Dear God, I'm Broke. Go Away.
I will just come right out and say it: I am an atheist. People are shocked when I tell them that, and insist on telling me that I am not truly an anti-believer. I tell them then perhaps they are right, I could just be agnostic, since there is always the (slight) possibility that I will be proven wrong once I die (ha ha, yea right!) and the pearly gates of heaven are slammed shut in my face due to my years of lack of service and prayer. I have my own reasons (quite a few of them, in fact!) for not believing, just as I'm sure all the believers have theirs. Yes, I am biased against religious fanatics and people who insist on preaching to anyone with ears but I usually keep my views to myself and go on my merry, godless way.
I was born and raised Catholic. I was christened, communion-ized, and confirmed. We went to church every Sunday with our dad, and we'd leave early to "beat the traffic" after which we'd go across the street to my grandmother's (Nanie's) house to have sweet coffee and donuts. Though we dreaded getting up early and getting dressed nicely for stupid church (at that time held in the Catholic school's gymnasium), the sugar and caffeine afterwards made it worthwhile.
Now, back to my adorable Nanie. She goes to church every Saturday or Sunday, faithfully. She is losing her eyesight but she will "listen for the cars" before making the mad dash across the street and up the hill to church. Though she has not had an easy life and sometimes wonders herself about the existence of this god that she continues to pray to, she is afraid that if he does indeed exist, she doesn't want to ruin her chances of getting into heaven by missing a service one week. Now that is commitment.
But I feel the church has failed her. She is 98-years-old and on a VERY fixed income. One portion of every service is the passing of the basket for donations. Now, of course Nanie will give to the church. But they ask - BEG - for more money. Though they ask the entire congregation to be more generous, Nanie feels they are asking her, specifically. She'll dig another couple of dollars out of her purse and put it in the basket. They also mail her envelopes so if she cannot make it to church one week, she can just mail it in. I'm sure they could have it deducted directly from your savings account, too, if you would like. In addition, they have been sending mailers, begging for even more than the few dollars dropped into the basket each week. "If each member could just give $50, we could get a new gold-plated statue of Jesus!" Nanie feels she must give what they are asking for. For this is HER church after all. I try and explain that it is a mass mailing, and they are asking everybody and it is okay to ignore it. In fact, I will rip it up so that she has no choice. That just makes her feel more guilt. I want to contact the church and request they take her off their list. In fact, take all senior citizens off of that list. They don't make the money needed to support the church, which is definitely richer than the people they are begging from!
So as Nanie sits and thinks about her god and the priests she consider to be her friends and wonders how she will afford her heating bill AND tiding to the church, I sit and wonder how anyone can believe in such a racket. And hope that every dollar that Nanie has given thus far will somehow be her reward in the hereafter.
I was born and raised Catholic. I was christened, communion-ized, and confirmed. We went to church every Sunday with our dad, and we'd leave early to "beat the traffic" after which we'd go across the street to my grandmother's (Nanie's) house to have sweet coffee and donuts. Though we dreaded getting up early and getting dressed nicely for stupid church (at that time held in the Catholic school's gymnasium), the sugar and caffeine afterwards made it worthwhile.
Now, back to my adorable Nanie. She goes to church every Saturday or Sunday, faithfully. She is losing her eyesight but she will "listen for the cars" before making the mad dash across the street and up the hill to church. Though she has not had an easy life and sometimes wonders herself about the existence of this god that she continues to pray to, she is afraid that if he does indeed exist, she doesn't want to ruin her chances of getting into heaven by missing a service one week. Now that is commitment.
But I feel the church has failed her. She is 98-years-old and on a VERY fixed income. One portion of every service is the passing of the basket for donations. Now, of course Nanie will give to the church. But they ask - BEG - for more money. Though they ask the entire congregation to be more generous, Nanie feels they are asking her, specifically. She'll dig another couple of dollars out of her purse and put it in the basket. They also mail her envelopes so if she cannot make it to church one week, she can just mail it in. I'm sure they could have it deducted directly from your savings account, too, if you would like. In addition, they have been sending mailers, begging for even more than the few dollars dropped into the basket each week. "If each member could just give $50, we could get a new gold-plated statue of Jesus!" Nanie feels she must give what they are asking for. For this is HER church after all. I try and explain that it is a mass mailing, and they are asking everybody and it is okay to ignore it. In fact, I will rip it up so that she has no choice. That just makes her feel more guilt. I want to contact the church and request they take her off their list. In fact, take all senior citizens off of that list. They don't make the money needed to support the church, which is definitely richer than the people they are begging from!
So as Nanie sits and thinks about her god and the priests she consider to be her friends and wonders how she will afford her heating bill AND tiding to the church, I sit and wonder how anyone can believe in such a racket. And hope that every dollar that Nanie has given thus far will somehow be her reward in the hereafter.
posted by Tracy at 9:13 AM
1 Comments:
I was raised Catholic as well. Which is why I'm a non-denominational believer today.
Religion doesn't destroy a person's faith.
Churches do.
I have a friend and a cousin that were both married in the Catholic church, and are having difficulty going through the annulment process.
To any non-Catholics, you can't get remarried until your previous marriage is annulled.
It will take somewhere around a year or two. BUT, if you make a donation to the church, it might only take a couple months. The bigger the donation, the quicker the turnaround.
I'm calling BULLSHIT.
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