Christopher L. Toler
Ponder
EN101-10
10/10/2015
Essay – Narration
Childish Things
When I was a child, I used to think that there was a God. I am an atheist now. It was not a brief journey from one set of beliefs to another, nor was it easy, but I have a better outlook on life as a result.
My family was not particularly religious when I was growing up. We believed in God, but we did not attend church, observe any form of ritual, or even read the Bible; we were Christians in little more than name. When I was twelve, my father, a military man, was transferred to Key West, Florida. Not long after we settled in there, I met Brian, a boy two years older than me. His family were Christians, and very religious ones at that. Being impressionable (as young people often are), and having nothing else to do, I started attending church and youth group with them. …show more content…
During my teen years, my religious experience was marked by cognitive dissonance: I gradually realized that I was bisexual, yet I cleaved to a belief system that, at least in part, told me that I was wicked simply for being. In my early twenties, I began a long-term relationship with a woman who identified as a neopagan. By this point, my own version of Christianity had become watered down and very liberalized; I had even stopped believing in hell, so my girlfriend’s religion did not bother me, even if I believed it was “wrong.” In fact, being more intellectually curious than pious at that point in my life, I began studying her religion as well as many others. I came away from it all with the conclusion that not only was she wrong, but so was
Ponder
EN101-10
10/10/2015
Essay – Narration
Childish Things
When I was a child, I used to think that there was a God. I am an atheist now. It was not a brief journey from one set of beliefs to another, nor was it easy, but I have a better outlook on life as a result.
My family was not particularly religious when I was growing up. We believed in God, but we did not attend church, observe any form of ritual, or even read the Bible; we were Christians in little more than name. When I was twelve, my father, a military man, was transferred to Key West, Florida. Not long after we settled in there, I met Brian, a boy two years older than me. His family were Christians, and very religious ones at that. Being impressionable (as young people often are), and having nothing else to do, I started attending church and youth group with them. …show more content…
During my teen years, my religious experience was marked by cognitive dissonance: I gradually realized that I was bisexual, yet I cleaved to a belief system that, at least in part, told me that I was wicked simply for being. In my early twenties, I began a long-term relationship with a woman who identified as a neopagan. By this point, my own version of Christianity had become watered down and very liberalized; I had even stopped believing in hell, so my girlfriend’s religion did not bother me, even if I believed it was “wrong.” In fact, being more intellectually curious than pious at that point in my life, I began studying her religion as well as many others. I came away from it all with the conclusion that not only was she wrong, but so was