@YoursTrue ,
Since you are asking about me, I guess I can share. It seems like you want to tease me, and I give you 100% permission to do so. Feel free to be harsh, blunt, honest, funny. I actually enjoy it.
What do I want to learn?
I want to learn the similarities and differences among all beliefs and non-beliefs. Comparative religion is a hobby; I am not a professional; I am an amateur enthusiast. Emphasis on Amateur; Emphasis on enthusiast.
When asked to describe my beliefs, I choose to describe them as adaptive, organic, and in flux. I do not know where I fit religiously. Anytime I feel like I have found a religious / spiritual home, it doesn't stick. It could be my personality; it could be I am not "cut-out" for organized religion. It could be an asset. It could be a flaw.
My family heritage is Jewish. Both parents, all 4 grandparents. I have a minimal ( but adequate ) Jewish education, but both Parents are Atheists and their desire for me to learn to be "Jewish" felt hollow and insincere. Their Jewish identity was and is bound to Israeli politics, being persecuted in the past and expecting to be persecuted in the future, and pointing out the failures and flaws of Islam and Muslims. None of this made sense to me as a child, and none of it makes sense to me now.
When my daughter was born, I decided that I needed to have a firm grasp of my family's heritage, and I needed to have an alternate, more sincere version of Judaism to deliver as a heritage to her. At the time, I felt it was important to be able to answer her questions better than my parents did, and give her a sense of pride of her heritage in spite of how it was practiced in my home as a child.
What I found as I researched more and more was a beauty and depth to Judaism that I learned to love. I also developed a passion for learning about all religious beliefs and spiritual practices. Perhaps there was a future for me in the field of comparative religion, but that is in the past, and I doubt that this field of study is in my future. Besides, I enjoy learning as an amateur enthusiast. I wonder if making it my profession would somehow diminish my passion for learning.
This is why I have a solid foundation in knowledge of the Old Testament, Jewish Law, and Biblical Hebrew. I spent a short period of time obsessed with Buddhism. But looking back on it, I think I was actually learning Daoism. In the past year, I have been learning a lot about Islam. I think it's fascinating and I very much appreciate learning the similarities between it and Judaism. I have not learned anything about Christianity. It honestly has minimal appeal to me. But that could be simply a matter of my upbringing. It isn't something that I avoid, and most of my high school friends were/are devout Christians.
One thing I want to learn specifically about Christians is, this may sound crazy, is the language. How do Christians speak about their religious beliefs. All religion has Jargon, and this concept of Christian Jargon fascinates me. The words: Faith, Hope, Love, Father, LORD all seem to have deep spiritual impact and consequence to Christians. Also, I am interested in how some Christians speak of Jesus Christ as Jesus. Some as Christ Jesus. This is fascinating to me.
Finally, just like my interest in Islam, I am very much interested in seeing the crossover ( comparing and contrasting ) Judaism, Christianity, Catholicism, and Islam. How are they similar, how are they different. Also understanding the differences among the many denominations of Christianity is very interesting to me.
Maybe what you observed about me that was odd, is that I do not identify as Jewish here, even though I am ( technically ). You probably picked up on this.
I have my reasons for not identifying as Jewish. And it seems there are at least a handful others who are doing the same; so I don't feel weird about it. People who know Judaism, certainly know that I am Jewish based on my knowledge-base, interests, and writing style. And I have been out'ed a few times. It's not my intention to hide it; but I also feel weird advertising it. I feel like I am very poor example of a Jewish person. And so there is very little point in identifying myself this way. And I feel like it gives me more freedom to be myself without worrying about being a bad role model.
If you have any other questions for me, ( or if you want to roast me a little more
) don't be shy.
Most sincerely,