Why I picked Judaism

So, there are three major monotheistic religions that I’m aware of: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. I’ve listed them by how I understand them to be ordered by size (Islam having the most members). I’m not interested in dissecting each religion and airing its dirty laundry in front of everyone. I’m not interested in telling Muslims or Christians that they’re wrong and I’m right. See my previous post on this, as I understand that I’m human, and I might be wrong. You need to decide for yourself which is the most appropriate religion for you. I’m simply going to explain why I chose Judaism.

Let’s start was some basic things that I believe in….

1. God is good

2. I want to follow and praise God for the right reasons. I’m not interested in being scared into something. That to me is fear-mongering and it should have no place in choosing your religion.

3. I dislike re-translated biblical texts. I’m very interested in reading the original texts.

4. I dislike the idea of God dying for my sins. I feel like I should repent and be responsible for my own sins. I see no reason for God to have died on the cross for me. I don’t think it was necessary, so I don’t think it ever happened.

So, with that out of the way, I’ll start by saying that I have a large aversion to the way Christians try to get you to convert into their religion. I was raised Christian. I’ve gone door to door spreading the message about Jesus Christ. I didn’t like it then, even when I thought I was doing a good thing. I definitely don’t like it now. This practice, in and of itself, doesn’t make Christianity bad or wrong. It does make it very effective though. The idea of burning in hell for all eternity isn’t very appealing to most people. Here though, I’d like to refer to my first belief. God is good. I don’t believe God is going to cast any of us into a fiery pit for all eternity. It’s more likely we’ll just cease to exist, than to be punished forever. That’s just not something I think God would do. Now, I’m not God and I cannot speak for God, nor read his mind. If you believe in Hell, that’s fine. Some Jews also believe in Hell. I currently do not. Maybe you can convince me otherwise.

Next, I don’t think anyone will disagree when I say that both Islam and Christianity are based on the Jewish religion. Jesus was a jew and Muhammad, as I understand it, brought the Quran as a means of correcting the Torah and conveying God’s message correctly. It’s meant to be a replacement for the Torah.

So, at one point, this would indicate that both of these religions would agree that Judaism was the correct and true religion, but they would say that is no longer the case (for differing reasons).  However, in the Torah, God makes his covenant with the people of Israel for all time. The Jews are bound by the covenant of the Torah for all time. I don’t think God would suddenly make a new covenant without letting us all know. When he gave Israel the covenant, he gave it to them all. They were all present and witnessed God’s presence and power. Why would it have been different for a new covenant?

Now, I do believe that both Islam and Christianity are okay. You can practice either of these religions and be righteous in the eyes of the Lord. I do have a little aversion to worshipping Jesus, as this could be viewed as a false God, but I think God setup Christianity to help spread monotheism and is overlooking this. Or perhaps I’m wrong and Jesus is the son of god!

My view is Islam is about the same. I just believe that the original religion is the most correct. The more I learn about Judaism, the more I feel that it is for me. This is my own personal choice, you may feel differently. I like everything about the Jewish faith, and that is why I have chosen it.

Until next time.

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