I attend a Lutheran church and for the past three years the VBS has been very interesting. This year was "Galilee by the Sea" and it was pretty cool. The entire church was transformed into a biblical era fishing village (well, as best as you can do with no budget, this is a church ya know) and the kids dressed up in "period" garb. As part of it, they had a toy shop that made dreidels, a woodworking shop that made menorahs, they had to kiss a mezuzzah (sp,?) as they walked in, they learned to write their names in Hebrew and learned the Hebrew alphabet. The adult men and confirmed boys wore yarmulkes. The point is to teach the kids from a young age some of the background of what was going on so they can learn the Gospels in context.

The kids (and grown-ups) had tons of fun. And my kids are learning tolerance for other traditions. Which I think, in the case of the Lutheran church, may be the point.

I can only speak for myself (and not other Jews) but as nice and harmless as this sounds, I do find it a bit creepy. Now, after all those centuries of (fill in the blank) to Jews, some Christians feel the need to return to the source--for what? Credibility? To prop up sagging interest? Because Jews got better music and dance? But the creepy part is that this attempted co-opting of Jewish cultural ways is being done by a religion that at its center denies the basic truth of Judaism--that G-d is G-d and humans are human. And that there can be no such thing (unless you're some sort of Roman or Egyptian pagan) as a man-God.

"I don't want to be a Pharisee again! I was a Pharisee last week. Why can't I be a Saduccee like Billy?"

"Now just behave yourself, Jimmy, and next week you can be a Zealot, maybe even one of the sicarii. But you've got to behave yourself or you'll have to sit in the corner with the Essenes"

myshkinq: But the creepy part is that this attempted co-opting of Jewish cultural ways is being done by a religion that at its center denies the basic truth of Judaism--that G-d is G-d and humans are human. And that there can be no such thing (unless you're some sort of Roman or Egyptian pagan) as a man-God.

I wonder if they served the Eucharist?

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