Parental Descretion Not Advised

Parental Discretion Not Advised

Often times, people pursue the religious beliefs taught to them during their childhood. I for one had a rather confusing experience drifting from one end of the religious spectrum to the next. As a child I was docile and did only as my mother had done, never fully understanding the technicalities of the two religions to which I had been exposed. Converting from one religion to the next exposes the mind to the various perspectives of salvation and methods of obtaining it. It takes a mature mind to decipher which religious conduit is most appropriate for them. One must be willing to accept the consequences, good or bad of the religion they choose to follow. One must also be careful to not impose their religious beliefs on another regardless of the immense amount of zeal they may acquire in developing a spiritual balance. Therefore, it is important for one to pursue his personal path to salvation.

"TAINTED!!!!" The first word I learned in reference to my blood, race, and skin tone. The passionate Islamic teachings of Farrakhan penetrated my mother's avid ears and enthralling mind. She was eager to find a god for our people, a god that symbolized our growth and strength as human beings a god that spoke of our heaven. She assumed she found it before my birth through the study of Islam. From the moment of my arrival on this earth I was taught that my skin was beautiful but the blood that flowed so prevalently through my veins had been tainted by the promiscuity of my Irish immediate grandmother. I was taught that the mother of our family had seduced the compliant, loving, caring creature referred to as the Black man with her beauty that met the common

perception of exquisiteness and the promise of a better life as a result of being the beau of a white woman.

For the beginning five years of my life we were an Islam practicing family. We did not indulge in the consumption of pork. We prayed to Allah on a regular basis as a family, perhaps three times a day. When we ate it was never to be full but simply to satisfy hunger. I was taught that I was a God and all people who looked like me where Gods; that the white man was the world's oppressor and where ever this devil of a being set foot there was death and turmoil. I was also taught that the dead were to rest for three days before embalming in order to allow the soul to leave the corpse. Thus the death of my grandmother was treated accordingly. My mother wouldn't allow the mortuary to embalm my grandmother until three days after her death.

Eventually certain aspects of Islamic culture began to deter my mother. She could not understand how one could perceive a man to be God, a mere man to be the creator of the heavens and the earth, a mere man to be the reason for this vast existence. She questioned the idea of different so called prophets being a prototype of the messiah. She had come to various conclusions regarding the teachings of the Quran and The Nation of Islam and deemed them ludicrous and untrue. So, in her revolutionary mindset my mother sought the study of Christianity. In her continued search for light and spiritual welfare she converted.

Still young and impressionable I followed suit and complied with my mother's change of lifestyle. We attended church service every Sunday and Wednesday. Our small family held devotionals on Mondays called "Family Devo Time". My mother had even

become a women's ministry leader and choir member. It was in this church that I would acquire the majority of my knowledge of God and the Holy Bible. As a member of a nondenominational church I was free to be a child and not be forced into baptism or christening. In this very church I met my best friends with whom I am still very close. I loved our new church it was vibrant and promoted loving and serving God in your own way as long as your motives were to glorify him.

This church was extremely bible based. Throughout each sermon the bible was widely referenced and the audience was interactive, turning back and forth through the various scriptures in order to see for themselves and acquire their own interpretations of God's word. We were apart of this organization for ten years. Over time the people of the church became legalistic, and extremely judgmental. According to my mother, attitude reflects leadership, and the people of the church were only behaving as the examples set before them had portrayed. Overwhelmed with the intense hypocrisy of the people