[Marcia]

Actually, it seems to me that it is the Christian conception of God that sees him as someone who demands death as the price of sin. Christians say that Jesus died for their sins and that without this sacrifice God would never forgive them and would damn them forever. It is the Christian view that God has so little love and compassion that He will not forgive without someone having been tortured to death. Judaism (with the exception of a few fanatics who would like to see the Temple rebuilt and animal sacrifice reinstated) has moved beyond the notion that someone or something has to die for God to forgive us. (And human sacrifice has been anathema to Judaism in every age. Even the story of the binding of Isaac ends with Isaac’s life spared.) Every year in the synagogue on Yom Kippur we read over and over again that ‘repentance, prayer and good deeds will annul the stern decree.’ God will forgive us because He is merciful and because we sincerely repent. Nobody has to die. THIS is the Jewish view. I guess the fact that Judaism has been viewed through the ages as bloodthirsty and unforgiving, while Christianity, a religion built on the horror of human sacrifice, has been seen as loving and peaceful, is a testament (no pun intended) to the fact that history is written by those in power.

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Name : Marcia, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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