US: ACLU trying to remove cross from CA desert

Some people are Jewish by religion because they have converted from another religion, but they are not Jewish ethnically.

I was thinking along those lines with a person may say they are Catholic but they are also Jewish ( going back to the tribe of Judah )?

I was thinking along those lines with a person may say they are Catholic but they are also Jewish ( going back to the tribe of Judah )?

Is this possible?

I guess that would be a complicated situation, where if you wanted to explain in full you could say you were born Jewish but converted to Catholicism, or you're Catholic but members of your family converted from Judaism a long time ago, or you're Catholic but you have some Jewish family members - whatever the detailed situation was and whatever the context - for example, if you're talking about food and you want to say that your mother always cooked great Jewish dishes.

But if you wanted to keep it simple I suppose you would just say you were Catholic because you go to a Catholic church, for example - whatever message you want to bring across.

And I think most people who have one Jewish and one Catholic parent will just say they are half Jewish, half Catholic.

By the way, when I was very young, the only Christians I knew were Catholic so I though Christianity and Catholicism were the same thing. I didn't know there were other types of Christianity.

Is this possible?

I don't know anything about these tribes you speak of, though I probably should.  I do know that most Jews in the US are Ashkenazi Jews which simply means Jews who trace their family back to Eastern Europe.  The other type (not as common in the US) is Sephardic who can trace their family back to Spain.  Then of course their are Israeli Jews.

I suppose a person could have been born a Jew, but later convert to Catholocism.  They will always be a Jew ethnically, but I suspect a person who has converted to being Catholic will no longer identify her / him self as  being Jewish.  

(Reminds me that whenever I remind my Dad that one of the most popular mayors of Dublin was Jewish, he then says, "Yes, but his sister became a Catholic nun!")

cross-posted with sweetpeach.

I thought that Peacemaker meant that Christians were somehow technically "Jews" by descent since Jesus was king of the Jews.

When I was about 9 (50 years ago) our teacher said to the (mainly Episcopalian) class, "Put up your hand if you are not a Christian". One boy put up his hand and the teacher said, "You can put your hand down, Frankie, I know what you're going to say!" but he persisted and said "We're Catholics at home, Miss."

I thought that Peacemaker meant that Christians were somehow technically "Jews" by descent since Jesus was king of the Jews.

Hmm, yes Jesus was a Jew, but wouldn't it be really hard to trace your origins that far back?

Hmm, yes Jesus was a Jew, but wouldn't it be really hard to trace your origins that far back?

More a matter of doctrine or belief rather than genealogy.

The lineage of some Jews has been traced way back using mitochondrial (for the female line) and Y-chromosome (for the male line) DNA.

So, if somebody could get a sample of Jesus' DNA, we could find out.

Can anyone verify that Protestants are Catholic and when we refer to Catholics we are referring to Roman Catholics?

BTW my wife tells people that her ancestors, whose name was Phillips, were from Wales and they were Catholic but they were persecuted in Wales and therefore had to move over to Ireland. My maternal side also comes from mid Wales so there is a little coincidence that our ancestors are from the same country but we met in San Francisco.

Can anyone verify that Protestants are Catholic and when we refer to Catholics we are referring to Roman Catholics?

Depends what you mean by "Catholic". Protestants are not (of course!) Roman Catholic, but the word 'catholic' with a small 'c' means just means 'universal'. Some Protestants  use the term "catholic church" to refer broadly to the Christian Church and all believers in Jesus Christ across the world and the ages, regardless of denominational affiliation.

When you mentioned the "Catholics being Jews because of the Tribe Of Judah" thing, were you thinking of several passages in the Bible which refer to Christians as "children of Abraham", particularly in Galatians, for example

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29)

When you mentioned the "Catholics being Jews because of the Tribe Of Judah" thing, were you thinking of several passages in the Bible which refer to Christians as "children of Abraham", particularly in Galatians, for example

More a matter of doctrine or belief rather than genealogy.

I understand.

The lineage of some Jews has been traced way back using mitochondrial (for the female line) and Y-chromosome (for the male line) DNA.

So, if somebody could get a sample of Jesus' DNA, we could find out.

Now that would *really* make front page news!

I understand.
Now that would *really* make front page news!

Because there is no substantial historical evidence that Jesus ever existed?

Because there is no substantial historical evidence that Jesus ever existed?

I think that would be why.