How a Former Atheist Became a Faithful Noahide

The following personal essay was submitted to the asknoah.org web site by a Noahide who wishes to share his spiritual journey with our visitors.

You ask whether I’m a Noahide. First I should first provide a brief background about myself and how I got all the way to studying “The Divine Code.”

I used to be a strong atheist. I always was, until in 2001 I was baptized in a non-denominational church. Then I spent about two years in the church trying to make sense of the fundamental premises of the doctrine. But it didn’t add up. I came to the conclusion it was a fundamentally flawed doctrine.

Then I relapsed back to atheism, but kept in touch with some devout members of my former church. Occasionally, I debated them via email, up until a point where I chose to formalize my arguments into a book. I devised a logical framework based upon which I would attack the fundamental problems of their doctrine. In particular, this included the fulfillment of prophecies as well as the physical resurrection of the Nazarene. (If he ever existed in the first place.) During my formalization, I realized I needed to pause and study the “Old Testament”. I later learned it should be correctly referred to as the Hebrew Bible, or TaNaKh. [That stands for Torah (Pentatuech), Nevi’im (Prophets), Khesuvim (Holy Writings)].

However, while the framework I devised demonstrates my former religion to be most likely false, I decided to pursue the Jewish viewpoint of why they honestly believe there is a G-d. After studying the fundamentals of Judaism, I felt convinced by the argument around Mt. Sinai’s theophany to the Jews, among other basic tenets of the Jewish faith. I tried to attack the problem from different angles, but couldn’t seem to find anything wrong with the faith.

During my Hebrew studies (on my own), I developed an affinity towards Judaism. After considerable research, I discovered “The Divine Code,” bought a copy, and studied it in detail.

What surprised me the most in all this undertaking is the lack of awareness among Gentiles that G-d desires holy spaces to dwell among us, provided that we are inherently good, that we observe certain instructions He has provided. Here where I live in Canada, you’d expect such talk the least. But even more surprising was the overall lack of awareness of such commandments that people have.

Another point I’d like to make is related to the need for more Noahide communities. Jews have synagogues where they gather plus a strong and cohesive community. But Non-Jews who believe in G-d as inspired by the Torah — Noahide Non-Jews, that is — thus far have few communities and few readily available resources. That is also another motivation for my project.

Then, to answer your question, I would say have I have a strong affinity to Judaism, but am not a convert. I am exactly what I described above — a Non-Jew who believes in G-d as inspired by the Torah. A Noahide, it seems.

I’d like to share one more thing. You may have noticed that I have refrained from personalizing the website. That is because my many connections know me as a vocal atheist, a skeptic, one who criticizes religion and dogma, and so forth. And many of them would feel indiscreetly stunned were they to learn about my findings or if I were to share the fact that I have found strong reason as to why there is a G-d. I intend to conquer that feeling of hesitation moving forward, and commit to finishing the book I started writing about why I think my previous faith is false, and Torah Judaism — which teaches the commandments for Noahidism — is a reflection of the Divine Truth.

I hope that gives you an overview of where I’m coming from.

Shalom!

William