Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Wow, that's all I can say!

So I had a weird experience today. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by anything that happens on Facebook but I was today. During the course of a discussion about Shabbat with some "friends of friends" one of the people assumed I was Jewish from the comments I was making. I guess I must have gotten under someone's skin because I was asked if I was a Pharisee or Sadducee. What the??? I recognized the comment for what it was, a "dig" thinly disguised as humour and made my feelings known about it. Shortly thereafter this person excused themselves from the discussion. But I'm still amazed at the nerve (rudeness) of some people. Who in their right mind would make a comment like that to someone they thought was Jewish? Is that just ignorance or thinly veiled anti-semitism?

Monday, May 03, 2010

Shabbat Changes Everything

This is a blog post that I found while going through my computer. I started it about 3 years ago and never finished it. I've totally lost my train of thought on this and am not completely sure where I was going with it but for what it's worth, here it is.

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Approximately seven years ago I discovered Shabbat. At the time I was rapidly becoming disillusioned with corporate Christianity. This is quite astonishing to me when I look back on that period in our life. We had been fellowshipping with a conservative Mennonite congregation for several years and it was becoming apparent that decision making time had arrived. Were we going to join the congregation or not? We really did feel at home with the wholesome lifestyle and the quiet, simple life.

But something in me rose up and took issue with their view of being the “One, True Church”. Here we go again, I thought. It’s just another Christian group with their corner of truth claiming to be the only way to G-d. I knew in my heart it would be a mistake to officially join. This decision ultimately led to a barrier in our fellowship and we drifted away.

A short time later a neighbour of ours invited us to a series of seminars hosted by the church he attended; the Seventh Day Adventist church. I was not interested in the least and told hubby so in no uncertain terms. But hubby convinced me to come at least once. And I did. The first night I learned that one was enough and I didn’t go again. BUT, I did come away wondering why they observed the “Saturday Sabbath” and the majority of Christianity did not. This turned out to be a pivotal event on my own personal journey and it lead to an intense study of the bible. When I learned that it was the Christian church that had changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday I was shocked. I then thought if I had been lied to about this what else was a lie? And thus began a very trying but rewarding time in my life and it's not over.

Having my spiritual eyes opened to the beauty and truth of Torah was the most liberating experience of my life and I am still enjoying the feeling of freedom!