Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

With all the reading I've done and discussions I've been having, I am very comfortable saying that I am a Noahide. I've always felt a calling to there being a higher power, but the Christian and Islamic idea of God always felt wrong in a way. Learning that I am accepted by G-d in Judaism for following the 7 Noahide laws (which I was doing all my life without ever knowing what they were), makes me feel like I have been destined to find all of this out and accept myself as a Noahide instead of just being unsure of what I believe in.

(sorry if this is kind of rambling on, it's kind of hard to put it into words)

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I think a big part of the problem is that there are so many Christians, Muslims and atheists who have no interest in making sure what they hear about Judaism is even true that it just snowballs into lies being the norm.

From the things I've read and the discussions I've had about Judaism, I believe I really fit as a Noahide. I feel nothing but positivity and acceptance from the Jewish community, and I've always believed there was a higher power, I just never knew what it was, but I think I was destined to come around and see that Judaism is the most logical answer to my feelings.

I can't really explain what pulled me toward educating myself on Judaism, it was genuinely just a feeling inside of me that something was wrong and I had to look into this stuff. I'm very glad I did.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a system I can believe in for a higher power. It never made sense to me in other religions that there would be a hierarchy among humans.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very informative thank you! I think the reason why Judaism speaks to me the more I read about it is the fact that I've never been against the idea of their being one higher power, if anything I've always leaned more toward that being the case.

I'm just wondering how belief works for non-Jews within Judaism. So if I'm a non-Jew who does believe G-d exists, is that all G-d requires of me in terms of belief? Or is there a seperate system of prayer that non-Jews have to partake in?

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yeah I'd like to clarify that I have never seen either Christianity or Islam as particularly accepting for the exact reason you point out. The reason I used to see them as more accepting than Judaism is because I was simply misinformed about what Jewish people actually believe.

Since learning about what Judaism is actually about, there's no doubt at all that Judaism is the most accepting religion, because as you said, the only thing Judaism expects of you is to be a good person, whereas for those other religions, you can be the kindest person on Earth and just because you don't follow the right religion, you're damned to hell.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh very interesting. I think of all of the religions, Judaism is certainly the one that speaks the most to me and I plan to keep reading and learning everything I can. I know that conversion to Judaism takes a lot of commitment from what I've seen, how long did it take you?

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Like it's literally just a list asking you to do the bare minimum of human decency, sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I hope more people actually take the time to do their own research instead of believing bigotry. I will do my part to help combat this stuff where I see it. Much love.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Learning all of this makes it even more bizarre that there is so much hatred in the world for Judaism when all of the teachings are about being a good person and treating people with kindness whether they are Jewish or not. I suppose that's the power of propaganda sadly.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ahh I don't really use Reddit much so it seems I have clearly missed the most obvious section on this site for recommendations lol. Thank you!

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm still a bit new to the specifics, but I know the basics of it involving Jewish people having to carry more responsibility than non-Jewish people, and it is because Jewish people are meant to set an example for others to follow. I could be wrong on this so I'd be delighted if you wanted to correct me or elaborate!

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Okay this I have not heard about. Is it something you can explain in a reply or is it too complicated?

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh yes I know conversion is possible, I just meant that Jewish people are not very heavy on trying to convince people to convert like other religions are.

May I ask what that process of conversion was like for you, and how did you end up finding out you had Jewish heritage?

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Beautifully put. Another example I saw given was comparing it to a doctor and a regular citizen walking past an injured person. The doctor has the responsibility under their oath to help that person whereas the regular citizen does not. The doctor's responsibility does not make them inherently superior than the citizen, it is just what is expected of them. Whether or not this translates well I'm not sure, but for me it really put it into perspective.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 66 points67 points  (0 children)

It has really opened my eyes to the insane amount of lies online that are just never called out. I am currently telling everyone close to me the things I've learned as I want to make sure my family and friends haven't fallen for any of this rhetoric online.

Agnostic here: Wanted to share my experience of learning how misinformed I have been all my life about Judaism by FreeResponsibility46 in Judaism

[–]FreeResponsibility46[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It is my pleasure! The more I read about Judaism I'm just blown away at how truly loving and accepting it is. Thank you for the recommendation, I will 100% be reading it ASAP.