I'm a little confused on whether Jews are referred to as the followers of the religion or people from the area. If it's the place they came from then what's the difference between them and Israelis.
And if it's the followers of the religion, then wouldn't the Holocaust be called "religious persecution" instead of "genocide"?
If you ask someone what they are, there's a good chance they will say Jewish. If you ask a Christian what they are, it's a good chance they'll say, "American, English, Irish, etc." Judaism has almost become a sort of a culture. The history of the Jews far out dates ANY other people and I think that may be why. I mean, when people ask me why I call myself a Jew when I don't believe in God, it's because I say that my ancestors were Jewish and that is why. I say I am Jewish because my ancestors died for their beliefs and that is important for me.
Jacob Wrote:The history of the Jews far out dates ANY other people
Mesopotamia.
China's fertile Yellow River basin.
A culture that is still around, I meant to add, my fault. Yes, Mesopotamia is still around, but if you look at it, it has been watered out. The same can be said about the culture of the Chinese. But, the culture of the Jews, the history as a people has still stayed.
actually, all the river valley civilizations are older that are still around today
china, india, egypt...
They're not the same cultures, though. The Nile River culture no longer prays to Ra and all of those Gods. As far as I know, the same can be said about the other two that you just listed.
Ancestor worship is still prevelent in rural China. Whatever.
Yeah - I think what I was trying to say is that the religion became almost cultural. While there are other religions that have been around for a while, they did not really form a culture so much in comparison to that of the Jews. And I think that's why they're called a people rather than a religion. And even then, genocide is the "deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, religious or national group." The Holocaust was, regardless of culture or religion, a genocide.
Culture is influenced by religion, the word "cult" is in culture, so any religion can say it has an effect on the culture of the society around them. Nobody's saying the Holocaust wasn't a genocide or anything, idk where that came from...