Episode 19: Shannon Nuszen "Striving for Truth"

Shannon tells the story of her life growing up as the daughter of a pastor (now a Noahide). She was raised as a missionary, part of a community that mimicked Jewish traditions and symbols in order to blur the lines in order to make conversion to Christianity more palatable for Jewish targets. Her story is about having the courage to live according to truth, that which goes against everything she was taught. Find out what her advice is to others who are in a similar situation, managing family dynamics and all. Discover what made her turn to Judaism and abandon the cult she was raised in, with the help of Rabbi Tovia Singer. Now as a Jew living in Israel, she has dedicated her life to protecting Jews from the aggressive missionizing that is growing at an alarming rate across the country. Well-funded evangelical groups are a double-edged sword for Jews, since they support Jewish survival in Israel but often work to convert us. John Hagee is one famous example. Shannon raises awareness about Jewish evangelism, its danger to the Jewish people, and encourages safe and consistent boundaries in the interfaith relationships of Jewish communities. How do we enforce those boundaries, while maintaining strong relationships with our Christian friends? A lot of Jewish blood was spilled over centuries at the hands of our Christian oppressors, so naturally Jews have welcomed this new iteration of a Jew-friendly Christianity, which makes this so complicated. Her organization, Beyneynu, was responsible for exposing undercover missionaries who infiltrate and live outwardly as Haredi Jews, such as the Elk family, and explains how she helped shut down 24/7 televangelist missionizing on the biggest cable TV provider in Israel. To say her story is breathtaking and inspiring is an understatement.