Jesus can't take a punch
When I was 13 or so I went on a Christian weekend retreat with the Youth Group at my church. I'd only been on weekend sleepaway camps ever, so this was normal to me. The retreat happened at a camp next to some lake in mid/upper Florida called Lake Placid.
While there they had us do a bunch of Christian/Bible activities:
"Yeah so we're gonna want you to come over here and pull a paper out of this bag here... then read the bible scripture off the paper and tell us what you think it means. Show of hands, who wants to go first?"
"Okay now we're going to write all the things we want to thank god for in our lives. Then we're going to separate into groups and each group is going to make a skit of the whole group's top 3."
"Now we're going to play Duck Duck goose.. but you say instead any of the names of the Apostles when you want to say duck.. and the goose will be Judas."
On the last retreat I ever did they did a "trust walk" where they blinfold you and take you through the woods and scare the crap out of you.. but you're "Saved" by someone dressed as Jesus. I admit, when you're 13 and scared it's pretty convincing. It was some dude in robes and a crown of thorns, what felt like holes in his hands, and was a really good hugger..
I admit at the time I was going through a crisis of faith due to what was going on with my family.. so I hugged him and cried initially. Just all the sadness coming up... Then I started hitting him and asking him why the fuck he made my parents get a divorce. (Since God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost/Spirit are the same "entity" in Catholic beliefs) I felt a bunch of hands pull me off him and lead me quickly to the rest of the kids. After the trust walk all the kids went on a hay ride with the councelors.. and one of the kids pointed out out loud that one of the male councelors was the same size as the "jesus" we met. After I looked at him for a few moments I noticed he was actively avoiding me and had some bruises.
After the retreat they told me they had to stop the trust walks because of "incidents" they had during them. What do they expect to happen when you present a person with the being responsible for EVERYTHING in their life.
My faith has never been the same. I'm glad though. I like my beliefs where they are now. If not for that retreat, I wouldn't have looked into other things to sustain me spiritually.
While there they had us do a bunch of Christian/Bible activities:
"Yeah so we're gonna want you to come over here and pull a paper out of this bag here... then read the bible scripture off the paper and tell us what you think it means. Show of hands, who wants to go first?"
"Okay now we're going to write all the things we want to thank god for in our lives. Then we're going to separate into groups and each group is going to make a skit of the whole group's top 3."
"Now we're going to play Duck Duck goose.. but you say instead any of the names of the Apostles when you want to say duck.. and the goose will be Judas."
On the last retreat I ever did they did a "trust walk" where they blinfold you and take you through the woods and scare the crap out of you.. but you're "Saved" by someone dressed as Jesus. I admit, when you're 13 and scared it's pretty convincing. It was some dude in robes and a crown of thorns, what felt like holes in his hands, and was a really good hugger..
I admit at the time I was going through a crisis of faith due to what was going on with my family.. so I hugged him and cried initially. Just all the sadness coming up... Then I started hitting him and asking him why the fuck he made my parents get a divorce. (Since God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost/Spirit are the same "entity" in Catholic beliefs) I felt a bunch of hands pull me off him and lead me quickly to the rest of the kids. After the trust walk all the kids went on a hay ride with the councelors.. and one of the kids pointed out out loud that one of the male councelors was the same size as the "jesus" we met. After I looked at him for a few moments I noticed he was actively avoiding me and had some bruises.
After the retreat they told me they had to stop the trust walks because of "incidents" they had during them. What do they expect to happen when you present a person with the being responsible for EVERYTHING in their life.
My faith has never been the same. I'm glad though. I like my beliefs where they are now. If not for that retreat, I wouldn't have looked into other things to sustain me spiritually.