If Samaritans were looked down on and thought of as second class why didn't they convert?

Answer 1

The Samaritans have never converted to Judaism because they feel strongly about their religion, which they claim is the true religion of the ancient Israelites, predating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
These are their religious views:
* There is one God, the same God recognized by the Hebrew prophets;
* Their view of God is the same as the Jewish biblical view of God;
* The Torah was dictated by God to Moses;
* Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by Israel's God;
* Many Samaritans believe that at the end of days, the dead will be resurrected by Taheb, a restorer (possibly a prophet, some say Moses);
* They possess a belief in Paradise (heaven);
* The priests are the interpreters of the law and the keepers of tradition; unlike Judaism, there is no distinction between the priesthood and the scholars;
* The authority of classical Jewish rabbinical works, the Mishnah, and the Talmuds are rejected;
* Samaritans reject Jewish codes of law;
* They have a significantly different version of the Ten Commandments (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mt. Gerizim).
Samaritans now number a total of 705, half of whom reside in their modern homes on Mount Gerizim, which is sacred to them, and the rest in the town of Holon, just outside Tel Aviv.

Answer 2

You don't understand, the Jews did not mix with the Samaritans because they were mixed race and therefore impure. When the Jews were taken captive into Babylon, some were left behind. They survived the best they could and intemarried with the other inhabitants of the land. When the Jews came back from Babylon 70 years later, the locals were considered unclean and not accepted back into Jewish society. That prejudice continued for hundreds of years into the time of Christ. It would not matter if the Samaritan wanted to convert, they were not acceptable in Jewish custom. That is why Jesus used Samaritans in his parables so much because it showed that the Jewish "outcasts" were often more righteous than the Jews themselves.

Answer 3

They are not JUST a race like the other poster said--they believe they are following true Judaism.

I am looked down upon as a Muslim--I would not convert. If you convert to get a better situation here on earth you are not sincere. You need to hold onto you convictions if you truly believe them. You can't tell God one day,...oh well, life was so hard I only converted to have an easier time!

Answer 4

The Samaritans were a people of mixed race who had been settled into Israel by an aggressor nation who had taken captive many of the former inhabitants, and they had traditionally worshipped other gods. (quote from broadcaster.org) endquote. The Samaritians were half Jew and half something else and that is one of the reasons they were so despised by their brothers - they weren't considered pure. The other reason was that they worshipped other gods against God's command not to.

But you will see in the scriptures that some of them did convert to Christianity and follow the way of the LORD.
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John 4:1 Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, "Jesus is baptizing and making more disciples than John" 2 (though Jesus himself didn't baptize them his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea to return to Galilee.

John 4:4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?" 10 Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." 11 "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?" 13 Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. 14 But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life." 15 "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to haul water." 16 "Go and get your husband," Jesus told her. 17 "I don't have a husband," the woman replied. Jesus said, "You're right! You don't have a husband � 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now." 19 "Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, F22 where our ancestors worshiped?" 21 Jesus replied, "Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know the Messiah will come � the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus told her, "I am the Messiah!27 Just then his disciples arrived. They were astonished to find him talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why he was doing it or what they had been discussing. 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone, 29 "Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?" 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
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ACTS 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

ACTS 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

ACTS 8:13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

ACTS 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

ACTS 8:15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

ACTS 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

ACTS 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
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Below are some wonderful sources for discovering who the Samaritians were.
God Bless You

Answer 5

Obviously they had strong conviction to stay Samaritans.....only they are a race. I believe the point of the parable was to show that it doesn't matter what one believes in but rather the action this man took to ensure the safety of another. 'Holy men' passed by and this Samaritan stopped......what do you think jesus was trying to say?

Answer 6

According to Christian teachings, they DID convert...when the woman at the well encountered Jesus.

Answer 7

how does a race convert?