Is Belief in G-d Required

In the previous post I mentioned my unaffiliated friend and his questions about Judaism. One of the more difficult questions he has asked me is this:

Do you have to believe in G-d to be Jewish?

He is not the first person to ask the question, but I still find it to be interesting.

What do you think?

4 comments:

Stacey said...

There are some "humanistic" branches of Judaism that believe more in a messianic era than an actual "messiah." I wouldn't presume to say that they are not Jewish because they do not believe in G-d.

Stacey said...

I identified w/your post, Koftu. I could have written it. I was raised Conservative and both of my parents are Jewish, but the stuff you wrote about G-d and your Jewish identity resonates with me.

Jack Steiner said...

Koftu,

You may be right, I just like asking questions, trying to drill down a little deeper to see what lies beneath.

Keren Perles said...

Yeah, I'm with Jack on this one. What exactly would Judaism be, if G-d was pulled out of the picture? A culture? Sorry, but I thought Judaism was more than just Israeli flags, overachieving moms, and bagels and lox. Stereotypes doth not a Jew make, in my opinion. So then what IS a Jew? I'm not trying to be antagonistic; I'm really trying to understand. What is a Jew?

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