Christian to Jew
By Jshirls ~
I was baptized in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) as an infant and introduced to the Bible by my parents as a toddler. Both sides of my family have been Christians for centuries including pastors, elders, deacons, and missionaries in my family. I made a profession of faith when I was 7 years old with an elder (who I thought was God at one point). One time I asked my parents if god was made up just like santa claus. I remember being bored at church much of the time but I tried to absorb the teaching and started reading the Bible and praying at age 7. I enjoyed fellowship with most of the members of the church. As a boy I attended a rally in which a charismatic preacher came in and did an altar call and asked teens to come up and pray a 10 second prayer to instantly become a Christian.
As a teenager I learned that both of my grandfathers grew up with widowed mothers and their church did nothing to help them; I became somewhat rebellious and vacillated between strict devotion and intense questioning of Christianity. Interestingly, one of the pastors at the church I was a member of said he was not concerned about my faith in God anyway or whether or not I believed in evolution.
By the time I was 18 I saw how politicized the conservative Protestantism was that I grew up with and I liked it and was proud of my heritage.
I know I never would have joined a church, except for the fact that I grew up with it and had adjusted to it. I probably would have left the church as a college student, but I went to Geneva, a Christian college and then the Reformed Presbyterian Theological seminary, so I stuck with the church out of duty, habit, and because I had many friends in my denomination.
I had a lot of bad experiences with folks in the reformed college and church; the arrogant, cruel women and some men who brutalized & harassed me for sport because I am autistic, bi polar and have a different dialect than they do. They always want to do 80% of the talking during "conversations" with me, to police my speech, and try to manipulate me--they seem to think it is their right and care more about their own reputation and position than my mental health which they were damaging and driving me toward suicide. I realized later that some of these folks acted this way toward me because they were sexually attracted to me ["faggot pedophiles"] (pedophilic tendencies in the cases of older men/women) and some were jealous of my youth, good-nature, etc.
The more I studied Christianity I saw how it was not even internally consistent.The more I studied Christianity I saw how it was not even internally consistent. When I was studying with ministers I saw how truly hypocritical and perverse the clergy are, although I still think most laypeople are good. I became very zealous, opposing birth control/contraception, believing in head coverings for women (and was appalled at the pastor's wife who contradicted and undermined her husband's authority). I learned that pastors twist Scriptures like Micah 3:10 and take it out of context to extort money out of the congregation through the false doctrine of tithing instead of preaching what Micah and the other prophets were really saying (that it was the religious leaders who steal from God and the people!) I also learned from surveys that 90% of pastors have narcissistic personality disorder from studies done in Canada/Netherlands. And it is cowardly that the pastors shout at people for not confronting them directly over pastoral sins, but then go behind the backs of other pastors, the civil magistrates, doctors, etc and slander them instead of debating them in person with decency and good order.
Pastors are masters of doubletalk and prey on blue collar working class people and bully them verbally since they are not professional speakers like ministers. Ministers refused to lift a finger to help me when I was sick/injured and had crimes committed against me; they have victims and blame them in order to justify their own spiritual violence against those less fortunate than them.
Interestingly, it was the Christian college I went to that first introduced me to Astrology and the age of Aquarius which I began researching. And studying Astrology and the occult is what finally led me to Judaism. Judaism is more historic and more practical as Jews have put into practice the good teachings of Jesus far better than Christians have, and Jews have the highest life expectancy, wealth, and lowest crime rate and lowest divorce rate. The Jewish concept of "Repairing the World" fits much better with my conscience than "dominion theology," or 'Christianity, Conquest, and Commerce.'
As a teenager I learned that both of my grandfathers grew up with widowed mothers and their church did nothing to help them; I became somewhat rebellious and vacillated between strict devotion and intense questioning of Christianity. Interestingly, one of the pastors at the church I was a member of said he was not concerned about my faith in God anyway or whether or not I believed in evolution.
By the time I was 18 I saw how politicized the conservative Protestantism was that I grew up with and I liked it and was proud of my heritage.
I know I never would have joined a church, except for the fact that I grew up with it and had adjusted to it. I probably would have left the church as a college student, but I went to Geneva, a Christian college and then the Reformed Presbyterian Theological seminary, so I stuck with the church out of duty, habit, and because I had many friends in my denomination.
I had a lot of bad experiences with folks in the reformed college and church; the arrogant, cruel women and some men who brutalized & harassed me for sport because I am autistic, bi polar and have a different dialect than they do. They always want to do 80% of the talking during "conversations" with me, to police my speech, and try to manipulate me--they seem to think it is their right and care more about their own reputation and position than my mental health which they were damaging and driving me toward suicide. I realized later that some of these folks acted this way toward me because they were sexually attracted to me ["faggot pedophiles"] (pedophilic tendencies in the cases of older men/women) and some were jealous of my youth, good-nature, etc.
The more I studied Christianity I saw how it was not even internally consistent.The more I studied Christianity I saw how it was not even internally consistent. When I was studying with ministers I saw how truly hypocritical and perverse the clergy are, although I still think most laypeople are good. I became very zealous, opposing birth control/contraception, believing in head coverings for women (and was appalled at the pastor's wife who contradicted and undermined her husband's authority). I learned that pastors twist Scriptures like Micah 3:10 and take it out of context to extort money out of the congregation through the false doctrine of tithing instead of preaching what Micah and the other prophets were really saying (that it was the religious leaders who steal from God and the people!) I also learned from surveys that 90% of pastors have narcissistic personality disorder from studies done in Canada/Netherlands. And it is cowardly that the pastors shout at people for not confronting them directly over pastoral sins, but then go behind the backs of other pastors, the civil magistrates, doctors, etc and slander them instead of debating them in person with decency and good order.
Pastors are masters of doubletalk and prey on blue collar working class people and bully them verbally since they are not professional speakers like ministers. Ministers refused to lift a finger to help me when I was sick/injured and had crimes committed against me; they have victims and blame them in order to justify their own spiritual violence against those less fortunate than them.
Interestingly, it was the Christian college I went to that first introduced me to Astrology and the age of Aquarius which I began researching. And studying Astrology and the occult is what finally led me to Judaism. Judaism is more historic and more practical as Jews have put into practice the good teachings of Jesus far better than Christians have, and Jews have the highest life expectancy, wealth, and lowest crime rate and lowest divorce rate. The Jewish concept of "Repairing the World" fits much better with my conscience than "dominion theology," or 'Christianity, Conquest, and Commerce.'
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