About

It's a lot to wade through, so you can skip to the TL/DR version, although I wish you wouldn't without at least skimming the rest.

I came to the realization that I couldn't be a priest.

A bit of in media res there. I think my desire to be a priest came from  Catholic high school. The fashion alone: those old-school cassocks are amazing. If I were a priest, I'd wear one every day like they used to, for any occasion. Also, while I'm not a theologian, I think I could stand being one. And there's the opportunity to serve my fellow man, and giving homilies, and just the cachet of being one and being called "Father," and maybe getting a Doctorate of Divinity to append to my name.  I didn't say these were good reasons or deep reasons, for the most part.

There were problems though.  I'm not Catholic.  I really hated Catholic school, and I have so many problems with Catholic doctrine it's not funny.  I'm not actually Christian, so dogmatically, Catholics and I have a certain difference of opinion.

But I've looked at other religions and none of them offer what I want without also demanding something I can't give. Lest you think I'm prejudiced, I'd like to grow up to be an old Jewish rabbi as well, but that's only slightly more likely than me converting to Catholicism and becoming a celibate priest (another sticking point). I'm not a legalist by nature, so the legalism of Judaism doesn't appeal to me (I'm also not saying that that's all there is to Judaism either). Islam doesn't really have homilies, per se, and I have doctrinal and dogmatic differences of opinion there as well (God sounds pretty decent when you get down to it, but Mohammed... less likable). I could be a Hindu guru, but it's not really the same, plus, again, not in total agreement with anything more than the vaguest definition of Hinduism. Buddhism, ditto. I don't know enough about Bahá'í or Zoroastrianism to speak to them.

While yes, the cachet and fashion of a Catholic priest appeal to me, more deeply I wish I could give spiritual advice and help people in that way. I guess I'm a priest without a congregation, or with anyone who wants to be a part of it as my congregation. If the Religious Society of Friends (FGC-type, not the evangelical kind) had priests, I'd be one. That's probably the closest I'd come to religion.

Expect to read things for different traditions, not necessarily just Christian, although because I'm most familiar with Christianity that may be the most heavily-drawn-upon resource, so please don't be offended. I'm also not one for "political correctness;" the way I was raised, it was just called "politeness," and sometimes you can't be polite and speak truth to power. That doesn't mean I "call them like I see them" and don't care what other people think or whether I'm being a bigot. But expect me to offend you at some point, because I'm human and fallible. All I ask is that, if I have done so, you take the time to tell me why and not just get mad and call me names.  That's the only way I can learn, or in some cases, explain my case, because sometimes I may offend you but not feel that I've done the wrong thing.

LGBTQ people, people of all races, creeds, nationalities, and even religions, you are welcome here. If that offends you, I'm not budging on that point. All are welcome. Athiests and agnostics of any stripe, from hard-core to questioning, you're welcome here too. I don't think that religion is the only thing that allows us to be moral beings. I similarly don't think that religious people are necessarily wrong to believe in something, so if that offends you, tough luck.

And lest you think that I'm a crunchy-granola type because of all this welcoming, I'm not. I'm required by my beliefs to love you all, but that doesn't mean I agree with you or that I like you very much. And again, because I'm human, I fail in the love department more often than I'd like. I'm a sinner, according to my own definition and some semantic juggling.

Not everything I write will be a homily; some may be more op-ed pieces, and some may simply be me exploring a thought, which might be useful from a spiritual standpoint but which isn't intended to be anything more than an exploration, usually frustratingly inconclusive. And I write funny things. I will probably attempt humor everywhere, so if you think that this is deeply serious, you might want to look elsewhere; I respect that point of view, but while I appreciate serious discussions of the topic, I don't agree with you that it can never be funny.

And lastly, discussion is welcome, but I will ruthlessly detonate any comments which fall afoul of the preceding, are hateful without just cause, contain bigoted terms, or set off my vague and inconsistent alarms (who knows, maybe one day I'll care enough to put up a comment policy page). Please do try to spellcheck before you submit: I know, I know, but there's really no reason not to at least try to write something coherent.

In summary: I am not a priest or affiliated with any religion but my own, but I'd like to give a few sermons and explore some thoughts and beliefs, so you're welcome to listen and discuss as long as you try to be civil about it.