Many in the anti-gay movement like to use the phrase “Judeo-Christian”. This phrase makes it seem less like they are trying to push their doctrine on others and more like a collective of faiths seeking to guide an errant society. Take for example Kent Paris in an article at the Exodus website:
If your son or daughter attends a public school, you need to realize that they are at risk, intentional targets of the same agenda of desensitization and conversion to beliefs contrary to our Judeo-Christian faith.
or Bob Knight (formerly Concerned Woman) of the Media Research Center
Pro-homosexual ABC and Hollywood think Judeo-Christian standards are “just a holdover from a bigoted, superstitious era,” the culture and media analyst contends, and as self-described progressives, they need to attack those faith-based values.
Now hearing that you would think that these people represent far more than just evangelical Christians. It certainly sounds like the Jews and the Christians agree on a whole list of values and standards and that gay people are the enemy of both.
But just how “judeo” are the anti-gay positions that these people hold?
Today the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism decided that gay Conservative Jews can be rabbis and that Conservative synagogues can choose to perform same-sex ceremonies. The process for recognizing positions within Conservative Judaism allows for more than one policy and the Committee also affirmed the position that some Conservative synagogues may also choose to forbid male homosexuality. But each now can make their choice and stay within the Conservative fellowship.
Jews in America associate with the following movements:
43% – Reform
38% – Conservative
7% – Orthodox
2% – Reconstructionist
10% – various other
Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism long ago took steps to affirm gay rabbis and same-sex relationships. Now only Orthodox Judaism universally condemns homosexuality. Over 80% of Jews are within movements that do not consider hostility to gay persons to be a part of their “ethic”.
Anti-gay activists are not renowned for their honesty and integrity so I doubt they’ll be dropping the “judeo” from their self-described ethic. But now when you see it, you’ll know that only a small number of Jews are included in the anti-gay “Judeo-Christian ethic”.
UPDATE
At the time of posting I was unaware of which of three gay-accepting opinions was approved. Per an article in the New York Sun, this opinion authorized gay relationships and rabbis but still forbids anal sex.
Also it appears that one of the anti-gay opinions, approved with the minimum six votes, endorses ex-gay therapy.
One of the opinions, backed by 13 of the 25 rabbis on the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, would for the first time permit the ordination of openly lesbian rabbis and allow for the ordination of openly gay rabbis, although it maintains the movement’s ban on anal sex. It also permits Conservative rabbis to perform same-sex commitment ceremonies. Four law committee members who opposed ordaining homosexuals and performing commitment ceremonies resigned following the vote.
A second opinion, also backed by 13 of the rabbis, reaffirmed the movement’s policy of denying ordination to active homosexuals. A third opinion, backed by six of the rabbis, encourages “reparative therapy” to help gays and lesbians live as heterosexuals when possible.
It would appear that a Conservative synagogue can now choose to perform same-sex commitment ceremonies, have a gay rabbi, and be fully welcoming of gay and lesbians Jews. However, gay male Conservative Jews within same-sex commitments are still forbidden to engage in one particular sex act.
As good as this news is, ex-gay groups already think it is their place to define who is and who is not Christian based on whether their beliefs align. I do not think they will have a problem with saying that Jews who affirm gay people are not really Jews but some kind of modern, new-fangled, liberal Jews. Far be it from Jews to decide what makes up their own faith.
I’m always astounded that the same anti-gay Christian paranoia that blames gay-acceptance for some future, inevitable moral decline into polygamy and polyamory ignores the true Biblical history of marriage.
While loudly proclaiming that the only God-ordained and God-blessed form of marriage is the union of one man and one woman, they happily teach their little children the stories of the Hebrew patriarchs in Sunday school…the patriarchs who made families of multiple wives and kept mistresses as well.
The heros of their own tradition supply positive, God-blessed examples of the lifestyles that they both deplore and blame us for promoting.
In truth they deny and decry their own religious traditions in their misguided denouncements of us…all unaware…haplessly blaming us for undermining their faith.
In the 70s, when the Moral Majority was rising to power, they were often seen as an anti-semetic group. Pat Robertson really had a lot of attacks about anti-semetic views. They started to develop the term Judeo-Christian to get away from being called anti-semetic, but the Judeo part always seemed just thrown on.
In response to comments about the patriarchs, it can be argued that while polygamy is practiced, it never works out very well. Rachel and Leah have intense sibling rivalry, resulting in Joseph being sold into slavery, and Sarah eventually turns on Hagar, running her and Ishmael into the desert.
That said, though, whatever can be read about romantic relationships in the Bible is clearly not the modern one-man-one-woman setup, and it is pretty clear that the emphasis lies more on ownership of the woman than any kind of actual true love “made for each other” sentiments.
When you take apart Biblical relationships, it becomes pretty self-evident that religious right designations of “Biblical marriage” is a cover-up for “Our society’s status quo”–not actually a function of the Bible. If you name it Biblical, it sounds better and you can get more people to go along with you.
Hell, the Orthodox Jews have been saying that this whole time.
By the way, it appears that one of the teshuvot that was affirmed holds that homosexuality is curable, and that “gay men and lesbians are best advised to find ‘restorative therapy’ to change their sexual orientation.”
Considering that all Jews think that Jesus Christ is/was a fraud, it’s interesting that these evengelicals think so highly of the Jews.
Judeo-Christian means one thing: Christian. The way that it has been explained to me (by some fundies) is that because Jesus was a Jew it makes all Christians ex-Jews. Because it’s Judeo-Christian culture/values etc… and not Jewish faith, Christians are still followers. Apparently, Christians own Jewish tradition by surrogate.
I knew the panel would vote in favor of gay rabbis and couples.
I saw it coming. The most orthodox communities, or most strictly religious, as I have mentioned here-have been hostile to women and the equal standing of women to men in their commuities.
In Christianity, it was these new found values that kept women, blacks, Jews and gay people at a distance from integration and full equality even as citizens who shared the religion.
Jews are essentially very practical. Made so by the diaspora, and the need to preserve their culture and community. This is a group most willing to engage in dialogue and learning about ‘the other’ so they can go to temple with the knowlege of ‘the other’ that also contributes to a clean mind and healthy conscience.
The more closed Jewish communities, are more socially incestuous, so therefore are more on the fringes.
They don’t carry the same political and economic power.
Here in America, the Reform community is huge and integrated and strong. That strength grew with the equality of women in the Temple. And they anticipate with grow further with the equal participation of gays and lesbians in the process.
But this is true where comprehensive integration happens with gay folks everywhere.
Jews are encouraged to be brave, rather than controlling.
Christians now, at least the most conservative, are essentially afraid of shadows.
They rely on fear and control to get what they want. Instead of approaching the gay community practically, with respect to the citizenship…not just the religious affiliation of the gay person.
The staunchest of anti gay activism is very impractical and ultimately will do more harm than good. There is no proof that anti gay activism has been good, nor are their good results.
However, much can be said that’s positive and the proof is there that gay integration is good.
Jews gave the Christians their religion. It’s the parent tradition, but the sons and daughters of that tradition are a new day and new era.
Old standards no not apply to gay people anymore and it’s more impractical to keep applying those old standards to gay people that aren’t also use for straight people.
This is the symbiosis I speak of. Gays and lesbians were always supposed to be integrated into straight life AS gay people, not straight people.
Jews have realized the benefits of the other two sides of life’s triangle.
Women and gay people.
Jews know that nothing is certain, not even our tomorrows.
Whereas, the Christians we are encountering who are the most anti gay are ridiculously stauch in their certainty, if not inconsistency.
Wow Timothy, thats really something. I never knew that a healthy majority of Jews are accepting of gays. Next time I hear the anti-gay “Judeo-Christian” code-word I’ll think about it in an entirely different way. Thanks.
The so-called Christians who campaign against marriage for gay men and lesbians never seem to pay attention to the Old Testament definition of marriage: one man and up to several hundred women.