At the risk of coming to a dead thread… I’m glad you made these comments about Christianity v. Judaism. These discussions always make me uncomfy because they tend to ruin otherwise good relationships between our religions. But I think you made some great points in a very respectful way.

What makes me cranky about non-Jews trying to interpret the Torah is that they fail to see that they are RE-interpreting it for reasons Ludwig mentioned. I do understand Throbert’s point upthread (#335) that Christians believe they have the correct interpretation and not Jews… and I can accept that… but to say that they have THE ORIGINAL intrepretation when for 1000s of years that interpretation didn’t exist makes Purdom seem, well, pretty silly. God’s word is either God’s word or it isn’t. It was the Truth prior to the birth of Christ or it wasn’t. She makes this very point, in fact, over and over, but in the next breath says, basically we got it wrong. Well how can that be? If someone has to reinterpret God’s word, when was it ever the Truth, now or then? And what does that make of the works of centuries of brilliant scholars (namely Maimonides) whom she’s probably never even read. Or maybe God Himself was wrong from the beginning only waiting for the non-interpretation interpretation? Shermer tries to make this point with her, but it goes way over her head.

Mixing science and religion is just bad for both.