Another Perfect Stranger Page #2

forced religion stuff.

And they never mentioned it to you before?

Well, yeah... We started going

to church when I was like 10,

but it was always fun, you know,

things like Sunday school and church camp.

Even in high school it was just a social thing,

because all my friends were there...

But you never bothered into it, right?

I guess. I never took it that so seriously.

Like praying before meals:

it was just a rutine.

And I thought, mom and dad

thought the same way.

So that brought things to a head...

Last night we were sitting

around the dinner table,

and somehow the conversation turned to

people's beliefs, and God, and bla bla...

And I told mom and dad,

that I didn't really think, that God existed.

Why did you say that?

I don't know. It just came out.

I mean, I see a lot of other religions out there,

all the movie-stars in the Scientology...

Yeah... It's really big right now.

Yeah. I mean... the Bible stories were alright,

when I was a little kid,

but the older I get, and the more I read,

the idea of a big guy watching us from the

clouds somewhere just doesn't seem real.

Let me guess, this hasn't gone

too well with mom and dad.

Hmm. You should have seen

the looks on their faces.

Then they got into this whole big thing...

Finally I got mad, and they got

all dramatic about it, turned into a huge fight...

You really hit them where they lived, ha?

Yeah. They always encouraged me to think

from myself, have a reason to believe things...

Except when it comes to God.

I guess...

But that's not the worst part...

It gets worse?

I can't believe I'm telling somebody this.

This is gonna sound really stupid,

make that beyond stupid... times 1000 ...

Hah! That's must be pretty bad.

It is.

After the three of us argued all night,

I went to bed, and then when I was almost asleep,

mom comes into the room, and closes the door,

then she sits on my bad, and she tells me,

that she used to feel the same way I did.

Like she wasn't so sure that God existed

until... until...

Until... what?

Until the night 10 years ago, when she actually

sat down to dinner with Jesus...

...at a tiny restaurant in Chicago.

Hmm, that something, we don't hear every day...

Then she went on saying, how that experience changed

her life, and it helped change dad's life, too...

And suddenly my nice, wonderful mom goes to church

seemed more like this:

psycho-religious fanatic,

seeing the pope's face in pancake better.

And that just added to the tension...

Well, between that little doozie being out of

the bag and me trying to find a school,

everything's just got all juiced up.

Like how?

Like all she wanna talk about is Jesus,

and how it was important to her and dad, that I was firm

in my faith before went out to the world, and stuff...

Oh, boy...

In less then 12 hours

my perfect relationship with my folks

got messed up because of

this stupid religion stuff.

Religion always messes everything up.

I hate religion.

So why do you hate religion?

Why, don't you?

Well, I'm not saying, people don't have the right

to believe in what they want,

I'm just saying, it's not for me.

But you were the one who actually said,

you didn't like it...

Religion keeps people from living

the life to the fullest.

And makes some people to feel guilty over things

they shouldn't feel guilty about...

and other people worry about things,

they shouldn't worry about.

I know! Religious people are so uptight!

It's been so much time and

energy trying to please a higher power

and it's all wasted effort.

I think, they are focused on

feeding the Poor or something.

Lot of times they do.

But the problem is when they think,

they get points for doing good deeds.

or for what they wear,

or they eat, or they chant.

These things happen all over the world.

It seems, that the American Christians

have their own special set of rules:

like no movies, no dancing, no cards...

No alcohol.

I have a friend, whose mom doesn't

even let her eat rum-cake.

What is on the inside a person is what matters,

not the outside rituals.

What about those poor women you see on TV?

In Afghanistan they have to

wear that ugly burka things.

And the thing is: most of these

women just want to dress modestly,

but lot of them get beaten,

because they don't have everything covered.

That's so evil.

The men are afraid, that the women

will make them lust.

I shouldn't tell you this,

because you are so young, but...

You can dress a woman in concrete blocks,

and men would still find a way to lust after her.

Sounds like one of my dad's speeches.

The trouble is with: what is inside men's hearts,

not with what's on women's bodies.

Controlling women is just another way

for some men to exercise dominance.

I've heard, there is a church in the neighboring

village, that doesn't even let women speak.

I always wanted to walk in one Sunday morning,

and give them one big ear and say, what it is like!

I'm pretty upset, when I see religion

used as an excuse for slavery,

and discrimination, war...

Religion causes so much superstition

and ignorance in the world.

The trouble is:
when religion

makes some people think,

that they have to run away from it,

before they can live a normal life.

Yeah, you are right!

Back where I come from

religion and hypocrisy went hand in hand.

People claimed to be one thing,

but actually showing another.

Really? What did they do?

The self-righteous leaders were

only focused on the rules.

And then they would lay these rules on the people,

who felt guilty, when they couldn't keep them well enough.

Where did you grow up?

In little town, East.

Small towns are probably

the worst for things like that.

Water?

Yes...

What language was that?

They are from Calcutta (USA).

The gentleman was telling to his wife,

that she shouldn't eavesdrop us.

But I told her it's alright, I didn't mind.

So you speak Cul...cattian?

I've spent some time there.

So what else bugs you in religion?

The way well-mean people

get all distorted by it.

Like how?

Like they stop being who they really are,

start trying to keep a lot of impossible rules,

and meanwhile they feel guilty,

and they feel miserable.

Wow, that sounds familiar...

And what make the matter worse, they start

distancing themselves from people in their lives,

sometimes from those who mean the most to them.

Yeah, but why is that?

Well, they are afraid that people, who don't

believe the way they do, will lead them astray.

So when you think about it: Instead of making

them more loving, religion actually causes them

to isolate themselves from the people

they really care about.

Stephanie, that's my best friend.

She and I had a friend like that.

Three of us were really close

like since the 1st grade,

but when we went to high-school

she became super-religious.

Yeah, I mean, we all went to church together,

but Melissa took it extra serious.

And how that affected the "3 stooges"?

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