Land of Oz

Church

Lately, I've been exposed to more than a couple of "church people." You know the kind. Some are more irritating than others, but they are always bringing up "our church." We did stuff with "our church" or we donated money to "our church" or "our church" is doing whatever. A lot of it lately has been Katrina based - and of course now Rita based. (As an aside, I wonder how long "because of Katrina" will be used as an excuse for everything from high gas prices to low availability of concrete to crappy service at Macdonalds).

This morning as I was driving to work trying to listen to my favorite station as it was being overpowered by one of the now ubiquitous christian stations, I got to thinking about how much "my church" bothered me even as a kid. I remember wondering why god would be pissed off if a woman didn't wear her hat in church or why you had to wear a tie to go to church on Sunday. I used to sit there and listen to the priest asking for donations and wonder why if they needed money did the church have those fancy stained glass windows, gold chalices, and richly brocaded gowns and vestments. Why was the mass said in a language that probably 4 people in the church understood and belonged to a pagan culture that faded out a thousand years ago. Why you had to go for marriage counseling to a priest who couldn't get married. Why was 2/3 of the world destined to hell or purgatory simply because they never had a chance to hear about our god - the only real god. Why couldn't a nice person get to heaven simply because they didn't get along with their spouse and got divorced or didn't tell cigar smoking priest in that little cubicle in the back of the church with the tan translucent window all the things they did bad in the "six weeks since my last confession." And then why did two "Hail Marys" and an "Our Father" neutralize the harm done by the bad thing.

This isn't to say that all churches do all bad things. Nope, most churches do good stuff. They help the poor and sick and give a place for old ladies to play bingo (Of course gambling is illegal unless it's for "church" stuff). I'm sure there are some good church-based schools - not that ours was one of them. Boy, that was three disastrous years wasted listening to inept, but well-meaning, nuns teaching English and math. The thing to remember is, like everything else, just because it's church or religion doesn't make it right. I dare say more people have been killed or tortured in the name of one god or another than for most any other reason.

Reading this doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. There doesn't seem to be a point. I guess the point is that I think people can take this religious/church/faith thing too far. Someone isn't bad or doomed to hell, just because they don't believe what you believe or go to the same church/parish/synagogue/coven/etc. that you go to. There are good people who don't let their lives be dictated my some rigid theology.