Suffering Jesus Transformed

One of the first things that strikes you as a young child in the Catholic church is the ever-present "suffering Jesus" hanging on the cross: thorny crowned, scantily clad, bloody, sad, and dying. A constant reminder that he did something extra-ordinary to provide me a ticket to heaven. A constant reminder that I should be obedient no matter what. This is just one of the ploys used to "keep the Catholic in line." Others include stories of angel and virgin "visions" which could happen to anyone, anywhere, although I never personally knew anyone who had seen either. This kind of hysteria building is, I suppose, what causes people to see the Virgin Mary and Jesus-es in their tortillas, toast, screen doors, and oil spills under their cars. I always used to refer to these as the "tortilla gods." Numerous news stories tell of people flocking from miles around to take a peek at one of these "tortilla gods." Many claimed miraculous healings as a result of these spontaneous "pieces d'art."

I believe that another form of hysteria-building art can find it's source in the Catholic church and/or Christianity: vampires. Think about it! An evil person from hell with powers to draw you into their arms or cause you to let down your defenses and allow them into your bedroom...sounds like a typical date night these days...is able to be stopped by the power of the cross. Holy water also comes in handy and it never hurts to have your New Testament in your pocket. All this and a priest and you can "exercise" the devil out of your neighbor's teenager. All of these things and more that go "bump in the night" cause many a demon and devil fearing Christian to sleep with their lights on at night. A great way to keep congregants coming back each week for a re-charge to the invisible defensive shield promised by many a priest and pastor.

Another marvel of Catholicism is the confessional: verbalizing your sins to another human being (the priest) who has the authority to absolve you of them. I always believed that being able to talk about what bothers you to a close friend had the same effect without the requisite, repetitive prayers to the Jesus god's mother. I still don't understand why she was able to clear me of my sins. I still wonder, where was the one tru Creator in this chain of command and why so many layers?

As a teenager, I turned my spiritual quest away from Catholicism and toward Christianity. This seemed to work better since now the Jesus god's mom was out of the picture as were all of the rest of the community of statuary gods. Another positive sell was the fact that I no longer had to "confess my sin" to another human being or stranger.

Noteable, too, was that the Jesus god was no longer suffering. He was now transformed into a sort of personal "buddy." Prayer took on a new format: a more informal "coffee talk" than a prayer. I could now simply ask for whatever was on my mind or in my heart without restrictive boundaries. That was quite liberating. The music, too, was far more pleasant and heartfelt than the typical church hymnals I was used to. I think that was my favorite part of being a Christian...the lovely, folksy music stylings.

Another noteable difference from Catholicism was the more intense Bible study. I was actually encouraged to read and study religious texts. Somehow, though, there was still somethng not quite right...