Excellent points, Thomas. I have certainly suffered from decades of indoctrination. In some ways, I don’t think of God as male or female. I think of a spiritual force, a creator, or the most pure representation of love. But that is hard to describe, so I take the lazy way out and describe God using masculine words. You’ve given me something to think about, and I thank you.

I totally agree that manmade stories serve a questionable purpose. Like in the case of Christianity, for example. Whenever we hear a man set the criteria for salvation, that certainly sounds like a scare tactic to me. Humans are often convinced to do things by fear and money, and there is a long, dark record of fear and money in religion.

I am so sorry for the persecution you suffered in the misguided name of God. I’ve never been in your shoes, but I have a great deal of compassion. I am thankful to you for speaking your truth, Thomas.