First it was the 'sisters...then the 'brothers'...and a cranky almost embittered Irish parish priest.
It was not until at 15 I met a priest (now very well known character) who became our School Chaplin...it was he who encouraged me to understand it was OK to question my religion and from that I came to the belief I still hold today: ALL religions are FAITH based, a belief system.
The jesuit saying "give me a child until they are seven and they are mine for life"...not for me and whilst I still hold christian ideals I do not miss the lapse in actively belonging to the/a church/religion. I have studied and attended many different religious services...all in ny opinion have the same ideology, except where they go actively in a bigotted way to enforce their belief above others!
'Treat others as you would have them treat you' has a familiar message to me as 'give all a 'FAIR GO'' a great Austrailian belief.
Cheers...and may the God/Religion/Belief you follow help you discover how to live in harmony with all.
