Came twice, three times in one day. Reading in the morning, reading in the late afternoon, and conversation in between.
The point had to do with religion. I explained my view that a child should be raised with a solid grounding in a faith. Christian based is most popular but any brand works. I know at least one emotionally healthy family that is pure Pagan. Kids turned out fine. Grandmother had a card, said, “retired witch.”
Me? I’m pretty much pantheistic neo-pagan. However, I was raised as a good, liberal protestant faith, and I’m grateful for that solid structure. I don’t believe much, but my early upbringing included a daily dose of prayer and bible camp one summer. I still have a leather-bound copy of the new testament with my name imprinted.
When I was last in London, I took high-communion at the low church, several times. Love the ritual and the message. Just makes me love that place even more, the noon communion service at Westminster Abbey. Well worth it. Powerful message of hope and unity.
I haven’t so much rejected mainstream Christian faith as grown beyond it. Currently, I live between two historic cathedrals – one from 1738 and one from an East Texas (New Spain) outpost that was started in 1691, and moved to the current location in 1731. Very cool places to worship.
Pretty sure I’m not worshipping a catholic god, but then, Xmas eve has been given to an aunt’s church, and the fundamental nature of the preacher, I just get the feeling he doesn’t like me.
The belief that I hold dear is that a child, a family, should be raised in a faith. Then, when the child is old enough, that person can choose. As I was reading for the mother at one point, I was stressing church. Any damn church.
I’m not big on Christianity, but the message I learned in Sunday schools was valuable. Like an operating system for computer. Mac vs. PeeSee. It’s a religious war.
The standard magician card in a tarot deck, there’s the Magician with a table that looked like the altar in the church I was raised in, with a symbolic goblet, a round loaf of bread, candles, all that was missing was blade of some sort, the wizard’s staff.
The magician, the preacher turning wine to water… I like the places with the grape juice option, myself. Wafer and shot of juice. Redemption.
Not really what this was about. Anyway, it’s about choices. I still encourage the path that starts at church.
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It’s hard to find a church to raise your child in that isn’t shame-based or guilt-based. And, particularly for girl children, based on Original Sin and the sinful influence of Eve (requiring that women be subject to their men, lest they corrupt them).
My daughter, even from an early age, could not/would not tolerate a church that condemned everyone else outside the strict set of beliefs to eternal damnation. She made it clear that she would NOT attend any such church, nor its Sunday School. (I think it was because so many of her friends and her beloved grandpa held nonconformist beliefs, of another major religion). It was hard to find a church that didn’t reject all the others as wrong. Hinduism says that it doesn’t matter what religious path (including atheism) you follow–all lead to enlightenment.
Then, of course, there is the worship of the Almighty Apple….