I grew up in a staunchly religious home. It was hell. Practicing vespers was the worst part of it – from Friday at sundown until Saturday, or Sabbath, at sundown there was no television, no shopping, no secular activities permitted. We were to rest and reflect on the Lord and all he’d done for us in the previous week. I was never allowed to attend dances and rarely to listen to any music other than gospel, which may explain my early affinity for Sam Cooke, Al Green and Mahalia Jackson. If it wasn’t gospel it was Kenny Rogers or or Johnny Cash or Johnny Mathis or Frank Sinatra. Not that that’s a bad thing – Kenny Rogers is that shit.
Every Sabbath I spent from 9am until 2pm in church, usually an hour or three spent listening to a preacher speak. If my eyes closed or I huffed too loudly, I was pinched back into my upright, silent stature by my grandmother. I sang. Even when I didn’t want to, I sang. Almost every week someone asked me to sing for their Sabbath School program and I wasn’t allowed to refuse. Wednesdays were for Prayer meetings and Friday nights for choir practice. Sabbath evenings were spent at the youth meetings where the highlight of my week: a fast food dinner when the sun set was all that kept me sane.
Seventh Day Adventists don’t fuck around when it comes to God and following the The King James Version of The Bible. And none of that New Testament cancels out Old stuff that I see preached by other denominations. No nitpicking and choosing what was convenient for our lives while maintaining our right to judge the rest of the world. We were disallowed things that most people think are prohibited only to only Jews or Muslims. We were taught to recite passages that most people had never heard of. We were imprisoned by our religion and it’s insane requirements for everlasting life with God.
For example, I was taught that eating pork, shellfish, fish that swam without scales and certain other meats was unclean, and therefore disallowed. I can still pretty much recite the Deuteronomy verse “And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.” And the one from Leviticus: “But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you.“
Now, even though I am an Atheist, I still don’t touch it. I will steal a slice of pepperoni off of J.’s pizza once in a blue moon, but I’ve never even been tempted to eat the wrong type of seafood, or a pork chop, or a piece of ham. J. bullied me into trying a piece of his lobster that was about the size of a pinhead and soaked in butter but as soon as it hit my tongue I started retching and spit it back out. I just could not do it.
It makes no sense, but what makes even less sense is that I’m passing this ungrounded neurosis onto my children. I do not allow them to eat pork or seafood other than salmon, occasionally. Why am I doing this? I have no fucking clue. But I also have no intention of allowing them to eat any of the ‘unclean’ meats in the future either.
Religion made me bat shit crazy.
I’m guessing that they’ll be crazy enough too without me teaching them that a “cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree…”
If they decide they need their soul saved later on in life, more power to them. My grandparents will be very pleased that although I strayed from the path of righteousness and salvation, my children had the sense not to stray with me. But right now? I’ll just focus on making them into awesome people – without the pressure of trying to ensure they don’t burn in the fiery depths of hell.
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I think religion makes everyone crazy.
Being raised in a Southern Baptist home I can relate to a lot of this. I would have much rather stayed home on Sunday mornings and watched Rocky and Bullwinkle. I've never MADE my kids attend church,and definitely not SB. If they wanted to attend with friends I didn't stop them, or if I went I'd ask if they wanted to come, but didn't force the issue. I haven't been back in years, but the kids know how I believe. I've always thought that pushing little kids to believe something I could not explain to my own satisfaction was useless. When they are old enough to make their own decision, they can do whatever they feel is right for them. I'm with you, it's more important that they are awesome people.
interesting. i'm jewish and my parents are religious…so obviously, the same strict dietary laws…no pork, no shellfish, no fish without fins and scales. and while now, as an adult, i'm not religious at all, i still can't really bring myself to eat these things. some things just stick…
Wow. Now I understand you so much better.
November 18, 2008 at 5:55 pm
We're kindred spirits, you and I.
I felt a little guilt for not having and/or introducing religion into my little guys life, once, for about 2 seconds, and then remembered my childhood.
He's doing just fine without “cosmic Jewish Zombies and rib women.”
And regardless of what your kids are eating, they are doing great. My son won't eat anything but pizza rolls and mac-n-cheese.
I'm feeding my kids magic bread from zombies AND pig.
You wanna come over for dinner? ;-)
Yep…. It all makes sense, now.
I think raising kids so strictly just makes them want to rebel. There's a nice medium in there, but I guess that means I'd just go to Hell.
Yeesh.
Bacon sounds so good now. :P
So sad. It's so sad that “religion” has taken over the world, when really, a relationship with God is so simple. And it's not only religion that will make you bat shit crazy. My mom is proof of that.
So where does the Catholic stuff come into play?
dang..I'm cuban ..
We're born with a ham sammich shoved in our cheeks :(
I'm so gonna go to hell
November 18, 2008 at 8:13 pm
It's never too late to rectify your sins! :P
Very good post…I was planning to look into that myself….I have a few friends who are either Atheist or Agnostic; the thing that is wrong with your past experiences (and probably drove you to say the hell with it) is that (of course, assuming that you once believed in a God) one has to come on their own to that faith/conclusion. Having it forced down your throat just never works…a lot of parents dont' understand that…and a lot of folks are zealots about that stuff. Good work as always.
November 18, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I started doubting the existence of God when I was 9, even though I was
really into church at the time. Gradually though, I became disenchanted with
the religion itself, and all it's insane restrictions. My turn to atheism
wasn't rebellion – it was more…developing common sense. Oh yeah, that's
gonna piss some believers off. *shrugs*
Great post. I have no doubt that your little ones will grow up to be kinder, more accepting, and more whole than many Christians out there.
I don't think, until I read this, I'd ever given much thought to what sort of hang-ups from my past ultra-religious upbringing, I was still hanging onto and passing onto my kids. Now I'm probably going to obsess over it for a while. *lol*
I think your quote might be from Bill Maher. It sounds like him.
The only thing I still have lingering from my childhood religon (Catholic – I know, we ruined a bunch of stuff) is the guilt. I've got guilt in spades.
I grew up without the 'ligion, minus that one Sunday school that I got kicked out of. Apparently a tube top, lipstick and attitude is inappropriate in a four-year old. Anyway. Point was, I still don't eat pork. Pigs is dirty.
Wow! That's some kind of strictness!
P.S. Love your blog!
November 19, 2008 at 1:45 am
Aww thanks! I appreciate that. :)
Maria, you hit the nail on the freaking head. All my thoughts rolled into one, but with a bit different neuroses plaguing me. Thank god Russ was raised to have a clue or else we'd all be screwed.
you know, I have often stated that IF I believed in the devil, I would be most certain that he created bacon. that shit is the bomb girl!!
*goes to sleep to dream of bacon*
(how do I change my name back to illegitimateangel? I don't like the disqus :(
So basically your church kind of forgot about the whole “Jesus” thing. It makes me angry (ala Jesus throwing tables) when Church gets in the way of God.
This may well be my favorite line I've ever read in a blog.
“Seventh Day Adventists don’t fuck around when it comes to God”
I love you.
Word. Except on the bacon. Bacon is beautiful, and life would be empty and sad without it. We're godless heathens too, and raising our kids to know about the various things that others' believe. I want 'em to be knowledgeable, but independent thinkers. And also, not into batshit crazy stuff either! :)
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