A Tapestry of Gefilte Fish (contd.)

Christianity was never meant to be a Gentile religion. It was never even meant to be a 'religion', stuffed into the gap between Buddhism and Islam on the library shelf.

It began its life as a fulfilment of the Judaism of the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. Its followers were all Jewish and so sure were they of its correctness, that it was simply called 'The Way'.

As far as I am concerned, it is still 'the way' to God, whether you are Jew or Gentile, black, white, brown, yellow,or blotchy pink.

Christianity is unpopular with almost everyone these days. Judaism dislikes it, Islam believes it has supplanted it and the Eastern religions hate its claim for exclusivity.

It is clear and precise in its claims. It seeks neither political or religious correctness when it claims to be the only way to God. This fact alone should be enough to make it intriguing and worth a look, even out of a perverse desire to attack it.

The world hates it. Sometimes it can also seem, for all intents or purposes, to hate itself.

The world doesn't like the certainties and absolutes that it represents. This post-Christian, post-modern world prefers to take on board a rainbow of beliefs, judging each equally valid, so as not to alienate any others. When it comes to matters of justice, morality, ethics and every other really important facet of life, it prefers the 'grey areas', rather than the resounding 'yes' or 'no' of the Christian and Hebrew scriptures.

Everyone, whether Christian or Jew, who speaks out against this 'do what you like as long as it feels good and doesn't hurt anyone' nonsense, is labelled a 'fundamentalist', as if this is such a terrible thing. Think about it, isn't it curiously comforting to have a belief that proclaims itself to be fundamental, uncomplicated and true? Doesn't this all intrigue you further, make you want to know more?

Welcome to my virtual world, my 'tapestry of gefilte fish'. I call it 'virtual' because it's virtually true, but not quite. It's based on reality ... sort of. The people who inhabit this corner of the web are found within my circle of acquaintances, though names, backgrounds, circumstances and, even in one or two cases, sexes, have been changed. The six people who you'll meet are, I believe, a reasonable cross-section of modern Jewry.

They are real, in their own way. Perhaps one of them is you? Perhaps you should find out.