By CPAGE
Updated: Thu, 05 May 2011 21:09:40 UTC

I'm young, naive, and new to reason. I've been raised to be an Episcopalian Republican, but that is not who I am, nor who I want to be.

I live in a city that came within about a mile of being destroyed by the tornado that ripped through the state of Alabama. The television was blaring, telling my family and me that the storm was headed right for us. At that point, we knew that the tornado was an F5, and that, if it passed through, we would be killed.

Huddled in a closet for protection, scared out of my mind, I found myself incredibly tempted to pray. I knew it wouldn't do anything, but for some reason, I just felt the need.

Please understand, I do not call myself a Christian. I do not believe in myths and fairy stories. I despise organized religion. But I have to ask:

Was my sudden desire to pray, out of fear and terror, the remnants of the brainwashing of my upbringing? Or is it something far worse?

I appeal to you people because you are far wiser than I and may have experienced something like this yourselves.

TAGGED: BEHAVIOR, PSYCHOLOGY, RELIGION