[Nachum]

Okay, fine. But I'm not speaking in the religious sense. I'm talking specifically about ethnicity. How does becoming a Christian change that?

One is not merely a Jew by merit of their birth, but also by a minimal standard of behavior. This standard even applies among secular Jews. When a Jew becomes a Christian, it is a very personal attack on Jewish identity. One cannot be both, as much as some Christians try to sell the idea.

[wimpycat]

Can a person be a Jewish atheist, but not a Jewish Christian?

If Jewishness is an ethnicity, then if atheists are acknowledged as Jews, then Jewish Christians must also be acknowledged as Jews. Ethnicity doesn't change with one's belief system.

But if Jewishness is a religion, then if a Jew becomes a Christian, I can understand if other Jews say they are no longer Jews, but then they must also reject atheists as Jews. A Jew who is atheist, in my opinion, has totally rejected God-and if he rejects God, then he rejects the Chosen People, because the Chosen People were chosen by God. An atheist Jew has rejected his birthright, the thing that makes him Jewish. I personally don't count Jews who reject God as real Jews.

Atheism is even more of a personal attack on Jewish identity, so if Jews who convert to Christianity don't "count" as Jews, then Jews who reject the God of Abraham most certainly don't "count" as Jews, either.

Do you personally consider Jews who convert to Buddhism as Jews?

[rdb3]

One is not merely a Jew by merit of their birth, but also by a minimal standard of behavior. This standard even applies among secular Jews. When a Jew becomes a Christian, it is a very personal attack on Jewish identity. One cannot be both, as much as some Christians try to sell the idea.

:-/

Tell me how that does not sound like something the "blacker-than-thou" folks would say about black identity! The same principle applies.

Check this out:

One is not merely a Jew black by merit of their birth, but also by a minimal standard of behavior. This standard even applies among secular Jews blacks. When a Jew black becomes a Christian conservative, it is a very personal attack on Jewish African-American identity. One cannot be both, as much as some Christians conservatives try to sell the idea.

Do you see just how stupid that sounds?