First Guest Post from my friend Mark - Part 1

     Hey all. Just as a heads up, anyone who is interested in sharing their story in regards to their own religious path or exploration of faith, if you want me to, I will share your story.This is the first guest post on the Religious Outsider Blog. One of the greatest things that has come out of this blog is growing closer to the community I'm a part of. Whether it's hearing peoples stories after they've read the blog, or talking to people about one of the religious communities I visited. I wouldn't trade any of those moments and I am so grateful for all that has come out of this exploration. Here is my friend Mark's first post. I hope you all enjoy!

  -------
Let me preface this by saying that I have the utmost respect for Cameron, for trying his hardest to understand the world's religions with an open mind, and for consistently taking action on a personal project.

As a personal favor to the man who paid for my entire university education, I agreed to be baptized in his faith at a southern church in a town in which I knew no one. Both my parents and two of my grandparents had been baptized this way.

During a hymn intercession, the preacher in the church, which was completely devoid of any of that idolatrous Catholic symbolism, including a even a single crucifix, said in his Tennessee drawl, "If any of you feel the call to BAPTISM, come forward NOW!"

Though I looked towards my neighbors in the pews, they stared dutifully at their large print hymn books, so as not to pressure me. I nervously went forward, as I had vowed two weeks earlier.

I sat in the front row. The preacher and one elder sat there and asked me "now boy, do you have any SEEENS you want to confess to? (sins)"

I blurted out "intellectual vanity."

Perplexed, he asked me to elaborate. "Well how do you figure?"

"Umm, I thought that if only I could educate myself enough then I could do without faith or Christ, because I would be able to understand things well enough on my own."

After asking later, I was told that normal answers were "drinkin', gamblin', fornicatin', lyin', stealin'..."

I was brought to a back room, changed into a too-small poncho/dress, and told to take off my underwear. "You don't want it to get wet, now do you?"

The preacher met me again onstage, because apparently there was a hot tub always at the ready bubbling behind the pulpit. He had a grin on his face like I couldn't believe.

"Now relax boy, I haven't lost one yet!" he whispered in my ear, and I swear he could have winked.

There were some quotations about fulfilling all righteousness (The reason why Christ was baptized by John the Baptist, and something that to this day I fail to understand)

I was dunked in the hot tub, but was unable to take the Lord's Supper in a timely fashion because I really had to piss.

I ran back after locating the large church's bathroom, but taking the Lord's Supper solo and without an audience lacked the same spiritual oomph.

Afterwords, every single member of the congregation hugged me and offered me their daughters in marriage (only half joking).

CUT FORWARD ONE YEAR