Religion and Grizz

I grew up a semi-religious child in a very religious community. It was sort of like being a weed in the middle of a garden. Some of the flowers want you to mutate and look just like them, some want to leave you alone and some want to destroy you with religiouscide. My mom was religious but did not attend church. My dad never discussed religion, never went to church, was an alcoholic and a better father a son could not have had. I think I was lucky. I was not forced to be a good religious anything. I was allowed to find my own way. I was allowed to discover the way I wanted to live. However, I was taught all of the basic fundamentals of religion. Although my parents were not church goers, they lived and taught us the basic fundamentals of being good people. After all, what is the basic fundamentals of religion except learning the fundamentals of love and brotherhood. We were never read to from the bible. We were never told we had to read the bible. We were never officially taught the ten commandments by my parents. They just lived them. Swear in our house, especially using the lords name and you had soap for dinner. The never swore. Lying and stealing were not tolerated. I do not ever remember coveting my neighbor's wife but I am sure I coveted their children's toys. It would have been a big mistake to take them. Other Gods, Idols and graven images were not discussed either. I do not believe we even knew that there were other Gods and if some one had sold golden calves or graven Images they probably would have been tarred and feathered. The Sabbath is a different story. It was OK to go to church but not mandatory in their eyes. God could also be worshipped on a camping trip, or God would certainly understand that some had to work, chores needed to be done and of course a back yard cookout was much more fun than church. I guess what it boils down to is that my parents lived a religious existence without trying to stuff it down other's throats. They believed in the teachings of the Ten Commandments. That is how they lived. That is how they taught. That is how I grew up