<Daniel S.>

Daniel S. - Georgia, USA

I have been a Noahide for 4 years. Although I have never been in a Noahide community, it is great to see the internet community of individual Noahides in different locations.

I come from a Protestant Christian background and when I was in college I studied the Bible in depth. My main goal was finding the plain meaning of the New Testament and to weed through all of the false doctrines and practices that have developed over time. The church I was in was dedicated to this goal. However, as many people who have read the New Testament know, there are many parts that refer to the Hebrew Scriptures and attempt to shed light on the fulfillment of these scriptures. Upon actually looking many of these scriptures up in their original sources, I eventually realized that the New Testament interpretations of them are taken out of context, mistranslated, or sometimes completely fabricated. This did not stop me from being a Christian at first, but it set off a red flag, and I continued my study somewhat confused.

I researched what Judaism had to say about many of the issues that were troubling me, because I knew that Hebrew Scripture is the primary religious text of the Jews. In all honesty, I really didn't expect to find anything worthwhile. What I found changed the course of my life. The clarity of the Jewish interpretation of the scriptures in question and its compatibility with the plain meaning was undeniable. The Jewish interpretation uses context and takes the text seriously. Any person who is intellectually honest will not be able to reconcile the Christian versions of what the messiah is, sin and atonement, the idea of a covenant, and the nature of G-d with the plain meaning of Hebrew Scripture. The scriptures clearly tell a story of G-d's eternal covenant with his people Israel, and are much more than just a preface to the New Testament.

After contemplating my newfound knowledge, I figured the next step would be to convert to Judaism. This would be particularly hard for me, because I was obligated to the Navy after I finished college and I knew it would be tough to be an Orthodox Jew and an enlisted sailor at the same time. I soon accidentally came across an article on a Jewish website talking about the Noahide covenant. I studied the 7 laws from some different sources, realized what I had to do, and I've been a Noahide ever since.

My choice of religion did not set well with my church, and I set up a meeting with a few of my leaders to tell them why I was leaving. I figured that since they were dedicated to truth and the plain meaning of scripture, and since they were very active in trying to get other people to give up their false doctrines to join their "true church," that they would be pleased to receive sufficient proof that what they were teaching was wrong and that they had the opportunity to be part of a much older, more authentic plan for humanity than what they were teaching. I put together some notes in a similar format to the type of materials that they used for evangelizing and I presented them with it. During the course of our discussion, surprisingly they did not even want to look at the scriptures--that was the only time I know of that they actually didn't want to open a Bible. They insisted that the issue was not with scripture but some personal problem I had. They made it clear that they were happy and comfortable as Christians with their homes and families, which was evidence to them that their way worked. I kept responding with answers similar to the ones that they would give to Mormons, or other faiths that they would try to convert, but to no avail. At the end, one of the ministers just simply stated, "I believe in the New Testament, Dan, and you can't convert me!"

So that's my story, and I'm sure that other Noahides can relate to parts of it. I would be interested in hearing from other Noahides, especially those in Georgia or nearby, and any classes or conventions that are going on.