religion

I used to believe…

When my mum was little she grew up in a convent school. If a child had fallen over they would go into the convent to get patched up. Cus the nuns were very old there were lots of lifts and one of them was glass. My nanna had told my mum that nuns are very special people that are married to God. So when she saw nuns 'coming out of the ground' she so knew why God had married them!

I used to believe…

When I was 6, my class sang "Silent Night" for the school Christmas program. One of the kids asked the teacher what a virgin was. She said that "round yon virgin mother and child" mean that the mother and child were around on the other side of a mountain. Even after I learned the real meaning of the word virgin, I still thought that it was an alternate word for mountain. This was especially confusing to me because I am from West VIRGINia, also known as the Mountain State.

I used to believe that when we sang the hymn Surely Goodness and Mercy Will Follow You, that we were singing about Shirley and Mercy following us.

I used to believe…

In my church, if you looked up at the lights for a while you would start to see weird shadows once your eyes became dazed by the lights. I was convinced these were the people of the afterlife and they were trying to contact my seven year old mind

I used to believe…

My biggest mistake as a child: never sit and read through a full color picture Bible at age 6 when you have no idea what Christianity is all about or what happened. I saw Jesus crucified and started screaming my head off, partly because I thought it was horrible human beings could do that to one another, partly because I thought that was what you had to do to be Christian. My mom calmed me down though and told me everything. Maybe that's the reason I'm an agnostic today. ;-)

I went to preschool in the basement of a church in my earlier years, so every day we would learn a little about God or Moses or another Bible story. Every day we were told 'God is watching!'
One day at snack time, we were all sitting at 'The Big Table' (there were around 30 of us) and at one end, there was a big platter with apples on it. On my side of the table, there was a plate of cookies. Ine of the teachers warned us,
"Only one apple each, God is watching!"
I took a piece of paper and wrote (I had just learned how to spell and sound out words recently):
'Tak az meni cookyz az yu want. Godz waching tha appls.'
I put it on the cookie plate and everyone started eating the cookies. I was scolded by one of the teachers but got to keep the note as a keepsake.

I used to believe…

en i was little, i saw a picture of a big round purple monster in a book. i used to believe that God looked exactly like that, and he lived in a stable that floated in the sky!

I used to dislike the old Sunday School Song, "I have the joy, joy, joy joy down in my heart," because I thought the lyrics were "down in my heart Tuesday." (Real lyrics: "Down in my heart to stay.") I sang it submissively for awhile, but got so bothered by the fact that, although today wasn't Tuesday, I still had the joy in my heart. So I would always sing the current day under my breath just to prove I was joyful today. (i.e. "Down in my heart Friday...")

I used to believe…

We used to sing that old hymn that has a line "O God of Bethal by whose hand hast all our Father's led"
My Dad enjoyed fishing and I could never work out why God had taken all my father's lead.

I used to believe that there were only 3 religions. Being Jewish, Christian, and Evil. since my dad didn't like going to church with us, i thought he was jewish cuz i knew he wasn't evil.

I used to believe…

at a church camp when i was about 16, we were doing a win lose or draw game with well known bible stories. when it was my turn to draw i was given "cain and able" well i thought the pastor had said "cain and mable" needless to say my group lost that round.

I used to believe…

when i was little i went to a church with pastors. one of them was pastor mike, but everyone just called him pastor, i thought his first name was pastor and his middle name was mike.

I used to believe that God was a toddler up in heaven and we were all little plastic dolls that he controlled and played with on one of those rugs that have roads and buildings printed on them.

I used to believe…

As a Jehovahs Witness when I was a child, we were always told how wonderful things would be for us Witnesses after Armageddon! (cheerful way to bring up kids,huh?)We were told everyone spoke Hebbrew in this new world and I had a thousand years to learn it. I used to believe my parents would have to leave me behind as we hadn't even started to learn French at school so how could I be expected to learn Hebbrew too? Is it any wonder I no longer practice any religion???

I used to believe that part of the words to Handel's Messiah were "Bounce the ball." It wasn't until years later, after I came to know Jesus personally, and started reading the Bible that I realized they were quoting from Isaiah 9:6

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called WONDERFUL, COUNSELLOR, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
KJV

I used to believe…

When I was little, my parents told me that if I swore too much, God could hear me and He'd think I had a bad soul. So every time I swore, I pictured a black mark being put on my soul. I thought that when someone's soul turned completely black, they were sent to Hell.