How I Got Into Christianity

I was raised in a Chinese family as a nominal Buddhist by my parents, who never really forced me into their religion. Most of my extended family practiced our ancestors’ Buddhism and Confucianism, with the exception of my uncle and a few others who converted to Christianity. My first exposure to Christianity was from my uncle who took me to Sunday school, and Christian religion classes from my primary school, which my mother forced me to take since it was taught in English, instead of Bahasa for other religions.

However, I only attended church regularly in my teen years. I realized deeply that faith was a personal choice, and that I could choose differently from my parents. I suddenly had the urge to attend church regularly. In the temple, the bald guy with half his clothes off would tell me to eat vegetables disguised as meat, while the church would feed me beef bulgogi every Saturday night after youth service. In the temple, I was told to sit quietly and stay calm, while in the church, I can worship with lightsabers, jump and dance to hip music, and shake vigorously on the ground if the pastor lays his hands on me. In the temple, they taught me that the ultimate goal is to free oneself from all desires. In the church, they told me that Jesus will fulfill all of my heart’s desires, that we can read Philippians 4:13 to mean that I can purchase a Ferrari through Christ who gives me strength. So, after careful consideration and deep deliberation, I chose Christianity.

After years of worshipping myself God, my faith would crash into an existential crisis. When I applied to medical school, I was convinced that God had whispered in my right ear that He would get me into my top choice. My pastor and group leader further confirmed this after intense prayer in a foreign tongue, and cited multiple verses to affirm my auditory hallucinations conviction. When I found out that I got rejected from my top choice, it felt like the whole world came crashing down on me. Everything I believed turned out to be a lie, and I was truly devastated. I dropped my lightsaber and never returned to that church.

The interesting thing is, I am still a Christian, and that story is equally as interesting. Till next time.