Posted January 28 2008 by Ezra Butler
Religion vs Theology, Or, The Silver Screen vs The Written Word
Last night, while I was eating dinner, my roommate turned on Eretz Nehederet (A Wonderful Country). I watched, laughed, and laughed some more. But immediately after the program was over, a thought-provoking interview came on, Ilana Dayan interviewing Joseph Cedar, the American-born Israeli director of the Oscar-nominated movie Beaufort.
As I had seen Beaufort and Medurat HaShevet (Campfire), I have long appreciated his work and the worldview that can be extracted from his work. He grew up religious (and still wears a kippa), and sets his first two movies in that milieu (HaHesder and Medurat HaShevet).
As he is being interviewed, the secular Dayan asks him what effect God has on his life and work. Cedar responds that since age 16, God and theological questions have not really defined who he was or bothered him. Religious events have framed, and continue to frame, his life. He lives a religious lifestyle, in a religious community, yet, God does not enter the equation.
This answer does not bother me at all. We have all (or at least I have) brought up the difference between orthopraxy and orthodoxy (the correct action versus the correct or true belief). Cedar, showing his “American Modern Orthodox” roots, is Orthopraxic, and is proud of it.
Must religion and God go hand in hand? Mordechai Kaplan didn’t think so, and now we have institutions and individuals that support our communities happily without the “G” word being a necessary requirement. When it comes up, many put up a fight, and waste much ink (both physical and digital) on it.
Sure, we can all pay lip service to the Big Man (or Woman), and pray using the Big Name, but do we really care? Does the average religious individual give a damn about theology?
On the other end of the spectrum, Shalom Auslander, as formulated in “Foreskin’s Lament,” actually believes in God and has an ongoing conversation with him, but his blatant “heresy” is offensive to many readers (and probably God).
I am asked by my friends and associates fairly often what my own theological/religious leaning is. When asked, I try to be quite open and honest about it. Religion should not be a taboo, and it should lead to an open and honest discussion. In my experience, religion is a deeply personal affair, and in its purest form does not cause conflict. It is the other baggage that we load upon religion that does.
Last night’s interview was a breath of fresh air for me, because it portrayed on television a conversation that I had many times.
I applaud Joseph Cedar for his openness and hope that he wins the Oscar for the Best Foreign Film!
Add This Blog to Your Technorati Favorites
Jewish Blog, Jewish, Jewish Leadership, Jewish News, Jewish Values, Jewish Events
