Open Source Judaism

[Erincelt]

Mmkaydoke.

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/opinion/story/0,24330,3428244,00.html

[amberlaine]

Two passages from that article really spoke to me:


A renaissance in religion, too, would demand that we dig deep into the very code of our myths and faiths, and then re-experience them in the context of full modernity. It will require us to assume, at least temporarily, that nothing at all is too sacred to be questioned, re-interpreted, and modified. But in doing so, we will be enabled to bring religion through its current crisis and into its next phase of expression. And, ironically perhaps, we'll be engaging ourselves in one of Judaism's most time-honored traditions.



and


Encouraging people to develop and share their personal perspectives on the Torah in the context of its historically validated evolution does not challenge the testament's authority at all, but confirms it as a living document with an almost infinite supply of unharvested wisdom.


Both of these speak to the very heart of my own idea of religion, and to my own path. I think it is extremely important for individuals to get their hands dirty with the inner workings of their faith, to challenge and to shape the central ideologies and myths both in order to keep the faith up-to-date, but also as a gedeankexperiment to keep oneself in tune with the true spirit of his or her faith. Accepting religion by rote isn't particularly enlightening, but once we get down to the nitty gritty and start "hacking the code", so to speak, we can unearth a wellspring of inspiration and wisdom.

[Phoenix Blue]

:) Moved to Theology and Philosophy.

[AmbivalentMirage]

Thank you for posting this, Erincelt! I :heartthro: it!!

[Ravens_Tears]

Thanx for posting this erincelt.. it's certainlky peaked my interest and I'll be giving it a thorough read later:)

[Erincelt]

This is pretty amazing isn't it? Some of you guys might also want to check this out:

The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (http://www.osogd.org/)

Quite the concept... I know somewhere there was an Open-Source technopagan project but I don't know what ever became of it. I've bookmarked opensourcejudaism.com but haven't gotten around to really perusing it just yet. Age of Aquarius indeed.

[Erincelt]

Originally posted by AmbivalentMirage

Thank you for posting this, Erincelt! I :heartthro: it!!

Glad to be of service! :D I rather thought you'd appreciate it.

[mol]

Amazing...I have not seen this. I have been to the OSGD, but not this one. Thanks for sharing.

[cydira]

Does this mean that Yiddish is actually a programming language? :D

The idea of "open source" just doesn't mesh with anything other then computers. I just kinda get confused by the pairing of that phrase with something other then a computer language. Of course, when over half of the people you know are computer programmers, that seems to be the only context you'll hear the phrase "open source."

I agree whole heartedly with the concept expressed in the article. I don't think that it should be restricted to the mainstream religions, however. I think that it's vital to the health of any religious community if there is an active and engaging ongoing discussion of the religion in all it's aspects. If you don't do that, I think that it's all the more likely that a religion will degerate into a hobby or a social gathering where you may meet up with others to discuss things that are unrelated (in your mind) to your religion. Now, I, personally, view religion as an organic thing that touches all aspects of our lives and quite possibly our education. This open discussion, I see, is an extension of the interdiciplinary education that I feel everyone is entitled to.

But I won't get up on my soapbox on that matter. ;)

Great thread, by the way! Even if I don't understand Judiasim. :D

[AmbivalentMirage]

Originally posted by Erincelt

Glad to be of service! :D I rather thought you'd appreciate it.

I did, quite a bit! :)


Originally posted by cydira

Does this mean that Yiddish is actually a programming language? :D


LOL!! Of course! You know... HTML really stands for "Haissen Tsalooches Mashuggah Ligners" (Despise, hate crazy liars). ;) hehehehe

[mol]

Lmao.

[Erincelt]

Do pardon me, but... "Oy." :D

[Haruka2077]

Yup, this pretty much describes my relationship with religion... It works well for me! Much more functional, personal and meaningful than just following a path someone else laid out, without asking any questions. Then again, this is probably an idea a lot of Pagans would identify with- a lot of us find our paths through our tendency to "ask questions first". :D