Yay, the premeire of my favorite show was on tonight. I just love Joan of Arcadia.
What do I love about it? I love that it makes Joan's relationship with God so personal. I love how she is allowed to have her doubts and her anger and her curiosity and there is no one telling her that she has to see her faith in a pre-determined way. I wish that I could run into God here and there and have him say funny, pithy things to me.
I love that it makes me think. It challenges me.
Now, remember, I grew up in a Catholic family. They didn't get really weird till I went to college (though I did do the whole Catholic schools, uniforms, nuns thing...) I even have a brother who is a priest.
There is no room in my family to deviate one iota from the Catholic dogma or the Pope's decrees. There is no room for questioning anything at all. I have been known to say that I don't believe in hell. I cannot believe the outrage that this comment can inspire. So, I am the family black sheep. They see me as some sort of less-than-acceptable, un-blessed Doubting Thomas.
This has been painful for me at times. I have come to accept that they have the right to hold whatever beliefs that they want, about God and about me. I have come to a point of peace about it. But it has been tough. Everyone wants their family to love and accept them and when that doesn't happen, it sucks. But there it is. Life. Rearing its less-than-beautiful head.
I did the catholic thing, nuns, convent school etc. But in the 70's and 80's in Melbourne, Australia, even the nuns didn't really believe in hell. They said it was more of a concept or some sort of alienation. But there is a town in Tasmania called Hades!
Posted by: faith | Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at 02:55 AM