I was adopted as a child in Indiana. No information about my origins was given to my adoptive parents. I was baptized into the Christian religion. I was given a Bible as the source for my moral instruction. I was taught about heaven and hell, good and bad, and the power of prayer and forgiveness.
If I were not adopted, the holy book I have read from front to back may not have been so comprehensive. The scripture that would rest next to my bedside table would have been a thinner text containing only the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah. You see, according to recent paternal DNA testing, my father was a Sephardic Jew. My ancestors trace back to Allepo, Syria. Today, there are 14 and a half million Jews in the world. Strikingly, less than 50 Jews now live in the entire country of Syria.
But I also believe we must define ourselves.
So please do not call me Jewish, or Christian, or Muslim, or Hindu.
Just call me Diamond Mike.
Please order my book on Amazon.