Jews that become Mormons

[MikeWaters]

Yes, as usual, it takes me about 5 minutes to determine that my instincts are correct. Both World Jewish and especially American Jewish populations are declining.

Based on the current climate, I expect religious Judaism to disappear, and over a much longer time, the Jewish culture to disappear.

MikeWaters 1 SeattleUte 0

[Archaea]

Yes the current trends would predict a demise. But do trends stay reversible?

In the 1970s missionaries joked about a Turk burying the last German in 2000, due to declining birth rates.

I suspect you and I will not live to see the total demise of Jewish persons or Jewish culture, if it every occurs.

[MikeWaters]

I'm talking about next several hundred years, and possibly further.

Many things could change. But I stand by my hypothesis that the Jewish culture is a dying one.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I'm talking about next several hundred years, and possibly further.

Many things could change. But I stand by my hypothesis that the Jewish culture is a dying one.

Possible but neither you nor I will be alive to see the fulfillment of that prophecy.

12 million reducing by 50,000 every year, which I don't believe will or would remain constant, would take 2400 years.

So I wager it won't happen any time soon.

[MikeWaters]

I expect the current pace to accelerate, not decrease. It's like compounding interest in reverse.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I expect the current pace to accelerate, not decrease. It's like compounding interest in reverse.

It must increase exponentially.

I don't believe you're correct. Jews are deeply entrenched in many places, plus the existence of a nation guarantees their continued success.

[MikeWaters]

I think there is also a good chance that Israel suffers a devastating war that significantly decreases its population. Better than good chance. Excellent chance.

I have no idea what you mean by "it must increase exponentially."

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Yes, as usual, it takes me about 5 minutes to determine that my instincts are correct. Both World Jewish and especially American Jewish populations are declining.

Based on the current climate, I expect religious Judaism to disappear, and over a much longer time, the Jewish culture to disappear.

MikeWaters 1 SeattleUte 0

I'm currently reading a book apropos to Waters' arrogant and chauvinistic banter. It's called "Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination" by John V. Tolan. It's a fascinating read. It tells about how in the late Eighth century Islam had conquered the entire known world from China through Portugal except Italy, today's northern Europe and Britain, which were in those days mostly backwaters, the equivalent of today's third world, and the walled city of Byzantium, which was the remnant of the Roman Empire and a Christian stronghold. This occurred in an incredibly short span of time from Mohamed's issuing the Koran in the late Seventh Century, and was achieved by mere Bedouins, backward desert tribesmen mostly ignored by ancient Persia, Greece, Rome, Babylon, etc. At that time Islam represented a single monolithic Empire, what they call "the last empire of antiquity," and its territorial reach rivaled Rome's at its apex. Moreover, the lands that the Muslims conquered included most of the civilizations deeply permeated by Greco-Roman culture, as well as ancient Persia. As a result, Islam not not only stretched across the globe geographically, its culture was the most civilized, learned and refined. In one of history's great ironies, Islam in its prime helped to preserve and propagate Classical civilization that ultimately laid the foundation for our own. Islam even annexed Jerusalem itself, and built a shrine at the Dome of the Rock, the site of ancient Israel's temple! Christendom was in shock.

Here is the breathtaking premise for the book as set out by the author in a key passage: "Islam's meteoric rise indeed seemed miraculous: A handful of warriors from the desert subduing the richest and most populous parts of the world's most populous empires. Surely God favored Islam and wished new subjects to convert. Most of them will (gradually, over generations) conclude that this is so; most will convert to Islam. Those who refuse to convert, who choose to remain Christian, must answer the formidable question: Why has God permitted the stunning success of Islam?"

I'm not going to address why such dramatic and unexpected reversal of fortune occurred in the ensuing centuries culminating in the rise of the West. My only point here is to highlight that history shows arrogant and chauvinistic perceptions about trends are in the long run delusional.

[MikeWaters]

Scoreboard.

MikeWaters 1 SeattleUte 0

[MikeWaters]

Today on NPR, in a piece on mixed Jewish/Christian households and how they handle the holidays, the following statistic: "1/3 of Jews in America are married to a non-Jew."

You hear that knock-knock. It's destiny. It's "Judaism only in the history books."

MikeWater 2 SeattleUte 0