Rabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

I have such issues with Christians who call other Christians "not real Christians" b/c they're harmful--it's gaslighting to the victims of Christianity's brutal history.

Here's what engaging w/harmful branches of a tradition can look like, from Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David. 1/x

Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
This is part of Rabbi Ner-David's letter out to encourage people to support @[email protected], the Rabbis for Human Rights org that's been helping act as a human shield against settlers during the Palestinian olive harvest & protesting/blocking house demolitions since 1988.
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
Rabbi Ner-David is an incredible author and the ED of the only pluralistic mikveh (not run by the rabbinate/queer friendly/etc) in the country. Her book on getting/staying married Jewishly & Chana's Voice are my faves...
https://rabbihaviva.com/
Rabbi Haviva - Rabbi Haviva

Rabbi Haviva Ner-David is a rabbi, interfaith minister, author and spiritual companion/spiritual director/spiritual counselor for individuals and couples of all faiths, specializing in mikveh and dreams.

Rabbi Haviva
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

And OK, the extended dance remix for people who are doubling down on the "but they're not real Christians."

Friends.

It's true that y'all have St. Francis and all the Theresas and Julians, Dr. King, James Cone, Delores S. Williams, Merton, so many other greats before & since.

Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
But you also have the Crusades, Easter and Christmas pogroms, Luther penning On the Jews and Their Lies (which, then, bc a key Nazi text), the Inquisition, the Doctrine of Discovery, use of the Bible to defend slavery and colonialism, use of Bible to defend oppressive misogyny...
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

It's all there. It's all Christianity. It's all the work of Christians. You, lone, irritated individual person, do not get to be the sole arbiter of who is and who is not a true, authentic follower of Jesus, I'm sorry.

My dead ancestors were murdered by Christians. Own that.

Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

I am not going to weigh in on who Jesus was or what he did or did not teach.

But I am telling you that the white supremacist Christian nationalists trying to ban contraception right now are reading the same texts that you are. And you have to deal with that in a real way.

Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

When you say, "oh, those weren't Christians," it's a way for you to dismiss the fact that you are part of a significant world and national hegemony that has had real implications and consequences for many of us.

It's a way to pretend you don't have privilege that you do have.

Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
It's an insult to every single human life that was harmed in Jesus' name. Every Jew. Every Indigenous person. Everyone of African descent. Every Romani person, disabled person. Every LGBTQIA person forced into conversion therapy, everyone denied abortion care.
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
"Oh, I don't have privilege, I'm not part of making your family feel like shit every December when the public square goes full-on Christmas and your kids know it's not for them. That's commercialism, not the REAL Christmas."
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
It's like white people insisting that since they read WHITE FRAGILITY they're not part of the problem of racism anymore, don't have anything else they need to do to end white supremacy. Or, better yet, their ancestors weren't enslavers so it's super not their problem.
Show threadRabbi Danya Ruttenberg
Do you hear it now? I hope? I am begging you. You don't have to do much--as you see, R. Ner-David didn't spend a lot of time engaging with the horrific, racist fascism of the Kahanists, just acknowledged that this, too, is (unfortunately) a thread in our tradition.
Dec 15, 2022 at 6:14pmWeb
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
We say that every generation receives the Torah anew. Every generation has the opportunity to see what has been created in the past and use it to live into the future. But we can't do any of that properly if we are not honest about what is.
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

After the 1619 Project came out, 36 states banned the teaching of our history in some way. Is that what you want for your theology? The whitewashing? The fingers in your ears, while hurting others?

Or do you want an honest theology that names all the truths, faces them?

Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
A theology that owns all of what is and has been done in the name of all you call holy and sacred, and wrestles with it. And creates your Christianity of now, of moving forward that holds that truth while living into the world that we all desperately need.
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

The theology that this world needs is one that does not gaslight victims, but rather holds them, sees them, takes them into account as we create tomorrow. Not pretends they don't exist, that they're not your problem.

Let us crate a new, more whole world together.

Show threadBuster McNuttDec 15, 2022
@TheRaDR you call it theology, I call it ethos.
Show thread➾JynErso😎 🐝🌈🌊🐾🎇🪬🏳️‍🌈Dec 15, 2022
@TheRaDR 🙏 🌻 💜
Show threadDuende ModeDec 15, 2022
@TheRaDR Boy, you're on a roll today! And speaking of "roll," i'm looking for an app on here that rolls up threads... This is a keeper!
Show threadDamiDec 15, 2022

@scduende @TheRaDR You can bookmark it!

Unfortunately rollup apps tend to be used to steal content and monetize it without the permission of the author, so it's honestly a good thing that there aren't any here.

Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
PS I'm not looking for individual Christians to apologize to me on behalf of history in the thread. That's not the point. I WANT you to read it carefully, think it through for real, commit to learning more about the ugly parts of Christian history (the history of antisemitism +
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
in Europe seems to be one place of particular ignorance to a lot of people that's a huge part of both Christian and Jewish history for, like, 1000 years, just saying. But also colonialism, also slavery, also so many things) and grappling with what this means for theology + AND
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022
I want y'all to do this grappling IN YOUR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES. Please bring this conversation in. Please help it spread. That's how we can all create a more honest, more whole world together. OK?
Show threadRabbi Danya RuttenbergDec 15, 2022

And if you want to know why an apology to me now is not helpful--and what else might be--this might be a great place to start...

https://bookshop.org/p/books/on-repentance-and-repair-making-amends-in-an-unapologetic-world-danya-ruttenberg/17845057?ean=9780807010518

Show threadTiredPsychologistDec 15, 2022
@TheRaDR, YES!!! and thank you. I wish anyone well who seeks to have those conversations within Christian community. There are some who do. Most can’t and/or won’t. After decades of attempting honest discourse on topics of privilege, power and harm, I found I had to leave for my own well-being. So much good could come from an embrace of both honesty and nuance. And yet… Thank you for your voice and your work.
Show threadMark KruegerDec 15, 2022

@TheRaDR @TiredPsychologist I similarly no longer have a community to discuss this with. I just picked up On Repentance and Repair and have begun reading it. I hope it helps me broaden my understanding and improve my discourse/actions.

As a geeky aside; it is such a pleasure to be able to find out about a book, buy it on Google Play, and immediately begin reading it on all my devices. And as long as Google exists I’m pretty sure my library will. I prefer the feel of a physical copy but I’m running out of space and I fear my family will evict me (or at least my library) if I buy more books.

Show threadBc Clarity Carlton-MartinDec 15, 2022
@TheRaDR The truth is hate to them. They hate to admit they were taking the wrong side while claiming divine rights.