I have had a wonderful wife of 31 years, three grown children and three grandchildren. I graduated from college in 1969, from seminary in 1972, and completed a doctorate in 1983. Even though I'm not a constituent of Minnesota, I hope you can still find time to ruminate over what follows. I know you try to shoot straight with your words. As I also seek to mince no words, I believe you are likely to be the kind of person that is open to listen to a radical viewpoint, one that attempts to isolate several root issues.
Organized religion is a sham .
You are absolutely right on this point. What passes as the visible institution belonging to Jesus Christ is, in fact, far removed in key matters from anything the Head of the church revealed to be his will. The organized religion you reject, Governor Ventura, is not the genuine article. Three extraordinary characteristics of the early church cover most of the territory. In each of these points what Jesus inaugurated stood in stark contrast to the surrounding pagan religions.