Many of you may not know this yet but I left Christianity a few months ago. Actually, it’s been almost a year now. WOW!
There were so many questions in my mind that did not have answers in the so-called NT bible. I could not understand how a G-d that loved us so much would leave us without answers. Then, tell us to take it on “faith” that it was true. Well, I have come to see that a lie will have to have faith in order make it acceptable.
I love studying Judaism and learning what the books of the Bible really have to say. It is strange sometimes-understanding how one passage that I have understood all my life can mean something very different when put into “true” context. I was so amazed what Isaiah 53 really had to say and mean. Who knew?
In Christianity I always saw those that attend church service and give such Praise to G-d, but as soon as the service was over, gossip, backstabbing, rudeness and many many other acts of unkindness towards each other. I simply could not understand this behavior. I asked some of my friends, “Why do you treat G-d as if He is any one of the people you talk with every day?” The same answer is always given; He is just like your friend. Sounds good, right. NO. G-d is so much more than a friend. He will never talk about me behind my back as they did. There is so much you can learn if you just take the time to really study without fear.
Some of my friends asked me if I was afraid of leaving Jesus who, in their opinion, was my savior; my answer has always been the same, no. I don’t believe that a man could die for my sins. The Scripture does not teach this at all. At this point they would start rolling off the famous verses from the NT that tell how Jesus died for my sins, how he wants to save me, how only he can save me, how I must accept this fact or I will burn in hell, and on and on.
I can’t say that this was an easy process, on the contrary, it was very hard. It took me a long time to understand that NO man could save me, only G-d and that G-d never said he had a son. I than started to look at where all this came from and found it was not from the Hebrew Scriptures. It was man, plain and simple.
There were many nights that I cried out to that god seeking answers but how can a dead man tell me anything? Moreover, yes, surprise, surprise, he is dead. Each time I tried to turn back, I would read something that showed me how wrong that would be. Now I am comfortable in my choice and looking forward to my complete conversion to Judaism.
In this lecture Rabbi Singer shared this story that really touched me.
One of the great sins about persecution is that the victim actually begins to believe that which is said about him. Those of you (Jews) who said things about fellow American, those who are African-American has committed a great tragedy, the great tragedy of what you are doing, the great sin of racism is that the victim of persecution begins to believe what is said about him. It is a very great tragedy. Many Blacks now believe that they are inferior to the white man. They began to believe that maybe we are prone to violence. We are prone to crime, which is the great tragedy. He went on to tell about one of his professors that was teaching an ethnicity class and that the teacher found out later that he was Jewish by a great-grandmother. He shared a story with him about being on a plan and the flight delayed due to some mechanical issues. He tells him as he was sitting on the plan that he sees a man working on the plan and as he started to look to see if the man was white. He could not see the man’s face but once he saw that it was a white man he was relieved. He said to him look at what racism has done to me. The Jewish people are the same, he said, we began to believe that are no good. When I was listening to this, I realized how hurtful it is for me what a white Jew looks or says something to me unkind due to my race. I have felt, of all the white people in the world, they would understand and never treat us in that way.