Kristin -

This is an extremely well thought out discussion, and I deal with a lot of the things you brought to light on a daily basis (won't go into detail here). But the bottom line, and the way in which you conclude this post, is it's not our job to be the judge and the jury of the world, and as you said, we (as a society) are not very good at it. 

Mothershaffer, you hit the nail right on the head with your comment. The level of hypocrisy in religion (primarily looking at Christianity here) is insane. Not only is it one of the only religions that segregates themselves entirely from non-believers, it is also one of the only religions that will do (whatever it takes) to convert followers. My relationship with God and my own personal faith takes ideas from many different backgrounds, I think there is a lot of good in a lot of different practices, and I believe religion should be a much more personal and introverted one-one-one experience with God. 

Not trying to get off on a tangent here, but those thoughts were going through my head. Really took what you had to say in to heart. Just stumbled across your fine blog here (thanks Jamie) - I encourage you to check out mine as well - us bloggers gotta' stick together! (http://www.lifewithoutpants.com).