Think how wonderful it would be if the church had all the right answers! Too bad the church does not have all the right answers, and even refuses to tolerate those who have the questions. Questions such as...

Why did the catholic church take a few hundred years to admit the scientists were right about the planets revolving around the sun? Pope Paul II finally set the record straight in 1996, which was 360 years too late.

Was I the only person who thought Archbishop Mahoney was a jerk before he rose to (mis)lead the Los Angeles catholic church during its latest priest-child abuse scandals? My jerk-radar went off whenever he visited our catholic school classroom, or presided over our ceremonies. Need proof? Why wasn't Mahoney leading the fight to shut down a sleazy restaurant where, as Jackson Brown's song goes, "...down at the Golden Cup, they set the young ones up...". Yes, one hundred yards from my grade school, perverts could pick up homeless child prostitutes, and the church was too busy to care.

Why are intelligent design proponents, with church approval, still fighting the overwhelming evidence of (1) evolution (2) universe lifetime of billions of years rather than 6000 years, and (3) big bang theory?

Why is there eternal damnation when we have a god of love?

Why am I told over and over that god has the power to do anything, yet he can't straighten out his religions? Christians know jehovah's witnesses are damned forever, the witnesses know nonwitnesses are damned forever, and everybody knows the muslims are toast. He could put a star over Bethlehem, so how about a miracle, without natural explanation, to set things straight? Don't get me started on christians killing christians in the Fourth Crusades (who was off-message on that one?), catholic indulgences (see footnote 1), and other historical examples of christian inconsistencies.

Why, given the multitude of incompatible religions, are the christians forcing their personal vision into our once-secular government? Let's say that I agree that one religion should give guide our nation's politicians, but I pick islamic shariyaa law. Does anybody think that would go over well in the deep south? Let's get everybody into one room and let them pick the one religion that our nation will henceforth follow.

Why do the pastors tempt me into the church with promises to fulfill my needs? I don't have a need to explain my existence on this earth. I don't have a need for comfort in times of trouble. I don't have a need to count on an afterlife for when my time is up.

Why is it that religious people always assume I am at least as religious as they are? Is it the fact that I have distilled the best values and morals found in, and out of, the Bible, and follow them every day? Is it because I am a complete person?

Why am I told that prayer fixes everything? Double-blind study after double-blind study shows that sick people are only helped by prayer when they are told that somebody is praying for them. That is not a miracle happening, it's just the wonderful interaction of mind and body. When the sick people are broken up into prayed-for and not-prayed-for groups, and the prayer is done remotely so nobody knows which group they are in, both groups heal at the same rate.

Why was I told that prayer would fix my child? He has more than one physical handicap. I can still remember the church elders saying the prayers may not work because we did not believe enough (oh, potential guilt trip there), or because god had a special reason for his afflictions. When they said that special reason may be to bring us closer to our religion, I would have laughed if I could.

When I tally up my church scorecard, I see more pluses than minuses. Despite all the blundering, the fundamentally positive christian church is probably better than having none at all (see footnote 2). However, that's not good enough for me. Count me out.

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