Christianity

My faith says I must take the Bible at face value, swallow it whole. 40 guys wrote it, not one woman in the bunch. So why must I take it as such? What happened to the Gospel of Mary? Am I just being contrary? I believe Jesus was a very great person. A man of peace and reason in a pagan world of strife. But how can I believe in God the sovereign ruler, and the righteousness of Democracy at the same time? If God created all. Does he not believe in the democratic system he created? I believe that Jesus of Nazareth was a man, the same as Gandhi, and MLK. Jr. I believe that Jesus was the son of God, as are we are all, the sons and daughters of God, with God as our Creator. Jesus preached that charity was good and avarice was bad. So why is the church of Rome so rich? With piles of golden treasure in the Vatican Museum. That my eye has seen. Why do some preachers clamor for donations? And dress in fancy clothes, ride in fancy cars, accumulate great wealth, and build crystal cathedrals? Are not the hungry to be fed? The poor to be clothed? The homeless to be housed? I don’t believe in original sin, I don’t believe I’m responsible for the actions of people, four thousand years ago. I don’t believe in Creationism six days doesn’t make any sense at all, for God is far more patient than that, for, after all, I’m still here. Why does God the merciful allow the slaughter of innocents, I just don’t like the picture that presents. I just don’t understand it at all, perhaps I am not a Christian after all.