It's not about offending "me personally"... it's the people who are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., or simply not the same kind of Christian you are that you offended.

Not thinking about it is part of the problem, isn't it?

Shouldn't one think about it regardless of one's religion?

And the implication that being a Christian means one doesn't have to think about the rest of the world... well, I'm sure you didn't mean that either.

This is a good example of why religion and politics shouldn't be discussed in a public setting!

I think that you have gone beautifuly straight to the point, SJM, but asking a religious blogger to write as if His God does not exist or is not important to Him is actually not more respectful to any of the theistic faiths; it is anathema to all of them.

To give you a peek into the mind of religious thinkers, which I hope will be helpful: All of the theistic religions teach that denying God, by privately or publicly pretending that He does not exist, is a chief offense, a very great sin.

This kind of speech--"Praise the Lord," "Bless HaShem," "There is no god but Allah," is not common among religious people because they don't care if they offend people (indeed, some do care very much); it is (only?) that they care very much more about offending God.

If someone were to say, "I know this is supposedly Jimmy's forum, but I for one do not believe that he exists--or if he does exist, he can't be the only one who exists. I would be much more comfortable if no one would mention his name, acknowledge him, or speak to him while I am a member."

Most of us would say, "Oh, we could never do that. That would offend Jimmy, who ought to be treated as kindly as any other person."

For religious people, refusing to acknowledge God in public is very similar in kind and very much worse in degree.

Just a peek into the thinking that leads to this kind of talk, that's all. Most of the people of most of the religions are much more comfortable when speech about God is readily tolerated as a part of human diversity.

I thought the main focus of the blog was low carb.

I don't know where I asked Jimmy to "write as if his God does not exist or is not important".

My observation was that I thought it was a particularly ill-timed blog entry, given the religious happenings of this week.

I understand, too, that Jimmy didn't set out to offend anyone.

That someone may or may not take offense... well... that can happen with anything anyone writes.

Perhaps my "religious" awareness is more acute... living in a metropolitan area, and having friends of different faiths, so that I'm aware of different religious holidays, and am thus, still surprised when someone in the "public eye" is not as aware or as sensitive to how their words on religion might be interpreted.

I go back to another comment though... this topic rarely succeeds in a public forum, so... I'll make no further comments.

Thanks so much, SJM. I am sorry that I misunderstood. However, I doubt that Jews or Muslims generally believe that this is a time for Christians to feel unwelcome to express their faith in the public sphere. :-)

I am a big believer in finding common points of agreement and interest and building friendships on those. People need not think just alike to be friendly and experience mutually beneficial relationships, and this is a time of the year where Christians and Jews and Christians and Muslims very easily find that common ground.

Here's an itty bitty, teeny tiny course in comparative religion for September.... ;-)

Rosh Hashanah focuses on sin and judgement; the New Year is a solemn time when faithful Jews are called to ask God to forgive their sins. The blowing of the shofar alerts the hearers to certain, coming judgment.

Jesus, who was an observant Jew, not only celebrated Rosh Hashanah, but He is known to have taken great interest in its themes. Many people, both Christians and Jews, are well aware that the way that they live their lives is not what they wish it were. (For some of us, like me, this is only to say the least.)

We do feel, many of us, that we come short of a divine standard for human behavior. We don't love our neighbors as we love ourselves, for example--and doesn't this whole conversation touch on just that? (We humans have a tendency to love ourselves best of all.) This is why we don't always tell the truth, don't perfectly respect the property rights of others, and so on. And, certainly, we don't always honor G_d in all that we do.

The holiday may be Jewish, but its theme is far larger and deeper than one community of people can hold. These words were composed for Rosh Hashanah, from Psalm 96, The Hebrew Bible--
"O sing unto HaShem [G_d] a new song; sing unto HaShem, all the earth. Sing unto HaShem, bless His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvellous works among all the peoples. For great is HaShem, and highly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are things of nought; but HaShem made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Ascribe unto HaShem, ye kindreds of the peoples, ascribe unto HaShem glory and strength. Ascribe unto HaShem the glory due unto His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. O worship HaShem in the beauty of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations: 'The HaShem reigneth.' The world also is established that it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field exult; and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy; Before HaShem, for He is come; for He is come to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness."

These celebratory and cautionary words for the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah are not words of division, strife, separation, or segregation among peoples. In fact, the very text draws people together: "all the earth...among the nations...among all the peoples...kindreds of the peoples...all the earth...among the nations...judge the peoples....the earth...the world...the peoples."

The Jews are not alone this month; Ramadan also focuses on sin and judgment. It is a time of the year when faithful Muslims fast and pray and consider, a time when they are called upon to make particular efforts to refrain from grave sins and work on improving their character and moral life. For a serious and observant Muslim, there is more to Ramadan than fasting and feasting; it is a time of particular awareness of one's sins and short-comings.

Did you know that Islam considers Jesus to be a true and perfect Prophet from God, One who was righteous and sinless all his life and taught only the Truth of God all the time?

What better month than Ramadan to reflect on what Jesus himself said about sin and judgment? Regretting one's sins and desiring an improved character is not just for Muslims. It's definitely for Christians too!

Is this a time for contention or separation? I do not believe so. I do not fast in Ramadan, but every day of the month I'm aware that I am not and cannot myself be perfect in God's sight.

Jesus said, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (This comes from John chapter 3 of the Holy Bible, it's part of one of the most beloved Christian stories.)

The Quran says (2:87), "For, indeed, We trusted unto Moses the divine words and caused apostle after apostle to follow him; and We trusted unto Jesus, the son of Mary, all evidence of the truth, and strengthened him with holy inspiration. Yet is it not so that every time an apostle came unto you with something that was not to your liking, you gloried in your arrogance, and to some of them you gave the lie, while others you would slay?"

Are these words only of interest to Muslims? As a Christian, I definitely see interesting points in the Quran! (I've read it.)

I prefer open discourse and mutual appreciation wherever the peoples of faith can find common ground. Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan are not times for animosity (which is sin in all three faiths), but for reasonable, friendly, and (yes) public consideration of these common, human themes.

Thanks for the discussion, SJM. These things (truths and relationships) are important to me, and I appreciate the opportunity to share my views.