Lauren Winner Thesis

Throughout this memoir, Lauren Winner allows us a glimpse into her transition from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity. Due to her own intellectual pursuits, relationships with others, and strange and miraculous pursuits, she chooses to leave Judaism, despite the emotionally difficulty of the endeavor. As she grows in her understanding of her new faith and attempts to find her place among Christians and Jews, she realizes that Jesus has been “courting” her for years in many ways. She begins to see just how much the powerful Lord, Creator of everything, loves her and wants her to follow Him. Through her tale, readers have the chance to see that the Lord will work to bring you to Himself. Often, the process of learning to know Him is not comfortable,

In it she is attacked by mermaids of all things and is saved by a man that she knows to be Jesus. Those who she talks to about the dream do not understand her true feelings, but she begins to find answers after speaking to her mother, a Baptist. Rather than keeping her focus in Judaism she starts to do research into the Christian faith by taking classes and becomes entranced with the mystery of the faith. After her somewhat reluctant realization that Jesus was Lord and Christianity was true, she begins to pull away from her Jewish roots, which is an incredibly difficult process for her. At first, she goes very far in attempting to separate from her Jewish background, she gives up much loved religious traditions, gives away her Jewish books, and even breaks contact with old Jewish friends. Despite the pain, she does this because, as she says, “of Jesus. I gave up Purim, which I love, and Kashrut, which I love…All because I was courted by a very determined carpenter from Nazareth”

My family is good friends with a man in India, Nashod, who, though his experiences were very different, was also chased by Jesus and hounded by Him throughout his entire life. This man experienced miracles, visions, and strange coincidences multiple times, and they eventually led him to my father, who could explain the Christian faith to him. Uncle Nashod’s story, as well as other miracles my family has experienced, has strengthened my faith whenever I experience a moment of doubt. Not only do they prove to me that the Lord is living and active, they also are a reminder that, though he is all powerful and greater than we can imagine, He is also has love for us that is greater than we can dream. He wants us to be His and he will court those who His stubbornly and persistently. As Jeanne said in class, I too was born into an arranged marriage with Him, but, even so, I can still feel his persistence in my life and I thank Him for