The Skepticism of Roger

Fandango

sandcastleThroughout his young life, Roger was required to read the Bible and to review it daily, chapter and verse, with his mother and father. He was taught that God’s laws, as expressed in the Bible, were unbreakable and must be obeyed. To disobey them would condemn Roger to eternal damnation.

Much to the chagrin of his parents, who were extremely religious, Roger had reached the age where he was beginning to question everything. He accepted nothing at face value and became very skeptical of his parents’ belief in a supernatural supreme being.

One Christmas Eve, after attending Midnight Mass with his parents, Roger announced that he was rejecting the dogma of the church. He told them that it couldn’t hold up under the scrutiny of an intrepid mind like his, and that, like sandcastles, it will ultimately be washed away by the waves of time.

His father was angry. His mother was distraught. They gave young Roger an ultimatum. “Either you return to the word of God, or we will disown you,” they told him. But Roger was unready to yield to his parents’ demand. He waved them off in a perfunctory manner and scurried to his room where he packed his suitcase.

“I’m leaving,” he announced to his parents. “I can’t deal with the sexism, racism, homophobia, and superstitions of the church. I need to find my own path, my own way, my own purpose. I may be back after my journey of self-discovery. Or I may be gone forever. I love you both and I thank you for everything you’ve given me and done for me. I genuinely wish you well. I hope you will also wish me well as I seek to find myself and my calling.”

Written for these daily prompts: Jibber Jabber (review; return), Word of the Day Challenge (unbreakable; racism), The Daily Spur (midnight; suitcase), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (dogma; perfunctory), Your Daily Word Prompt (intrepid; scurry), and Ragtag Daily Prompt (sandcastle; unready).

19 thoughts on “The Skepticism of Roger”

  1. Mason Bushell July 31, 2020 / 10:03 am

    Love how you use all the weeks words to make a powerful and poignant story. Good job, friend.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Fandango July 31, 2020 / 11:01 am

      Thanks. I usually don’t use two days of prompt words in a single post, but I missed posting yesterday’s and today’s words seemed to be easily incorporated with yesterday’s into one post.

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  2. newepicauthor July 31, 2020 / 10:29 am

    John Lennon basically said the same thing, that religion would disappear along with rock and roll. His big mistake was saying that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus with the younger people, as that caused bans of their music along with some demonstrations where Beatles albums and memorabilia were burned.

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    • Fandango July 31, 2020 / 11:28 am

      Well, classic rock and roll has almost disappeared except on radio stations that focus on playing classic rock. As to religion, that probably won’t disappear. People are always searching for answers to the unanswerable and for a meaning to life. Religion, for better or worse, offers answers, albeit mostly fantastical ones.

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  3. Marilyn Armstrong July 31, 2020 / 10:32 am

    Sort of what I really did, albeit for slightly different reasons, religion not being one of them.

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  4. Sadje July 31, 2020 / 10:41 am

    One head to find one’s own truth in life. Good combination of prompts

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  6. bikurgurl July 31, 2020 / 12:35 pm

    Nodding….it’s difficult to manage that child/parent relationship…particularly over religious dogma, but finding the strength to find your own way will ultimately give you the life you can live with … I wish it hadn’t taken me half my life to learn this lesson, but with age comes wisdom 🖤 So poignant in our political and social landscape right now 🖤

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  7. lindakempwriter July 31, 2020 / 4:53 pm

    Hallelujah Roger! Glad he walked away. Great story and use of so many prompts, Fandango 😉

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  11. leigha66 August 2, 2020 / 4:01 pm

    Roger sure had a lot of strength to go out on his own like that… good for him!

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