4 Reasons I Quit Religion
I left the church over six years ago and am increasingly grateful that I made that decision
“Father Abraham, had many sons! Many sons had Father Abraham! I am one of them, and so are you! So let’s all praise the Lord!”
I sing this in unison with the rest of my Sunday school class at the Southern Baptist church I attend during my childhood. I am maybe six-years-old. I am a girl. My Sunday school teacher is a woman (but you knew that as soon as I said “Sunday school teacher,” didn’t you?). We are daughters — we are daughters singing a song about sons.
Had I been a bit older with more developed critical thinking skills, I might have raised my hand and asked if Father Abraham had any daughters. I might have questioned why my female teacher was claiming to be Father Abraham’s son and asserting that I am one, too.
Had I done this, she might have said something like,
“It’s metaphorical, honey, not literal.”
But I am six and I do not understand metaphors. What I do understand is that the song is about sons, just like God is a “he” and most major Biblical characters are also male. At least, the ones who get exciting storylines are male…
