Your God's better than mine?

Is this what my Father in heaven sees when he looks down at me?

It's Wednesday night (Thursday morn by the time I post this), and Bible night for some of my roomies. They gather after dinner, sit in a circle, link paws and bow their heads in silent prayer.

Then someone would read a passage from the Good Book and they would discuss the lessons to be drawn from it. Then the session proceeds to the part I just don't get: They "share", that is, spill their guts out about their most private problems to each other, all in the name of being "brother" and "sister".

I can't abide by that. Isn't there such a thing as privacy with them?

You should see them emerge from their meetings. They all wear that beatific smile on their faces, and they'd be humming their hymns all day long till their euphoria dies or until they are next recharged at their next meeting, whereupon they will sing the hymns in my face with renewed vigour.

They tried to suck me into their "cell group", but I declined politely. If they keep bugging me, I shan't be able to maintain my civility. For now, they look at me like I'm some kind of disease.

Candy tried to talk to me the other day, and the encounter was anything but sweet. I had always thought her to be quite an attractive dame, but I wouldn't speak to her now unless really necessary. Without preamble, she had come up to me and asked me whether I knew who I was, where I was going, and whether I accepted the Lord as my saviour.

Kinda heavy, existentialist questions for 9:30am, if you ask me. At that time, I hadn't even taken my daily morning crap.

Then what she said next took the cake: That I was condemned to burn in hell fire eternally if I didn't accept the Lord - her Lord, as my saviour. Only her Lord could show me the path to heaven and eternal life, she said. There was no other way; the other systems of belief got it all wrong.

I told her nicely that if I had any questions about religion, I'd go to her, thank you very much. I'm here just trying to be a good bloke day by day as my mom - bless her soul - taught me how. I know I'm polite by nature, and considerate too... so if Candy is right, then I'm going to burn in hell fire despite my being a generally good cat?

I'm spiritual rather than out-and-out religious. Yes, I do believe in a Supreme Being, but He's nowhere as prescriptive as her exclusionist, judgemental, cruel God. I talk to my own God - one-on-one - about my fears and my hopes. I also ask Him to look out for those dear to me, and tell him when I'm sorry if I said or did something wrong.

It works for me and I'm not about to have someone else come along to tell me what to believe.