‘I was born into a family of Jewish atheists in Ukraine’

Misha’s story in his own words: I was born into a family of Jewish atheists in Ukraine. My parents and my grandparents were all Jewish atheists. As a result, I grew up embracing atheism, following Communist ideology and believing that there was no God.

Being Jewish, I thought that any Jewish person who believed in Jesus was a traitor to our people, even though I hadn’t explicitly been taught this. Our family didn’t celebrate Jewish holidays, but we held to a strong Jewish identity based on intellectual and moral pride. If I had to describe myself back then, I would say I was ‘a Communist Pharisee’.

As I grew up I had questions about life, such as: ‘Why are evil people more powerful than good ones?’ and ‘Why is there antisemitism in the world?’ But the beliefs I held provided me with no answers. Then, at the age of 27, I visited a Baptist church purely out of curiosity. I liked the people there very much and eventually began reading the New Testament. Something inside told me that the New Testament in its entirety was true. I felt that all the words of Jesus were true and I had no doubt that He fulfilled all the Messianic prophecies. I sincerely wanted to believe in God and that Jesus was the Messiah, but the atheism I had grown up with held me back.