What They Don’t Talk About in Sunday School

“Sunday School” by Eira Quinn

They told me about Noah

But not the bodies.

Not the screaming 

beneath rising water,

or the mothers 

who begged God for mercy 

as he watched from the clouds 

and said nothing.

I heard about Job,

but they skipped the bet.

The part where God let the Devil

ruin a man’s life

just to prove a point.

Killed his children.

Stripped his skin.

And called it 

“Righteous testing”.

They told about Abraham’s faith,

but not Isaac’s trauma.

Not what it does to a boy

to see his father raise a knife

with heavens approval.

Not the silence that follows 

when you survive a god 

who wanted you dead.

No one mentioned the concubines,

the raped,

the forgotten wives,

the daughters sold

for the price of land

or peace

or power.

They didn’t talk about 

stoning disobedient sons,

or killing gay lovers,

or what to do

if a woman is not a virgin

on her wedding night.

They said Jesus died for us,

but not that God

could’ve chosen forgiveness 

without blood.

That maybe the crucifixion

wasn’t salvation,

But spectacle.

They said 

“Trust the word”

but they handed me 

a censored book

and a list of acceptable questions.

And when I asked about the rest,

they said

“Have faith”

But faith without truth

is just fear

in nicer clothing.

And now that I’ve read

what they skipped -

now that I’ve seen

what they hid —

I can’t go back

to coloring pages

And quiet amens.

The god they taught me

was edited.

Redacted.

Rebranded.

But the truth?

The truth was always there.

In the margins.

In the footnotes.

In the blood.