Hi all
Very interesting reading everyone's experience of religion.
My mother (and her family) are catholic but my dad isn't anything so they decided to let us choose. We all went to a C of E school where I was (and still are) very happy with the existence of God. I did an Alpha course whilst at Uni but found that frustrating as the Christians I met although nice, very defensive about anyone asking questions. I have always had issues with the authenticity of the bible as we argue about the authenticity of music that was only written in the 16/17th century and have many editions of scores that are purported to be the 'original' Also the bible was written in retrospect way after Christ had actually died by people who idolised him which I do find slightly biased. Also other scripts weren't included that were written at the time so what did they say?
I worked in a Catholic school and they knew I wasn't a catholic but was more than happy to support the ethos. At first all was fine, for 2 years, till the head left and a knew one was appointed. She made it perfectly clear that as I wasn?t a catholic I wasn?t a member of the club and opportunities soon started drying up -management training was withdrawn and given to a teacher who was a catholic yet I had been teaching longer and had been told I was of high enough calibre. I had my music responsibilities reduced as not being a catholic I 'didn't know what music to organise' as it had to be 'liturgically correct' (ie music for assemblies and mass) The previous head was more than happy for me to plan and she would check...
I was told that I could organise the carol concert, teach, play and conduct which I found highly amusing as wasn?t Christmas the celebration for Christmas yet that was okay for me to do by myself????
I was asked to leave meetings as 'catholic' stuff was being discussed and the situation really became unbearable.
I do have my own spirituality in that I believe I'm here for a reason that I'm on a path and that I am being guided though I do have my own free will. I do believe that religion in its barest bones i.e. a set of rules on how to live with people focussing on how to behave and how to respect others is, in essence, a good idea but the religiosity i.e. how we interpret those rules hugely gets in the way. (Just look at the one bible we have and the many different religions based on it ?Catholic, protestant, and Jehovah?s witnesses. They all insist they?re the ones who got it right and the others are wrong) Being told that you've used the wrong cloth for a mass when you've never organised one before (class mass, had to do from scratch) is a bit picky in my opinion and not supportive, Christians (present company accepted x)looking down their noses at those the perceive not to be Christian enough or believing they are 'better' than everyone else. God is the ultimate judge and he will judge me as he will everyone else when the time comes. He doesn't love me any more or less than anyone else.
I think that unexplained things do happen, Inzi you and dh had one such after the birth of Angel and I believe you had it for a reason. LLL, your dad, who was not a believer, was comforted by what he saw and in his final hours he found peace which is an amazing thing for him and your family. I know I will see all those I've lost again and have long chats about how I lived my life and the choices I made. I do believe that I will get the chance to say things I missed and asked questions I never had the time to, or the inclination. So Floria I believe you will have the chance to say all you needed too and more to your dad and he will hug you and tell you how proud he is of you but above all how wonderful it was to watch Alex group if only from above. My granddad is above still commenting on how messy I look, my Nan will be giggling with her pink cheeks after her one whisky and my friend who died will smile at me with an inner peace she never found whilst actually living.