Unanswered Questions

If you lied to me about—

Six-day creation

Pants on women

The Rapture in 1981

Seven dispensations

Backward masking

Subliminal messaging

Hair-length spirituality

Political action to save the country

Two-four beats

Playing cards and movies—

What then am I to make of

Your systematic theology?

and

What else did you lie to me about—

The nature of God

Eternal conscious torment

Or penal substitutionary atonement?

***

If I turned to you and said I’ve sinned

This way or that

(Pick your most distasteful poison)

And I’ve done that

One, two, twenty-three

Or seven by seventy times,

Would you hate me?

If I said to you, humbly or arrogantly,

“I (respectfully) disagree,”

Would you permit me?

***

I’m not angry

Though some are, understandably

I’m not sad

Over time, I’ve moved on, simply

to less dogma,

more wonder

And if you are still so certain,

Where then is your faith?