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Originally posted by pinkyphimu
i do not believe that religion occurs in a building and that you are religious if you go to church/temple/synagoge once per week and then forget the rest of the of the week the teachings of the religion.
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I am this same way...one of my largest odds with Christianity and Catholicism is how you are expected to join the church and donate to it, and most of all, confess your sins to a pastor who unfortunately, all-too-commonly is no better then the average person. One thing I love most about Judaism is before the Day of Atonement, you are supposed to forgive anyone you have done a sin too in the past year, and then on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, you are supposed to ask God personally for your forgiveness and a new start for the new year.
I do not believe going to church/synagogue/mosque once a week makes you a better follower of a particular religion, but instead, it is in your heart. While you should always try to follow the sabbath, attending services each week is not necessarily mandatory in order to do so.
I do not currently belong to a synagogue, mostly because I am constantly in a different location (school or home) and I do not know which branch of Judaism best fits me yet. However, I am invited and welcomed to almost every synagogue I go to, even if it is just once a year.
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and was basically told to shut up and accept what I was told - and I realized that Catholicism doesn't exactly encourage questions and debate.
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In my experiences with Judaism, Rabbis and other scholars have welcomed any question I may have and have tried their best to answer it - both with a traditional Jewish answer and their own personal feelings. As well, all have welcomed and participated in different types of debates...I feel that debate and looking at different religions will only strengthen your faith as it will cause you to look deeper into your religion to find answers...and if not, you are able to convert and then do the same process... (does this make sense??)