Sunday School

For those of you that don't know and could probably care less, I grew up in the Catholic faith which included attending private, Catholic schools with names like St. Augustine, St. Thomas Moore, Our Lady of Peace, and Aquinas High School, respective of chronological order in which I attended. Throughout my time at these schools I was forced required to wear either a uniform or adhere to a dress code which outlawed jeans and t-shirts, girls could wear skirts, pants, and shorts (no denim) and the rule of thumb was that the skirts and shorts must not be higher than an inch above the knee. The principal kept a ruler in his office to record such an offense. The boys were asked to wear collared polo shirts and pants or shorts which typically fell into one of two categories: dress or khaki. Needless to say, when I went to a public college I became a t-shirt and jeans kinda guy. I rarely wore anything khaki or collared.


Pardon me, I am getting away from my point...

With my abandonment of the dress code along came my abandonment of my faith. As a Cafeteria Catholic I still attended the big Three: Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. Of course there were many more holy days of obligation, but those didn't promise the coming of gifts or chocolate. I have recently had religious renaissance, a rebirth of faith. I am far from a bible thumper or an evangelist, but I have found a renewed interest in my personal faith. College distanced me from my faith due to having it force fed to me for 18 years. I have come to embrace my faith on my own terms, with my own interests, my own values. I pray.

I used to think that prayer, faith, and religion were tools of the uninformed. They were things that people who were unable to help themselves used as a means to make themselves feel better. I felt that faith was a sign of weakness. I am an analytical thinker. I want to know the facts. I want hard evidence and empirical data. In this respect I have approached my new faith. I don't outright accept anything that is told me, but I don't outright deny it either. I use my thoughts to determine how my faith fits with myself. I accept Jesus Christ into my heart and I accept him as my Savior. Am I having my cake and eating it too? Can the skeptic and the faithful exist in one place at the same time? Is there a happy medium? Would God hold me in high esteem for not just following everything I was told and asking for explanation? Would God be pleased with the life I have lived?