Comment: Judaism is all about survival and perpetuation of the in-group, exclusion of out-groups. Everything about it. Think of it as an extremely effective, self-perpetuating social machine.
I got thoroughly red pilled several years ago. Then I read the Bible straight through.
I was struck by the Old Testament. Some of my takeaways (your mileage may vary):
– Religion is a powerful force for social structure and order. It grants special privileges to those at the top (e.g. the Levites) who then have a vested interest in its perpetuation.
– All the rules about what you can wear, what you can eat, how much to sacrifice to G-d, blah blah in the Book of Deuteronomy boil down to one game concept — Compliance. Getting people to follow small, meaningless rules conditions them to accept authority and follow larger rules. My conclusion was that rules in all religions, not just Judaism, are about reinforcing compliance.
– Rules banning adultery, homosexuality etc on religious grounds are about reinforcing social order. Things break down and men fight if wives fuck around or men don’t reproduce.
– Judaism is built upon the fact that they are above all other peoples. They are “chosen” by G-d. This is a bedrock belief. It explains why when they arrived in Canaan from the desert they felt entitled to kill EVERYONE there. Those people were subhuman and unworthy. G-d is one their side. He has destined them to rule over all other peoples.
– The “Jews are chosen and others are subhuman” theme pops up frequently. There’s a whole book in the Old Testament on rule for business dealings. It states clearly that a Jew should always pay a debt to another Jew, but does not really have to pay a debt to an outgroup member. This is moral and just.
– Judaism has an incredibly effective immune system that identifies and eliminates threats so it can perpetuate itself. If a family member begins to follow other gods, it is G-d testing your faith. It’s your duty to kill him.
At the time there were lots of religions and gods in the region. It put Judaism into crisis after crisis as Jews wandered off to other faiths. For Judaism to survive it had to evolve strong mechanisms for rejecting and excising invading beliefs. The story of the revered prophet Elijah is a big example. He singlehandedly led a movement to expel foreign faiths and rejuvenate Judaism.
– The in-group/out-group dynamic has always relied heavily on emphasising external threats. Hence, the need for Jews always to feel under siege in order to maintain in-group unity and cohesion. If Jews don’t have a big threat they manufacture one.
I really enjoyed reading the Bible. Oddly, many “religious” people I speak to about the Bible have never actually read it. They’ve just read a passage here or a passage there, with the “meaning” spoon fed to them by a clergy member.
If you have a good red pill grounding and you want to understand the role of religion and the tenets of Judaism, you might consider reading the Bible. I found the New International Version to be the most readable.
* All religions preach a level of superiority and special benefits of some sort to the followers.
Maimonides preaches tolerance to outgroups, but there, is of course, some level of superiority/inferiority. Judaism is really a reaction to contempory Poz pagan cults (nature cults, decadent cults (bhaal), collectivist cults (egypt)multi-culturalism (tower of babel), Sadism cults) etc..
There is an idea that Israel is G-ds gift to the Jews.
Frankly, the ingroup loyalty of Jews is something that WN laughably overstate. Most secular Jews are hopelessly jealous of each other. The “Transparent” show shows the collapse of the Jewish family. Jewish loyalty among American Jews is DOA.
If a Jew ever appeals to your mutual sense of Jewish identity it often means that he plans on ripping you off (unless he’s a hard boiled Zionist or enthusiastic Orthodox). Irish have a greater sense of in-group loyalty.
