My History as a "Catholic"

Just a few months after my birth, I became a Roman Catholic.  It's quite amazing that I made such a big life decision while still being in diapers and without the use of conscious thought or language, but apparently god doesn't care, so long as someone is willing to vouch for you.

I was brought up in a religious household.  Church on Sunday, Catholic school, and an uncle who is a Roman Catholic Priest.  We had our very own priest presiding over our holiday festivities!

If I recall correctly, I first started questioning things at about the age of eight. My questions were typical of a mind growing into maturity and rational thought; How can you be sure god is there if you can't see him?  How did Noah fit all of those animals onto a boat?  How can the earth be only thousands of years old  when I'm learning in my Science lessons that dinosaur fossils are millions of years old?  No one had convincing answers to these questions, and even at that age, I could tell most people were just making it up as they went along.  My doubt only grew.

Now to the age of twelve.  There I was a young alter boy (I got the case of the giggles on stage once and suffered my Mother's silent treatment thereafter, but that's another story). This is a special time for Catholic kids, as at this time you get to confirm that you are truly a Catholic - confirming your baptismal sacrament in which you had no say.  It was at this time I wanted out.  There were a handful of kids in my grade that were not Catholic and would not be participating - I wanted to join them.  I told this to my Mother.  She was not pleased.  I was informed by my Mother that if I did not participate I would be shunned by my friends and family, and that I would have to change to public school.  Considering my options, I decided to go through with it.  After all, what harm is there in lying to a god you don't believe exists.

The last time I went to church was when I was sixteen.  At this point, the contention between my Mother and I with respect to religion was starting to simmer (as opposed to previous years' all out war) as I approached the age of majority.  From then on, I considered myself rid of religion and its teachings, prejudices, and irrationality.  Attendance at University and learning about the world and other religions only served to cement further in my mind that this was all made up.

Whether you are a religious person or already an atheist, welcome.  What I intend to do on this blog is study one bible passage per entry, and truly and rationally examine it.  The saying goes 'the best way to become an atheist is to read the bible', and that's exactly what I intend to do.