20 DATE WITH THE GODS"In due time, and by 'in your language' I mean that
when someone brings teachings and guidance, he or she
is called a missionary, a guide, a teacher, you name it."
"A hermit, a guru. You enjoy being mysterious, don't
you?"
"Let's say cautious."
"Well," I said, exasperated, "if we're going to play
'what's my line' or some guessing game .... "
"No, we're not going to play any games. If you have a
few minutes to spare, we may come up with some
intelligent conversation, though. You don't need to be a
genius to understand what I teach; just a little logic, an
open mind, some general knowledge and the willingness
to understand. I imagine you must have some kind of
religious belief ... "
I interrupted her irritably. "None, I have none. I don't
have any religious or political affiliations. I'm a people
lover and consider myself a citizen of the world. I don't
even believe in international boundaries ."
"Very good, but what about your religious upbring
ing? Some of it you must still remember, I imagine."
"My religious education was a tough one. Both very
Jewish and Roman Catholic. I've learned to be rebellious,
materialistic, mean, cruel and to have this terrible guilt
about the natural functions of being alive. Like making
out, masturbating, even having a girlfriend. You have no
idea how much I had to go through to get rid of all the
guilt. I abandoned both the church and the synagogue.
My last time there was when I was thirteen. I haven't
been back since, and I don't intend to return, either.
That's how I feel about religion. I get the creeps every
time I remember how I had to listen to all that church
stuff. I'm a promiscuous character, and both of my
religions made me feel dirty for even thinking about sex.
Since I sincerely enjoy my sexual freedom, I figured it
wa s better not to worry about religion at all."