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:: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 ::

Rushkoff: cracking the codes of Judaism
Some fascinating thoughts in author Douglas Rushkoff's June 2 blog post about "hacking into" Judaism. (The hacking section of his post is a tangent to his announcement that a website had pulled a radio interview with the author, for reasons not made clear in the post.) I find much of what Rushkoff says about Judaism to translate to other monotheistic religions (as well as other institutions -- education, government, media). He writes:

What are some of the Jewish codes, myths, and superstitions that need to be cracked for Judaism to thrive?

Well, by "crack the codes" I was really just playing off an extended comparison to the computer hacker mentality. Judaism is not set in stone - it is a process in which we must participate. But, in order to do so, we can't have any sacred cows. We have to know how Judaism works, how its texts are put together, and what it is we're supposed to *do* about it.

So, the sacred assumptions that need to be cracked are different for everyone. ...

Continuing, he riffs on the need for a more open-source theology in Judaism:

[W]e need to engage in interpretation of our texts, together. This means accepting that rabbis aren't more holy than regular people. They are not our priests, they are our teachers. They are not our parents, they are our partners. This is a scary thought to many people.

It's a scary thought to many people in the church as well.

:: Andrew 08:56 + ::
...

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