Testimony

Eh, my testimony isn't the most exciting thing in the world. But I think it's probably the appropriate place to start anyways.

"Were you raised as a Christian?"

My testimony has to begin with the fact that I can't really answer that question. It's an ambiguous answer. I can give you both answers, "yes" or "no", and I don't feel like I'm lying either way.

I grew up in a household that doesn't talk about religion or spirituality. Like... at all. I can count all of the instances on one hand, and not even use up all my fingers on that hand. I remember my mom talking to us about my dad's Buddhist beliefs after my cat died. She explained the Buddhist hope of my cat reincarnating with better karma, which hopefully meant he came back as a "higher-level" species, perhaps even a human being. The only other time I've heard religion discussed is as an identity, as a part of a culture war, when my dad's family was (and still is) strained by religious differences. Then, at one time, there was a very quick discussion of Hell, spurred on by the fact that my parents asked me about what I watched at the movies that day (it was a documentary exploring the concept of Hell. yes, this is how i have fun. It was the first time I've ever been completely alone in a movie theater lol)

Those are the only times I can ever remember spirituality being discussed. In my family, it's just an entirely personal thing. My dad has told me on several occassions clearly: he doesn't care what I believe, but I should always respect what others believe. I mean, my dad's a Buddhist, and yet I don't even know if he goes to that Buddhist temple we have in town. That's how the dialogue of religion and spirituality works in our family: it's your own thing. It's personal, and on the level of my family as a unit, it's a non-factor.

Yet, in this environment, it still feels like God raised me as a Christian. There has been Christian influences throughout my life, enough to sustain me through my upbringing. In kindergarden, I went to a private school and learned basic Bible stories there. I'd also visit my family in Taiwan quite often, and from there, my Christian aunt continued my Christian upbringing (after i expressed an interest in it, because of the Bible stories I had been taught in school). Although these trips to Taiwan were only during the summer, it was enough for me to take these teachings to heart. There were other little things sprinkled in, like I remember going to a Vacation Bible School as a kid (at the recommendation of a family friend), and being in productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in summer camp, but the bulk of my spiritual growth came from my aunt in Taiwan.