for me to steal to make up for her lie? Funny enough, no one was willing to discuss this with me. “You must not burn with desire for another man’s wife, nor envy him for his home, land, servants, oxen, donkeys, nor anything else he owns.” What if his stuff is better? “You may worship no other God than me.” At an early age I knew no other God so, this was not a problem for me. “You shall not make yourselves any idols: any images resembling animals, birds, or fish. You must never bow to an image or worship it in any way; for I, the Lord your God, am very possessive. I will not share your affection with any other god!” From a very early age I would play a game using my stuffed animals and high mounds of dirt to make sacred places, little sanctuaries, containing my stuffed animals. The stuffed animals were my special friends. I was never sure if this would send me to hell or not. I was afraid to ask because I enjoyed the game and was afraid someone would tell me I had to stop playing it.“You shall not use the name of Jehovah your God irreverently, nor use it to swear to a falsehood. You will not escape punishment if you do.” I was not completely sure what this meant, but someone once told me it had something to do with the phrase, “God damn it.” I used this in private when I would get frustrated. I was modeling my father, who also liked this term. “Remember to observe the Sabbath as a holy day.” Sunday was one of my weekend days. How was I supposed to give it up to God and do nothing when I spent at least five days a week at school and Saturdays usually cleaning my room or something? I found this to be a very unreasonable request. “Honor your father and mother.” This meant always to listen and obey. I should never talk back or question. As one can see, I was doomed under such laws.I suffered from constant anxiety that the end of...
