The Humanistic Jewish synagogue to which I nominally belong is officially atheist, so not even all of the "Stoogist" religions are necessarily theistic.
A true story. My Spanish brother-in-law Juan Carlos, a lapsed Catholic, is a Zen Buddhist. (Brian, are you Zen or or some other sort?) When he finally took my Jewish sister Mila back to Madrid to meet the folks, they were fascinated. There haven't been a lot of Jews around Spain since 1492, so we're exotic.
Juan Carlos' mother Maria -- of course! He also has about six sisters, also all named Maria -- asked Mila, after some hemming and hawing, "Do Jews believe in God?" Mila replied, "Yes, mother, Jews do believe in God. But . . . [here she fixed Juan Carlos with a wicked look] Zen Buddhists don't." Maria looked at Juan Carlos with horror. "Is it true?" "It's true, mama," he said. She gasped, crossed herself three times, and said a Hail Mary and the Lord's Prayer for extra luck.
Later, Maria asked Mila, "Is it true that Jews don't believe in Jesus Christ?" Mila contemplated giving the, "well, we think he's a wise man," answer but settled on, "Yes, mother, it's true." "Madre de Dios," Maria said (more self-crossing), "But at least you believe in the Virgin Mary!" (This last was not a question.) The true voice of Spanish Catholicism: Jesus, Schemsus, the Virgin Mary is who's important. Hail Mary, full of grace . . . .
I went to a Catholic school myself for a while. It's a long story, never mind that. It taught me to use fountain pens, wear conservative clothing, and never believe people in uniforms.
jks
--- Carl Remick <carlremick at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >From: "Brian Charles Dauth"
> <magcomm at ix.netcom.com>
> >
> >Carl writes:
> >
> >>"God" is a destructive encumbrance to society, not
> an aid
> >>to better living.
> >
> >"God" not part of every religion. You seem to make
> this same
> >mistake all the time. What is your block on this
> issue?
>
> Sorry, I get so fixated on the Three Stooges
> (Christianity, Judaism and
> Islam) that I forget the rest.
>
> Carl
>
>
> ___________________________________
>
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com