Why don't we encourage conversions

It's been discouraged for thousands of years, but it wasn't always the case. Prior to the popularization of Christianity, there were many non Jews that either converted to Judaism or were halfway there as "G-d Fearers". They attended synagogues and lead a Jewish like lifestyle.

Conversion is a great way to swell our ranks and frankly the only way to ensure our demographic survival. Why should we always suffer as a tiny minority. Lets assume that we can convert 10 million people to Judaism. That would double the number of Jews in the world in the span of one generation.

Is this impossible? Not if we think Judaism is something worthwhile. Both Islam and Christianity obviously grew their ranks through conversion and not procreation.

Does this mean that we need to give up our principles? I don't think so. Even assume that we follow strictly Orthodox conversions to satisfy all factions of Judaism it is not at all impossible. You may not be very successful in Belgium, but what about South America or Africa or even the United States. There are plenty of people that are looking for a way to connect spiritually and Judaism can certainly provide as good a conduit as the other major religions.

So why the taboo?

It is hard to be a Jew

Here we go... I have a lot of issues with Judaism that I need to sort out. If I'd been a scholar or someone with a lesser deficit of attention, I could probably write articles or books. However, I will have to settle for a little corner of cyberspace where I can post my thoughts on the issues that are frankly driving me insane, and hopefully elicit some responses from the world.