Well, as long as we are sharing...
I was raised in a pretty lax family when it comes to religion. I got fucked over, however, because of my Catholic schooling. Not that I regret it, however, because being a live sheep in a Catholic school is better than a dead kid in the terrible public school near me. Anywho...
I grew up a good little Christian. I prayed nightly, had a Rosary (if you don't know what it is, it is a string of beads that looks remarkably like a necklace, but wearing it as such is sinful, and you don't see boobies when you hand them out), and even had fantasies of being a priest and eventually canonized. Then things started to turn to shit.
Through the years, I attended three Catholic schools. Two grade schools, and one High school. Each one spouting the same rhetoric as the others. I believe it was around the sixth grade that I started to have my doubts. Aside form school services, I hadn't attended (nor have I since) church since the fifth grade, and I was starting to feel guilty. Then I thought "Wait a second. I'm a good person, right? Why would I be condemned to burn in hell just because I am not praying to Jesus?" And that is when it hit me. The church is willing to forgive child molestors/killers (I have a very strong hatred of anyone who would commit such acts, and always have) so long as they repent on their death bed. However, a good Jewish/Buddhist/Agnostic etc. is condemned to hell simply for believing what they are taught, just as I did (Ziggy hit that point on the head earlier).
Since then, I have come up with my own spiritual beliefs. My mom is disappointed in me because of this, I can't tell my girlfriend's parents (strict Catholics
), and some of my friends are continually trying to convert me. Why is it that, in a country founded on freedom of religion, do I feel like I am being marginalized? Everywhere I go, I see Christianity rear it's ugly head. From entertainment to government, I feel like the minority.
And in addition to all of that, as McClain so aptly put it,
Quote:
I have a "Christian" imprint on my soul and even if I wanted it to it will never go away.
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