Do you guys...?

Question

Do you know a lot about Christianity? I know tons because I go to a Christian private school. It's kinda weird because well, we're so different. Except, many of them are so anti- semitic, it's not even funny. Like my older sister and me, there's this teacher who's constantly calling us "Stiff neck Jews" or just "Hey Jew"in the hallway. I think my mom's gonna go yell at him tomorrow though.

Ultra National- Do you think it's weird how I go to a Christian school in though I'm Jewish?

Answer 1

I grew up in Arkansas. A church on every other corner ( that isn't inhabited by a liquor store or convenience store it seems)

A place where people who first meet you often ask right after exchanging names " What church do you attend?"

Every school is a "Christian school" because in Arkansas, despite seeing bumperstickers and reading letters and rants that " God has been taken out of school"..there is Christianity all over the schools. The entire month of November and first two weeks of December is dedicated to Christmas activities, Christmas concert preparations, plays, there are Student Christian Associations that meet on the playgrounds and in assemblies before school leaving my Jewish child and a hand full of others alone amid a school populace of nearly 700. ( My son is one of 3 Jews in his whole school. Out of an entire school district with 4,000 students, there are 5 Jewish students. this is less than when I grew up here.)

I grew up being accosted in the hallways by the 70's " Jesus freaks" who would sometimes actually try to physically take hold of me to tell me they wanted me to " believe or burn"

From the time I was 6 years old and FIRST had my exposure to the bizarre things many Christians believe ABOUT Jews..it inspired in me a desire to learn WHY they thought those 'crazy things" if we supposedly believe in the same God. I first read the New Testament as a child ( they're handed out by the Gideons here at public schools ) And I discovered for myself that the source of anti semitism and their bizarre beliefs come right from the New Testament's false depictions OF Judaism. Yet millions believe this is an inerrant word of God.

So, what do I do? I try to do my best and leave the rest to God. I try to help educate when and where I can and I try to simply live my life in Tikkun Olam as all our ancestors who found strength of faith and purpose in such a relationship with God and all other life. I find great connection to the disappearing woods and wildlife around me. I feel that my best purpose is served in trying to repiar this little corner of the world I love.

Yes, I know a lot about Christianity. I can often quote their texts back to them better than they can to me. I've heard them preaching it to me my whole life. I think that for many Jews..that IS the case..because there are so many more of them who believe that it is their obligation of their faith in God to try to convert the Jew..the 6 million Jews in the US have heard their "message" probably more than most Christians have heard it! They consider our steadfastness in faith to God " stiff necked" because for 2,000 years it hasn't disappeared!

"stubborn" and "stiff-necked" are common insults..but it is that very trait of refusing to bow to pressure to abandon our ethics and values and faith in God that have kept Judaism alive despite all odds.

There are no Jewish schools anywhere near where I live..we have a synagogue almost an hour away but my Judaism has been largely home and family centered, as well as with the small Jewish community.


Growing up I went to church Sunday Schools as a visitor with Christian friends and helped to tell them what Jews did and didn't do and sometimes they believed me and sometimes they didn't. I also invited Christian friends to my synagogue and helped to educate many.

I had childhood friends who told their parents " I want to be Jewish on Chanukkah, Purim and Passover for all the good food and fun"

I have more non-Jewish friends than Jewish simply because I know so many more non Jews than Jews.

It really isn't an odd thing at all in the United States for Jews to know a great deal about Christianity. Unfortunately..for some Jews..they actually know more about Christianity than about Jewish history and Torah. This is what the missionary depends on, too. So learn your own well!
Shalom :)

EDIT: I can't believe I almost forgot..when I was in High School and became friends with some black girls that I " skipped" class with..hehe..they invited me to their church to watch a Baptism. I'm always a curious sort so I went. I LOVED their services because of all the music and singing was so overwhelming and wonderful. I did not join in the prayers to or through Jesus, but respectfully observed to learn what they believed and why. I think it makes for better dialog when you try to understand what others believe by how they express their faith. They were very gracious to me, and moreso than in any primarily white church I ever visited. I went to three other black churches and was met with the same warmth and experienced the same joyous attitude listening to the wonderful black gospel music and choral singing. I invited a few of them to the synagogue, where they were underwhelmed and felt a little uncomfortable at what they felt was the quiet formality compared to the type of worship they were used to! It was so very different!
So, then, my high school boyfriend and I discovered that for two broke teenagers, black gospel tent meetings were a source of some great entertainment the summer going into my senior year of high school! We were the only two white faces in the crowd but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Fond, fun memories this question now evoked..I'll stop my rambling now.



EDIT: jdriven doesn't sound like he's living in the real world. Unless one lives in an area where they're not going to be socially and economically isolated to the extreme..for something like the above insult ..which is NOT AN UNCOMMON THING for ANY Jew to hear in the U.S. going to a lawyer to sue is going to cause much more trouble than it will solve.

Definitely complain to the principal and the school administration, in writing as well as in person. Keep any copy of correspondence or reply and see how it progresses from there. Try to see if you can get reassigned to a different teacher if possible. Trying to get the teacher fired first thing may cause backlash for you. Proceed with respectable, ethical behavior and do not allow yourself to be baited.

It has technically been illegal since the 60's to have prayer in school but that hasn't stopped EVERY graduation from kindergarten through high school and every PTA meeting I've EVER attended from being opened with a prayer in Jesus name and I've attended a great many such events in my 49 years. Each time I've opened my mouth to say that it was disrespectful and a violation of students civil rights, I've been given many excuses why they believe it is justified. The most common is..' "You need to be tolerant of the beliefs of the community, and we've NEVER had anyone complain before" ( which is bullshit because I know that other Jewish parents have complained in years prior and met with the same comment. I leave my threats of legal action for the egregious violations, such as having a church ministry put on an entertainment program in the school whereby they pass out at the end of the program pamphlets asking children to sign over their soul to Jesus (eerily like faust if you ask me!). This has happened twice and twice it's been halted by a Jewish parent and we've been labled troublemakers for it. So be it. So now they offer such things AT THE SCHOOL..but on a WEEKEND. Yeah, and our tax dollars are paying for the lights and a/c while this is going on but it's a "voluntary thing" and not "promoted" by the school so they found a loophole to let it be "legal".

jdriven's "certain"ty that a Jewish group would have lawyers ready to pounce is bizarre..
combine that with his assertion that the bigoted remark HAD to come from an atheist..as if to also insult atheists and he reads to me as if he's biased himself. There are very few cities in the United States with Jewish populations large enough to support any kind of Jewish legal defense. I simply don't know what world he's living in but it isn't the real one.

And as to the claim about the teacher being atheist..across the south at least..ATHEISTS are the ONLY group that get it WORSE than Jews! I doubt an openly atheist teacher would ever be employed by ANY school district in Arkansas. They're more in the closet than homosexuals. I have never had an atheist act in a bigoted manner to me in person ( online, yes a few times, but much rarer than the fundamentalist Christian or Muslim) I've also never had an atheist knock on my door and tell me that if I didn't abandon my faith for what they were peddling, I'd burn in their hell.

It isn't always easy to prove that the teacher made those statements when it is between you and them without a witness either as is often the case. Your mother should rightfully stand toe to toe in your defense and let that teacher know that you won't tolerate it. A cowardly bigot doesn't usually make those kind of statements in the presence of a witness and the obvious "defense" is that the Jewish child being slurred is just looking to " play the victim" to get out of whatever trouble it is the teacher will then accuse the child of causing, Then, they'll tell how much they "love the Jews" because, after all, they love Jesus. If I had a quarter for every time I heard that crack come out of the mouth of a bigot, I'd have enough money to PAY a laywer.


Bigotry exists. It is a sad thing that it does, but it happens and each of us has to do our part to have our lives stand as a testament against it. I try to pick my battles wisely and realize that if I spent every moment incensed over every comment I'd not have time to enjoy my life or raise my son to appreciate life and the world around him with the blessings we DO have.

shalom :)

EDIT TO MONEYMAL; If it were a fellow STUDENT, I would agree with you wholeheartedly. But based on personal experience over more than one generation of such events..if a teacher is doing this, a person in "power" over the student, it is done to purposely intimindate and such behavior would be seen as a challenge to their authority by the student and then if I were a gambling kind of person I would say it would escalate. The teacher needs to know that they are NOT in power over that student with such behavior and the mother does need to address it. BUT not in anger..that is what is important in how one addresses it.

Every situation is different. But when it comes to a teacher making those statements, ignoring it will only make the teacher feel empowered..and taking that comment as a badge of pride FROM the teacher will only make the teacher want to undermine the child's self-esteem in perhaps more insidious ways.

Please consider this. If it were from a PEER..your advice is spot on!
Shalom :)

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was in NO way advocating the child to handle this at all, nor was I suggesting a challenge by the child. What you are suggesting would make the teacher feel more empowered and would even encourage peers to take jabs. YOU suggested to snap back with a retort. ("hey gentile") That would be seen as disrespectful to the teacher! I did one better, I took the high road and tried to ignore the insults. They escalated to the point where I was getting insults by students who would have never felt so empowered to do so. With them, I did make quick retorts such as you suggested without being offensive back and still holding onto the high road. I am proud that I was able to do that so young. I was only in the third grade!

The next time it happened five years later, I told my parents and they handled it appropriately. My father called the principal and told him that either I would be removed from that particular teacher's class and placed in another or he could ASSURE him that I would not be insulted with any more anti-Semitic insults. I wasn't moved and the insults stopped.

My parents were horrified to learn that it had happened to me for my entire third grade year . The teacher hurling personal insults for my being Jewish, without me opening my mouth. It showed them that their instilling in me to RESPECT my teachers took hold, but they had to clarify to me that not all behaviors FROM TEACHERS are always respectful and abuses should be stopped. It somehow never occurred to them that this kind of behavior could happen from a teacher to a third grader, despite my father having gone through a similar experience in his high school years in Texas.

I strongly disagree with you based on what I have lived and seen with my own eyes, in not only my case, but in the case of a half a dozen other people I know, personally. I know of three instances in the past five years alone.

In every instance, when it was a boss or a teacher and it was NOT addressed, it escalated.

When students behave that way or co-workers, or strangers on the street, what you suggest is perhaps most effective, but NOT when it is people who are in positions of authority who are abusing it!

Taking the high road doesn't mean you let someone run over you with abuse of authority. I never left the high road and I'm not advocating that now.

Yelling is out .. Acting in calm, reasoned response to make sure it doesn't happen again is the mature, responsible thing to do for your child.

Shalom

Answer 2

I know a lot about Christianity and even better I know where to look for answers.
This is not Christian behavior. Like way too many of the West's educators this clown is probably an atheist, and his slurs political, if not racial.
I think I remember you are in Canada? In America this is not only poor behavior it is also illegal. You need to talk to the school administration first and then perhaps a lawyer, which again if in America I am sure the Jewish league or which ever will have a free lawyer ready to jump on this.
It is obviously OK to hate in America just don't say it. Hate crimes are dealt with harshly now a days. Remember we have our own racial issues we have contended with throughout our short history.
Fight back. Don't go meekly.
Also don't judge us all by a few flakes that don't even know their own bible.
I know Jews don't like what the bible says about the end times and the Messiah, but it's there for us not you. If this clown knew his bible he would not mess with Jews on a bet.

Answer 3

I wouldn't get offended, and I most certainly wouldn't call my mom to yell at the stupid teacher.

I would take those "insults" with pride. That's right, I am a stiff-neck Jew! If someone called me that I would look at him wisely, and smile at him from above.

And if a gentile said "Hey Jew" to me in the hallway, I would answer "hello gentile" with dignity and pride in my voice.

you can actually make the whole situation play in your favor and gain respect.

It may seem humiliating at the moment, but you'll see that by applying that sort of behavior you will come out on top.

I hope that you take my advice. Good luck.


Edit: to mama_paj
I would have to disagree. You say "... and such behavior would be seen as a challenge to their authority by the student..." Not if you don't openly insult your teacher. In fact I would encourage you to show him all the respect he deserves as a teacher, but when it comes to this issue, you must act as if you are a victor by default (which you are, sometimes it takes a lot of growing up to understand).

Answer 4

Whoo: your teacher's behaviour is APPALLING.

He/she should not be allowed to get away with this: it is fundamentally wrong. You should make a formal complaint.

If you're at a Christian school, then I guess you have an opportunity to try and show your classmates that as Jews we are just people, just like them.

Next time anyone says something insulting about being Jewish, remind them that Jesus was Jewish. And ask them if they feel that being racist is compatible with being a good Christian?

edit to Hopeless,

What on earth has Whoo's situation got to do with financial aid to Israel? Are you really this illogical? And about about the billions that go to Iraq, and Germany, and Saudi Arabia - I note you never mention them!

Answer 5

It's weird, yes, but I share the weirdness. I went to a Catholic private school for 8 years, don't ask me why, because I don't know.

So I do know a lot about Xianity.

Answer 6

I have taken a look at other people's religions and cultures, yes. I'd say I know more about them than the average non-Christian.

EDIT: LOL whoo, you are probably expecting me to say something like, "blasphemy!", right? hehehe. No, I mean if your situation is one where that is the only school available, I guess there's no problem.

Answer 7

Then stop going to a Christian school, there are plenty of Jewish schools

Answer 8

Much is shared between Christianity & Judaism, so I think it's kinda' cool you go to this school.
And, good for your mom for sticking up for you.

Answer 9

i believe that, a christian teacher calling you a ''stiff neck jew'' in israell.

Answer 10

as a Christian I think im a nice guy and Im not a fanatic! but that teacher should be thrown out for saying this! God Bless You!

Answer 11

Its highschool, every kid no matter what faith they are tease other kids, its called bullying, has nothing to do with religion, most kids sit in school and religion goes in one ear and out the other, its not until they grow and have faith and really believe, Christians believe that God is all about love and forgiveness and down deep inside and on the outside they go very far to show their love. How else is millions of $ going to Israel every year? Cheers!