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Growing up in Central Texas, I was exposed to one kind of Christianity. The kind that resulted in a teacher cramming my little sister's head on her desk and holding it down because she wouldn't bow her head for the mandatory school prayer to Jesus. The kind that had students ostrasizing me and calling me names because I wouldn't bow my head to the school prayer. The kind where ministers preached that God kills non-believers in brutal ways, a sermon that left me in terrified tears. The kind that had my four year old sister telling us we were all going to burn in hell if we were bad. The kind that told me that if we were poor, it was because we were not good people, so God was punishing us.
Then, thanks to my new stepfather, I was exposed to a different kind of Christianity. In his church, we learned tolerance and caring. We marched with the farmworkers up Congress Avenue in Austin, and held hands with black Baptists in the park to show our support for integration, even as others were murdering civil rights workers. We attended church events where poets read to us about justice and love, and we welcomed everyone into our church, no questions asked, no proofs of particular faith necessary, and no judgments made for anyone's past bad choices, just a desire to help them live a good life.
So there are different kinds of Christians, and Bush is allied with the first kind. I am glad Mr. Kuo found his heart with the second kind of Christian, like I did. I wish him the best, and appreciate that his willingness to describe his own journey.
