But that's not all Christians. It's just the nutjobs, and they happen to be the loudest.
I know this. Which is why I know that the "bias" I feel lately is wrong.
Were you brought up Christian? I know you're not Christian now, but was that part of your childhood?
I remember being elementary-aged and my grandmother asking me, "Dawn, do you know what religion you are?" I remember stammering (because I did not, but her tone implied that I should) and being embarrassed to answer no...but that's what I did because I had no idea what "religion" I was supposed to be.
My grandmother, I recall, then got upset with my parents, thus verifying my reluctance/shame in giving my answer.
My family is Catholic in the sense that my dad went to Catholic school and I was even baptized Catholic. However, we never once went to church in my childhood except for other people's occasions--weddings, Communions, etc--and I didn't even know what "Catholic" was until I got to high school. Then, I learned mostly because I had a non-Christian friend being forced through Catholic education by her parents, and she explained a lot to me without thinking it odd that I even needed to ask.
I went to Christian day camp one summer when I was 10 because it was the only local day camp. I don't remember it being very religious, though. We had to learn a daily Bible passage in sign language; it was mostly just cool to learn sign language. And we swam twice a day, played capture the flag, and got to canoe on the lake. I remember that more than anything "Christian" about the place...although apparently my sister can still recite one of those Bible passages!
I had a Bible and gold cross earrings, but the meaning of those things was lost on me. The Bible was a good reference for literature and the earrings are on my earring ladder with the others that I now cannot wear, as my blood/injury phobia has gotten worse. I think I wore them once, on Easter, the day I was given them by my grandmother. (She was pleased; I was ambivalent.)
I've always had the impression that my grandmother wanted me to be brought up more religiously than I was. Even my mom, I sensed, felt that I should be going through Sunday school and Communion because it's what all the parents in our community did, and I--and so she--was set apart because I didn't. Not that I noticed until high school, where all of my friends were being confirmed and I was not. Religion just wasn't discussed among my peers. By high school, though, I'd settled on agnosticism, so I felt more pity for them than any sort of envy.
Recently, I was a bridesmaid in the wedding of a guy who was a mutual friend of Bobby and me. He was marrying a Polish woman, and I was the only bridesmaid who not only didn't speak Polish but wasn't Catholic. At their (overlong, very boring) wedding ceremony, the time came for Communion, and being seated on the aisle, I was expected to go up first. I stood to the side to let the next girl pass me. She pushed me and said, "You go first." I replied, "I can't; I'm not Catholic," and the look she gave me was one of not being good enough to wipe her shoes on.
So whether all of these things amount to being brought up in any sort of religion...I'll let you decide that!
no subject
I know this. Which is why I know that the "bias" I feel lately is wrong.
Were you brought up Christian? I know you're not Christian now, but was that part of your childhood?
I remember being elementary-aged and my grandmother asking me, "Dawn, do you know what religion you are?" I remember stammering (because I did not, but her tone implied that I should) and being embarrassed to answer no...but that's what I did because I had no idea what "religion" I was supposed to be.
My grandmother, I recall, then got upset with my parents, thus verifying my reluctance/shame in giving my answer.
My family is Catholic in the sense that my dad went to Catholic school and I was even baptized Catholic. However, we never once went to church in my childhood except for other people's occasions--weddings, Communions, etc--and I didn't even know what "Catholic" was until I got to high school. Then, I learned mostly because I had a non-Christian friend being forced through Catholic education by her parents, and she explained a lot to me without thinking it odd that I even needed to ask.
I went to Christian day camp one summer when I was 10 because it was the only local day camp. I don't remember it being very religious, though. We had to learn a daily Bible passage in sign language; it was mostly just cool to learn sign language. And we swam twice a day, played capture the flag, and got to canoe on the lake. I remember that more than anything "Christian" about the place...although apparently my sister can still recite one of those Bible passages!
I had a Bible and gold cross earrings, but the meaning of those things was lost on me. The Bible was a good reference for literature and the earrings are on my earring ladder with the others that I now cannot wear, as my blood/injury phobia has gotten worse. I think I wore them once, on Easter, the day I was given them by my grandmother. (She was pleased; I was ambivalent.)
I've always had the impression that my grandmother wanted me to be brought up more religiously than I was. Even my mom, I sensed, felt that I should be going through Sunday school and Communion because it's what all the parents in our community did, and I--and so she--was set apart because I didn't. Not that I noticed until high school, where all of my friends were being confirmed and I was not. Religion just wasn't discussed among my peers. By high school, though, I'd settled on agnosticism, so I felt more pity for them than any sort of envy.
Recently, I was a bridesmaid in the wedding of a guy who was a mutual friend of Bobby and me. He was marrying a Polish woman, and I was the only bridesmaid who not only didn't speak Polish but wasn't Catholic. At their (overlong, very boring) wedding ceremony, the time came for Communion, and being seated on the aisle, I was expected to go up first. I stood to the side to let the next girl pass me. She pushed me and said, "You go first." I replied, "I can't; I'm not Catholic," and the look she gave me was one of not being good enough to wipe her shoes on.
So whether all of these things amount to being brought up in any sort of religion...I'll let you decide that!