Submitted by Timothy B. Roberts(United States), Jan 27, 2005 at 10:44
I really get itchy when people start telling other people what is and what isn't "the truth." Yes, Orthodox Judaism is the historical model and practice of what we call Judaism. But just because a group of people understand that some Laws are more historically symbolic than others, doesn't make them less religious or spiritual. Human beings define words. Laws are based upon definitions and the relationship between definitions. But those who are tied literally and structurally to the past, frequently fail to see (or refuse to acknowledge) how relationships change as our understanding of the past changes.
Most of us who frequent Dr. Pipes' website agree that a large number of Sunni Muslims read, preach, and act in a supremacist and hateful manner. It really pains me when people of other religious preferences take even a few baby steps down that same road. It is a bad road, and we need to avoid it. If someone fufills only 612 "laws," please be gentle with them.
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