Sunday, March 23, 2008

EASTER AND MY (Lack of) FAITH

Easter confused me when I was a child. My parents had a duty to raise me Roman Catholic, and the holiday is the most important celebration in their catechism. Today it is easy to see why, since the cornerstone of Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

I loved Christmas, and I remember making the argument Jesus had to be born first. He could not rise from the dead unless he lived. December 25th should be more important than March 23, or the first of April, or, wait, what ever the date of Easter is. The greatest celebration in the Church is not on the same day every year? I was so confused!

Thank god for the confusion! It started on me on the path to gain more information. It was on my own, and not with any aid from my parents or the local priest. Long ago, after catholic high school, I realized Roman Catholicism may be just baloney. After years of comprehending most of Roman Catholic doctrine, I decided it was pretty silly. By the way, one of the things I picked up was one should never address the faithful "Catholic." They are "Roman Catholic," since they take orders from the pope in Vatican City, which is located in the heart of Rome, Italy.

Today, I would never call myself anti-god. At heart I am atheist, meaning that I live my live with out a deity. To the faithful I am agnostic, which means "I don't really know," rather that their anti-god definition of "atheist."

I understand the value of religion and know how important it is to a society, especially in a free country, like the United States. In addition, I will not deny the United States was founded on religious principles (like some atheists do.) We all have the right worship the deity of our choice, or not choose one at all for that matter. Our wonderful wall of separation between church and state prevents any one religion or group to become politically powerful.

As for my Roman Catholic background, yes, I would have to say it probably was the framework for most of the moral code I live with now. However, there came a point where I did not want to add to it. No more! I had to get rid of some things, such as wasting an hour every Sunday in the boring mass service, where I never got anything out of. I still reject their silly constraints on sexuality, their condemnations of capitalism and their many centuries of being an enemy of science. Even today I cringe, as American Roman Catholic Bishops ignore the sovereignty of our nation as they are one of the leading advocates of unlimited illegal immigration. I decided years ago I was too smart for the Roman Catholic Church to hold me down. It may seem strange, but I have the Easter holiday to thank for that.

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