I used to go to church, sunday school, and youth group every Sunday. In a small town, you either participate in church activities or are outcasted. My family was pretty involved, so I was too. It was just what we did and what our lives were like. None of us were particularly devout, it was more a matter of being a part of the community. I did believe and I wanted to be a good little Christian, so I went along with it with gusto. Some good came out of it, as it gave me many opportunities to learn about and perform music which is something I'm still passionate abnout today.

Anyway, as I got older (early teens), I started learning about other religions and I found that Christianity does not have a monopoly on "the good stuff" that it claims to. My best friend at the time was Jewish, and I was appauled to know that he and his family - who were the kindest, most generous people I've ever known - were destined to burn in hell for all eternity for not believing in Jesus. By the time I was pushed towards confirmation meetings I was having some serious doubts. The final push came when, at these weird and cultish meetings (they actually served kool aid, ha!), other students talked incessantly about how God and Jesus talk to them - literally speak to them. That had never happened to me, and I knew immediately that I didn't belong there.

I noped out hard and my parents wered understanding because it was pretty obvious that I was being sincere. As I put it, I didn't want to make a promise to God if I wasn't 100% sure about it. So at this point I tried to read as much as I could about other religions. When I was about 16 I learend that not believing was an option (why hadn't that crossed my mind before? hmm). It made me uncomfortable, but over time I began to see the issue in different ways. I went to college and learned stuff and now I know that god is a thoroughly unnecessary idea, to say the least.