"are you saying that I, an individual, cannot have a sense of the sacred"

Certainly not! I think everyone holds something sacred. For one man it might be his mug of ale....for another, his family...for another, his country...for another it might be all of life. ;-)

"do you contend that my having a sense of the sacred makes me a one man religion?"

Possibly... ;-) But I can't say for sure. I'd have to know you better to be sure about that. It wouldn't be an organized religion, mind you, but it might still be a religion in an individual sense. For instance, I'd say that both my father and his blasted older brother (the nuclear physicist with the photographic memory and the personality of a turd) worshipped their own egos to an extent that was quite clearly religious in both depth of faith and intensity. They detested each other, and it was no mystery why! ;-D Each got in the way of the other's godlike presence.

"I don't like either, nor do I believe either."

Fine. I don't say that you should. Believe whatever you want to.

****

Impure thoughts, Steve? Yikes! Yeah, I've had any number of those. ;-) They assault me every time women cross my mind, but I haven't talked to a priest about it. Sounds like that priest was just longing to hear about yours. You should've gone into great detail and been really inventive, it probably would have made his day.