The Quadrilemma: A Look at C.S. Lewis’ Trilemma

The explanation of Jesus was one or more of these things:

Loser - He did not accomplish what he wanted to do for lack of power.

Lord - He accomplished what he aimed to do, though I still can’t figure what that is.

Liar - He was wicked, and started an evil new religion that was only defeated recently with the acts of civil men and civil women.

 

Lunatic - He was mentally ill, and through no fault of his own he created a big mess.

Elie Wiesel: Unconditional Love for God and His Creation

It is in my faith that love for Hashem should be unconditional.  Therefore, I look up to Elie Wiesel; the man in the picture.  His love for Hashem was also unconditional. 

I am not a Jew (or a Christian), but I loved Hashem first (see * for explanation below), when I was at my worst, and in return He gave me a wonderful life beyond my wildest dreams as a child**. 

At my lowest, in college, I was an atheist addicted to the opiates gliadorphin and casomorphin.  I probably also had severe sleep apnea, because after college I was given a sleep study, and I slept for 45min having 54 apneas in that 45min.  Just imagine getting 1hr of sleep a day on opium for years on end.  I had also been hospitalized for psychosis, and treated with psychotropic drugs.  I worked at a golf course, where one of my fellows dictated, "Craig is the tiredest human being on earth."  While I was suffering greatly, the idea of G-d was maddening.  Then, Hashem spoke to me, an unlocatable voice out of creation that said, "I am punishing you."  I had faith, and boldly (I had nothing to lose that I know of.) retorted back to Hashem, "Why are you punishing me?"  Hashem responded, "I get everyone sooner or later. (Deuteronomy 31:20 chabad.org - ...Then, they will turn to other deities and serve them, provoking Me and violating My covenant.)" So I believed, not because I assumed or demanded He would shower me with gifts, yet I testify divine reward and punishment are real things.  As an atheist, I received divine punishment.  As a believer in Hashem, I was eventually rewarded.  

It is now absolutely a joy to be alive, and I trust that no matter what, I love Hashem in the way that I love my wife, Meghan, and I believe with trust comes blessing. However, with Hashem, like my pet turtle; I don’t love her because she is smart, or because she does anything. She is a turtle, a reptile, and would eat me alive without knowledge of doing right or wrong if I let her. I love G-d in the way that I love creation, big animals, small animals, plants and beyond. There is nothing about creation that I think is appropriate to hate or judge Hashem for.

The answer to problems is love, not love that says if I do this then Gd will give me such and such, but to accept all of His creation, and to observe His commandments, regardless, as Elie Wiesel put on tefillin, as did many others, during the Holocaust. I think sometimes Hashem tests us to see if we actually do love Him unconditionally with a love dependent on nothing.  That may be the reason behind the Holocaust, I don’t know, but I do know the answer is always to love Hashem with a love similar to the love of David and Jonathan, a love dependent on absolutely nothing at all.
Torah that comes to mind (from chabad.org):

***Ethics of the Fathers 5:16. Any love that is dependent on something--when the thing ceases, the love also ceases. But a love that is not dependent on anything never ceases. What is [an example of] a love that is dependent on something? The love of Amnon for Tamar. And one that is not dependent on anything? The love of David and Jonathan.

****Ethics of the Fathers 1:3. Antignos of Socho received the tradition from Shimon the Righteous. He would say: Do not be as slaves, who serve their master for the sake of reward. Rather, be as slaves who serve their master not for the sake of reward. And the fear of Heaven should be upon you.

This is different from Jesus teaching in his "Sermon on the Mount."  It is different because I believe one should seek Hashem first, not the kingdom, and expect nothing in return.

Matthew 6:33 in the Authorized King James Version of the Bible: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

* "Malachi 1:3 And I hated Esau, and I made his mountains desolate and his heritage into [a habitat for] the jackals of the desert. " - chabad.org

** Rambam - Edut - Chapter 13:2
Converts are not considered as relatives. Even two twin brothers who convert may testify on each others behalf. For a convert is considered as a newborn child.

***This is a comparison of my version of ideal love for Hashem.  It is the way David loved Jonathan, and also the way Elie Wiesel loved Hashem.

****This is another comparison of my ideal version of love for G-d.  Serve the L-rd demanding absolutely nothing in return in the way that a good employee shouldn't serve their boss/manager for the sake of rewards, such as money.

A Snippet of Torah Examined as a Science Book

Pondering Genesis ch. 1; density is the primary reason for the separation of matter. Dawkins suggested discarding Holy Books.
I don’t agree. Choose what helps, Torah and/or science. Torah suggests getting dirty as if there is no Gd to heal.

This is what I ponder; when the sun isn’t shining, naturally darkness falls. Likewise, darkness is radiated from our enclosed universe, except where light dispels.
When closing a box, the matter causes the inside to radiate darkness, in the same way darkness results when the sun passes from view. Hashem divides light and darkness, and the dense and the less dense. Matter usually darks, especially if energy does not make it such as a lightbulb; it radiates darkness when off. Outer-space is thus a place of balance between darking matter of the outer universe and lights like the sun. This balance makes it a place of less gravity; outer space is in between, at the primary area of mixing, and why satellites don’t fall back to earth.

Down With Religion and Science Fundamentalists!

I, as someone who believes in evolution, hope that scientists don't become evolution fundamentalists. By that I mean, as Dr. Bart D. Ehrmanputs it, "No fun, too much damn, and not enough mental," because we don't have a "Theory of Everything," which Albert Einstein and many other scientists have given their life to find. For instance, in science there is no known way to combine carbon and radioactive dating with the idea of oxidative corrosion, which is also a form of aging. However, the discipline of corrosion study is very inaccurate, and will probably always seem that way. It is not a reliable way of studying history, and I believe that if the truth is found, the earth won't be billions of years old, full of stories of epochs of history that are counted in millions of years. Truly, if that is true, I would accept it, but as someone who has taken an Ecology and Evolution Class, as well as a Comparative Chordate Anatomy class, worked in an electrochemistry lab, and read quite a bit of Richard Dawkins writing, I still believe we are probably overestimating the age of things in our world.

Also, I don't believe natural selection is the driving force of evolution. Rather, I believe it is fetish selection that results in the formation of new species. By that I mean natural selection selects for the fittest. However, most species are not the fittest, and they are more likely to become extinct, but nonetheless some species select for things that are queer or unusual in nature, and when reckoned with a mighty sex drive, that is a very powerful force for speciation (the creation of new species).

Part of the reason why I feel this way is from a Richard Dawkins book I read. The question was, "What would it take to disprove the theory of evolution?" The answer was finding something out of order in the fossil record. That has already happened and evolution's fundamentalists closed their eyes and hoped it would go away. The finding was a Coelacanth, a fish long thought extinct for millions of years was showing up in fishermen's catches. "Coelacanths were thought to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, but were rediscovered in 1938 off the coast of South Africa.[6][7]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth

The same is true for biblical literalists that would bet their life that the creation week was literally created in 7 24hr days. They say evolution can't happen, but that is easily proved wrong when examining old world snakes, such as pythons. On the outside of a usual python there is not a hint that it has legs. Yet, if you dissect a python, you will find evidence of a pelvic girdle and limbs, suggesting at one point in history, the ancestors of snakes walked on 4 legs!

Logic and Faith Meet

In geometry, consider the size of a point.  Mystically, the size of a point can’t be determined.  Tell me how big a point is, and I’ll reduce it by half.  Tell me again, and I will cut it in half again, and so on. Geometry does not tell us the size of a point, or even prove that a point exists.  Now consider two points, on the Cartesian plane, and draw a line between them.  Because you don’t know the exact size of the points, you can’t know the exact size of the connecting line, and so on. It can be said that it is important that the points are relatively the same size in order for calculations to become closer to an equality, but rarely are two points or two shapes, or even copies of points and shapes equal. The job of an engineer is to say, "Close enough." However, if one point is big, and one is small, in the real world, it can effect the size of a line.

Judaism has answers for this; the logistic size of points, and line on the Cartesian plane.  We assume a "yud" is a point. In the same way, we assume the existence of a point is possible , so too we are able to have faith in G-d without logistical proof.

This is a letter yud:

We just believe that a point can exist because of a mystical meaning of the Hebrew letter “yud.”  How big is a yud?  It is the size that it is.

Likewise, we can fill the Cartesian plane with lines and shapes because of the mystical meaning of the Hebrew letter “tes.” Tes is like a pregnant woman. In creation, tes was pregnant and gave birth to the universe, in the same way that a mother gives birth.

This is the letter tes:

Premarital Sex Equals Marriage

From a daily email called “Today’s Mitzvah” at chabad.org - "Mitzvah means, "good deed" - "When a man takes a wife and is intimate with her"—Deuteronomy 24:1

Below, please find “Kiddushin is accomplished through one of three methods - c) Through a man being intimate with her.”

Premarital sex is a lie.  If pop culture considered intimacy to result in a marital bond as it is understood in Torah, then the world would be a better place.  There would not be as many broken hearts, or unwanted pregnancies if we put an end to this lie.  Let’s get away from the “premarital” sex idea, and claim that there is no such thing as premarital sex.

The theoretical existence of premarital sex is a great lie propagated by media and corporations that use sex in advertisements in order to sell products.

I am not encouraging more sex among people that cannot afford marriages.  Teenage sex often results in unwanted pregnancies where there is not enough pressure for protective commitment.  Commitment of all of society is necessary to protect young ladies.  Yes, the pressure is to protect young ladies to a greater extent because young women have the most to lose from unwanted pregnancy!  This is something many young ladies fail to understand, probably a consequence of unrealistic idealism.

Part of the email itself:

Positive (Torah) Commandment 213
Marriage

"When a man takes a wife and is intimate with her"—Deuteronomy 24:1

It is a mitzvah for a man to marry a woman through kiddushin. Kiddushin is accomplished through one of three methods: a) The man giving the women an object of value [for the purpose of marriage]. b) The man giving the woman a marriage contract [a document upon which is written, "With this document I am marrying you"]. c) Through the man being intimate with the woman.

My Selected Comments ~ Why Do Jews Exclude Other People?

The discussion to this web article has been closed because it has been thoroughly discussed.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/39606/jewish/Why-Do-Jews-Exclude-Other-People.htm#comments

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAFebruary 13, 2017

Computers are often made up of many things like processors, motherboards, RAM, hard drive, ports, keyboards, etc. The role of each part is divisive, but that doesn’t mean that it is not an essential part of the computer. The same is true in business, especially a chainstore will have a hierarchy of managers, janitors, truck drivers, cashiers etc. However, while their is most certainly a difference of pay between the roles, everybody knows when the cashiers don’t show up because they are so essential. Judaism has a hierarchy as well, such as king, priest, gender roles, and rabbi, etc. What you are getting into here is very dangerous stuff as the Ten Commandments teach not to covet (Exodus 20:14). We have a role. It is what it is. If you want to convert, then do so, but don't try to do kill the religion by teaching an idea similar if not identical to making a rule that everyone should serve as the High Priest at the same time, similar to the way it was with Korech and his company

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAFebruary 6, 2017

It would surprise me to find that Rabbi Manis Friedman is not good man. Research all the work he has poured into making chabad.org tops. Perhaps, listen to his daily verbal teachings of Tanya. What you have found is perhaps a minor blemish to a man whose work for Hashem is mostly stellar. What were you looking for; a God in Rabbi Manis Friedman, perfect in every way in all of his teachings? Don’t set the bar too high for any mortal to accomplish, and maybe someday someone will cut you some slack over something you have said or done. The world continues in existence because of forgiveness. I encourage you to at least try look past the sins that are between yourself and other people. I believe that if you are able to do this, looking past the sins of others, then Gd will look past all of your sins! Live and let live!

Craig HamiltonSandwichFebruary 1, 2017

... However, if one looks further, the Torah never says rape a non-Jew’s dignity because they are not Jewish. If interpreted properly, observe that the Torah makes provisions for the way non-Jews are to be treated; and these provisions are clearly compassionate, and not even slightly mean (Exodus 22:20, Deuteronomy 10:19). If it isn't compassionate, then it is not Torah.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MANovember 23, 2016

By definition I have come to see the maxim that, “If it is Jewish, then it has to be good.” What you are going through now is as a tributary, a stream, mixing in with a river of Jewishness. Navigating, these mixing currents is what you are experiencing now. It can lead to frustration, and even temper tantrums, which I believe that is this problem's source.

What I recommend is for you to pick yourself up, dust off any dirt, and get back at facing the problems that may separate you by changing your viewpoint of them to a Jewish viewpoint. For instance, if you have encountered what seems to be wickedness in Judaism, you may be correct. However, Jews also set a place at Passover for the wicked son with the hope that love will win over wickedness.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAJanuary 27, 2016

Neither city person nor a member of your Jewish family; but a friend interested in practicing Judaism.Reply

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAJanuary 24, 2016

My problem was that I felt like you gave a bunch of uses of the word "we," but not the one I was looking for. You listed many other ways, but none of which was to be a friend of the Jews.

I was concerned about inclusion among those with Jewishness. Do you, Shoshana, feel that I, as a non-Jew, should be welcomed as a friend among Jews, even though I have no desire to convert (there is no way I am kicking out my gentile wife. She is essential)? Chabad.org treats me as a friend, and as a fellow chabad.org user, such that I was hoping that we could share that condition - friendship (like many other fellow chabad.org users do).

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAJanuary 11, 2016

While not being a Jew, I find a tremendous level of inclusion here at chabad.org.

When I first found chabad.org, I long wondered that when Jews wrote, “We,” if “we” meant that Jews were excluding me, and other gentiles.

That “we” word hurt my feelings because I wanted to experience inclusion, especially among those that cherish Torah. How can Torah divide right-minded people if they both love Torah? It is not possible. For example, not even R. Hillel, and R. Shammai, could separate Jew from Jew. Through the Torah, Hashem included both schools of thought, and we found that they were never separate at all.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MANovember 20, 2015

“There were some awkward moments when our child was exposed to Xmas as celebrated by "our" family and when he realized that his paternal grandma did not keep kosher, but we explained that it was fine for her, as a Christian, to celebrate Xmas and to eat non-kosher.”

I think Hashem loves your Grandma for her ability to eat with you as much as your ability to eat with her, but if either is the case, I think Gd allowed your family to be happy. He granted you happiness because on a smaller part He was impressed with your family’s love for Him Xtianity aside, but on a greater part because the time your family spent together inspired deeds of love, inspiring Him to happy, such that He granted your family happiness. Cheers!

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAOctober 19, 2015

We need Jewish diplomats to help explain this. Chabad.org does a wonderful job at it. It may seem silly, but many fall flat on their face with misconceptions about the Jews – usually remnants of what they learned as children in non-Jewish households – including myself at times. Peacekeeping is an art form, not merely a role. Priests need diplomacy skill.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAOctober 19, 2015

“I think people are misunderstanding roles here… It's a matter of role, not better or worse.”

You are so correct! Depending on our experiences, sometimes we make false assumptions. One misconception I had that really made me mad years ago was a belief that Jewish role-play involved Jews metaphorically thumbing their nose at gentiles. I said a prayer that I didn’t want to be like the other man, those men who get angry and attack Israel – nothing but another villain to the Jews. Couldn’t I at least be something more original? So, I continued my education, a good idea, and Gd has blessed me greatly, especially because I came to love His people, His Jews, and His Torah more deeply. Differently, when anger festers, those angry people may be inadvertently attracting psychopathic followers, monsters eager carry out their will by attempting to destroy the Jews. To heal the world, these problems deserve more than just a quick look over.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAOctober 16, 2015

Turning people away, making conversions difficult, and other forms of ways Jews may seem to exclude others is almost certainly destined to continue to backfire on the entire Jewish population. It may not even be correct problems, merely mistaken gentiles, but their reality is that many of them feel that they are getting the cold shoulder. We need to get the real message of Torah out. Rejection because your mother is not special enough is like having a door to a party you want to attend slammed in your face. Remember that! Having the perfect doctrine is meaningless unless it reduces hatred, and fuels peace. My thought is that doing these separatist things makes the combustion fuel that drives the hearts of the enemies of Israel. There has to be a better way.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAOctober 14, 2015

Having a large and diverse gene pool are essential for producing robust offspring that will pass their genes down for future generations. Lack of genetic variability is dangerous and should be cause for caring people of all kinds to be concerned. We find these similar ways in humankind toward endangered animals. We protect their endangered habitats, legislating protective laws to try to save them.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAJune 27, 2015

Regardless of our status as a Jew or non-Jew; these ideas are comfortable with our soul. Regardless of who invented these things, Jew or non-Jew; they are pleasing to nearly anyone. There is a part in our souls that of nearly all of us have such that these contributions sit well with our souls. We don’t like these things just because they are accredited to the Jews. We like them because our Creator made a spot in our heart for them. Take for instance the invention of controlled fire. Controlled fire probably predates even Abraham, the first Jew. I argue that Gd placed a special part in our souls that intrigued us about fire; making us ponder if we could use fire for a good purpose, such as to sterilize, to cook (there are many reasons), or even bad purposes, such as to torture. Jews and non-Jews see things in nature that spark ideas, such that we try to make them useful to us

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAAugust 19, 2014

Charcoal colored people can become milky white colored by hiding their color with white makeup. Usually, charcoal colored people report that they are generally treated better if they hide their dark skin in that way. However, of course it may all be in the head. For instance, perhaps without consciousness the charcoal colored people acted differently.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MADecember 18, 2013

I am not against questioning. I just thought things like saying the Shema twice daily where Rabbinically widely accepted. I am pro-questioning just like you. I wasn't aware that there is much Rabbinical questioning of the Mishnah Torah (I posted one or more comments to chabad.org elsewhere in disagreement with Maimonides, myself). I know many observant Jews "swim" in the Talmud, questiong it, agreeing with some parts, but not others. I am aware that some Rabbi's say that non-Jews have an all accepting approach to Judaism, which is unacceptible, and that conversion mandates a push and pull with Judaism study. As for me personally, I like the idea of being a non-Jew who attempts to observe the 613 laws of Judaism. I know that unlike most religions Judaism can evolve. For instance 2,000 years ago, there where not the "black hat Jews," as that style of a black hat was yet to be fashionable. I would like one these costumes. I like to say the Shema in the morning and before bed.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MADecember 9, 2013

This banned book list is very small. There were really only a handful of books possible to ban anyway; one of which was the Talmud. The priests that banned the Talmud couldn't even read it. Really, I think you are making this banned book thing into something that it isn't because that is what secular high school teachers do. Aside from the Jews, only the clergy and the nobility in Europe were usually literate, representing fewer than 1% of the population. Most of the others probably didn't even remember the sermons. Consider the 99%; life expectancy was under 30 (for crying out loud)! Rumor and suspicion ruled then in the ways that gossip rules high school hallways. Jews were viewed with suspicion, as Jews do not assimilate. Jews in the Dark Ages were the equivalent of Muslims in America today. People hear a family is Muslim and then some cower in fear and some would probably murder them if they could get away with it by law.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MADecember 9, 2013

"When the leaders of the church decided that Augustine's positions on various points was correct, the books written by those who disagreed with him were banned."

When is this time period? I have never heard of such a thing. How far reaching was it? Certainly, this did not eliminate Paganism, that was later.

"Only one doctrine was permitted to be published."

What doctrine is this? Does it have a name?

"The King James Bible was a product of the 16th century Church of England and constituted a document of English Protestantism, rather than of Christianity as a whole."

This is what I am trying to communicate to you. Christians are all about telling each other that they aren't Christians. Everyone wants to say that their denomination is the authoritative one. We only get that among converts in Judaism. There is only doubt over converts, and the method for assuring conversion. However, Rabbi's are certain that if one has a Jewish mother, that makes one Jewish.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MADecember 8, 2013

Hymie confused the Mishneh and the Mishah Torah. R. Judah haNassi wrote the Mishneh in the Dark Ages, which was heavily commented on. That work is called the Talmud. The Talmud permits questioning. That is the style of the Talmud Bavli. Maimonides compiled the Mishneh Torah much later than the Talmud Bavli in the the Middle Ages. The Mishneh Torah is the summary of Talmudic rulings. The Mishnah Torah has been called the "Constitution of Judaism." It is to Judaism what the US Constitution is to Americans. Judaism has only one kind of Jew, like the USA has one kind of American. Christians say stuff like Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Baptists, and Catholics are different faiths, such is the idea of denominations. We never find that in Judaism, except Reform and Orthodox disagree over who is a convert, in the way that the US questions who is a citizen and who is an illegal alien.

Craig HamiltonSandwichDecember 6, 2013

Where did this happen? And, how prevalent was it? From what I know Christianity, as it is now, the practice of Christian faith essentially dates back to the creation of the King James Bible, which occurred at about the same time as the invention of Guttenberg’s printing press. Most lands considered Christianized, where in fact dominated by Pagan (non-Christian) belief, as people were illiterate, and had short life expectancies. St. Augustine was born, 354 “AD.” People would have only heard what Augustine said, unable to read. Who was banned?

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MADecember 3, 2013

Thanks for correcting me Hymie. Avi, my apologies. I incorrectly concluded that Avi said an astronomical number of people are worshipping like Jews. However, the subject of my comment in question is extremely relevant to the subject of "Why Jews Exclude," with respect to Christianity. Though Jews have chuckim, chuckim have precise ways that they can be observed. Different from the possibility of Orthodox chuckim observance, Christianity has thousands of different denominations, each with different doctrine. Differently, with Judaism, there is only difference with respect to the amount or level of observance, while Rabbi's are not in disagreement over what the words actually say. For example, Rabbis can argue laws in Talmud, but no Rabbi has a doubt as to the conclusion of the argument in the Mishnah Torah. Christianity has no doctrine or commentary where conclusions gained widespread agreement. Consequently, for lack of coherence Christianity must be excluded from Judaism.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MANovember 19, 2013

I must disagree with you in that billions of people worship in the way that Jews do. Clearly, you are including the majority of Christians here, am I correct that you are not including Islam?, and I have to admit that there is a very small minority of Christians that worship like Jews, not messianic Jews, however. Most Jews would probably say Islam is closer to Judaism than Christianity. Isn't it a shame when Jews and Muslims don't get along. However, let's get one thing straight, Christianity, especially the Christian doctrine of the New Testament is too confusing if not impossible for Jews to understand (myself included). Consequently, to the fact that leading Jewish rabbis fail to understand the New Testament, is that rabbis believe it is not Jewish. The New Testament is often understood by non-Jews to mean, "Do good!" However, beyond that I don't believe that there are many conclusions that we as followers of Torah can make that are in agreement with Christianity.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MANovember 14, 2013

Indeed Tesla did invent many things. However, for their size, Jews have contributed a disproportionally large amount of good things. Though the Scots contributed television, there were hints of Judaism from many things that influence the world. Marx came from a long line of Talmudic scholars. Einstein thought himself as a Jew. Freud developed some of his thinking from Talmudic thought. Research a list of Jewish Nobel laureates and you will see. When researching the number of Nobel laureates by subject; this is what I found, which may be in error: Chemistry 36 Nobel laureates, Economics 29, Literature 13, Peace 9, Physics 51, and Physiology 55. Though the numbers may not be exact, the point is made. Indeed, to belong to the Jewish nation is something very special, and all the while it is not an elite group. One, such as a simple son or daughter, may suffer from chromosome non-disjunction and still be a Jew. The simple Jew is also welcomed to celebrate Passover.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAJuly 18, 2013

In order to understand the culture of Jews which can now be quite atheist, we must first understand why these Jews adopted these beliefs. Admittedly, I disagree with atheism myself, but that is beside the point.

Judaism and the revelation of Gd to Moses at Mt. Sinai are, and should be forever ingrained in those that are new to Jewishness. In fact, the new theory is that civilization came about through desire to worship Gd. In square one of Jewishness, one must first accept Torah.

The Jews that believe that to be civilized, one should be an atheist are no doubt the product of ancient religion, and also one that seems prone to mishaps along the way. Some say it is the religionists fault, others say it is secular Judaism that is at fault. However, to know both of these as choices is really the only way to understand us as we are today. Also, those that choose the secular route, often disappear into the abyss of cultures, seemingly with their line wiped from the Book of Life.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAApril 9, 2013

While the Torah does permit marriage of one’s first cousin, it does not indicate that this is the most ideal situation, as there are many incest taboos of which we can extrapolate incest is not best. Marriage of closer cousins is also closer to being sinful when we look at the big picture the Torah presents us. Thus, if anything we should be able to extrapolate that when marrying, the further the genetic link between partners, the better, although this is not the only consideration. Jews are a clan, and likewise to maintain a sense of identity, Jews should marry someone who is familiar with Judaism, and at least have a partner that embraces Jewish endeavors.

Craig HamiltonSandwichMarch 13, 2013

To those that are choosing observance; that is beautiful. I encourage everyone who wants to observe to observe, while not trying to fit people into boxes, such as Jew and gentile. I believe that everyone has a certain level of comfortable observance that if they choose to embrace confers a certain level of beauty. As it is such that those proclaiming what it is that they do for the sake of observance, Hashem grants to them greatness due. So, it is not that I seek a Jewish wife, but it is that I seek for folks, including my wife to embrace Judaism, if that is what their heart desires.

Folks know I like religion a lot and I try to encourage those that I know to a level of observance that feels comfortable for their souls, encouraging rather than discouraging. Folks get enough challenges to their religion without intentional discouragement.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAApril 17, 2012

If the numbers dead under Nazi Germany is alarming to you, the perhaps research to see how fast the world replenishes 10 million people. As far as world population is concerned 10 million people is but a drop in the bucket.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAApril 11, 2012

When selecting a mate, it is generally good to select someone that is familiar with the set of circumstances that you grew up with, such as culture. Why? Because when two people get married it is as two rivers merging. First, there is turbulence. Then, if you actually make it by the turbulence, then a river is more likely to be calm. It is good to keep the turbulence to a minimum, while not promoting incest.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MAJanuary 23, 2012

I have spent countless hours trying to get Christians to have empathy for those that they say are going to hell. With a friend I even came up with a response to Pascal's Wager. I call it Craig and Byron's Wager. We wager that if Christians personally knew all the people that they say are going to hell, then they would stop being Christian.

Craig HamiltonSandwich, MANovember 12, 2010

There is another audio recording on this website that refutes that everyone carrying the last name Cohen is in fact a Cohen. The evidence suggested is that there are far too many with that last name for it to be legitimate. Cohen is but one family of the Levites, such that it would be highly unlikely that there are more Cohenim that regular Levites. However, among Jews there are far more Cohenim than just regular Levites. Another argument given is that that no Jew possesses an ancestry accurate enough to tell him whose Y chromosome he possesses. No ancestry directly from Aaron is possibly claimable by any Jews. However, there are some ancestries in Christian mythology that claim that their are Cohenim among them. Thus, it may be plausible to suggest that all with the last name Cohen are related. However, it is not plausible to suggest that they are legitimate Cohenim.