I was raised a liberal Episcopalian, converted to evangelical fundamentalism on a very emotional retreat experience in high school, and then converted to Catholicism after studying the Bible in college and deciding that the Catholics' theology made more sense than the Protestant theology that I had been familiar with. Several years later, I realized that my beliefs still didn't make sense: Most importantly, I saw myself becoming a more selfish and unhappy person with time, exactly the opposite of what my beliefs told me to expect. Eventually, the cognitive dissonance combined with my restlessness over things that I would have liked to have done but never did because of my beliefs to drive me out of the Church.

I'd still like to know more about why the world works, but so far, this is all I've discovered:

• Liberal Christianity doesn't challenge you to be a better person, and it changes its creed too easily. I can't respect it.
• Conservative Protestantism denies your intellect. The objections "That doesn't make sense" and "That doesn't seem fair" are rejected, and theological dialog is stifled by the unjustified insistence that all ideas about God must be drawn directly from the Bible without education, training, or the influence of other members of the community of believers. I can't buy it.
• Conservative Catholicism is too strict. The expectation of confessing every sin and practicing more and more frequent devotions is too hostile for a young believer who realistically isn't going to be anywhere close. I can't follow it.

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