1. At a rough guess I'd say about a third of people do think beyond, depending on circumstances, pressures, etc. An additional difficulty is that many of those inclined to think beyond, who may be dissatisfied with the propaganda even if only vaguely, may also lack both information and a frame of reference for judging what they learn.
1. At a rough guess I'd say about a third of people do think beyond, depending on circumstances, pressures, etc. An additional difficulty is that many of those inclined to think beyond, who may be dissatisfied with the propaganda even if only vaguely, may also lack both information and a frame of reference for judging what they learn.
2. As a cultural matter I would argue that there are at least two Judaisms, related but distinguishable, distinct from other cultures.
3. Judeo-Christianity is mostly a Protestant construct, encouraged by the Israel Lobby. "The West" was formerly Christendom, united as Latin Christianity centered at Rome. Interestingly, surprisingly, according to Gallup in both America and Europe close to 70% percent of adults identify as "Christian"--although only God (!) knows what that means in terms of actual meaningful beliefs. I suspect what it really means is that in a cultural sense--and in a pinch--some form of Christian "values" offer a backstop of sorts in their lives. On a day to day basis, it turns out to be more of a form of Deism and libertarian attitude toward social norms.
Note: While both Christian faith and Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism arose in an historical sense from late Israelite religion and culture, they are quite distinct and have been from the start. A book that at least gives some idea of the cultural/religious milieu in which Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism arose is Boccacini's "Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: ..." Most people probably assume that "Judaism" then and "Judaism" now are more or less the same animal--an understandable but misleading perception in important respects.
1. At a rough guess I'd say about a third of people do think beyond, depending on circumstances, pressures, etc. An additional difficulty is that many of those inclined to think beyond, who may be dissatisfied with the propaganda even if only vaguely, may also lack both information and a frame of reference for judging what they learn.
2. As a cultural matter I would argue that there are at least two Judaisms, related but distinguishable, distinct from other cultures.
3. Judeo-Christianity is mostly a Protestant construct, encouraged by the Israel Lobby. "The West" was formerly Christendom, united as Latin Christianity centered at Rome. Interestingly, surprisingly, according to Gallup in both America and Europe close to 70% percent of adults identify as "Christian"--although only God (!) knows what that means in terms of actual meaningful beliefs. I suspect what it really means is that in a cultural sense--and in a pinch--some form of Christian "values" offer a backstop of sorts in their lives. On a day to day basis, it turns out to be more of a form of Deism and libertarian attitude toward social norms.
Note: While both Christian faith and Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism arose in an historical sense from late Israelite religion and culture, they are quite distinct and have been from the start. A book that at least gives some idea of the cultural/religious milieu in which Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism arose is Boccacini's "Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: ..." Most people probably assume that "Judaism" then and "Judaism" now are more or less the same animal--an understandable but misleading perception in important respects.