I'm an Agnostic Jew. Since Judaism is about actions (specifically, following the 613 commandments) and there is no explicit command to believe in God, there is no contradiction there.
I was raised in a Conservative household (as in Judaism; both of my parents were Democrats), and sent to a Jewish private school, and I even minored in Judaic Studies in college, so I am rather knowledgable about my religion; I like to think.
For those who don't know, Judaism's commandments can be split up in to different catagories in different ways, but one of the ways is to split them in to two groups, called "between man and man" and "between man and God". An example of the former would be the commandment not to bear false witness, and of the latter would be hings like dietary laws, or keeping the sabbath.
Personally, I focus primarily on the "between man and man" laws, because I feel that they are more important. If God does exist, he can surely take care of himself, with all his omnipotence, but his creations are a bit more fragile, and so they take a higher priority in my eyes. On top of that, to show respect for God's creations is to show respect for God himself, so by focussing on the one I am focussing on both. Were I to go the other way, and focus only on God, I would be ignoring his creation, and thereby ignoring him as well, acomplishing absolutely nothing. This is, I believe, one of the primarily pitfalls of the religious, regardless of their religion. Far too many people focus on God to the point where they ignore his creations, and in doing so accomplish nothing.
My favorite religious text is Pirke Avot, or "Teachings of the Fathers", which is a section of the Talmud. If you're familiar with the text, the fact that it is my favorite should explain a lot about how I look at religion.
As far as my Agnosticism, I was endowed, whether by God or by random chance, with a rational and scientific brain. I cannot take the leap of faith required to believe in God without proof. I also recognize that there is absolutely zero proof of non-existance as well. I figure, I'll live my life in the way I consider to be proper, and if turns out that there is a God, I have nothing to be sorry for. If there isn't one,then I've made no regrets either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Napoleon Iven Quinnly
wow this forum is only 50 percent christian.......dont make me go find some tracks!
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Don't you mean tracts?
Go for the Jack Chick ones. Those things are hilarious. I'd love to meet the guy who had never considered Christianity before, but was suddenly convinced by one of those.