As a member of the Roman Catholic Church, I was told quite clearly in my younger years that I belonged to the only true church . Outside of my church, it was very tricky - actually high near impossible - to get into heaven. It was considered heretical and you would certainly run the risk of eternal damnation in hell should you leave and seek spiritual fulfillment elsewhere. I kid you not!
I was told that I shouldn't date anyone of another religion for fear that we might fall in love and then I would run the risk of wanting to marry outside of my church. In the event such a catastrophe occurred, the non-Catholic partner had to just about swear on their life that he or she would allow the resulting children to be brought up in the Catholic Religion.
My husband's mother actually had the nerve to fall in love with a guy who belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church and they weren't even allowed to get married in the church - the rectory was as close as they got to the altar!
When my husband, Bob, was a little boy, my father-in-law, Bob, Sr., (so I heard as he died before I had the pleasure of meeting him) came to the basement of St. Francis of Assisi School in Astoria, Queens, NY, where a Cub Scout's meeting was being held. Bob, Sr. was there with a contingency of Boy Scouts from the nearby Dutch Reformed Church. He came that day specifically to welcome his son who was aging out of the Cub Scouts into his Boy Scouts' group. The priest at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Father Joe Schuck, met Bob, Sr and the handful of Boy Scouts accompanying him at the foot of the stairs. The priest told Bob's father that he was not welcome and that he could not be accepting his son into the Boy Scouts since it was held at the Protestant Church. Bob's father responded maturely to this negative reception and left the church basement without causing a scene. Sadly, my husband, Bob Jr., never became a Boy Scout. Interestingly, Fr. Joe Schuck, was eventually defrocked for child sexual abuse.
I too, had a similar, albeit a little less dramatic experience, when I wanted to become a Brownie. I remember the feeling of disappointment even though I don't remember a lot of the details. I went to a nearby Protestant Church basement to join the Brownie group in my community, but for some reason I was rejected. Can you imagine carrying the psychological stigma of being rejected by the Brownies? ! Possibly, they had a big enough troop already and were only accepting the girls from that church? I honestly don't remember but I remember feeling rejected.
My current concept of God although not clearly defined ( truthfully, who really understands the concept of God? ) does not allow me to accept such a prejudiced Deity.
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