the Souls of Christians

Growing up Lutheran, my mother went to New Guinea on a Lutheran mission in the late 1960s. When she returned, her family, including her domineering father, had converted to the LDS church (Mormons). She dutifully followed suit, and traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to absorb her new religion. When church elders told her that God had informed them she belonged with my father, she married him. The drumbeat message to be a good mother consumed her, and she had six children as part of her understanding of what Church leaders expected of a good Christian woman. She called feminists, "libbers," condemned abortion, and embraced traditional roles for women: wife and mother.

When my parents met seemingly even more devout Mormons, specifically fundamentalists, they were enamored. A time-limited (Thank God) saga involving polygamy ensued. After realizing that she had been led astray by false prophets, my mom went on a quest to find God's church. There was a period where both of my parents held home "Sunday School" with us: teaching Bible stories, drawing Biblical events, and learning right and wrong. Then, there were months, sometimes years of membership in churches such as the Vineyard, Seventh Day Adventists, Christian Scientists, Methodists, Baptist, a brief Jewish exploration, and several others I can no longer remember clearly.

My tremendous, yet vulnerable mother is truly one of God's children. Unfortunately, her reluctance to question those "authorities" who claim to speak for God, left her prey to the worst kinds of fanatics. She became overly obedient, failing to exercise independent thought or judgment. When indoctrination becomes severe enough, even the conscience can be usurped. Her own struggles to make it right with God mirror what a great many American Christians are presently doing. They are following fanatic leaders who lead them astray from what Christianity really means. The following website contains several examples of people who are clearly raising themselves above others and acting contrary to the teachings of Jesus:

http://www.reandev.com/taliban/

For all of my mother's problems with organized religion, including the times when she put aside her judgment, she has maintained a personal spiritual integrity that I realize shaped my own beliefs about right and wrong. One lesson is particularly salient. Refusing to reject anyone, she befriended a male-to-female transsexual person when I was in high school. They met at the Salvation Army where our family ate lunch every weekday but Wednesday when the soup kitchen was closed. In our small Iowa community, people with differences stand out, and this person had a number of barriers to gender resolution. She clearly felt like a woman, but she was poor and could not afford surgery. Thus, she grew her hair, wore a padded bra, and wore women's clothing. Without hormone therapy, she had a visible five-o'clock shadow, and her body was stocky even by male standards. Her situation led to ridicule throughout the community.

When mom requested that this person pick me up from school, I was humiliated. I tried to slink into her car without being seen by peers. It didn't work, and several days of I already dealt with the stigma of being poor, and there was several bullies at the school who had targeted me for years. They would taunt me about my clothing, my outdated hairstyle, my cleanliness and associated "alleged" smell, etc. Once I had a chance to confront my mother, I asked her why she tortured me by sending this person to pick me up from school.

She told me that a good Christian looked into the souls of others and offered them Christlike love if they were good people suffering with adversity. It was not her place to judge, to criticize, or to demean. She told me that I should be ashamed of myself for letting the cruel, childish opinions of others influence my own treatment of others. She was right. Pure and simple.

http://www.sojo.net