Having grown up Southern Baptist, I have a lot less judgment for Catholics than Protestants.

At least the Catholic Church has like, an authority structure that gives it a sense of legitimacy, and acknowledgement that the Bible is not an infallible document written by God and is a collection of accounts and fictional parables by different people over a long time. I think those explanations would have done a lot to keep me in the church.

Protestantism it’s like, why do you believe this, because Pastor Bill said it? Have you talked to Pastor Bill before? He’s an idiot, why would you believe what he says. I remember being 7 years old and going to Sunday school and they talked about Noah’s Ark and we were told it was a completely factual account, and the writing was divinely inspired and therefore could not be wrong, and at 7 years old I was like “Idk man this seems like nonsense. How would the lions not eat the zebras? The logistics don’t make sense.”

The more I learn about ancient Christianity and the way these stories and practices have changed over the centuries it’s so much more interesting and believable with the context and analysis than whatever the fuck evangelicals are doing.