Indianapolis Star Asks About Lessons of Atonement and Repentance
This past weekend Jews celebrated Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Apparently in recognition of the holiday, The Indianapolis Star included an article “Yom Kippur's message is vital to us all” in which three local faith community leaders (a Methodist Reverend, Jewish Rabbi, and Sikh community spokesperson) addressed the question: “What lessons do its central themes of atonement and repentance offer to people of all faiths?”
What struck me as odd about this article was the very notion of having people who are not Jews commenting on the core subject of the most important Jewish holiday on that very holiday. Could you imagine Buddhists and Jews being asked their views on resurrection on Easter or Muslims and Native Americans being asked about the lessons of Christmas? I don’t find the responses or viewpoints objectionable, but I wonder at the appropriateness and timing of the article.
Am I too sensitive or does anybody else find this a strange article?
Labels: Religion
posted by MSWallack @ 1:05 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
You're too sensitive.
The difference between this article and the Easter/Christmas comparison is that those holidays revolve around a person, not universal concepts. Atonement and Repentance are concepts that are applicable in everyday life, and there are elements of them in most religions (hence the "building bridges" concept of "hey, here's a major holiday in Judaism that has comparable teachings in other religions).
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