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My name is David. I was born a Jew. When I was growing up, I had a very
limited Jewish education.
It was in my mid-20's when I began to feel the need for some sort of
spirituality. I began to search for G-d, and I was answered by a Fundamentalist
Christian -- my landlord's son, whom we'll call Jeff.
He, Jeff, told me about Jesus. He told me that Jesus was my savior.
He told me Jesus died for me.
He told me that I needed to repent my sins and accept Jesus to be "saved".
As an un-educated, non-religious individual who was searching for the
truth -- I began to fall for the false belief in Jesus. My ignorance of
the Jewish Bible (Tanach) was the reason I came to believe in Jesus.
Jeff was the first person who took time to expose me to the Bible, and
help me view the verses of the Bible. It was after discussing with him,
that I accepted Jesus, and became a born-again Christian. It was about
a week later, a friend at work bought me a copy of the King James Version
-- a copy of the Christian Bible.
After this, my entire life perspective had been affected.
I looked down at all non-Christians. I condemned all non- Christians to
hell. I felt like the greatest prophet that ever lived. I felt so righteous
and alive. I thought G-d was on my side. I told my family about the "good
news" and relayed to them that if they didn't accept Christ, they
would not see G-d in heaven.
It pained my Jewish family to see me falling to Christianity. My mother
and father were extremely shocked and dismayed. How could their only son
become a Christian?
But, I would not give in that easily. I refused to acknowledge their
pains. I was a soldier of G-d and I needed to show Jesus that I loved
him more than I loved my family, just as the Bible verses that Jeff showed
me had stated.
I preached the gospel of Jesus to them, but to no avail. They stayed
strong and refused to accept Jesus.
I started crying. I thought to myself, "They've got to accept Jesus,
it's the only way to heaven. I don't want them to go to hell. What could
I possibly do to help them see the light?"
My Fundamentalists friends told me to study "The Word". They
told me that I would use "The Word" to help bring many lost
souls to Christianity.
So, as instructed, I began some study. I faced a Mormon friend of mine
with my different perspectives.
He pointed out some contradicting passages. I felt confused and angry.
I faced my Fundamentalist Christian friends again and they told me their
interpretations of the passages, most of which were, in some way, stretched.
They said that the Mormons don't have the spirit in them and they would
not understand. I went by the Fundamentalist interpretation not for logic,
but to ease my confusions.
I returned home to face my parents once again. They told me that a Rabbi
from Jews for Judaism was going to sit down with me, study with me, and
discuss the Bible with me.
I told myself that I knew "The Word" and that no Rabbi could
change me. Apparently I was wrong. I was looking forward to meet the Rabbi,
with the intention of bringing him to Jesus.
Rabbi BenTzion Kravitz of Jews for Judaism, came to visit me at my home.
Over a period of four to five hours, he pointed out passages from the
Christian Bible that contradicted various passages from the Jewish Bible.
He brought to light the passages that Jeff and my Fellow Fundamentalists
had shown me.
As we perused through the Biblical passages, Rabbi Kravitz explained
why [the Christian misinterpretations of] Isaiah 53, Isaiah 7, and Psalms
22 that I was taught were wrong. He showed me contradictions found in
the Christian Bible, and showed me that Jesus was not the messiah.
My plans to convert the dear Rabbi had been eliminated.
But, it did not matter anymore. I felt so free. It felt like a weight
had been lifted off of my shoulder. My parents greeted me with a hug,
and I thought to myself, "Welcome Home, David."
To Jews for Judaism: Thank You. For if not for you, who knows where I
would be.
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