As a child I was a devout Lutheran. I studied my catechism lessons and the Bible. We had good pastors who explained that Genesis should not be taken literally, and that science and the Bible were completely compatible.
Then I got to high school. It was the late ’60s and the church started taking back what it had taught me. It was OK to kill. Wealth meant God loved you. Women were only deserving of respect if they played their roles and didn’t make a fuss. Ditto minorities.
Leaving the church made me stronger, and the church weaker.
The church is very weak now, yet I’ve never felt better.
I don’t miss God at all. Any of them.
Mark Gisleson
United States