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I am split between Judaism and Christianity

For a while I feel like something is missing I feel like I can't speak to God anymore I feel so lost.For a while, Judaism has been fascinating me I kind of want to convert however maybe I just want a new beginning I feel like I can no longer speak sincerely to God.I do not know what to do I was raised Catholic, but I don't want to be Catholic because many are homophobic and sexist (not all but some) also the news keeps making the catholic church look bad.I am against smoking and alcohol, but I don't want to be Muslim because it is not a religion that interests me.Am I coming to an age where I have lost my identity and maybe religion will help me find myself again?Should I just look for a different type of Christianity or do what? I don't know whether I believe or not I believe in Jesus, I never thought about it.I guess being raised Catholic I just accepted it and did not think about it.

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Tbh whilst I don't know heaps about Judaism, I would be surprised if you would find them to be significantly less homophobic/sexist than you perceive the Catholic Church to be :tongue: Also, the God of Christianity and the God of Judaism are one and the same God. So if you feel your prayer life is stale and that God is not there/not responding to you at present, you are likely to find the same thing happening with Judaism :sadnod: The key difference is (dis)belief in Jesus being the Son of God - as I'm sure you know, Jews are still waiting for the promised Messiah, whereas Catholics and other Christians are not!

That said, I'd encourage you to find out look into the beliefs of Judaism more and see whether you would be able to believe in/adhere to them. Converting to Judaism is a lengthy process, so it's better to be fully committed to their ideas and practices, etc. It would be worth talking more both a priest and a rabbi about how you are feeling.

Religion is not a plaster, a fix-all or a cure. I'm inclined to think you are going through a rough patch and period of what the Jesuits would call 'desolation', rather than you actually needing to change religion. But you know yourself best. Just be true to yourself, whatever you do, and don't pigeonhole yourself or box yourself in, or allow others to do that to you


Good luck, whatever you decide :h:
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
Tbh whilst I don't know heaps about Judaism, I would be surprised if you would find them to be significantly less homophobic/sexist than you perceive the Catholic Church to be :tongue: Also, the God of Christianity and the God of Judaism are one and the same God. So if you feel your prayer life is stale and that God is not there/not responding to you at present, you are likely to find the same thing happening with Judaism :sadnod: The key difference is (dis)belief in Jesus being the Son of God - as I'm sure you know, Jews are still waiting for the promised Messiah, whereas Catholics and other Christians are not!

That said, I'd encourage you to find out look into the beliefs of Judaism more and see whether you would be able to believe in/adhere to them. Converting to Judaism is a lengthy process, so it's better to be fully committed to their ideas and practices, etc. It would be worth talking more both a priest and a rabbi about how you are feeling.

Religion is not a plaster, a fix-all or a cure. I'm inclined to think you are going through a rough patch and period of what the Jesuits would call 'desolation', rather than you actually needing to change religion. But you know yourself best. Just be true to yourself, whatever you do, and don't pigeonhole yourself or box yourself in, or allow others to do that to you


Good luck, whatever you decide :h:


I guess you are right, but I was thinking reform Judaism as I am a very open person and it is frustrating the hear some of the things they say.
Original post by Anonymous1502
I guess you are right, but I was thinking reform Judaism as I am a very open person and it is frustrating the hear some of the things they say.


Ah now THAT makes more sense :yep:

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Anonymous1502
For a while I feel like something is missing I feel like I can't speak to God anymore I feel so lost.For a while, Judaism has been fascinating me I kind of want to convert however maybe I just want a new beginning I feel like I can no longer speak sincerely to God.I do not know what to do I was raised Catholic, but I don't want to be Catholic because many are homophobic and sexist (not all but some) also the news keeps making the catholic church look bad.I am against smoking and alcohol, but I don't want to be Muslim because it is not a religion that interests me.


The reasons in bold aren't good reasons for leaving a faith. You should leave only if you no longer believe in it rather than because you disapprove of what others who claim to practise it believe/do. There are probably homophobes and sexists in your neighbourhood too -- would you leave for that? I think not.

Muslims don't have anything against smoking tobacco. :tongue: Your criteria for choosing a religion seem to be flawed: convert to a religion you believe in, not one that simply 'interests' you. If you want a religion that interests you, you'll have a better chance at getting that if you simply create a new one to match your beliefs.

Am I coming to an age where I have lost my identity and maybe religion will help me find myself again?Should I just look for a different type of Christianity or do what? I don't know whether I believe or not I believe in Jesus, I never thought about it.I guess being raised Catholic I just accepted it and did not think about it.


I suggest a period of agnosticism because it seems you're following Catholicism because of the way you were raised, not because you've actually given it any thought. There's no point confining yourself to Christianity if you've never taken the trouble to think about it before; be open-minded. :tongue:
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 5
Why shop around for a religion to follow if you don't have faith?

Decide for yourself what you think is right or wrong - which you are doing for yourself anyway - and adhere to that. Why have someone else tell you what to think or feel?
as a Christian you have all of Judaism inside you ... and more ! in computer terms: if you have Windows XP you can run all of the software for Windows 95. the opposite is not true...
Original post by Anonymous1502
For a while I feel like something is missing I feel like I can't speak to God anymore I feel so lost.For a while, Judaism has been fascinating me I kind of want to convert however maybe I just want a new beginning I feel like I can no longer speak sincerely to God.I do not know what to do I was raised Catholic, but I don't want to be Catholic because many are homophobic and sexist (not all but some) also the news keeps making the catholic church look bad.I am against smoking and alcohol, but I don't want to be Muslim because it is not a religion that interests me.Am I coming to an age where I have lost my identity and maybe religion will help me find myself again?Should I just look for a different type of Christianity or do what? I don't know whether I believe or not I believe in Jesus, I never thought about it.I guess being raised Catholic I just accepted it and did not think about it.


I understand it can be difficult to continue with your faith when you don't quite understand it yourself. But it is good to ask questions. Christians/Catholics are often viewed to be incredibly judgemental, and that's no fault other than their own. As a Christian, I find it difficult to judge people as most religious/non-religious people do. God loves everyone equally regardless of race/gender/sexual orientation. No human should judge another, none of us are perfect, and God doesn't ever expect us to be perfect. He just expects us to try and trust in him. There is only one type of Christianity. That is to believe that Jesus died for our sins, that God loves us, and that he will return.

You need to read the bible for yourself. There are many references to situations in our lives, and in the world that are already written in the bible. Keep trying with Christianity, please don't give up on God. He will never give up on you.
Original post by the bear
as a Christian you have all of Judaism inside you ... and more ! in computer terms: if you have Windows XP you can run all of the software for Windows 95. the opposite is not true...


Firstly in computer terms that is not true, you do realise software made for windows 95 will probably have compatibility issues with XP


In religious terms it's total *******s, the Jewish religion didn't stop developing 2,000 years ago. I'm not saying OP should become a Jew, but this argument is plain wrong.
Original post by Masih ad-Dajjal
Firstly in computer terms that is not true, you do realise software made for windows 95 will probably have compatibility issues with XP


In religious terms it's total *******s, the Jewish religion didn't stop developing 2,000 years ago. I'm not saying OP should become a Jew, but this argument is plain wrong.


well... let's say XP can run windows 98 if that makes you happy. :rolleyes:
Original post by the bear
well... let's say XP can run windows 98 if that makes you happy. :rolleyes:


I think you must have a virus.
Original post by Masih ad-Dajjal
I think you must have a virus.


let's try a different analogy...

Judaism = boiled egg

Christianity = scotch egg

you get all the benefits of the boiled egg but with so much more.
Original post by the bear
let's try a different analogy...

Judaism = boiled egg

Christianity = scotch egg

you get all the benefits of the boiled egg but with so much more.


Judaism is not just the Old Testament, Jesus ****ing Christ...

:facepalm2:
Original post by Masih ad-Dajjal
Judaism is not just the Old Testament, Jesus ****ing Christ...

:facepalm2:


on a technical point: Jesus was never ****ing... he was celibate right up until his murder ?
Original post by the bear
on a technical point: Jesus was never ****ing... he was celibate right up until his murder ?


I doubt it

He was always hanging around with prostitutes and he was hung from one hand to the other
Reply 15
Original post by Anonymous1502
For a while I feel like something is missing I feel like I can't speak to God anymore I feel so lost.For a while, Judaism has been fascinating me I kind of want to convert however maybe I just want a new beginning I feel like I can no longer speak sincerely to God.I do not know what to do I was raised Catholic, but I don't want to be Catholic because many are homophobic and sexist (not all but some) also the news keeps making the catholic church look bad.I am against smoking and alcohol, but I don't want to be Muslim because it is not a religion that interests me.Am I coming to an age where I have lost my identity and maybe religion will help me find myself again?Should I just look for a different type of Christianity or do what? I don't know whether I believe or not I believe in Jesus, I never thought about it.I guess being raised Catholic I just accepted it and did not think about it.


Have you ever tried doing an Alpha course? It is an introduction to Christianity, opening you up to who Jesus is. Some people criticise these courses but I think they are brilliant.:smile:

http://www.alpha.org/
Original post by Masih ad-Dajjal
I doubt it

He was always hanging around with prostitutes and he was hung from one hand to the other


Our Lord worked with sex workers for their salvation. there is no record of His dimensions in Scripture :hmmmm2:
Original post by the bear
as a Christian you have all of Judaism inside you ... and more ! in computer terms: if you have Windows XP you can run all of the software for Windows 95. the opposite is not true...


Original post by the bear
well... let's say XP can run windows 98 if that makes you happy. :rolleyes:


Original post by the bear
let's try a different analogy...

Judaism = boiled egg

Christianity = scotch egg

you get all the benefits of the boiled egg but with so much more.


These are all poor analogies. They're okay for a laugh, but don't pretend like these are serious arguments in favour of choosing Christianity over Judaism. :tongue:

Anybody on this thread who's arguing that the OP should choose either of these religions (with the exception of The_Lonely_Goatherd) has either not read the thread beyond the title or is giving him/her poor advice to sway him/her towards their own religious beliefs. If somebody says they've never really thought about something, the only correct advice is to tell them to start thinking about it.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous1502
For a while I feel like something is missing I feel like I can't speak to God anymore I feel so lost.For a while, Judaism has been fascinating me I kind of want to convert however maybe I just want a new beginning I feel like I can no longer speak sincerely to God.I do not know what to do I was raised Catholic, but I don't want to be Catholic because many are homophobic and sexist (not all but some) also the news keeps making the catholic church look bad.I am against smoking and alcohol, but I don't want to be Muslim because it is not a religion that interests me.Am I coming to an age where I have lost my identity and maybe religion will help me find myself again?Should I just look for a different type of Christianity or do what? I don't know whether I believe or not I believe in Jesus, I never thought about it.I guess being raised Catholic I just accepted it and did not think about it.


become a protestant Christian.
Reply 19
Original post by Racoon
Have you ever tried doing an Alpha course? It is an introduction to Christianity
I think you mis-spelled 'indoctrination'.

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