is Reform Judaism closer to... Liberal Christian Protestantism?

Question

A. Agnosticism

B. Liberal Christian Protestantism

C. Orthodox Judaism

D. Other

If you know anthing about the topic pick an answer and please explain why.

Answer 1

I would say that while obviously Reform Judaism is nothing like any form of Christianity. But, if you are making comparisons then I suppose Reform Judaism is to Liberal Protestant Christianity as Orthodox Judaism is to Greek Orthodox Christianity. The liberal end of the spectrum does less liturgy and will have less emphasis on how to live out the morals of the faith. At the same time, the liberal end of the spectrum is going to be more accepting of those who practice immoral behavior. If you want to find gay Jews you are much more likely to find them in the Reform rather than amoung the Orthodox. Generally it is the same in Christianity. You are much more likely to find gay Christians in a liberal denomination like the Metropolitian Community Church than you are in a fundamentalist church.

But at the same time I want to avoid saying anything too harsh about them either. The Reform movement is at least still making a point of contact with Judaism, even though it isn't the fully observant Judaism that Orthodoxy requires.

Since I study with Chabad, my views on this are tempered by their approach. They can't be too harsh in their approach with the Reform because that is one of the groups they draw new members from. If they were too harsh, they would turn people off to Orthodoxy rather than drawing them in. Their message is "you can do better -- there are more mitzvot that you can perform".

Keep studying Torah, and keep working on improving how you live your life. Reach upwards, HaShem meets us where we are and calls us to keep going further.

Answer 2

Some Reform Jews are probably closest to A or B. Others are closer to C. I think there is a wide range of variety there.

I went to a synagogue when I used to live in Huntington, West Virginia (before I became interested in Orthodox Judaism) that claimed to be a Conservative and Reform synagogue all in one. The Rabbi was Reform, but he was very devoted and led Saturday morning services in a fairly traditional way and called that the "Conservative" service. Friday nights were the "Reform" service. They sometimes even had a Sunday morning "Orthodox" service. But I can't imagine many going to that because I would think a true Orthodox Jewish person would not go to a synagogue led by a Reform Rabbi like that, in a town where there were no Orthodox Jews to begin with. The "conservative" service only drew about 9 to 15 people on any Saturday. It was very difficult to bring together a minyan.

But, the people who went to these services mostly identified themselves as "Reform" even if they occasionally went to the Saturday morning Conservative service. They would drive to synagogue and not worry about the fact that they brought the Shabbat in late (the Friday service always lit the candles at 8:00 all year long). But some of them were very strict to keep kosher and keep the holidays.

They obviously did less than Orthodox Jews, but they were not just lax in their devotion. They were very committed to their Judaism, as they interpreted it. So for these Reform Jews, I would say they were closer to C, Orthodox Judaism.

I also occasionally went to a Reform synagogue in Morgantown, West Virginia however that was quite a bit more liberal. There were several people there very devoted to their Judaism, but others were kind of lukewarm. They may have been closer to A. The rabbi that was there when I went was quite liberal. He was touched by the story of Jesus, even though he didn't believe he was the messiah or anything. But he was very open to other religion's ideas. He called God only "God." He would never say "He." It made the prayers sound awkward to me. Instead of "He is God." It was "God is God." That seemed strange to me, but his point was that he didn't believe that God was any more male than female. So this guy I would place in a category closer to B. Some of these Jewish people I met in that synagogue did not keep all the kosher laws, because they felt that was outdated (another reason I would place them in B).

I think that Reform Judaism encompasses a wide range of Jews, in other words. It attracts those who are devoted to Judaism, but who do not have a tradition of being Orthodox, or who may feel put off by some of the stringencies of the Orthodox life, but don't want to totally abandon the traditions. Some of the people in the Reform synagogue in Huntington I went to were from Orthodox families and their jobs took them away from an Orthodox synagogue. They were not religious enough to insist on taking a job elsewhere, but were not so irreligious to give up on so many of their traditions.

But at the same Reform synagogue, there are those who know very little about Judaism at all, who do not even believe in the Torah or God so much. They may just feel they want to connect with their people, and they may have a strong attachment to Israel. In fact, I got quite disgusted with the large amount of political-sounding sermons I would hear at the Reform synagogues. I felt like I wanted something more spiritual and religious, but I rarely got that at the Reform service.

Answer 3

The religion itself is most closely allied with any other form of Judaism, of course. It seems to me that Judaism's focus in any branch is (a) on applied ethics in daily living, and (b) the role of a Jew in the world.

Liberal Christian Protestantism of course is, like other Christian denominations, focused on Christ. Now that focus may be different - liberal protestants tend to be focused less on soteriology and more on applied ethics as taught in the Sermon on the Mount and the parables Jesus told - but it is still done through the patina of Christology. That is enough to make for a big difference.

Not so different, of course, that it prevents liberal Christians and Reform Jews from making alliances - they do, often and frequently, on both charitable, environmental, and political projects. But the similar conclusions they draw are approached from two fairly divergent origin points. :-)

Answer 4

B Reform Judaism is based on Liberal Christian Protestantism

The core beliefs are still Jewish but the rituals and some other "beliefs" have seriously been influenced by the Liberal Protestants.

The structure of services and Temple are heavily influenced by Protestant Churches and services.

Answer 5

Orthodox Judaism. The reform movement has really come full circle in it's level of observance of law. I have seen a lot of reform shuls that ask women not to wear their tallits even.

Answer 6

D. Reform Judaism is much closer to secular humanism than anything else. For many, the only connection they have to Judaism is the Holocaust...and it is sad that anyone feels they have to identify their ethnic origin with such a tragedy.

Answer 7

I am a Reformed Jew so I would have to say (c) because we don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah so therefore we are far from anything to do with Christianity.

Answer 8

they are nonetheless Jews. There are somewhat 2 varieties of Jews, Messianic Jews and non Messianic Jews. The Non Messianic Jews many times don't like the Messianic ones a lot. The Messianic Jews are following a Rabbi of the first century that they trust is the Messiah.

Answer 9

None of the above. There is no creed in Judaism; the differences are mostly in practice. Orthopoxy?

Answer 10

Just stick with Christianity,and accept Jesus today as your savior. Time is running out. Jesus is coming in our life time, ready or not.