I grew up wanting to get closer to God. But to find God I had to leave religion behind.
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Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria
I remember the first time I began to doubt God’s love for me. I was a nine-year-old Catholic primary school student and it was the season of Lent. Crucifixes draped in purple fabric hung on our classroom walls; teachers sternly warned us against making noise. It was Friday—on Fridays, at the end of classes but before the school closed, we always assembled in front of the classrooms for the Stations of the Cross. The school hung 14 images of Jesus Christ at different spots and we walked around all of them.
The Stations of the Cross are a Catholic meditation, prayed every Friday during Lent to honour the passion of Christ from his condemnation by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to his crucifixion. In awe, I watched...
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