Hi Kathy, thank you for reading!

As the daughter of a small-town pastor, I grew up with the church as my second home, and its doctrine was the only worldview I knew for years. My dad's preaching emphasized God's love over "fire-and-brimstone" fear, but I nevertheless concluded that Christian theology hinged on the question of hell: without it, what's the significance of God's mercy or Jesus's salvation?

Yes, why DID I ask for God's forgiveness at the close of this scene? For my defiant thoughts, for touching the communion chalice, for sneaking out of the house at night, for thinking "too much" about boys, and on and on. The teaching of Original Sin claims that we're all born sinful, as reinforced by my denomination's Calvinist doctrine of total depravity. "Forgive me" was an appropriate prayer at every moment of my young life.

I ultimately left the faith. The reasons are too complex for online comment sections, but my forthcoming book explores them in depth: karieluidens.com/book