My home town, back in northwestern Pennsylvania, is predominantly Catholic. This included my childhood best friend's family. My family wasn't, and so I didn't know much about Catholicism at that time. But I was curious, so I'd have talks with Mike about his family's religion.
And what was this "confession" thing all about? I understood all about talking to God, but what did you need an intermediary for? Didn't make sense to me.
What do you mean the wafer is literally the body of Christ? Did people really believe that? That it really turned into flesh and blood once it was inside your body? Gross!
And purgatory? What's up with that?
It was a little too odd for me to accept these things. The fact that we supposedly believed in the same God was the only thing that kept it from being utterly absurd. It was too bad, I thought, that Mike had such a kooky religion.
In the years since then, I continued to see the same thing everywhere I'd look. Being currently in Utah, I'm surrounded by Mormons. My friends from back home sometimes ask me questions.
Gold plates? Come on!
Magic underwear? You're kidding, right?
What do you mean they think they go to another physical planet when they die?
It doesn't matter what religion you belong to. You can look at another faith and laugh your butt off at the things they take seriously.
Funny, though, how it never occurs to these people that others are doing the same thing about their own religion. Certainly, there were people somewhere who looked at the religion I was raised in and asked questions about it, just as I did about Mike's religion.
As an atheist, I'm now an equal opportunity questioner. No theistic religion is immune to the doubtful skepticism of my inquiries, including the one I was raised in. To an atheist, all religions are absurd. It's just a matter of degree.
