I had some thoughts about what Biblic Judaism should be. First, it should not be Karaite Judaism. Karaite Judaism is its own religion and Karaites don't like others using their name. So Biblic Judaism must be a distinct religion. But this doesn't mean that someone can't be both a Karaite and a Biblic Jew. Both Rabbinic Judaism and Karaite Judaism define themselves more as an ethnicity than as a religion, so there is no conflict. My second thought is that Biblic Judaism should not be racist in any way. Biblic Judaism should simply a religion, and who one's parents are is irrelevant. And third, conversion to Biblic Judaism should be clear and easy. Simply becoming a Biblic Jew doesn't give one any authority in the religion, it simply means that one accepts the core idea. So there is no reason to make it difficult to join.
I looked at the conversion process of various religions. Obviously the Rabbinic conversion process is the worst. The Karaite conversion process isn't much better. Christian conversion varies a lot and isn't clearly defined. In general, the Christian conversion processes don't make much sense to me. The one conversion process that stands out as being clear and sensible is the Muslim conversion process. To become a Muslim, one simply repeats the
shahada sincerely which says:
"There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God."
I find this ideal because it is simply repeating a short statement asserting the essence of Islam. I think Biblic Judaism should copy this pattern. In fact I would just modify the shahada slightly to produce:
"There is no god but Yehovah and the Hebrew Bible is the message of Yehovah."
This short statement actually packs more punch than is first apparent. It eliminates every religion in the world with the exception of Karaite Judaism. Let's consider how. First, all non-Abrahamic religions are clearly eliminated since they don't believe in God or the Hebrew Bible. This includes atheism. Christianity is eliminated because "There is no god but Yehovah" excludes their Jesus as God. Islam is eliminated because they believe that the Hebrew Bible has been replaced by the Quran as God's message. And finally, Rabbinic Judaism is eliminated because they will refuse to say God's name "Yehovah". I think it is just as important to eliminate Rabbinic Judaism as to eliminate any other religion, and God's name makes this possible. Even among the Karaites, there is disagreement about whether or not to pronounce God's name. The Torah is quite clear about the use of God's name:
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God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: Yehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.
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Exodus 3:15
So those Karaites who prefer following the traditions of Rabbinic Judaism to following the commandments of the Torah should not join Biblic Judaism.
My suggestion is to make this quote:
"There is no god but Yehovah and the Hebrew Bible is the message of Yehovah."
play the same role in Biblic Judaism that the shahada does in Islam. This means that this quote is our creed and that saying it sincerely is the means to joining Biblic Judaism.
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