“Unequally Yoked” Patricia’s comment triggered an entirely different emotional response for Patricia. So, we were in a coffee shop when she said something about Joel, who is Jewish. “I’m not even sure I should be with him, because he’s an unbeliever,” she said. Patricia is a Gentile Christian. I was involved in their conversation because […]
“Unbeliever” We’re sitting in a coffee shop, all three of us. Joel is Jewish. His girlfriend is Patricia, a Gentile Christian. I was there, at their invitation. They needed help from someone who could be a translator or an arbitrator. They were having an ongoing cross-cultural argument. “I’m not even sure I should be with him, because he’s an unbeliever.” I looked at Patricia, as she said those words […]
On May 11, 2021, the Pew Research Center published the findings of an eight-month survey among 4,178 Jewish Americans. Currently, 47% of all married non-Orthodox American Jews said their spouse is not Jewish. The Jewish intermarriage rates since 1980 were indicating the emerging trend. Now we see that almost half of all American Jews are […]
The People of Israel Live Survival is a Jewish core value. So, each year Israel honors those who gave their lives fighting for the State’s existence, followed by celebrations on Israel Independence Day (April 14 and 15, 2021). Chants erupt spontaneously along with singing, “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The People Israel Live”). Many consider the existence […]
We often remind our readers that all communication is cross cultural. That dynamic might be hard to see until you and your partner celebrate a meaningful family life-cycle event or a traditional holiday celebration. The close proximity of Passover and Easter often provide those opportunities for discovery. Marc and Sandy, a Jewish-Gentile couple, reported just […]
We all tend to judge other cultures as inferior to our own assumptions and core values. The answer to ethnocentrism is to grow our understanding about the assumptions and values of another human being. Do that with mutual respect and you have hope of finding spiritual harmony. Imagine someone whose culture is to drink coffee […]
Jewish-Gentile couples cite the challenge of finding spiritual harmony as one of their most difficult obstacles to resolve. All spiritual beliefs are formed at the deep core level of personal culture. And while change at that seat of our values comes with difficulty, we are able to learn, grow, and then reform ideas that we […]
Have you seen the meme about the third century bishop and “friend of lovers,” Valentine? He, who was brutally executed by crazy emperor Claudius II, is imagined reacting when he hears how the holiday in his honor is celebrated. “I was beaten with clubs, stoned, beheaded, buried under the cover of darkness disinterred by my followers, and you commemorate my martyrdom by sending each other chocolates?” – Valentine of Interamna, A.D. […]
Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired great social changes through the Civil Right Movement of the 1960s. He challenged, wicked ideas like segregation, based on the injustice of institutionalized racial inequality. Read how Dr. King’s vision moved Mildred and Richard Loving to challenge laws barring interracial marriage in 1967.
