Ole Brunell, currently known as Shlomo Brunell [1] [2] (born 1953 in Swedish-speaking Kokkola, Finland), is a Finnish former Lutheran minister; he converted to Judaism. [1] [2]
Brunell was ordained as a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in 1978. He served as a pastor in both Finland and Australia. He preached and ministered in Swedish, English, and Finnish during his career as a minister.
Eventually, he ceased to believe in the teachings of the Lutheran Church and ultimately came not to believe in Christianity at all, therefore he left the Church. He never stopped believing in God. For six years, he and his family had no formal religion.
Six years later, he, his wife, and four daughters converted to Judaism. The conversion was rejected by Orthodox Jews. Eventually the leaders relented and all were converted. Upon conversion, Brunell changed his first name from “Ole” to “Shlomo ben Avraham”, and his wife changed her name from “Runa” to “Ruth”. The family retained the name “Brunell” and moved to Israel, where they currently live. [1] [2]
Brunell wrote of his experience in a book entitled Strangers No More: One Family’s Exceptional Journey from Christianity to Judaism, ISBN 965-229-304-0 published by Gefen Publishing House in Jerusalem in 2005. [3]
Christianity began as a movement within Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions gradually diverged over the first few centuries of the Christian era. Today, differences of opinion vary between denominations in both religions, but the most important distinction is Christian acceptance and Jewish non-acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition. Early Christianity distinguished itself by determining that observance of halakha was not necessary for non-Jewish converts to Christianity. Another major difference is the two religions' conceptions of God. Depending on the denomination followed, the Christian God is either believed to consist of three persons of one essence, with the doctrine of the incarnation of the Son in Jesus being of special importance, or like Judaism, believes in and emphasizes the Oneness of God. Judaism, however, rejects the Christian concept of God in human form. While Christianity recognizes the Hebrew Bible as part of its scriptural canon, Judaism does not recognize the Christian New Testament.
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