this particular case with the wheat crackers, it's difficult for me to understand the rationale behind this church's ruling. In Judaism, if there's a health issue involved, not only are you allowed to work around it, you're actually supposed to. You're not obligated to deliberately endanger your health, even to perform one of the commandments. If you need to eat on a fast day, not only are you allowed to, but many of the rabbis believe that you have to (however, they also say that if this happens, you need to make up the fast as soon as you're able to.) If it means you don't get points for doing one of the commandments, take the hit. You ask forgiveness from G-d, you follow the other commandments, etc. On Passover, if for health reasons you can't eat regular matzah, you're allowed to eat special matzah suitable for your diet (which are now available) to fullfill the commandment of eating matzah on Passover. G-d understands the circumstances, and isn't going to hold it against you because of legitimate health issues.

So from my personal point of view and the point of view of Judiasm, I can't understand the logic of this church's decision.

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