Women and the Church (Spirituality, Religion, and Philosophy, Entry 2)

Like a lot of Catholic teenagers, I started skipping mass in high school.  I’d disappear for an hour on Saturday or Sunday at the appropriate time, but instead of going to church I headed to the park or to work out or to read.  I didn’t disagree with the church’s teachings.  I just didn’t see the point of mass.  Sitting, standing, reciting (usually mumbling) the same words with everyone glancing at their watches.  Ironically, now that I’m not a believer, I find great beauty in the ritual.  I att...
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Abraham’s Willingness to Sacrifice Isaac (Spirituality, Religion, and Philosophy Entry 1)

The story of Abraham and Isaac always bothered me.  Abraham was ready to kill his son because a being he believed was God told him to.  That always seemed wrong to me.  If killing is wrong, how does it become okay just because at that particular moment God said it was okay?  And how did Abraham know that was God?  It would seem like if God is asking you to do something wrong, the first thing you might wonder is if the entity talking to you is really God. We talked about this in my writer’s grou...
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