Judaism and Faith

Lately, actually for quite some time now, I have had the lingering question in my mind of what the religion of Judaism really believes and basically the all there is to know about Judaism questions. I'm not really sure why I have had an interest in Judaism since (from what I recall) junior year in high school. I have never been exposed to a high concentration of Jews, until now. In fact I had only met one before I moved to LA. I really don't know much about the religion (or the beliefs of my friend Dam besides that he is a Messianic Jew and believes Christ is messiah but he still follows Jewish traditions). I had never really had the motivation to research and learn about Judaism, I was just always curious without wanting to take the action to learn. However, today when I was sitting in my apartment something hit me. I can't really explain it, just that voice inside, you know that voice that tells you "hey if your curious why dont you research it to gain the knowledge about it so you can make an informed descision on why you believe what you believe and not what they believe." So I was like "ya know I really should do that. I don't know why I believe Christianity over Judaism and I should." So I started looking into what Judaism is all about online. I haven't gotten very far yet, it doesn't help when you have a migraine. But the remainder of the time I am here in LA I am going to continue gaining knowledge of the Jewish religion, not only the religion as a whole but also the different sects of the religion. I think that this is something really important for me to do. Not only for my own growth, knowledge and discovery but also because I feel like I am being called into the entertainment industry, especially the part of it that is located in LA. With that comes interactions with many Jewish believers. I want to know why I believe what I believe and yet also understand their basic overarching beliefs as a religion. It is important for me to know it inorder to relate to the Jews I will encounter on a personal level. And who is to say that at this point I don't really better fit into the Jewish faith rather than the Christian faith. I certainly am not at the place where I could say, and I desire to come to that point in my life where I can honestly say what I believe, why I believe it, and why I don't believe what someone of another religion believes and the differces that come with it; while also being tolerant, considerate and understanding of what they believe. It is not my place to judge them, convert them, or tell them they are wrong. I am called to love them and if I do the previous stated actions I am not showing love but condemnation.


In other news:
Life in LA is amazing and God continues to amaze me with the many oppurtunities there are here. I am not a city person, but yet I feel at home in LA.
The last week has been quite exciting. I found out that the guy who played Mike in Benny and Joon lives on my floor of the apartment building that I am staying in this semester. I took over the VP of creative advertising's office at work for a few days, learned the names, titles and studios that many many executives work for, went to a pre-release screening for "End of the Spear" at the warner bros. lot, stood within feet of the water tower from Animaniacs, visited Starry Hollow (from Gilmore Girls) via the set on the Warner Bros. lot (and yes it is Warner Bros. here...never brothers), met Donald Miller and heard him speak, among many other exciting things. I start filming my final 5 min short this weekend. For those who know me, this will not come as a surprise to you... my final film is about TRACTORS! Yes that is right, it is about John Deere tractors. I am doing it in Stop-motion animation, so it should be pretty fun to film. This weekend is going to filled with many fun and exciting things. Among those are filming, going to the grand opening of an Apple store in Thousand Oaks (yes, I openly admit I am a huge nerd), and surfing in San Diego. I am super duper excited for this weekend. I miss all of you from back home, but I honestly don't want to come home. It's hard to believe that I will be home in 2 months. That is right, 2 more months and I will get to see all of your beautiful faces...wow time has sure flown by. But this semester has been the best one of my college career and I am not in any way ready for it to end.