Its now a little time since members of the Moot Community visited the Western Marble Arch Synagogue, and we haven't really had an opportunity to discuss our reflections regarding how it impacted us - going to a pretty Conservative and Zionist Orthodox Synagogue - challenged my own faith and also about the connections and differences between Judaism and Christianity. So people who were there - please do add your comments and reflections.

Ian's thoughts....
There is much I could say on the positive side which has stayed with me since we attended.
Firstly - that in Judaism - there is no original sin - just the acceptance that badness and evil exist in the universe - but this cannot seperate us from the love of God unless we choose this to be so. I like this idea a lot - and have always struggled with the doctrine of original sin. So Judaism does not say that God's salvific purposes are prevented by an overly redemptive understanding of the role of Christ. The second really important thing for me - was a small note in the prayer book recently updated by the Chief Rabbi in the United Kingdom. It said - that though Judaism believed in the one true God following the great Shemah prayer. This same God had three distinct attributes of being and I quote "Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer". So if this is true to Judaism - then the whole Trintarian Christian understanding does authentically find its roots in Judaism.

The main things that troubled me were around the Zionism. The readings of the day were all about genocide and clearing the land in an original form of ethnic clensing justified for religious purposes. It was tough to hear these readings. But what worried me most was the connection made in the sermon between these readings and the plight of the West Bank and Gaza. The Rabbi really did say the land was Israel's, and that the texts were used to justify bad treatment of 'terrorists'. As a Christian I found this difficult to hear let alone accept. As Christians we must remember that there are Palestinian Christians and sorts of other ethnicities who are really suffering under economic and political oppression - which must not be watered down. So I came away blessed by most of what we had interacted with - except the readings and the sermon