Few criticize the church more than I, but for me it is a lover’s quarrel. I want mother church to stop getting drunk on creeds and running off with every rich and powerful stranger who passes through town. I want father church to stop abusing his children. I criticize the church because I wish it health, not because I wish it harm.
I often say that the church has no copyright on truth, but by the same measure, it has no copyright on hypocrisy either. The sins of the church often result more from our humanity than from religion. A group that gathers to laugh at religion will soon develop its own priesthood, sacred jargon and grand inquisitors.