Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyboosh
Why do you think religions insist on their followers refusing to pretend to convert? What justification might a religion use to give credibility to the idea that a deity would care one way or the other what you profess to believe, especially if you don't actually mean it?
There's a concept called "Ma'arat Ayin" - literally "appearance to the eye".
Remember, Jews tended to be insular, in communities that generally had limited social interaction with the outside world unless some outside force came on the scene.
If a Jew was seen to be worshipping a false God or worshipping God in an improper way, an onlooker who doesn't know the circumstances might get the wrong idea about what is okay under the law.
I'm sure you can take the logical reasoning from there.
But that sounds ridiculous because I think your question makes a fundamental assumption that misunderstands how Jewish law works. The Torah (including the oral Torah) itself is the law. After that, there are tons of principles that are rabbinic in source. The idea is that the Torah itself is the only unassailable portion of Jewish law. Everything else is rabbinical interpretation, including "buffer" laws, which are often conservative interpretations and prohibitions designed to ensure that the actual law of God is not broken.
In that respect, religious Jews, to varying degrees, don't see themselves as being limited by those rabbinical laws the way we view secular law as limiting our behaviour. These people are striving toward a "holier" life and see following the law as the way to achieve that.
An example: the Torah says to honour Shabbat. That's it. So Jews honour Shabbat (and other "rest days" ie holidays) by not doing thing that they do on other days; drive, conduct business transactions, write, etc.
Why? Obv the Torah doesn't speak to driving a car, but the Halacha does speak to kindling a fire and travel (which has a specific jurisprudence and legal definition in Halacha) as "work" and therefore a "desecration" of honouring the Shabbat. Modern Rabbis interpreted the internal combustion engine and carrying non-essential items outside property lines to violate the the Halacha, which was designed to ensure honouring Shabbat. So Jews don't drive a car or even ride in one unless it's a life-threatening situation. But here's the thing: to them, that's not generally seen as an inconvenience. It's an opportunity to stay true to the principles of Torah and to live a Jewish life.
Back to our main issue. To religious Jews, staying true to their principles, even in the face of death, would be seen as an honour. It wouldn't be seen as "well, **** me, can't fake it, I guess I have to die."
Critique that thinking all you want, but thats a very common way of thinking on a variety of closely-held principles worldwide, and that's the rationale for that.
Last edited by Gamblor; 08-12-2014 at 11:53 AM.