Nice piece, Joe. Something I would have liked to have said myself. You found the words and time to write them down for what many people are feeling.

Coming from outside of Christianity, I have only one little quibble. I believe people of faith, on average, do have a better life on this plane of existence. It might be hard for a religious cynic to see the difference, but it is there.

For example, life in a criminal gang is quite far away from a God-centered occupation. While a gang member may have money, girls, and power, he lives his life in constant fear. Any day, his fellow gang members may turn on him, rival gang members may kill him, or the police may arrest him. And then he has the same fears the rest of us of have. If someone has a little religion behind him, he is less likely to fall into this trap.