Oregon megachurch minister Mary Manin Morrissey is credited with the following quote: “You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.” Rachael-Dawn Craig has had plenty of experiences with both fear and faith and, as her story reveals, the two often merged. Raised with censored television, she saw what she believed to be faith healings, holy laughter, and an exorcism at Rock Church in Nova Scotia, Canada. Rachael recalls her childhood as one dominated by guilt and terror. She was scared of demons, taught to view any sexual impulse as a sign of impurity, and feared that, by displaying a lack of religious devotion, she would allow her non-evangelical friends to burn in hell.
While she was quick to criticize science and defend her Christian faith during her early teens, Rachael’s curiosity eventually led her toward open religious skepticism. Because of her changes, her mother kicked her and her brother out of their home when Rachael was 18, believing that they had become Satanic. She now, despite her upbringing, considers herself free from the fear of her childhood. According to her, “It’s nice not to be afraid all the time.”