Thank you for sharing

It's different when your race and your religion are intertwined like that, huh?

@genessa isn't passover when God told certain people to put blood on the doors so he would know which first born sons to ? He would pass over the ones that had the blood on the doors and the rest?

@TonyAndrews oh yeah if you're going to celebrate the biblical story, emphasis on story, instead of what we take it to mean NOW. what it means NOW is to fight against slavery and other oppression. of course i could always convert and celebrate some poor shmuck's being forced to carry his own execution machine to where he gets nailed to it. THAT's worth celebrating, huh? because... presents? or bonnets? wait, i always mix up that story with the one about the homeless couple and all the mean innkeepers.

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@genessa OK, I gotcha. I didn't know it had two different interpretations. Thanks for the explanation.

@TonyAndrews lol no problem. i'm not trying to be nitpicky but it's not a matter of two interpretations. savior is actually a mistranslation of messiah. there is literally no such concept as a savior in judaism. messiah means "anointed one" (apparently in ancient times, hebrew kings were anointed with oil) and in judaism is to be a human (FULLY human) king who brings about peace (in this world) in his lifetime. blame paul and the greeks. also, do not blame yourself because you're not by ANY means alone in the confusion here. this is what judaism 101 says (i looked it up just now, AFTER typing the preceding, to see if i could explain it more clearly, and now i'll let that site's words take over): "The word 'mashiach' does not mean 'savior.' The notion of an innocent, divine or semi-divine being who will sacrifice himself to save us from the consequences of our own sins is a purely Christian concept that has no basis in Jewish thought. Unfortunately, this Christian concept has become so deeply ingrained in the English word 'messiah' that this English word can no longer be used to refer to the Jewish concept. The word 'mashiach' will be used throughout this page."

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@genessa thank you for going through the trouble of a more detailed answer. Christians ruin everything, I guess. Lol

@TonyAndrews lol i wish i could disagree with you! anyway no problem. i don't mind in the least. i appreciate your curiosity. there is no sin (haha strange language) in not knowing something. being willing to take in new information is a very good trait! (hmm, if everyone had that trait there would be a lot less religion altogether, wouldn't there?)

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I never questioned it until about 10 years ago when I watched my first Atheist/Christian debate, I was floored watching Christopher Hitchens debate Frank Turek.

@TonyAndrews I started asking questions in Sunday Schools and school Scripture Classes right from the beginning, which is exactly what got me summarily expelled from each and every one of them in turn.
Mind you, the Catholic one was the worst by far because before being expelled I was dragged out in front of the class and whipped across my backside 12 times with a length of cane.

What was it about the confessional that made you question your beliefs?

@TonyAndrews It made no sense to me to have to sit in a little dark booth and tell your sins to a priest. Why wouldn't you be allowed to just tell god directly while you prayed. As a young girl, that always stuck out to me as a very weird thing .

@LoneDestiny I totally agree. Especially with the recent developments in Pennsylvania. What I don't understand is why it's so important to be a celebate priest. It goes against nature for folks to not have sex. Which, in turn, is bad news for the who are taken advantage of by those priests. It is sick and disgusting.