Losing My Religion

Well, my brief flirtation with returning to the Catholic church has been effectively ended by John Paul II's recent encyclical letter. Whether or not it's right for me to be appalled at the elitist attitude of the pope, I just couldn't be a part of a community that had such narrow views and treated the most cultish aspects of its practice so protectively. I thought I could get past the chanting and the incense and the overblown ritual of Lent and Easter and such, but when who takes Communion becomes so important, I think you're losing the main message. Let us not forget that the great schism between Jewish Christians and gentile Christians was precipitated by a disagreement over kosher rules. Paul maintained that unity in Christ was more important than who ate what and where. Many people have their problems with Paul (and I'm no Bible scholar, so don't grill me), but the idea of table fellowship to break down the barriers between the Jews and the Gentiles seems pretty reasonable. Unfortunately, over two thousand years, more and more barriers have been thrown up, with Christians fighting amongst themselves more often than not. It's all just so stupid. What's the point? You believe in God, you believe in Jesus, you do your best to worship in the way that makes you the most comfortable, and some guy in Italy decides you're doing it wrong. The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can't imagine finding comfort in it at all. I'm going back to being a heathen non-believer.