Dad was born and raised Mormon in Salt Lake City. Mom, from California but born in Boston, is one generation removed from Mary Baker Eddy. Grandma worked directly for Herself, which is where she met Grandpa. By the time they met each other, my parents had pretty much thrown their hands up on the whole religion idea, so when we went to church as kids, it was to a Unitarian church.
I married a lapsed Catholic.
So of course, with this weird heritage and mixed-bag of religion, we take our kids to an Episcopal church. (Hubby refers to this as ‘Catholic lite.’)
I have real trouble understanding the divides between people of different religions. I honestly can’t wrap my mind around the idea of fighting a war over opposing spiritualities. Especially when the war is being fought between different sects of the same religion. That anyone would single out a group of people to despise because they read a different book, or don’t read all of the same book, or interpret the same book differently… it just makes no sense to me. And it’s frustrating.
I mean, while I tend to be a bit naiive, I’m not lost in the “Why can’t we all just get along?” void of cluelessness. I understand the basics. I’ve read most of the books, too. (I’m in the process of reading the Quoran, but I’ve read most of the others.) It’s a mystery for the ages, especially considering that most of the world religions include peaceful prophets and merciful deities.
Especially to think that there are people on this planet that would kill me or my children simply because I’m an American. That truly boggles my mind.
I’ve been trying to understand the situation in Israel. I think it’s too much for me. I think I need to go back to college and take a class on world religion and culture, just so I can understand things like the situation around the Persian Gulf. Mystifying.
