My relationship to Christianity has been a fluid one, thanks to my Mom. She was raised Catholic and would probably identify herself as one if asked, but she has never quite fit the mold. She stopped going to church when she camed to the States from Germany, and by the time I was old enough to start, she'd lost interest in having us kids go through all the formalities (confirmation and the like). All I ever had to do was join in the family prayer once every Sunday. Also, throughout my life we have shared an interest in the paranormal, and she's told me of apparent ghostly and angelic phenomena she's experienced since childhood, as well as a borderline NDE. I've never really asked her about it, but she seems to see no conflict between her personal faith and the reality of these things.
I still ask Jesus/God to help me when I feel afraid, but at present I couldn't call myself Christian, and certainly my idea of God has since late childhood been far removed from the Bearded Giant in the Sky. I'm grateful (if sometimes frustrated) for the gift of having been raised in such a way to feel free to find my own truth.
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