Questions and Answers
- What is a "polydoxy”?
- What is Polydox Judaism?
- ls Polydox Judaism a new religion?
- What is Jewish about Polydox Judaism?
- Aside from the fact that Polydox Judaism is a Jewish emergent, does it possess other Jewish characteristics?
- What is the position of a polydoxy regarding the word God?
- What part can the Torah (Pentateuch) play in Polydox Judaism?
- What is the meaning of "mitzvah”?
- What is Polydox Judaism’s view of the theological meaning of mitzvah?
- In what senses, if any, can the word mitzvah be used in Polydox Judaism?
- Do Polydox Jews celebrate Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah?
- What is a Baalat/Baal Mitzvah ceremony?
- Does Polydox Judaism teach that I cannot or should not celebrate the Shabbat on the seventh day of the week, namely, Friday evening and Saturday?
- Does Polydox Judaism teach that I cannot or should not celebrate religious holidays on the same dates as do other Jews?
- Does Polydox Judaism say I cannot or should not wear a yarmulke or light candles on the Shabbat?
- What is the Instittute of Creative Judaism? (ICJ)
- What is the essential characteristic of the liturgy or services that the ICJ produces?
- How is the ICJ able to produce noncreedal and undogmatic liturgy for its services?
- Why is the word God generally not used in multivalent services?
- I believe in a "personal God" to whom I pray and from whom I receive comfort. How can I participate in multivalent services?
- As a Polydox Jew, must I use multivalent services?
- If each member of the Polydox community possesses the right and freedom to determine her or his own beliefs regarding rituals, holiday celebrations, and the word
God, what need is there for an organized Polydox community? In short, what need has a Polydox religionist for "organized religion"?
- What is the meaning of the term "soteria"?
- What is Polydoxy’s position on conversion?
- What is the Polydox position on intermarriage?
- What is the difference between Polydox Judaism and Ethical Culture?
- Does the Freedom Covenant mean that I can "believe in" Jesus and still be a Jew?
- How do Polydox religious school materials differ from those presently in general use?
- What educational materials are presently available?
- Why was it necessary to establish the Institute of Creative Judaism as a separate organization?
- Contemporary “formal” and "organized" religions leave me indifferent and uninterested. What does Polydoxy have to offer me?
- I was born a Jew, but I find no need for any kind of religious affiliation. What do you, as a Polydox Jew and member of the Institute of Creative Judaism, have further to say to me?
- What is meant by the term "General Jewish Complex?
- Are you trying to convert people to Polydoxy?
- Does membership in the Institute of Creative Judaism in any way mean that a person should not support the State of Israel?
- As a Polydox Jew, what is your relationship to Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist and traditionoid Reform Judaisms?
1Q. What is a "polydoxy”?
1A. A polydoxy is a religion whose fundamental principle is that every person is her
or his own ultimate religious authority with the right, therefore, to accept and follow
whichever religious beliefs and observances she or he thinks true and meaningful.
Accordingly, members of the same polydox community (a religious community that
subscribes to a polydoxy) may hold different views on such subjects as the meaning
of the word God or the existence and nature of an afterlife. All members’ beliefs
regarding the great subjects of religion are equally acceptable so far as the polydox
community as a whole is concerned. (Members of a community that subscribes to an
orthodox religion, by contrast, are all required to accept fundamentally the same
religious beliefs and to follow basically the same ritual observances.) The fundamental
principle of a polydoxy may be stated in terms of a covenant, the Covenant of Freedom:
Every member of a polydox community pledges to affirm the freedom of all other
members in return for their pledges to affirm her or his own. Equally binding in a
polydoxy is the corollary of the Covenant of Freedom: Every member’s freedom ends
where the other members’ freedom begins.
2Q. What is Polydox Judaism?
2A. Polydox Judaism is the polydox religion of Jews.
Comment: The term “polydoxy," like the term "orthodoxy," refers to the general nature
of a religion: whether it is authoritarian or free. Orthodox religions are authoritarian;
polydox religions are free. Just as orthodox religions are not necessarily Jewish,
witness the Eastern Orthodox Church and Orthodox Islam, so polydox religions are
not necessarily Jewish.
3Q. ls Polydox Judaism a new religion?
3A. Yes. It may also be said that it is a new "Jewish" religion or "Judaism."
Comment: For a full understanding of the answer to this question it is important to
recognize that Polydox Judaism is not the first new Jewish religion. On the contrary,
the scientific study of the religious history of the Jews reveals that a number of new
Jewish religions emerged over the ages in response to new intellectual, economic,
political, and cultural conditions. Thus prophetic ethical monotheism was a new religion
superseding an earlier lsraelite polytheism and henotheism; Pharisaic Judaism differed
essentially from the Sadducean Judaism it replaced; Maimonidean philosophic Judaism
is a totally different religion from Hasidic Judaism. Interesting to note, all presently
existing Judaisms were at one time "new” Jewish religions, that is, no religion which
can be said to have been the original "Judaism" presently exists.
4Q. What is Jewish about Polydox Judaism?
4A. Once it is recognized that there have been a series of new and different Jewish
religions over the ages, this question can be answered simply. A religion is Jewish,
that is, a religion is a "Judaism," if it has been created by Jews as the religious
expression of their Jewishness. New Jewish religions or Judaisms arise when Jews of
some particular age find that the Judaism they have inherited is no longer responsive
to their ultimate concerns. Based on the realities of Jewish history, the rule can be
laid down that all given "Judaisms" of an age are those that Jews of the age say they
are.
5Q. Aside from the fact that Polydox Judaism is a Jewish emergent, does it possess
other Jewish characteristics?
5A. Yes. As an emergent from other Judaisms, Polydox Judaism possesses a number
of similar characteristics. A loose analogy may be drawn between a child’s relation to
its parents and Polydox Judaism’s relation to the Judaisms from which it emerged:
The child is a separate individual, but it will in some respects resemble its parents
owing to its genetic and cultural inheritance. Likewise, Polydox Judaism is a separate
individual but it possesses a heritage of various characteristics similar to those of the
Judaisms from which it has emerged. This heritage includes a treasury of religious
and theological literature, concepts, and symbols.
6Q. What is the position of a polydoxy regarding the word God?
6A. As stated earlier, in a polydoxy the Covenant of Freedom grants every person the
ultimate right to determine the nature of her or his own belief. This includes the right
to hold whatever views concerning the word God the person believes true. Accordingly,
the position of Polydox Judaism regarding the word God is that the polydox community
as a whole grants to its individual members the freedom to determine for themselves
its meaning and use.
Comment: Of some significance here is the fact that the Jews in the course of their
religious history have subscribed to a rich variety of different and conflicting views
regarding the word God. The views of Jews have ranged from monotheism to
pantheism and from panentheism to agnosticism. It is only in a polydoxy, where
theological freedom prevails, that all the God views Jews have held are acceptable
and can be presented for consideration to the community.
7Q. What part can the Torah (Pentateuch) play in Polydox Judaism?
7A. The Torah can serve a number of different functions in Polydox Judaism. Among
them is the Torah’s status as a symbol of the Jewish quest for ultimate meaning and
values. Also, the Torah is a rich source of theological, ritual, and ethical insights. The
Torah is not viewed in a Polydoxy as the literal word of a deity, rather, it is human in
origin. Accordingly, the Torah is taken as a fallible document as all human efforts are
and, therefore, the rules and regulations it commands are not obligatory upon the
Polydox Jew. By comparison, the Torah is taken to be the literal "word of God" by
Orthodox Judaism and its commandments, therefore, are obligatory upon the
Orthodox Jew.
8Q. What is the meaning of "mitzvah”?
8A. The term mitzvah has two quite different meanings, which tends to produce a
measure of confusion. The meaning of mitzvah in Jewish theological literature is "a
divine commandment" that is, a literal commandment of a supernatural, theistic God.
A second, derivative meaning of mitzvah (primarily in Yiddish) is “a worthy or good
deed." It is the theological meaning of mitzvah, as a divine commandment, that is of
interest to polydox religion.
9Q. What is Polydox Judaism’s view of the theological meaning of mitzvah?
9A. In Polydox Judaism, the position is taken that there is no credible objective
evidence that any divine commandments or mitzvot have ever been revealed or
otherwise communicated by a deity. This follows from the point made earlier that in
polydoxy the Torah is viewed as a fallible document. For the theological foundation of
the belief in mitzvah among the Jews is the Torah, and if the Torah is taken as fallible,
then no objective evidence exists for Jews that mitzvot as divine commandments exist.
10Q. In what senses, if any, can the word mitzvah be used in Polydox Judaism?
10A. The word mitzvah in Polydox Judaism can be used in at least four senses:
First, mitzvah can be employed in the Yiddish sense of a worthy or good deed.
Second, the word mitzvah can be used by individual Polydox Jews to refer to
commandments they believe they have personally received from “God."
Third, the word mitzvah can be used by Polydox Jews who, for reasons satisfying
to them, choose certain commandments in the Bible or other religious literature as
having been divinely revealed. (In Polydox Judaism, the community as a whole
possesses no credible evidence for infallible, obligatory commandments; but individual
members may use their freedom to obey whichever ones they choose. The Covenant
of Freedom prohibits compelling any member of the Polydox community to obey
some individual’s or group’s choice of divine commandments.)
Fourth, mitzvah can be used in Polydoxy to refer to the commandments that we
ourselves give to ourselves. These mitzvot generally are produced by reason and
conscience.
11Q. Do Polydox Jews celebrate Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah?
11A. As stated earlier, Polydox Jews have the freedom to celebrate whichever
ceremonies they find meaningful. Accordingly, Polydox Jews may celebrate the Bar
and Bat Mitzvah if they choose to do so, and many do.
Comment: The point should be made that the meaning of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah
ceremony in Polydox Judaism cannot be the same as that in Orthodox Judaism. The
reason is that the Bar and Bat Mitzvah in Orthodox Judaism require a system of
divinely revealed commandments (mitzvot) or Law that is obligatory upon the
Orthodox Jew. Indeed, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah in Orthodox Judaism signifies that
the person has left behind the period of childhood, when the divine commandments
are not in full force, and attained her or his majority when the commandments or Law
are fully obligatory Hence the term Bar or Bat Mitzvah means “someone who is
obligated to observe the commandments." Such a system of commandments or Law
does not exist in Polydox Judaism. The meaning of Bar and Bat Mitzvah among Polydox
Jews varies widely in accordance with individual views. Two views presently current
in Polydox Judaism indicate just how wide this variance is. One is that the Bar or Bat
Mitzvah is merely a symbolic ceremony marking the increased maturity and
obligations of adolescence as compared to childhood. Another is that the Bar or Bat
Mitzvah is a time when the person, having attained the increased maturity of
adolescence, is called upon to commit herself or himself to whatever commandments
she or he believes have come from a deity. An alternative ceremony in Polydox Judaism
is the Baalat/Baal Mitzvah ceremony.
12Q. What is a Baalat/Baal Mitzvah ceremony?
12A. In Polydox Judaism, every person is affirmed in his or her freedom. This means
the individual possesses the ultimate right to lay down commandments or mitzvot to
herself or himself, that is, the ultimate right to autonomy or self-determination.
Understandably, this fundamental right cannot be fully realized during childhood.
The Baalat/Baal Mitzvah ceremony signifies the increased degree of autonomy that
is acquired in adolescence and points to the full realization of autonomy that comes
with adulthood.
13Q. Does Polydox Judaism teach that I cannot or should not celebrate the Shabbat
on the seventh day of the week, namely, Friday evening and Saturday?
13A. In Polydox Judaism, the freedom to keep religious observances in a way that
the individual finds meaningful extends not only to the right to determine what those
observances shall be, but also to the right to determine when those observances
shall be celebrated. Accordingly, in a Polydoxy a person has every right to celebrate
the Shabbat on the seventh day of the week, to light candles, and to refrain from
work. On the other hand, there also exists in Polydoxy another concept of the Shabbat.
This is that the Shabbat refers not to the seventh day of the week, but to a psychic
state of being in which the person achieves a sense of profoundly meaningful existence.
Such a Shabbat or state of being is independent of calendar measurement and can
occur at any time, seventh day or otherwise. Shabbat as a state of being has become
an increasingly significant meaning for the Shabbat as the intellectual, economic, and
cultural conditions necessary for a meaningful seventh day Shabbat continue to
deteriorate. (The ICJ has available a publication explaining the meaning of Shabbat as
a state of being.)
14Q. Does Polydox Judaism teach that I cannot or should not celebrate religious
holidays on the same dates as do other Jews?
14A. As indicated above, the Polydox Jew has the right to celebrate a holiday at the
time it is most meaningful to do so. This means there is no date on which a Polydox
Jew "must" or "must not" celebrate a holiday. Accordingly, Polydox Judaism does not
teach that religious holidays should not be celebrated on the same dates as do other
Jews.
Comment: There are Polydox Jews who have changed their celebration of the
Chanukah from eight days beginning on the twenty-fifth of Kislev in the Jewish calendar
to eight days beginning on the winter solstice, December twenty—first or twenty-second.
Although the full argumentation for this change cannot be presented here, it is helpful
to bear this point in mind. Scientific study of the past reveals that the Jews, in the
course of their religious history, have repeatedly changed their calendars and the
dates of their holidays. It was only in the tenth century C.E., after some three thousand
years of Jewish changes of calendars and dates, that the holiday calendar Jews use
today was fixed. This process of change is inevitable since life is dynamic, and
conditions suitable for celebrating a holiday on a certain date in one age do not
necessarily exist in another. (The ICJ publishes a Chanukah service, and a pamphlet
explaining its nature and the justification for changing the date of Chanukah.)
15Q. Does Polydox Judaism say I cannot or should not wear a yarmulke or light
candles on the Shabbat?
15A. No. On the contrary, every person in a Polydoxy is free to follow the rituals that
she or he finds meaningful. Accordingly, if a person finds that wearing a yarmulke,
lighting candles, or observing any other ritual, traditional or otherwise, is meaningful,
the person should by all means do so.
16Q. What is the Institute of Creative Judaism? (ICJ)
16A. The Institute of Creative Judaism is a nonprofit research and development
organization whose purpose is to produce philosophic, liturgical, and educational
materials for Polydox Judaism.
17Q. What is the essential characteristic of the liturgy or services that the ICJ
produces?
17A. In order to serve the Polydox community, the ICJ has produced services whose
essential characteristic is that they are theologically open, that is, noncreedal and
undogmatic. In a Polydox community, every person has the right to her or his own
theological beliefs. Thus services intended for the general Polydox community must
be theologically open so that persons with different theological views can participate
with integrity and authenticity in the same service. In the case of ordinary services,
where creedal and dogmatic language that expresses one particular theological view
is employed, those present at the service who subscribe to other views must either
exclude themselves from the service by remaining quiet, or mouth language whose
meaning they consider untrue. In a Polydoxy, forced exclusion of a person from a
community religious service by the use of creedal and dogmatic language is an
infringement of the person’s rights and a fundamental violation of the Covenant of
Freedom.
18Q. How is the ICJ able to produce noncreedal and undogmatic liturgy for its
services?
18A. Noncreedal and undogmatic services are produced by writing the liturgy of the
service in "multivalent" (equivocal) language. Multivalent language is a technical term,
and means language that espouses no single theological creed or dogma. Thus
multivalent services do not express a particular theological viewpoint. Rather, they
use language as a vehicle to communicate information and inspiration in such a manner
that the participant is free to fill creatively her or his mind and heart with whatever
theological content is desired.
19Q. Why is the word God generally not used in multivalent services?
19A. The reason is that in our popular culture the word God unfortunately is not a
multivalent term. This is so despite the fact that the word God has historically been
and continues to be employed by theologians, philosophers, scientists and many others
in a variety of senses and for different uses. The word God has been and is employed
by naturalists and agnostics as well as by supernaturalists and theists. Yet despite the
word God’s proper status as an open or multivalent term, the popular culture, owing
to doctrinaire early religious education and imprecise language habits, has made "God"
into a univocal term, namely, a word having only one meaning. This meaning is an
anthropomorphic and anthropopathic supernaturalist theism. Accordingly, since the
word God in our popular culture is by and large not understood as the open term it
actually is, it is generally omitted from multivalent services.
20Q. I believe in a "personal God" to whom I pray and from whom I receive comfort.
How can I participate in multivalent services?
20A. There is no reason a person who believes in a personal God should not participate
in multivalent services. The language of a multivalent service is harmonious with
belief in a personal God as it is with other theological concepts. It is true that a
participant in a multivalent service is called upon to be more active and creative than
a participant in a conventional dogmatic theistic service. The participant in a multivalent
service uses the words and music of the service as a vehicle to create a private internal
experience that is personally valid and authentic.
21Q. As a Polydox Jew, must I use multivalent services?
21A. In a Polydoxy, the individual is free to use whatever services she or he considers
meaningful. In a situation, however, such as a Polydox community service, where
other person’s rights to participate fully and authentically would be violated by use of
anything other than a multivalent service, such a service is properly employed.
22Q. If each member of the Polydox community possesses the right and freedom to
determine her or his own beliefs regarding rituals, holiday celebrations, and the word
God, what need is there for an organized Polydox community? In short, what need
has a Polydox religionist for "organized religion"?
22A. Although the Polydox religionist has the freedom to pursue a solitary course,
Polydox religionists organize because, as is true in most cases of human endeavor,
individuals can better achieve their goals collectively than they can separately. Thus
the ideal practice of Polydoxy requires, above all, knowledge. For the exercise of
freedom presupposes the ability to choose among alternatives, and such choice cannot
take place without a knowledge of the alternatives. If a person, therefore, is to exercise
genuine freedom in taking a position with respect to the word God, then she or he
must have a knowledge of the many meanings and views that exist regarding the
word God. The same requirement of knowledge holds true for the authentic exercise
of choice respecting rituals, holidays, and the like. How is such knowledge, which
requires special training, to be attained? In an organized community the resources of
individuals can be pooled for the common benefit. Through combined resources,
teachers and other specialists can be engaged to staff a religious school or conduct
adult study groups where the knowledge of alternatives necessary for free choice can
be imparted.
Organized communities possess a number of other values for Polydox
religionists. Two that bear noting are these. Celebrations of life-history ceremonies
and observances of holidays are enhanced when experienced in common. And the
mere fact of being united in community with others who share one's fundamental
religious principles brings a sense of fullness and release from isolation.
23Q. What is the meaning of the term "soteria"?
23A. The term soteria refers to the state of ultimate meaningful existence that is
attained when the fundamental problems of individual human existence have been
resolved. The essential purpose of all Jewish religious systems past and present, and
of religions generally, is to provide the human person with beliefs (such as regarding
the word God and the afterlife), values, and observances that enable the individual to
progress toward the attainment of soteria. In Polydoxy, where freedom prevails, more
than one path to soteria exists. Some persons will choose one set of beliefs, values,
and practices to attain soteria, others will choose another. The rabbi or spiritual leader
of a Polydox community has no function more important than providing all possible
assistance to members of the community in their quest for soteria.
Comment: The term "soteria" is distinguished from the term “salvation" in this way.
"Salvation” has historically referred to a state of ultimate meaningful existence that is
attained by a supernatural “saving" of humans. “Soteria" is broader in meaning.
"Soteria" refers to the state of ultimate meaningful existence whether attained through
supernatural means, as in the case of “salvation," or naturally, through the ordinary
processes of nature.
24Q. What is Polydoxy’s position on conversion?
24A. Conversion to Polydoxy is substantially different from conversion to an Orthodox
religion. Orthodoxies generally possess a significant number of dogmatic theological
beliefs as well as rigorous ritual and ceremonial requirements. Consequently,
converting to an Orthodox religion requires a person to commit herself or himself to
some particular view regarding the word God, the nature of the afterlife, ritual
observance, and so forth. In Polydoxy, there is only one fundamental principle; this is
the Covenant of Freedom. In converting to Polydoxy, a person is required only to
accept and affirm the Covenant of Freedom and in this way join with the others who
have so covenanted, and thus become affiliated with the Polydox community.
25Q. What is the Polydox position on intermarriage?
25A. The Polydox position on intermarriage is that the freedom granted an individual
by the Covenant of Freedom includes the right to marry whomever the person wishes.
Traditionally, Orthodox religions have taken as their right the authority to determine
whom a person may marry, and otherwise invade the most personal areas of their
members’ lives. Polydoxy rejects Orthodoxy’s claim to such authority on the basis
that no credible evidence exists to justify this claim either morally or legally.
26Q. What is the difference between Polydox Judaism and Ethical Culture?
26A. A number of fundamental differences exist between Polydox Judaism and
Ethical Culture. Three may be stated. The first is that Ethical Culture is not a religion.
Felix Adler, the founder of Ethical Culture, wished to bring together people who wanted
to do "Good" without having to dispute over religion. The stated aims of the New
York Ethical Culture Society make this point clearly: "To teach the superiority of the
moral ends above all human ends and interest; . . .to advance the science and art of
right living." Polydox Judaism, on the other hand, is first and foremost a religion, that
is, a vehicle to attain soteria.
Second, Ethical Culture disassociates itself completely with the Jewish religious
enterprise, and does not in any degree bear the impress of Jewishness. Polydox
Judaism, however, sees itself as a new Jewish religion, a Jewish emergent.
Thirdly, Ethical Culture makes no affirmation of individual freedom. Polydox
Judaism makes freedom its fundamental principle.
27Q. Does the Freedom Covenant mean that I can "believe in" Jesus and still be a
Jew?
27A. Polydox Judaism takes a very similar position to that of Rabbinic or Orthodox
Judaism on this question. A person who “believes in" Jesus is still a Jew. Orthodox
Judaism goes so far as to say that a person remains a Jew even though she or he
converts to Christianity and is baptized.
Comment: It is of interest to note that Jewish thinkers and scholars have taken some
very positive positions regarding Jesus. For example, Franz Rosenzweig, who is a
conservative Jewish theologian with many followers in Conservative Judaism and
traditionoid Reform Judaism, states in his Star of Redemption that Judaism and
Christianity are “equally true." Harry A. Wolfson, who described himself as a
“nonobservant Orthodox Jew," and who was the greatest historian of J ewish philosophy
of our century wrote an article entitled, "How the Jews Will Reclaim J esus." Wolfson
writes "The Jewish reclamation of Jesus will not be brought about by efforts of
evangelical piety on the part of some Jews, or by a sentimental yearning for what we
haven’t got, or by a servile imitation of the most powerful element in our environment.
lt will come about as a result of a wider and more comprehensive conception of the
scope of Jewish learning and Jewish literature and of a general restoration of our lost
literary treasures. When the works of Josephus, and the Apocrypha, and the Hellenistic
writings have all been restored by us and given a place beside the hallowed literature
of our tradition, then the works of Jesus also will find a place among them." On the
other hand the position is taken by a number of Polydox religionists that based on
critical analysis there is no credible evidence or knowledge of a real Jesus.
28Q. How do Polydox religious school materials differ from those presently in general use?
28A. The primary difference is that underlying all Polydox religious school materials
is the principle that the young person in the Polydox community is as completely
affirmed in her or his theological, liturgical, and ritual freedom as any member who is
an adult. This means the youngster attends school for an education, not an
indoctrination. No untruth is ever wittingly told a student; no myth is ever presented
as fact. The information given as knowledge is that which is derived from scientific
and critical study Even here, knowledge is only probable and fallible and the youngster
is informed that such is the case. The individual student is affirmed as the final arbiter
of the views she or he chooses. Similarly, the youngster’s liturgical and ritual freedom
is safeguarded by ICJ young people’s services and rituals. The services are written in
multivalent language and rituals are presented as options.
29Q. What educational materials are presently available?
29A. Two model curricula have been completed for young children. The Patriarchal
Family was designed for pre-school children. Joseph: The Hebrews Come to Egypt
works well with third graders upward, depending upon the presentation by the teacher.
For advanced students and adults the book Polydoxy: Explorations in a
Philosophy of Liberal Religion (Buffalo, Prometheus Books, 1987) by Alvin J. Reines
explains fully the basic concepts of polydox religion. In addition various issues of the
ICJ Journal ‘Polydoxy" discuss such topics as holiday celebrations, the Baalat/Baal
Mitzvah Ceremony, and a Polydox Philosophy of Religious Education. Other
educational materials are also available from the ICJ. Inquiries are invited.
30Q. Why was it necessary to establish the Institute of Creative Judaism as a separate
organization?
30A. There is no other organization or institution that produces the philosophic,
educational, ritual, and liturgical materials that are needed for the understanding and
practice of an authentic liberal Judaism.
31Q. Contemporary “formal” and "organized" religions leave me indifferent and
uninterested. What does Polydoxy have to offer me?
31A. If the "formal" or "organized" religions that have turned you off are authoritarian
or orthodox, traditional or traditionoid, and you have a desire for a religion that provides
freedom and creativity to its adherents, you might well seek out Polydoxy Also, you
may wish to inquire further about Polydoxy, if you are interested in liberal religion
and come from a basically “nonreligion” or "ethics" oriented community. Polydoxy is
basically a religion, although totally committed to an ethic and culture of freedom as
well.
32Q. I was born a Jew, but I find no need for any kind of religious affiliation. What do
you, as a Polydox Jew and member of the Institute of Creative Judaism, have further
to say to me?
32A. Assuming that you have arrived at this conclusion after having acquired an
understanding of Polydoxy, and not on the basis of experiences with traditional or
traditionoid religions, the following may be said to you. It is entirely possible for an
individual to agree with the research and development goals of the Institute of Creative
Judaism without feeling the need or desire for personal affiliation with a Polydox
community Such an individual can help further the Institute of Creative Judaism in
its work by a contribution, which in no way involves personal affiliation with the Polydox
community itself.
33Q. What is meant by the term "General Jewish Complex?
33A. The term General Jewish Complex refers to the totality of all persons who bear
the name Jew. (Polydox Judaism extends the name Jew to persons Orthodox Judaism
does not recognize as Jews.) The word "complex” as used here refers to a group of
persons in an intricate variety and combination of relationships that forms a
recognizable unit. Members of the General Jewish Complex do not necessarily all
share the same religious systems, language, values or culture. They are, however, all
related to other members of the group directly or indirectly in ways different from
the ways in which they are related to persons who are not members of the group.
These relationships can include such tangible and intangible qualities as sharing the
name "Jew," special attitudes of interest in or concern for other Jews, and shared
feelings regarding phenomena such as antisemitism.
34Q. Are you trying to convert people to Polydoxy?
34A. No. Polydoxy is not by its nature a converting religion. The fundamental spirit
of Polydoxy is to affirm the rights of religionists who adhere to other religions in the
same way that it affirms the rights of its own adherents. Polydoxy does, of course,
strongly believe it has a right as well as a duty to offer community and fellowship to all
who are in agreement with its basic principles. It is also a firm belief of Polydox Jews
generally that the General Jewish Complex is strengthened by the existence of an
openly declared and explicitly formulated religion such as Polydox Judaism. Many
Jews who are seeking an authentic liberal religion are certain to leave the General
Jewish Complex if Polydox Judaism does not exist to serve them.
35Q. Does membership in the Institute of Creative Judaism in any way mean that a
person should not support the State of Israel?
35A. Not only is there nothing in Polydoxy or the Institute of Creative Judaism to
suggest even remotely that a person not support Israel, but the entire spirit of Polydox
philosophy implies the profoundest moral regard for Israel. Freedom is the essence
of Polydox Judaism, and it is the State of Israel that first brought democracy to the
Middle East. Individual Polydox jews and members of the Institute of Creative Judaism
express their support for Israel through the various Zionist and other politically active
organizations that exist for this purpose.
36Q. As a Polydox Jew, what is your relationship to Orthodox, Conservative,
Reconstructionist and traditionoid Reform Judaisms?
36A. The spirit of Polydox Judaism is to encourage authenticity, diversity, and
individuality. It is the hope of Polydox Jews that the General Jewish Complex will
include and embrace all these contemporary expressions of religious Jewishness.