Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!wuarchive!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: levene@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu (Robert A. Levene) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Passover for Christians Message-ID: Date: 22 Mar 91 02:59:30 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Johns Hopkins University Lines: 44 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Tom Blake) writes: > In our parish we have celebrated what I refer to as a Pseudo-Seder > on Maundy Thursday fairly consistantly for the last decade or so. (In > this time we have had 4 pastors, the latest has termed our gathering a > "New Testament Dinner" ... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ IMHO, it is a wise idea to call your derived-from-the-Jewish-Passover ceremony/gathering something other than a 'Seder' or 'pseudo-Seder' or anything related to the terms 'Passover' or 'Pesach.' There's enough bad feelings on both sides already, and by simply renaming the ceremony, you can bring peace and avoid confusion and ill will. As an example of the risk of re-casting the term 'Passover,' consider the case of the local newspaper editor in a large southern New Jersey suburban township who around 1983 innocently ran a feature on Easter and another on Passover. The (non-Jewish) editor got the Easter column from a local church and her Passover column from a group calling itself "Friends of Israel," which also turned out to be Christian, despite its name. When the column appeared (including phrases on the order of 'the 3 matzos symbolize the Trinity, and the wine, the blood of ...'), the editor had no idea why hundreds of irate Jewish subscribers vociferously expressed their displeasure in no uncertain terms. The editor apologized profusely in the next issue, but it was years before the editor and paper re-earned respect from the Jewish community of the township. Let that be a lesson for those who demand the right to redefine well-defined religious observances and tenets in the context of other religions without selecting new and unique terms to describe these modified practices. If you'll pardon the expression, friendly forces such as the above editor may end up getting caught in the crossfire. Thank you for your consideration, Rob -- Robert A. Levene \ I am the sole legitimate representative "/ // / /" \ and policy maker for my race, culture, Bitnet: RXL1@APLVM.BITNET \ country, religion, political party, Internet: levene@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu \ employer and extended family. So there.