I grew up in the North Georgia mountains, in the rolling, rural heart of the Deep South, and thus was thoroughly aware of Christianity from a very early age.  The beliefs and mores of Christianity have long engrained themselves into that culture.  My great-aunt and uncle and would take me to a back-woods independent church occasionally, while my mother would take me to the somewhat more bourgeois First Baptist Church downtown in our small community.  It was at that church that, at the age of seven, I “walked the aisle” and repeated a prayer.  I did it because that’s what was expected everyone should do eventually and because I had heard what happened if you didn’t… but it marked no significantly momentous change in my life.  That would not happen until many years down the road. Continue reading →