Strel, I'd get spooked by the van full o' youth, church or not. Then again, got pummeled pretty well as a kid, by a group of church-goin' boys with the wrong notion of how to deal wit' "my kind". Now, *I* know those boys were a bad example of what the church can hold, but that's part of the point, sir. The church, like the rest of the world, holds both good and bad. Religious leaders of all faiths get busted for sexually accosting folks, includin' kids. Church, like the world outside it, is a mixed bag.
As for the Pipes, there ARE places with pipe organs. Mind you, churches are usually fancier. They pay for that from the pockets of the attendees, too.
Omega, that study has been done more than once. Turns out, though, that having any sort of FAITH is the key. We, as a species, seem to need hope. Spirituality helps as well as religion. Trust me, brother. I had two strokes, and am more functional and "normal" than 95% of those suffering ONE stroke. Few suffering two strokes actually live. I ain't Christian. I've got faith in myself, as any Huron believin' what they're taught will tend to do. Didn't hurt that the damage to my head allowed for such.
Truth be told, I've more problems with the CHURCH as bodies of organized religion than I do wit' the folks believin' in any positive-minded faith. The church is why I have t'go to Canada to live on the reservation, 'cause the church was busy tryin' to "save" the Huron, and gave 'em booze and disease, without thinkin' about how their intrusion would affect folks. How'd they and the government solve that? By restrictin' the native populace to small tracts of unwanted land.
Yeah, it's my country too, and that's still the biggest shame of it. That we don't know to be embarassed is the sad part. The rough part is that such things tend to go around and come around. Anyone want a piece of that? I sure don't.
Religion is as good as each person involved, and the doctrine as preached and as defined. If the people are good, and the doctrine's written for love, and preached the same, it's good for all. It's the rest of the examples that lead to the mess involved, and again, that's PEOPLE doin' the wrong thing, and not the religion.
Religion and guns don't kill ya without someone workin' 'em for such, after all.
Another fine reason to believe that it's all about the love. The rest is detail, if you stick t'that part.
dvnc
