Getting away from your previous beliefs

Over and over, I keep running into the fears that were installed in my head when I was raised Roman Catholic and fundamentalist Christian. And many of them are in direct conflict with what I'm learning about Judaism.

For example, the idea that G-d is not waiting for us to mess up so he can smack us down. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that.

For another, the idea that what you do is more important than what you believe - that profession of belief is a private thing, and action on the belief is the public thing. Again, it's hard to wrap my head around that.

So I ask other converts and potential converts: what trips you up the most? What do you still find yourself looking at with a prior-belief lens?

Hey, and welcome!

Nice to see someone new here :)

Your question is interesting, and made me think. I was raised nominally Protestant...nominally as in: we had far more Psalms than Jesus and actually my upbringing was more jewish than christian. I see that more and more now that I learn more about Judaism.

What is difficult for me is too Christianity as 'just another religion' like Islam or Paganism. I can for example music from a Muslim background without any trouble, but as soon as I hear Christian music my minds goes all like 'yes, but...' and 'nooooo' and I feel this great need to rebel. Which means I am still not totally free of christianity. I think the way I instictively feel I need to hide my own beliefs and feel uncomfortable when sharing them in public comes frim the same source.

I do not have any old doctrines I have to leave behind, but very much my strong feelings about (against) christianity and the feeling I'm 'trespassing' when doing jewish things.
What helps me a lot now is that I have a jewish-by-birth housemate who shares things with me and is very open about and comfortable in his beliefs. It shows me a way to be jewish without having all these complexes. And provides me with someone to celebrate Shabbat with ;)

I know many good Christians, but the more I find out about Judaism, the more silly Christian beliefs seem to me. Except for the whole "be afraid" thing. That doesn't seem silly - it just seems painful and frightening.